Financial Strategy

Within equal opportunities principles and legislation, applications will be assessed in the light of a candidate\xc2\x92s ability to meet the following criteria:

1. Academic ability

Proven and potential academic excellence.

Applicants must have achieved a first-class or an upper second class undergraduate degree (or equivalent international qualifications1) as a minimum.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA we seek is 3.5 out of 4.0.

We do not seek a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT score.

Applicants who do not hold such a qualification may be considered if they have a very strong employment record demonstrating a high degree of responsibility. Professional qualifications may also be taken into consideration.

Appropriate indicators will include:

Academic or professional references which support intellectual ability, academic achievement, motivation, ability to work in a group. At least one of your references must be professional.

Personal statement of 500 words maximum, written in English. This will be assessed for: your reasons for applying; evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study; the ability to present a reasoned case in English; capacity for sustained and intense work; reasoning ability; ability to absorb new ideas, often presented abstractly, at a rapid pace.

2. Publications

It is not expected that applicants will have any publications and this would not represent an advantage to their application.

3. Other qualifications and experience

Applicants normally have a minimum of five years work experience, this is essential to making the candidate a valuable contributor to the student group and the learning experience of the Diploma.

4. Availability of supervision, teaching, facilities and places

The following factors will govern whether candidates can be offered places:

• The ability of Sa\xc3\xafd Business School to provide the appropriate supervision, research opportunities, teaching and facilities for your chosen area of work. If you hold non-British qualifications, you are advised to check with the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC) how your qualifications match these requirements.

• There are minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted onto Oxford\xc2\x92s research and taught programmes.

The provision of supervision is subject to the following points:

• The allocation of graduate supervision is the responsibility of Sa\xc3\xafd Business School and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff.

• Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside Sa\xc3\xafd Business School.

5. English language requirement

Applicants whose first language is not English are usually required to provide evidence of proficiency in English at the higher level required by the University. The requirement for certification may be waived if there is suitable alternative evidence of the candidate having met the required level of English language proficiency.

6. Deadlines and required full set of application materials

Please refer to the Sa\xc3\xafd Business School website for information on the deadlines which must be met, and the full set of supporting materials required, in order for applications to be guaranteed to be considered.

7. Funding

Whether you have yet secured funding is not taken into consideration in the decision to make an initial offer a place, but please note that the initial offer of a place will not be confirmed until the School is satisfied that you have sufficient funding to cover your fees and living costs for the standard period of fee liability for your course.

8. Disability, health conditions and specific learning difficulties

Students are selected for admission without regard to gender, marital or civil partnership status, disability, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or social background. Decisions on admission are based solely on the individual academic merits of each candidate and the application of the selection criteria appropriate to the programme of study. Further information on how these matters are supported during the admissions process is available here.

9. Contacting academic members of staff

Applicants should not contact academic members of staff directly for information about the programme or their candidacy. Enquiries should be forwarded to the following email address: andy.poole@sbs.ox.ac.uk.

10. Assessors

All applications will be assessed by more than one member of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise. In all cases the Director of Graduate Studies, Tutor for Graduate Admissions or the Admissions Committee will give final approval to a decision.

Admissions panels or committees will always include at least one member of academic staff who has undertaken appropriate training.