How to Apply
So you're thinking of applying!
This page will walk you step-by-step through the application process. If you have any questions at all, our Admissions Officer would be happy to help.
We're eager to see applications from a wide range of candidates. For people unsure about whether they would get a place, I always say there's only one way to find out!
Richard Molyneux, Admissions Officer
Harris Manchester College only considers applications from mature applicants, who will be 21 years old or above by 1 October of the year of entry.
Entry Requirements
We accept a wide variety of qualifications but would expect applicants to have the equivalent of 3 A grades or higher at A-level, depending on the course of study applied for.
Alternative qualifications to A Levels include the Access to Higher Education Diploma, Open University credits, or previous or current University level study.
Applicants are advised to contact the Harris Manchester Admissions Office to seek advice about their qualifications to ensure that they would be sufficient to meet the entry requirements of the particular course they are considering applying to.
The Admissions Officer can be reached on 01865 618084 or admissions@hmc.ox.ac.uk.
Making your Application
https://www.youtube.com/embed/4eAvQDFAVSU?si=brbgC0jeKPEK4ept
The video to the left talks you through the process of applying in detail, as told by our Tutor for Admissions, Victoria Lill.
All applicants are required to make their application through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).
The deadline for applying for entry in 2026 will be 6pm on 15th October 2025.
Please make allowance for the length an application takes to be completed to avoid narrowly missing the deadline, which is strictly adhered to.
To apply directly to Harris Manchester, you should use Campus Code 6 on your UCAS form.
All applicants are strongly advised to consult a copy of the Oxford University Prospectus which gives more details of the content of courses. It is crucially important that applicants look carefully at the content and structure of their prospective course, to be sure that it is likely to suit them. Oxford syllabi and course structures are singular: it is not possible to study part-time, nor is it easy to take time off from a course. There are no modular courses, and most courses are still largely assessed by three-hour examinations taken at the end of three years.
Admissions Tests
Most courses require applicants to sit a written test as part of the application process. See below for a full list. Please note that applicants must register for tests separately from applying to the University via UCAS, and that the deadlines for registering for tests are before the UCAS deadline. Tests can be taken at one of a large choice of test centres across the UK and abroad. Past papers can be downloaded from the website given below.
Written Work
Where written work is required as part of the application, it should be sent direct to the College by 10 November. Applicants who do not have suitable work from a relevant course may choose to write on any topic they deem to be interesting for their prospective course. The Admissions Officer is happy to advise applicants who are uncertain of what work to submit. Harris Manchester will accept unmarked written work which has been produced specifically for the purpose of an Oxford application.
Interviews
Interviews are generally held in the first half of December and are held online via Microsoft Teams.
The University publishes the interview timetable in advance of the UCAS deadline, and if you're shortlisted for interview the College will confirm your specific slot.
There are also demo interviews available on the University's website to help you prepare.
Frequently Asked Questions
Academic Qualifications and Previous Experience
Yes, we accept a wide range of UK and overseas qualifications. If in doubt please call HMC’s Admissions Office for further advice (admissions@hmc.ox.ac.uk).
UK qualifications
We routinely make offers on the basis of the International Baccalaureate, Access to Higher Education Diplomas, Open University Credits and courses from Oxford Lifelong Learning as long as the grades are sufficient.
Read more about accepted UK qualifications
International qualifications
The University accepts a wide range of international qualifications and cross-border qualifications. We routinely make offers on the basis of the International Baccalaureate, SAT and AP scores, Singaporean A-levels and more. If you are applying with an international qualification, you should check the link below to see whether the University will accept it.
A note about unaccepted qualifications: if you have an unaccepted qualification, this will be overruled if you have taken a more recent qualification (e.g. If you took an unaccepted qualification at school and then sat an accepted qualification such as A-levels, you would be eligible to apply on the basis of the A-levels).
No. We recognise that there are plenty of legitimate reasons why people abandon a degree course. It may be that they haven’t enjoyed the subject as much as they had expected they would or they may have been required to discontinue a course because of circumstances beyond their control. We are happy to consider applications from those who have started but not completed a degree course previously.
We are happy to accept applications from those studying at another University, but it is not possible to transfer partway through the course and (if you were offered a place), you would have to start a degree at Oxford from scratch.
However, undergraduate study undertaken at another university can be used as evidence that you meet our academic standards for entry and may in some circumstances serve as an entrance qualification in itself.
If you apply while on course elsewhere, please mention in your UCAS statement why you no longer wished to continue with that course and why you felt that Oxford would be a better fit.
Yes - for non-native English-speaking applicants the University sets an English language condition. For further details please click here.
We always advise that applicants have the best chance of gaining a place if they have undertaken some form of academic study within three years of applying. We find that those who have been out of education for a longer period sometimes struggle to get back into study, and as the course workloads at Oxford are intense there is little time to adapt to its demands. It is better to be in a position to hit the ground running at the start of the course. However, this is not a strict rule and we do make some exceptions.
As most courses require candidates to sit a written test and/or supply written work we have a reasonable idea of applicants’ potential in the absence of predicted grades. We will therefore still happy to consider applicants in the absence of predicted grades.
We are happy to accept resit grades and recognise that people’s capacity to achieve grades that show their full potential can change over time. However, would be concerned a about student’s potential to be successful at Oxford if they had to resit numerous exams, in successive years, particularly where only marginal improvement has been achieved. Please note that it is possible that some Faculties and Departments may decide to take into account whether grades were achieved in one go as part of their shortlisting procedures.
We don't generally accept professional experience as sufficient to meet the academic admissions requirements. If you have recently undertaken assessments as part of your career we can sometimes make exceptions, but this is in no way guaranteed. In all cases, recent academic qualifications are the most effective way to make a competitive application. Many can be taken part-time around a job and we are happy to receive applications where academic qualifications have been undertaken on a part-time basis.
Applications, Written Work, Tests, Interviews and Outcomes
No, the application procedure and entrance requirements are the same as for school leavers.
Though the guidance on the University website states that written work must have been conducted during the normal course of school work and must be marked by a teacher, we appreciate that often mature applicants won’t have any appropriate coursework to hand.
We are therefore happy to accept written work which has been produced specifically for the purpose of the application and which is unmarked.
Please ensure that you prepare the correct written work for your chosen course; you can check what work your course requires below:
There are a large number of test centres worldwide, so you can sit at the centre closest to you. We recommend you book your admissions test as soon as possible in case your nearest centre runs out of space.
We will still review your application, but without a test score it will be very difficult for us to consider shortlisting you for interview. If you have an emergency that prevents you from sitting a scheduled test, please contact us as soon as possible.
We prefer your referee to be someone who is familiar with your recent academic undertakings so that they can provide an academic reference. If you don't have a referee that matches these criteria we can accept a professional reference as long as they are well placed to comment on your work ethic and motivation.
We cannot accept references other than the one provided in your UCAS application.
You can mention extenuating circumstances in your UCAS statement and / or your referee can mention them in their reference. We can't accept additional application materials about extenuating circumstances and view the ability to concisely provide salient information as part of the admissions requirements in its own right.
If you have studied or are studying at another University, you will need to provide a transcript showing the grades you have obtained. We will contact you to ask for this after we receive your application.
We'll let you know as soon as we are able whether you have been shortlisted for interview, but there isn't a set date. We usually start sending shortlisting decisions in late November.
Interviews are held in December but the dates vary by course. The University publishes a timetable in advance of shortlisting (accessible below).
Finance and other Support
Students with "Home" fee status are charged in line with the cap set by the UK government, which is currently £9535 per year.
If your fee status is "Overseas", the fees are significantly higher and are detailed on each course page on the University's website; you can access these via the Course Listing below.
Your fee status is determined by your nationality, immigration status in the UK, where you have been living and what you have been doing before your course. We'll determine your fee status on the basis of the information you provide in your UCAS application.
Please visit our Finance and Funding page for up to date information about what support is available.
For school leavers their household income is based on that of their parents’ combined wages.
If applicants are 25 or over, or have been financially independent for their parents for 3 years or more, household income is based on their own rather than that of their parents.
For mature students who meet the criteria for their own income to be judged, if they have given up work to study full-time they are deemed to have a household income of £0.
For further information on financial support available to those from low income households please click here.
Those who are reading for a Second Undergraduate Degree are not eligible for Crankstart or Oxford Bursaries but there are other sources of support available. You can read more via the link below.
If we make you an offer of study, we will help you secure a Student Visa.
Please note that a person can only hold a student visa for a total of five years, so if you have studied in the UK on a student visa previously you may be ineligible for another.
Whether you need inspiration for your personal statement, something to think about before your interview or simply because you are intellectually curious, you might find the following suggested reading and resources useful. They are intended to give you an idea of the kind of material you might engage with during a course at Oxford. For further information click here.
Information for students with children (known as student parents) can be found here.
