International students are not eligible for the foundation year courses.

International students can apply for direct entry to our undergraduate courses and there is extensive information on our website at ox.ac.uk/study about the university and the application process, which we hope will be helpful. For more information about courses available at the university please see A-Z of courses.

You can also find advice about applying as an international student at Guidance for international students including information about whether the university will accept your international qualifications and what grades you would be expected to achieve.

The Astrophoria Foundation Year is designed for students who have attended non-selective UK state schools throughout their secondary education.

Students who have attended an independent school or college at any point in their secondary education, including those attending on a scholarship or bursary, are not eligible to apply.

If you are interested in applying directly for an undergraduate degree at Oxford, you can find information about entry requirements and the application process on the University’s undergraduate admissions website.

The Astrophoria Foundation Year is designed for students who have attended non-selective UK state schools throughout their secondary education.

Students at selective or grammar schools would not normally be eligible to apply unless they are care experienced and meet Category 4 of the eligibility criteria.

If you are interested in applying directly for an undergraduate degree at Oxford, you can find information about entry requirements and the application process on the University’s undergraduate admissions website.

Oxford does sometimes accept applications from students who are already studying at another university.

Applications are considered on a case-by-case basis, and all previous and current academic qualifications will be taken into account, including university-level study.

As the Foundation Year is designed as a pre-university programme, applicants should carefully consider whether it is the most appropriate route for them. Students who are likely to meet the requirements for direct undergraduate entry may wish to apply directly to the undergraduate course instead.

If possible, references should come from academic staff at your current university.

Please also be aware that:

• your current institution would need to agree to release you if you accepted an offer from Oxford;
• an additional year of undergraduate study may have financial implications;
• some students may prefer to complete their current degree before considering graduate study at Oxford.

If you are unsure whether the Foundation Year is appropriate for your circumstances, please contact us before applying.

Mature applicants may be eligible to apply for the Astrophoria Foundation Year.

Competition for places at Oxford is very strong. For students who have followed the traditional A-level route we are normally looking for a level of attainment of at least grades BBB for entry into the foundation year courses. However, we do understand that people often develop their academic interests and skills later in life, and the advantage of the Oxford admissions process is that each individual application is scrutinised carefully by our academic teaching staff.  
 
However, in order to be competitive, it is necessary to demonstrate recent academic achievement, so you need to have been studying an academic course within the past three years. This might be A-levels, or it could be an Access to Higher Education qualification, Open University course, or similar. You can find the full details of what we accept on our Astrophoria Foundation Year webpages. 

Whatever course of study you pursue before Oxford, your application is made in exactly the same way as school leavers and assessed on the same academic criteria. For details of each of our courses and their entrance criteria please see our Astrophoria Foundation Year webpages. Some will require you to have studied particular subjects before (for example, Mathematics and Physics are required to study Engineering).  

Predicted grades for any qualifications not yet completed by any candidate applying as an individual, rather than through a UCAS-registered school or college, should be included in the academic reference on the UCAS application form. We also can't consider an application without a reference, so you need to make sure that you ask someone who can comment on your academic ability and potential to write one for you. If you don't have a reference, your application will be incomplete and we won't be able to consider it. Normally your referee should be a teacher or tutor at your current or most recent place of education; it should not be a friend or family member. Make sure to approach your referee in plenty of time; there is lots of guidance for them on how to write a reference for UCAS on our advice for teachers page.

An asylum seeker is considered to be someone who is in the process of seeking asylum, or the decision is still pending. Usually your fee status is classed as ‘overseas'* and you would not be eligible to apply for student finance. Therefore because asylum seekers would likely not be eligible for ‘home'* fees student finance support for an undergraduate degree at Oxford or other university they are not eligible to apply for a foundation year course.

If your status changes in advance of your application and you are defined as a refugee or are granted humanitarian protection you would meet the eligibility in section 3 of the eligibility criteria.

* Fee status is defined by UK government regulations. More information can be found on the UK Council for International Students' (UKCISA) website.

Please contact us with details of the qualification that you are taking.

We take a holistic view of the eligible applications we receive for the Astrophoria Foundation Year programme. Grades are just one part of an application we consider alongside the personal statement, academic reference, personal circumstances, performance at interviews (for those invited) and written exercises (where applicable).

The Astrophoria Foundation Year is for UK state school students who have experienced disadvantage or disruption during their education which means they are unlikely to achieve the grades required to make a competitive application for direct undergraduate entry into their chosen course at the University of Oxford.

If you meet the eligibility requirements for the Astrophoria Foundation Year, you may wish to apply for a foundation year course when the grades you are likely to achieve fall below the academic entry requirements for your chosen undergraduate course but they meet or exceed the academic entry requirements for your chosen foundation year course.

Find out more about the academic entry requirements for foundation year and undergraduate courses on the University of Oxford course pages.

You can only apply to one course at Oxford at a time. 

You cannot apply for the same undergraduate course at Oxford both with and without a Foundation Year in the same UCAS cycle.

If you are eligible for the Foundation Year, we recommend reading both the relevant Foundation Year course page and undergraduate course page carefully before deciding which route would be most appropriate for you.

You may also wish to explore other Oxford access and outreach programmes, as well as individual college outreach initiatives.

You can't apply to Oxford and Cambridge in the same year, this applies to any combination of foundation year and undergraduate courses. Please see the foundation year course pages and the undergraduate course pages at each university to decide which would be the best course for you.

If the Astrophoria Foundation Year does not offer your chosen subject, you may wish to explore foundation year courses at other UK universities through the UCAS website.

If you are interested in applying directly for an undergraduate degree at Oxford, you can find information about available courses, entry requirements and the application process on the University’s undergraduate admissions website.

You can also explore the Foundation Year subjects currently offered at Oxford on the relevant course pages.

From 2027 entry onwards, applicants for Foundation Year courses in Engineering Sciences, Law and PPE will be required to take an admissions test as part of their application. 

Admissions test will not be required for:

• any Foundation Year in Humanities subjects
• Chemistry with Foundation Year
• Materials Science with Foundation Year

Applicants should check the relevant course page and the admissions tests page carefully before applying.

If you accept an offer for a Foundation Year course, you will join the Astrophoria Foundation Year programme rather than start the undergraduate course directly.

Applicants are selected for the Foundation Year because tutors believe they would benefit from the additional academic preparation and support the programme provides, taking their educational experiences and circumstances into account.

The Astrophoria Foundation Year does not offer deferred entry. Applications are considered for entry in the year of application only.