Music Admissions for Jesus and Lincoln Colleges
As Tutor in Music for both colleges, I design and run the admissions process for Music too. The information below relates particularly to the procedure I run for Jesus and Lincoln Music admissions; as admissions decisions are made at the college level at Oxford, each college will have a different interview process (although the initial selection process is fairly uniform across the colleges).
Stage 1: selection for interview
You first submit your UCAS form and, shortly thereafter, the required written work (on which, see the Faculty of Music's 'Application Procedure' page). At this stage, we look chiefly at your grade predictions: you need to be predicted at least an A grade in three A-levels (one being Music) - or equivalent, for those not taking A-levels (explained on the University's admissions pages). Please note that Music Technology, Extended Projects, General Studies or Critical Thinking are not normally counted as one of these 3 A grades (see the Faculty's FAQs); however, if your school does not offer Music A-level and you cannot reasonably study it elsewhere, Music Technology may be considered as a substitute. If you are not predicted 3 A grades at A-level (or equivalent), you are highly unlikely to be called for interview.
Stage 2: interview and audition
The interview process has two parts: an audition, in which you play briefly on your chosen instrument, and a 30-minute interview, with me and a co-interviewer. You will also be interviewed for at least one other college (assigned by the Faculty, using an algorithm to ensure fair distribution of candidates).
The audition is intended to be an enjoyable experience; I appreciate hearing you play, but it will have minimal impact on my final admissions decision.
The interview will generally follow this format:
1. You will arrive outside my office 15-20 minutes prior to the interview, in order to look at a short text extract and another short piece (or pair of pieces) of music, for both of which you will have a question or questions to consider. All candidates in any given year will get the same pieces/extracts, in order to ensure we can compare you fairly; for this reason, too, I try to choose pieces that candidates are unlikely to know. (Don't talk to the candidates who will be interviewed after you about what the extracts/pieces are, or what you said about them!)
2. The interview itself will open with a brief discussion about your personal statement and/or your submitted work, in which you should be able to demonstrate both knowledge and critical thinking.
3. We will then turn to the text and music extracts, in whatever order you choose, and will address the pre-assigned questions and talk about what you find interesting in them. In this part of the interview, the emphasis will be on how well you think and engage with the text and music, not on how much you already know.
4. If you do not have Grade 5 on a keyboard instrument, you may be asked to play a short piece of sight-reading at the piano. This is because keyboard skills is a compulsory element in the first-year undergraduate syllabus. But we know that not all our musicians are keyboardists; I use the keyboard test for guidance regarding the work you will need to do before arriving at Oxford (if successful), rather than as a determining factor in weighing up which candidates to admit.
Stage 1: selection for interview
You first submit your UCAS form and, shortly thereafter, the required written work (on which, see the Faculty of Music's 'Application Procedure' page). At this stage, we look chiefly at your grade predictions: you need to be predicted at least an A grade in three A-levels (one being Music) - or equivalent, for those not taking A-levels (explained on the University's admissions pages). Please note that Music Technology, Extended Projects, General Studies or Critical Thinking are not normally counted as one of these 3 A grades (see the Faculty's FAQs); however, if your school does not offer Music A-level and you cannot reasonably study it elsewhere, Music Technology may be considered as a substitute. If you are not predicted 3 A grades at A-level (or equivalent), you are highly unlikely to be called for interview.
Stage 2: interview and audition
The interview process has two parts: an audition, in which you play briefly on your chosen instrument, and a 30-minute interview, with me and a co-interviewer. You will also be interviewed for at least one other college (assigned by the Faculty, using an algorithm to ensure fair distribution of candidates).
The audition is intended to be an enjoyable experience; I appreciate hearing you play, but it will have minimal impact on my final admissions decision.
The interview will generally follow this format:
1. You will arrive outside my office 15-20 minutes prior to the interview, in order to look at a short text extract and another short piece (or pair of pieces) of music, for both of which you will have a question or questions to consider. All candidates in any given year will get the same pieces/extracts, in order to ensure we can compare you fairly; for this reason, too, I try to choose pieces that candidates are unlikely to know. (Don't talk to the candidates who will be interviewed after you about what the extracts/pieces are, or what you said about them!)
2. The interview itself will open with a brief discussion about your personal statement and/or your submitted work, in which you should be able to demonstrate both knowledge and critical thinking.
3. We will then turn to the text and music extracts, in whatever order you choose, and will address the pre-assigned questions and talk about what you find interesting in them. In this part of the interview, the emphasis will be on how well you think and engage with the text and music, not on how much you already know.
4. If you do not have Grade 5 on a keyboard instrument, you may be asked to play a short piece of sight-reading at the piano. This is because keyboard skills is a compulsory element in the first-year undergraduate syllabus. But we know that not all our musicians are keyboardists; I use the keyboard test for guidance regarding the work you will need to do before arriving at Oxford (if successful), rather than as a determining factor in weighing up which candidates to admit.