To join our community as an undergraduate, you’ll need to apply to the University of Oxford via UCAS and choose University College (Campus Code: X) when selecting your college preference. Oxford has an earlier deadline than most other universities in the UK, and some courses may require you to submit an admissions test, You can find out more about the application timeline here.

For international students the application process is the same, although there may be student visas and English language requirements to consider. This page has more information.

What are we looking for?

It’s a common misconception that admissions tutors are looking for a personality trait or special ‘Oxford’ factor in applicants. In fact, anyone can be an Oxford student, and the University website has a helpful list of selection criteria that admissions tutors in each course will be assessing you against.

Common across all subjects is that who are passionate about their subject and have engaged with it critically outside of school. Our Staircase12 webpage and Instagram page have lots of ‘super-curricular’ ideas and opportunities to help you explore your subject. Remember it’s important to approach material critically and to have an opinion about what you’ve engaged with.

Please also check out information about our Open Days, and, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via the contact form below.

Thinking of graduate study at Univ? For graduate study, you apply through the University of Oxford website. After submitting your application, it will go to your academic department for assessment, and a College assigned after an offer has been made. You can state University College as your college preference when applying.

Unlike many other colleges, we try to accommodate all of our first year graduate on the main site or directly adjacent to it in a shared house in Merton Street or Magpie Lane, right in the heart of the City. This means that graduate student at Univ are easily able to get involved in college life and make the most of college facilities such as the hall and library. Our accommodation page has further information.

There are many other reasons to mark Univ as your College choice too, including our supportive community, generous studentships for fees and maintenance, and diverse graduate body. The University of Oxford website has plenty of information about applying for graduate study, including fees and funding information and application requirements.

We highly value diversity in our student body, and commit to fairness and transparency in our admissions procedures. The Schools Liaison Officer is heavily involved in outreach and recruitment activities to widen participation among under-represented groups. All applications to Univ have a context, and we do our best to take account of that context when making admissions decisions. We admit students solely on the basis of academic merit and academic potential. There is no statistically significant differential success rate among applicants to Univ according to their ethnic, regional or educational background.

Univ was one of the first colleges in Oxford or Cambridge to hire one of the first dedicated Access Officers, and we continue to believe that students should feel able to apply to Univ, regardless of background.

We are proud to have a team of over 60 students from many different backgrounds and subject areas. The Univ ambassadors work with young people to encourage, motivate and inspire them to continue and complete their studies successfully. They act as tour guides on Open Days, and help to run events such as school visits, taster days for primary, secondary school, and college students. Ambassadors are also available to make visits to schools independently, to talk about their experiences of learning at and applying to Oxford.

Univ is the “link college” for the areas  of Reading, West Berkshire, Wokingham, Shropshire, Telford and the Wrekin, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

To find out more please see our Outreach and Open Days pages.