Graduate Admissions Criteria For MPLS Subjects
Course title: MSc/DPhil in Earth Sciences
1. Criteria
Within equal opportunities principles and legislation, applications will be assessed in the light of a candidate’s ability to meet the following criteria:
2. Academic ability
Proven and potential academic excellence.
Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or to have achieved a first-class or an upper second class undergraduate degree (or equivalent international qualifications ) in a science or mathematics.
For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA we seek is 3.5 out of 4.0.
However, entrance is very competitive and most successful applicants have a first-class degree, or a US GPA of 3.7.
Appropriate indicators will include:
Academic references/letters of recommendation, which support intellectual ability, academic achievement, motivation, ability to work in a group.
Research proposal or personal statement If you are applying for a project listed on our website, you should clearly outline why you are interested in and suitable for the project. your reasons. If you are proposing your own project, your proposal will be will be assessed for: your reasons for applying to this Department; the coherence of the proposal; the originality of the project; evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study; the feasibility of successfully completing the project in the time available for the course (a maximum of four years); commitment to the subject, beyond the requirements of the degree course; preliminary knowledge of research techniques; capacity for sustained and intense work; reasoning ability; ability to absorb new ideas, often presented abstractly, at a rapid pace.
Performance at interview(s) Interviews are always held as part of the admissions process once candidates have been shortlisted. If it is not possible for the candidate to attend an interview in Oxford, a telephone interview will be organised.
Candidates will be shortlisted on the strength and suitability of their academic background for the project they have applied for and compared to other applicants.
You will be interviewed by the Graduate Admissions interview panel comprised of the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr Dave Waters, and colleagues. The interview may last for up to half an hour. During this time your application will be discussed in detail, and you may expect a challenging conversation with panel members. However, we hope you may find this a stimulating opportunity to discuss your work. Interviews usually take place around January to March each year for entry the following October.
We will also try and arrange for you to meet with your potential supervisor and discuss project-related matters with them.
Telephone interviews will have a similar format, but are usually with the potential supervisor plus a member of the graduate interview panel.
3. Availability of supervision, teaching, facilities and places
The following factors will govern whether candidates can be offered places:
- The ability of the Department of Earth Sciences to provide the appropriate supervision, research opportunities, teaching and facilities for your chosen area of work.
- There are minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted onto Oxford’s research and taught programmes.
The provision of supervision is subject to the following points:
- The allocation of graduate supervision is the responsibility of the Head of Department and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff.
- Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Department of Earth Sciences.
4. English language requirement
Applicants whose first language is not English are usually required to provide evidence of proficiency in English at the standard level required by the University [http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/apply/internat_students.html.]
5. Deadlines and required full set of application materials
Applicants who wish to be considered for one of the international scholarships should apply in for the January deadline. Please refer to the Graduate Admissions website for the date of this deadline.
Applicants who wish to apply for a Research Council studentship must apply earlier in the year for entry the following October. For details please see the Earth Sciences website.
Please refer to the Graduate Admissions website for information on the full set of supporting materials required.
Applicants must ensure they meet the appropriate deadline, and submit a full set of application materials, in order for applications to be guaranteed to be considered.
6. Whether you have yet secured funding
This is not taken into consideration in the decision to make an initial offer a place, but please note that the initial offer of a place will not be confirmed until the college which gives you an initial offer of a place is satisfied that you have sufficient funding to cover your fees and living costs for the standard period of fee liability for your course.
Please note that all projects also have associated expenses (such as field and laboratory costs and consumables) and not all scholarships available have funding to cover these expenses. Where project costs are not covered, the student and supervisor will be expected to obtain funding for such costs.
7. Disability, health conditions and specific learning difficulties.
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 these matters are supported during the admissions process is available here.
8. Other information
We recommend that DPhil and MSc by Research candidates should contact a potential supervisor(s) in the first instance before submitting an application
9. Assessors
All applications will be assessed by more than one member of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise.