Entry Requirements for Our Courses
ACADEMIC Eligibility for THE DPhil and MSc By Research Courses
Applicants are expected to have completed (or be about to complete) a Bachelor's level honours degree to 2:1 or above in psychology or an international equivalent e.g. a GPA of 3.5 or above, with a major concentration in psychology. The department will consider applications from other disciplines but you may be at a disadvantage if you do not have a psychological background.
We also strongly recommend that DPhil (3-4 Year) and MSc by Research (2 Year) applicants contact a potential supervisor in the first instance before submitting an application. Applicants whose Research Project falls outside the area of expertise of a potential supervisor or research themes of the department are unlikely to be successful with their application.
It is not necessary to have completed a Masters prior to applying for a DPhil (PhD) place.
ACADEMIC Eligibility for the MSc in Psychological Research Course
Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in psychology.
Applicants with first degrees, that are in cognate disciplines rather than psychology or non-psychology degrees that contain a significant psychology component, would be considered, but may be at a disadvantage during selection when competing against applicants from a psychological background.
If this is the case then we would suggest you do a conversion course in the first instance. We do not offer a conversion course in psychology at Oxford University. For information regarding other institutions who do, please see the British Psychological Society's Website - http://www.bps.org.uk
The Department of Experimental Psychology does not require a Graduate Record Examination or a GMAT score.
If you hold non-British qualifications, you are advised to check with the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC) on how your qualifications match the above academic requirements.
For further information, please see the Entry Requirements for these courses on the main Graduate Admissions website.
English Language Requirements
All applicants whose first language is not English, and who have not studied for their BA honours degree in the UK, are required to provide proof of their English oral and written competence to avoid any delay or difficulty in pursing their studies.
The Medical Science Division and the Department of Experimental Psychology requires the Higher Level of English Proficiency for the MSc in Psychological Research and the Standard Level of English Proficiency for the DPhil and MSc By Research in Experimental Psychology. For further information on the university's English requirements please the University's Graduate Application Guide.
English Language Waiver
The requirement to provide proof of proficiency may be waived, at the discretion of the Division/University, in cases where an applicant has successfully completed a programme of study at a recognised institution where the medium of instruction is English.
If you wish to apply for a waiver to the normal requirement, please include a letter with your application outlining the reasons why you should be exempted from the requirement. On-line applicants may upload this letter to the relevant section within the application form. Please do not use the English Language Test results section to do this.
The University of Oxford Language Centre offers pre-course English language sessions for academic purposes. Please visit the site for further information.
If you have any further questions, please do email graduate.admissions@psy.ox.ac.uk.