We look at thousands of your applications, references and questions every year — here’s our best advice on what to look out for when you apply for a graduate course. — 1. Read everything before you start Even if it’s tempting to get stuck into your application straight away, reading ahead will help you plan out what you need to do outside the form itself and avoid common mistakes. Our full Application Guide is reviewed every year to make sure we’re up to date on the questions…

Masters’ and DPhil students show you around their own colleges in our new series. — In this volume: Wolfson, Pembroke, Christ Church, St Cross, Queen’s, St John’s.

Dr Matt Williams offers his advice for making a powerful impression with your postgrad applications. — You can find everything you need to make your postgrad application to Oxford on the University website, from entry requirements to deadlines and documents, but a great postgrad application might start well before you’re ready to submit — even before you choose where you want to apply. Dr Matt Williams…

OxfordSU’s former Vice-President for Graduates, Lauren Bolz, on how your department, college and the wider University come together in the graduate student experience at Oxford — “With the collegiate system in place, graduate student life works a bit differently at Oxford than it does at a lot of other universities. I like to think of the graduate student experience as being divided into three overlapping pieces.

Masters’ and DPhil students show you around their own colleges in our new series. — In this volume: Magdalen, Green Templeton, Lincoln, St Anne’s, St Hugh’s and Wadham

Jet engines, Victorian fantasy, teaching robots — find out what some of our DPhil students get up to. — Oxford has about 6,800 research students (and counting), each working hard on their own individual contribution to their field. We talked to some of our DPhil (PhD) students about their research to give you just a taste of what’s possible across the University. (Is a DPhil the same thing as…

However niche your research topic is looking, there’s probably someone who’s already into it — but where do you find them? — Where do I start? The very first thing you’re going to be doing is a whole lot of independent research (apt). Hopefully you’ve already read a few articles in your research area — try looking up the authors to see which departments they’re in. …

It’s a PhD, full stop. Read on for more about our PhD and what Oxford’s research students do. — What does ‘DPhil’ mean? ‘DPhil’ and ‘PhD’ are both short for exactly the same thing, which is ‘Doctor of Philosophy’. You might see ‘PhD’ used at Oxford as well. Why does Oxford use a different word for the same thing? We actually settled on ‘DPhil’ back when it was brand new and…

Not sure if you’re on the right track? Our DPhil (PhD) students and admissions staff have some advice. — Drafting your first research proposal can be intimidating if you’ve never written (or seen) one before. Our grad students and admissions staff have some advice on making a start. First off: do you even need one? For some research courses in sciences you’ll join an existing research group so you don’t need to write a full research…