When should I apply?

The Faculty of Oriental Studies uses three different deadlines for applications in common with many courses at the University of Oxford. One deadline is in November, one in January and one in March. You can find the exact deadlines in the application guide. The Faculty uses the later of the January deadlines.

The Master of Philosophy in Modern Middle Eastern Studies only uses the January deadline.

Why are there three deadlines? What is the difference between the deadlines?

There are three deadlines because there are three major times of year at which we will consider applications. The difference between the deadlines is mainly when you can expect to hear the outcome of your application (see below ‘When will I hear the outcome of my application?’). The only other major difference between the deadlines is that many funding schemes, such as the Arts & Humanities Research Council or Clarendon Fund, require applications to be received by the January deadline at the latest in order to be considered.

The Master of Philosophy in Modern Middle Eastern Studies only uses the January deadline.

When is the latest that I can apply for a place?

This is not a sensible way to think about applying for something as important as graduate study. If you are ready to apply now, apply now. If you are not quite ready, try to get all the materials ready as soon as you can. Applications received after the March deadline can only be considered if there are places available and are dependent on the Faculty finding a college willing to accept the candidate.

What supporting materials should I submit with my application?

The Faculty requires the following supporting materials to be submitted with your application:

• Research proposal (DPhil) or Statement of Purpose (all other courses)
• Three academic references
• Official transcript of previous higher education
• CV / Resume
• Two pieces of written work

Please note that an application is not considered complete until all supporting materials, including your references, have been received. For more information on supporting materials, please see the Application Guide.

Who will assess my application?

All applications will be assessed by more than one member of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise.

By what criteria will my application be assessed?

We assess applications for evidence of proven and potential academic excellence. All parts of your application will be used to assess this.

Transcripts will need to show you meet/exceed the minimum entry requirements. The minimum entry requirements are detailed on the Graduate Admissions page.

References should provide evidence of intellectual ability, academic achievement, motivation, and fitness for chosen course of study. Three references are required.

Written work will be assessed for: comprehensive understanding of the subject area; understanding of problems in the area; ability to construct and defend an argument; powers of analysis; powers of expression; clarity and accuracy of thought and writing; conceptual sophistication; critical skill; control of relevant primary and secondary sources; and presentation of material in the appropriate scholarly form. Two pieces of written work of 2,000 words are required.
* - If you do not have written work relevant to the subject area, click here.

You will also need to submit either a statement of purpose (for taught courses) or a research proposal (for research courses):
Statements of purpose will be assessed for: your reasons for applying, especially to Oxford; evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study; commitment to the subject; preliminary knowledge of research techniques; capacity for sustained and intense work at a high intellectual level; reasoning ability; and ability to absorb new ideas at a rapid pace. A statement of purpose should be one page in length.
Research proposals will be assessed for all of the above, as well as: the coherence of the proposal; the originality of the project; the ability to present a reasoned case in English; and the feasibility of successfully completing the project in the time available for the course (3 or at most 4 years). It will be normal for your ideas subsequently to change in some ways as you investigate the evidence and develop your research project. You should nevertheless make the best effort you can to demonstrate the extent of your research question, sources and method at the moment of applying. A research proposal should be two pages in length.

The Faculty does not normally interview applicants as part of the admissions process, but sometimes it is necessary to do so. Interviews may be conducted either in person, by telephone, or by Skype. There will always be a minimum of two interviewers present at each interview.

There has been a gap in my studies prior to applying for this degree programme. Can my other experience be taken into account?

The Faculty is prepared to take substantial professional experience in a relevant field into account when assessing applications.

There has been a gap in my studies prior to applying for this degree programme. Can I submit references from my employer or personal references?

While we appreciate that obtaining academic references will be difficult for some candidates, we request academic references because we need to establish whether a candidate is intellectually prepared for a course. It is unlikely that this is something that can be established from a professional or personal reference, so you should only submit such references if there is absolutely no alternative.

I do not have any written work on a topic relevant to the course for which I am applying. Can I submit work not directly related to the course?

Yes. Many of our applicants are in a similar position, depending on the specific course. As you will see from the criteria under ‘written work’ above, there are many things we are looking for in your written work which are not specific to the subject area, such as ability to construct and defend an argument and presentation of material in the appropriate scholarly form.

Can I submit one 4,000 word piece of written work instead of two 2,000 word pieces?

No. The Faculty requires two 2,000 word pieces so that we can assess your ability to write on different topics. It is therefore desirable to submit work which will show a range of ability rather than two highly similar pieces. Written work can be extracts from longer pieces of work.

Are there any other criteria which may affect whether or not my application is accepted?

The Faculty assesses applications competitively. That means that applications are assessed relative to other applications received during a particular deadline or year. Many of our courses are oversubscribed, in which case we may not be able to offer places to all strong candidates owing to the volume of applications received. In such cases we will offer places to the strongest applications as assessed on the criteria above.

We are only able to accept applications when we can offer adequate supervision in the relevant field. This is particularly relevant in the case of research applicants. If there is no suitable supervisor within the Faculty or the only possible supervisor has already taken on his or her complement of research students for a given year it may mean that we are unable to make an offer. If you are applying for the Doctor of Philosophy in Oriental Studies or the Master of Studies in Oriental Studies you are strongly encouraged to contact a potential supervisor before you apply to find out whether they are able in principle to supervise your project. Please note that they will not be able to give you any firm assurances until you have applied since it will depend on the details of your application and other applications received. The list of Faculty members gives information about research interests and contact details.

Please note that we are not able to guarantee that students will be supervised by the Faculty member they request when they apply. Applicants for the Doctor of Philosophy in Oriental Studies will be informed of the supervisor they have been allocated in their offer letter.

In rare cases it is possible for students to be supervised by someone in a different Faculty or Department of the University of Oxford, but in all such cases a student must be co-supervised by a member of the Faculty.

What are the Faculty’s English language requirements?

If English is not your first language or you will need a visa to study in the UK and are not a national of a majority English speaking country (as defined by the UK Border Agency) you will normally need to provide evidence that you have reached the required standard in a recognised English language test. For all programmes, the Faculty requires the higher level in any recognised English language test accepted by the University. Please see the Guidance for International Students page for more information on which tests are recognised and the scores provided.

There are no recognised English language test dates which will allow me to receive the scores prior to application. Can I apply without the scores?

Yes. You can apply prior to receiving the scores. If your application is successful any offer you receive will be conditional upon receipt of satisfactory English language test scores.

Is my country counted as a majority English speaking country?

The list of majority English speaking countries is defined by the UK Border Agency. You can find information about the requirements in the application guide.

English is not my first language and I am not a national of a majority English speaking country. Are there any circumstances in which I can apply for a waiver?

Yes, but only in very specific circumstances. These are specified in the application guide. Please note that English language test waivers are at the discretion of the University.

When will I hear the outcome of my application?

This depends on the deadline by which your application was received. If you apply by the November deadline you should expect to hear in late January or early February. If you apply by the January deadline you should expect to hear in late March or early April. If you apply by the March deadline you should expect to hear in late May. If you application was received after the March deadline you will hear as soon as we have been able to assess your application, but this can take some time.

I applied in November/January/March but I still haven’t heard the outcome of my application and it is now past the time specified above. What should I do?

You should check whether your application was received by the relevant deadline. An application that was received in November may not have been received by the November deadline. In this case it is treated as received by the January deadline and the response will come at the relevant time. An application that is received just after the deadline may therefore result in your having to wait a considerable time for a response. Owing to the number of applications we receive this is the only fair way to process applications and you are encouraged to ensure that your application is complete by the deadline. An application is only complete when all supporting materials have been received, including references. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that references have been submitted in time.

I’ve checked and my application was received by the relevant deadline but I still haven’t heard.

The Faculty send out responses to all applications by email. Check that the response has not gone into your junk mail. If it has not, contact us by emailing graduate.admissions@orinst.ox.ac.uk. Please be aware that we will not give out the outcome of applications over the phone and at busy times when we are trying to inform candidates of the outcome of applications receiving a high volume of phone enquiries will interfere with our ability to process applications.

Is it possible to study part-time?

No, the Faculty of Oriental Studies only offers courses for full-time study. You might be able to find some part-time opportunities or short courses in your area of interest with the Department of Continuing Education.

Will my disability, health condition, specific learning difficulty or personal circumstances affect my chances of being accepted?

Students are selected for admission without regard to gender, marital or civil partnership status, disability, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or social background. Decisions on admission are based solely on the individual academic merits of each candidate and the application of the selection criteria appropriate to the programme of study. Further information on how equality and diversity matters are supported during the admissions process is available here.

Who can I contact for more information?

If your question is not answered above, on the Faculty’s graduate admissions page, or in the application guide, you should contact the Faculty’s Graduate Studies Assistant, Dr. Bob Mahoney, by emailing graduate.admissions@orinst.ox.ac.uk. You can also contact him by phone +44 (0)1865 288203. Please be advised that during busy periods it may not be possible to take phone enquiries.

If your question relates to the availability of supervision, particularly for Doctor of Philosophy in Oriental Studies and the Master of Studies in Oriental Studies applications, you may need to contact the Faculty member with whom you would be interested in working.

If your question relates to a technical problem with the online application system, you should contact the Graduate Admissions Office. You can find their contact details in the application guide.