Graduate Admissions
The Faculty offers two forms of postgraduate study – taught Masters courses (MSt in Literature in English or MPhil in Medieval Literature) and three-year research degrees (DPhil).
Research degrees require satisfactory completion of a Masters programme before admission as a Probationary Research Student (PRS); application to then transfer to full DPhil/MLitt status follows at the end of the first PRS year.
The size and distinction of our Graduate School, as well as the intellectual diversity of our graduate students, make Oxford a very stimulating environment in which to study English. Around 280 graduate students are currently enrolled in the Graduate School working towards master's or doctorate degrees. Our students are working on diverse topics across the broad spectrum of English language and literature in English.
The facilities for English graduate students in Oxford are outstanding. In the Faculty building you will find useful computing resources, a graduate common room and an excellent discipline-specific library. In addition, students have access to all of Oxford's libraries, numbering over one hundred and including the world-famous collections of the Bodleian Library. As a graduate student, you will have the opportunity to hear lectures and papers by leading writers, critics, and theorists from inside and outside the University. You will also be encouraged to participate in the many research seminars and reading groups that run throughout term time, many of which are organised by graduates themselves.
All students in Oxford must belong to a college. For graduates, teaching and administration are provided by the University, so the colleges are chiefly domestic institutions providing common rooms, dining halls, accommodation, pastoral care, and various other forms of academic support such as their own libraries and IT facilities. The friendly, informal and interdisciplinary environment of the colleges contributes significantly to the graduate experience at Oxford.
All graduate students within the Faculty are members of English Graduates at Oxford (EGO). EGO organises professional guidance and study skills sessions, as well as social events and student mentoring.
