Assessing your application
How applications are assessed, tracking your department decision and the potential outcomes explained.
The Radcliffe Observatory. Credit: Oxford University Images
How your application is assessed
Your application will be assessed purely on your proven and potential academic excellence and other entry requirements described under that heading on the course page.
References and supporting documents submitted as part of your application, and your performance at interview (if interviews are held) will be considered as part of the assessment process. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.
An overview of the shortlisting and selection process is provided below. You can also find a timeline overview of the assessment process in our Decision Timeline.
After you submit
When you submit your application, it is checked by a member of staff in Graduate Admissions to make sure that it is complete and meets the application requirements for your chosen course. If your application is complete, the Graduate Admissions team will let the academic department know that they can start assessing your application.
The academic department that offers the course you have applied to will assess the academic quality and suitability of your application. After this is complete, the department will send you formal notification of their decision by email.
The average waiting time for a decision is around 8 to 10 weeks after the deadline you apply to.
For the January deadlines, for example, you would usually hear around late March to early April. Unfortunately, it is not possible to give more specific dates in advance.
If the course you have applied to has remained open to applications after the last standard University deadline in March, there is no formal timetable for the assessment process, but you can usually expect to be notified of the outcome around 6 to 8 weeks after completing your application.
Shortlisting and interviews
After you apply, and before the department makes a final decision on your application, you may be called for interview and/or asked to send further documents. This could include a third reference if there are only two in your application.
Some courses will interview applicants during the selection process, but many do not conduct interviews. You can check whether shortlisted applicants will be interviewed, and the usual length and structure of interviews, in the 'Entry requirements' section of the course page.
Your academic department may want to hold interviews by video call, by phone or in person. They will contact you directly to arrange this, if necessary.
Selection process
Applications are academically assessed against the entry requirements for the course and relatively in terms of the quality of previous academic excellence and future potential, in comparison with the applications received from other candidates for the course.
The University seeks to admit the very best candidates who apply for the courses it offers. The entry requirements for each course and the number of applications and places available are provided on our course pages.
Meeting the entry requirements may not be sufficient to guarantee a place and competition for places is very strong.
Departments receive many more excellent applications than they have places available, so it is important that you take care over your application to best illustrate your academic achievement and future potential.
Admissions panels and assessors, and equal opportunities
Tracking your departmental decision
Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email and the outcome will also be displayed in your Graduate Applicant Self-Service. If your application was incomplete at the deadline, you will only be contacted if the academic department chooses to assess your application.
It is not usually possible to know the outcome any earlier since applications are assessed comparatively, against all other applicants. However, if you need to know the outcome earlier so you can make a decision ahead of a deadline set by another institution, you can contact the academic department to ask if this is possible.
If more than ten weeks have passed since your application deadline date and you have not received a decision, or if you have any questions about the progress of the academic assessment, please contact the academic department directly via the contact details on the course page.
Graduate Admissions is not authorised to disclose decisions from academic departments, colleges or funding bodies.
If you have a complaint about the admissions process, please see our page on Complaints and appeals.
Potential outcomes of your application
If your application was complete and eligible for academic assessment at the application deadline date, you will be notified by email of one of the following outcomes. The outcome will also be shown in your Self-Service.
