Admissions criteria for Masters and Research Degrees

Basic requirements

In relation to the admission of students wishing to undertake a Masters or Research Degree, and in the context of giving appropriate attention to relevant equal opportunities principles and legislation, the Department regards as an overriding priority:

I. For taught Masters degrees, the admission of suitably qualified candidates well-matched to their chosen course;

II. For research degrees, the admission of suitably qualified candidates for whom the Department can provide research opportunities and supervision.

III. The selection of the most academically able set of candidates for the available places.

Applications will normally be considered in the light of a candidate’s ability to meet the following criteria:

1. The applicant has provided appropriate indications of proven and potential academic excellence. Appropriate indicators may include two or more highly positive references, academic transcripts or their equivalent showing excellent achievement, samples of work produced by the student showing high levels of academic or scholarly ability, and good performance at interview.

2. The applicant has provided sufficient evidence, in the view of the assessors, to suggest that they have the academic ability and commitment to pursue the chosen programme to a successful conclusion within the required time limits.

3. The programme of study that the applicant wishes to pursue is well suited to the academic interests and abilities to which they have drawn attention in their application, and (where appropriate) the applicant has undertaken any preliminary work or course which is normally considered indispensable to acceptance on the proposed programme of study.

4. The Department is able to provide appropriate supervision and facilities for the candidate’s programme of work.

5. Some Masters courses have extra criteria for acceptance. For example,  experience in an appropriate field is essential for MSc ALSLA.

6. Applicants whose first language is not English must provide evidence that they meet the University’s higher level English language qualification requirements at the time of application.

It is essential to note that well-qualified candidates may not be offered a place because:

a. there are constraints on the availability of facilities, research funding and on supervision;

b. there are limitations on the size of the Department’s Masters courses;

c. appropriate supervision may not be available for a particular area of academic interest;

d. other candidates have been judged to have greater academic ability;

e. secure funding has not been obtained by the candidate (places offered on a conditional basis cannot be confirmed without a financial guarantee).

It should be noted that graduate supervision is within the responsibility of the Department as a whole and that it may not be possible for a graduate student to have their choice of a specific member of the academic staff as their supervisor.

It should also be noted that acceptance on a particular course gives no guarantee of final success, and that all courses require the student to develop their learning and skills to new levels in order to pass Masters courses or successfully undertake all the assessment hurdles of a research programme.

Interviews

If applicants are interviewed, they normally will be asked to elaborate their research and career plans, to give background information (e.g. about their prior reading), and they will be informed verbally about the nature of the course, or, in the case of Research Degrees, the nature of the research training. Funding may also be discussed, but it is primarily the responsibility of the Colleges to consider financial matters, and funding is not taken into consideration in the decision to offer a place. Equal opportunity is promoted at every stage during the application procedure. Care is taken to ensure that applicants are able to demonstrate their appropriate strengths, suitability for the course, and potential to benefit from the course.