Applying for Admission
Admissions Overview
Detailed information on the admissions procedure can be found on the University's Undergraduate Admissions web pages.
If you want to read hard copy, your school will probably have been sent a printed copy of the University of Oxford Undergraduate Prospectus, but it may in any case be obtained directly from the Undergraduate Admissions Office.
Please note that from the next admissions round, i.e. for entry in October 2012, the Department has decided to start using the Physics Aptitude Test (PAT) as part of its undergraduate admissions processes for Engineering Science and EEM. The test is being administered by Cambridge Assessment, and you must register for this test with them as well as submitting a UCAS application. Unfortunately, the deadline for registering is Friday 14th October, the day before the last day for submitting your UCAS form. Details of the test are available at http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/engineering-admissions-test
Engineering Admissions Criteria
The Admissions Process
All colleges work together to admit candidates for Engineering. Using the criteria below, each application is assessed by the candidate's college of preference (or the one allocated in the case of an Open Application) and by one other college. All applications are then reviewed collectively to determine who should be shortlisted for interview.
We expect to interview a much larger number of candidates than there are places to be offered. Sometimes individual colleges will be heavily over-subscribed with good candidates and in these cases it may be necessary for the candidate to be reallocated to a college different from their stated preference.
All shortlisted candidates resident in Europe are called to Oxford for interview. Shortlisted candidates who reside outside Europe can choose i) to come to Oxford for interview, or ii) to ask to have a Skype/telephone/videoconference interview at the discretion of the candidate’s first college.
Candidates are interviewed in Oxford on one of three days in December (this year the 12th to the 14th December). Each candidate called to Oxford is interviewed by two colleges. To complete the selection of candidates, information is again pooled for consideration by all the colleges together. Candidates are ranked according to their perceived ability and academic potential.
Our aim is to make offers to the highest ranked candidates, regardless of their college of preference, or the college to which they were assigned in the open application scheme.
Qualities sought in the written application
The candidate's application should give evidence of the following qualities:
- High academic ability and potential, particularly in mathematics and physical sciences, as evidenced by:
- Actual achievement in recognised national and international public examinations already taken during the course of schooling (eg, GCSE, AS-levels, etc).
- Predicted or actual achievement in recognised national and international public exams taken at the end of a candidate's school or college career (eg, A-levels, IB, etc).
- Academic references from independent and objective referees familiar with the candidate's recent work.
- An active and sustained interest in and enthusiasm for the engineered world, interpreted broadly.
As examples of 1a and b above, candidates invited for interview are likely to have the following profiles:
To have a significant number of A* and A grades at GCSE (or their equivalents) to include mathematics and science subjects; and
either, if applying before taking final school examinations, to have predictions of A* or A grades at A-level in Mathematics and Physics, and in at least one other subject, or 7,6,6 at Higher Level in the IB (again to include Mathematics and Physics) and, if they have been completed, grade A in Mathematics and Physics at AS,
or, if applying after taking final school examinations, already to possess grades A* or A in Mathematics and Physics at A level (or 7 in HL maths and physics in the IB), and in at least one other subject.
The Advanced Diploma in Engineering (Level 3) will be accepted for entry, provided candidates also obtain both an A-level in Physics and the new Level 3 Certificate in Mathematics for Engineering. These qualifications can be presented as the additional specialist learning component of the diploma. Offers will be formulated itemising performance in A-level Physics, the Level 3 certificate in Mathematics for Engineering, the Extended Project and the Principal Learning of the diploma on an equivalent basis with existing level 3 qualifications.
Qualities sought during interview
Candidates invited for interview should expect an academic or technical interview. They should be able to demonstrate:
- Fluency in expressing core knowledge and ideas in physics and mathematics
- Ability to apply existing knowledge methodically to new situations
- Ability to assimilate and apply new concepts
- Rapidity in thinking and reasoning
and to be able to discuss their:
- Commitment to intense and sustained learning
- Interest in and enthusiasm for the engineered world
These selection criteria relate specifically to candidates applying to Oxford for a first undergraduate degree. Second undergraduate degree candidates are considered on the basis of their submitted application, and are unlikely to be interviewed, except if resident in North America, South East Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent. Entry is very competitive. In Engineering it is rare for there to be any applications at all. For more information on second undergraduate degree applications, please see http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/how_to_apply/graduate_applicants.html
Standard offer
The standard offer is A*AA with the A* in one of Mathematics, Further Mathematics (if taken) and Physics. For the IB it is 7 at the Higher Level in Mathematics and Physics and at least a 6 in one other HL subject, combined with 38-40 points including the core.
A Tutor’s-eye view of Oxford Admissions Interviews
For a tutor’s-eye view of Oxford admissions interviews visit the University's Admissions web site at http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2010/videodiaries.html and watch the videos recorded by Dr Byron Byrne, a Tutor in Engineering at St Catherine's College.
Engineering, Economics and Management (EEM) - Joint course with Engineering
Applicants for Engineering, Economics and Management should also be able to demonstrate enthusiasm, commitment and potential for the study of Economics and Management. Their panel of interviewers may include tutors in Economics/Management. After the interviews candidates for EEM may be offered a place on the Engineering Science course.
Not all colleges admit candidates to EEM. Open applications are automatically assigned colleges that do, but otherwise please make sure your college of preference is one of Balliol, Exeter, Christ Church, Hertford, Keble, Lady Margaret Hall, Mansfield, New, St Edmind's Hall, St Hilda's, St Hugh's, St Anne's, St Catharine's, Trinity, Wadham and Worcester.
Deferred entry
Engineering tutors welcome applications for deferred entry, but expect this to incorporate a structured activity during the intervening year; this should preferably be relevant to Engineering. There is no significant difference between the offer rates to candidates seeking either immediate or deferred entry. After discussion with the candidates, a number of deferred entry applicants may be offered an immediate place instead, and vice versa. There is no policy for making more demanding offers to candidates seeking a deferred offer.
One college (Hertford) does not offer deferred places.
Information on gap year activities can be found in a number of places e.g. http://www.yini.org.uk/