PhD in Education from Oxford or Cambridge

[Justaplaneaway]

Just curious if there are any (or were) US students applying to Oxford or Cambridge? Does anyone have information on their admissions process/statistics?

[Ed_Doc]

I know people who have done so as Rhodes (well, they did Masters but one stayed on for her PhD) or Gates Cambridge Scholars.

The major thing to consider with Oxford/Cambridge is that as a US student you have to have proof of full funding as part of the admissions process, as there is no financial aid structure there that is similar to what you would get at a US school. So be sure you can fully afford it out of pocket or have grants/scholarships lined up at the time of application.

[Justaplaneaway]

Thank you so much for the info! I was going to pay out of pocket...but was curious more about their admissions rates, ect. Having gone to Columbia and UPenn, I know there are huge variances, but have no idea about the UK programs.

[Ed_Doc]

You've probably already seen it, but this is the aggregate data for Cambridge. Unfortunately US students are lumped in with "Other" (non UK/EU), so it's hard to parse out the exact numbers:

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/camdata ... duate.html

For the Education-specific admissions rates you can scroll down and select the program from the drop-box at the top of the page.

I couldn't find anything like this on the Oxford site, but the admissions rates seem to be about the same based on informal browsing of forums.

[Justaplaneaway]

Tut, thanks a bunch for this! I actually had not found it...

[green_tea09]

Justaplaneaway--

I am in a MSc and PhD in Education at Oxford. I was able to fund the year long MSc, but am currently looking at funding opportunities for the PhD portion of my program. The department does offer some scholarships and the colleges also offer their own scholarships to students. So, there may be some money through the department, the university, or the college that accepts you.

I don't know anything about Cambridge, but the ed. dept. at Oxford is great. Excellent professors. Interesting research. And I have a lot of very interesting classmates. I also really like the learning environment here as well -- its very supportive. In addition to my academic supervisor, I also have an adviser and a mentor through my college. Socially, its great too because the college system allows you to meet people from outside your discipline.

The funding issue is definitely a problem though.

[Justaplaneaway]

Justaplaneaway--

I am in a MSc and PhD in Education at Oxford. I was able to fund the year long MSc, but am currently looking at funding opportunities for the PhD portion of my program. The department does offer some scholarships and the colleges also offer their own scholarships to students. So, there may be some money through the department, the university, or the college that accepts you.

I don't know anything about Cambridge, but the ed. dept. at Oxford is great. Excellent professors. Interesting research. And I have a lot of very interesting classmates. I also really like the learning environment here as well -- its very supportive. In addition to my academic supervisor, I also have an adviser and a mentor through my college. Socially, its great too because the college system allows you to meet people from outside your discipline.

The funding issue is definitely a problem though.

I was wondering what you study? Cambridge has a faculty member I am dying to study with (and whose interests are similar) but at Oxford, there is not a huge overlap, so I am wondering if it is worth applying to. Also, what was your background, if you don't mind me asking?

[green_tea09]

I was wondering what you study? Cambridge has a faculty member I am dying to study with (and whose interests are similar) but at Oxford, there is not a huge overlap, so I am wondering if it is worth applying to. Also, what was your background, if you don't mind me asking?

Justaplaneaway -- my focus is on international education and I also have a work and academic background in that field. My supervisor here has experience directly related to my interests, which is great. I also know a few people in the program who have supervisors with related, but slightly different research interests and backgrounds. I think the program at Oxford is worth applying to if you can find someone you might be interested in working with.