Applicants need to meet the following eligibility criteria.
The following deadlines are for students interested in applying to start their studies in September 2025
We offer four application rounds. However, we recommend applying as early as possible to maximise your chances of being offered a place on the course. Please note that you must submit your online application form with all application requirements. Only completed applications will be considered.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Contact the recruitment and admissions team to discuss your suitability for the programme and find out more about the application process.
To complete your application, you will need:
Your application essays give you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, curiosity and insight.
The topics of the personal statements and essay title are:
We are looking for you to demonstrate your knowledge and opinions but also encourage you to include evidence to support your arguments. Be sure to include references for any quoted material within your essays. References will not count as part of your essay word limit.
Every piece of written work is put through plagiarism detection software. Read the University's guide on how to avoid similarities when writing your essay.
If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to an interview, which will either be scheduled in Oxford or online. Once all these stages are complete, we will notify you of the results as quickly as we can.
The collegiate system makes studying at Oxford a truly special experience.
Oxford colleges are small, intimate communities, where you meet academics and fellow students from around the world.
Once you have received an offer and paid your deposit you will be sent a list of colleges and can select your college preference. Although we cannot guarantee you will be accepted at your preferred college, we can guarantee you will receive membership at one of the colleges.
If English is not your first language, you may need to provide proof of your English language proficiency.
We accept the following tests:
Minimum score 110
Minimum score required for each component
Minimum score of 7.5
Minimum score required for each component 7.0
Minimum score of 191
Minimum score required for each component: 185
Minimum score of 191
Minimum required per component: 185
The requirement to provide proof of English language proficiency may be waived, at the discretion of the University, in the following circumstances:
At the discretion of the Admissions Committee, the requirement to provide English language test scores may be waived. You can apply for a waiver if you have completed, or are currently completing, a degree-level course that is:
You can also apply for a waiver based on substantial professional experience if:
The institution code for ordering your official TOEFL score sheet from ETS is 0807. There is no department code, this can be left blank. If you choose to take the IELTS you need to sit the academic test. If you sit the TOEFL it must be the general test. Your test must have been taken less than two years before the start date of the course for which you are applying.
Please note that we reserve the right to request a test of English to be taken at any time.
International students are usually required to have a student visa to enter the UK, please allow sufficient time for this to be processed.
The total course fees for both home and overseas students for the September 2025 programme is £61,630.
Programme fees cover tuition costs, course materials, essential reading texts, assessments and college membership (for two years). Lunch and refreshments are provided daily and there is an evening dinner at a different Oxford college during each module.
Accommodation, travel and additional living costs are not included in the fee. You should make arrangements to stay in Oxford during the modules. As part of your course requirements, you will need to choose a dissertation topic. Depending on your choice of topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs.
As you will be studying part-time your living costs may vary depending on your personal circumstances, for example, your choice of accommodation, but you must still ensure that you will have sufficient funding to meet these costs for the duration of your course.
Offer-holders who accept a place are required to pay a 15% deposit within 30 days of accepting their offer. This equates to £9,245. This deposit is only refundable in certain circumstances. Please see our Deposits, Fees and Refunds Policy. The deposit is due 30 days after notification of acceptance. We require deposit payments at least four weeks before the start of the programme, unless in exceptional circumstances.
The remainder of the programme fee is due in two instalments: 50% to be paid before the first year of study and 35% before the second year of study.
The Fees and Funding section of the University of Oxford website provides further information about course fees, including information about fee status and eligibility and your length of fee liability.
We are committed to supporting and promoting diversity and inclusion.
We offer five scholarship awards for this programme: two Women’s Scholarships and three Director’s Awards.
The Women's Scholarship is awarded to two outstanding female candidates from each intake, covering 50% of the total programme fee.
There are three Director's Awards, two covering 50% and one covering 75% of the total programme fee. This is open to candidates who can effectively demonstrate how they will enhance the diversity of their cohort, as well as exemplify the positive impact this MSc will have on their sector/country/region in the long term.