Application

Applications to read Physics at Oxford are made in the same way as applications for any other undergraduate degree at Oxford, except that all applicants are required to take a written test. For a summary of how to apply to the University of Oxford, see the How to Apply page of the University website.

Important information about the Physics Aptitude Test:
The Department of Physics is working in partnership with Cambridge Assessment to administer the above admissions test from November 2011.
The most important change is in the candidate registration process for the test. Candidates need to be entered for the Physics Aptitude Test (PAT), by 5pm BST on Friday 14th October 2011 via Cambridge Assessment’s secure Entries Extranet. Please read the FAQs document on the right of this page for details of how and when to register candidates.

Further information will be available on Cambridge Assessment’s admissions tests website from August 2011.

The deadline to apply for undergraduate courses starting in October 2011 has now passed. No further applications for 2011 entry will be accepted and we do not have spaces available through clearing or adjustment. Applications to courses commencing in 2012 will open in September 2011.

Candidates are selected for interview on the basis of performance in the Physics Aptitude Test and assessed against the selection criteria below. For more information on the Physics Aptitude Test, see the Physics Aptitude Test page. The assessment is based on information on the application form, references, past and predicted examination performance, performance on the entrance test, and performance at interview. More information can be found in our detailed admissions procedures.

Selection Criteria for Physics Candidates

• Motivation: a real interest and strong desire to learn physics.
• Ability to express physical ideas using mathematics; mathematical ability.
• Reasoning ability: ability to analyse and solve problems using logical and critical approaches.
• Physical intuition: an ability to see how one part of a physical system connects with another; and to predict what will happen in a given physical situation.
• Communication: ability to give precise explanations both orally and numerically.

Selection Criteria for Physics and Philosophy Candidates

Candidates for the joint school of Physics and Philosophy are assessed using the Physics Admissions Criteria listed above and the Philosophy Admissions Criteria for joint degree courses listed on the Philosophy website. As of January 2010, candidates for Physics and Philosophy are no longer required to submit written work.

Entrance Requirements

There are no formal requirements for entrance, but conditional offers are made on the following expectations:

• A-levels: A*AA (A* in Physics or Mathematics)
• Advanced Highers: AA/AAB
• IB: 38–40 including core points or any other equivalent
• Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate with two A grades at A Level alongside the Core Certificate at Level 3.

Candidates are expected to have Physics and Mathematics to A-level, Advanced Higher, or Higher Level in the IB or another equivalent.

Guidance on the typical requirements for other qualifications can be found on the University International Qualifications webpage. Where qualifications offer options to study some subjects in greater depth, we would expect students to have taken Physics and Maths courses.

Further Mathematics can be helpful to candidates in completing this course, although not required for admission. Further guidance on the mathematical content of our courses can be found at the Maths Page.

There are no formal requirements for performance at GCSE; the majority of successful candidates have between 4 and 9 A* grades at GCSE, but it is not unusual for candidates to be accepted with fewer than 4 A* grades, or to be rejected with more than 9 A* grades.