Why Choose Us?
We welcome graduate students from across the world, who join a very dynamic and diverse multi-disciplinary postgraduate community, known as our MCR (Middle Common Room).
The MCR is a thriving community of around 290 graduate students and is a lively hub of academic and social activity, hosting a variety of events, opportunities for sharing research ideas, and the chance to interact with established scholars.
As a full-time or part-time graduate you will have access to:
- Your College Adviser: a Fellow of the College or senior academic in a relevant field who can support you in your work and who will meet you from time to time, often over lunch or dinner.
- High-quality accommodation options and full use of College facilities, wherever you live.
- A range of scholarships offered at Masters and DPhil levels.
- Grants and prizes for research, field trips and travel, conference attendance, or hosting your own academic events.
- Wellbeing and academic support from a range of individuals across the College, as well as a meeting at least once a year with the Master, the Dean of Graduates and your College Adviser to review your work and experience and to offer advice.
You’ll be part of an integrated community of students, academics and alumni who collaborate, challenge one another and learn together. This can look like:
- Panel discussions and talks organised by members of the community.
- Dinners with students and academics from other disciplines.
- Opportunities to collaborate on research projects with academics or alumni.
- Presenting your own research to the wider academic community as part of the 3CR Talk scheme - twice a week a member of one common room shares their research in the form of a short pre-dinner talk, followed by questions.
- Mentoring an undergraduate student, giving advice and helping to problem solve, while developing mentoring experience and reinforcing your academic knowledge.
Your college at Oxford is your home while you’re studying. We wish to reflect and support the widest diversity of talent: whatever your background, we think you will find your place and feel at home in our community.
Hear from our students
As a graduate, Pembroke College has a lot to offer. While I was navigating the many projects of my DPhil, I knew that I had an anchored support in my MCR, and with the wider community and staff in college. Being part of Pembroke College also positively impacted my research, whether it was by discussing with other fellows, or by encouraging me to go and present my projects at conferences.
Many of my fondest memories have been made in Pembroke and the MCR. I've mentored in the JCR - MCR Mentorship Scheme, presented at the MCR’s academic symposiums, and received support from the Dean of Graduates Fund for fieldwork and conferences. Pembroke has not only supported my academic pursuits but also provided a nurturing and inclusive community that has greatly enriched my DPhil journey.
I chose Pembroke as a postgraduate student for two main reasons. First, so many of its Fellows were engaged in the sort of research I wanted to pursue myself, and there are opportunities to get involved in discussions of their work.
My time at Pembroke was truly exceptional. While the College offered unwavering academic support, it's the memories of great friendships, spirited Mario Kart tournaments, and invigorating rowing outings that remain etched in my mind. These experiences enriched my journey, making it an unforgettable chapter of my life.
Teaching and Learning
Graduate teaching and learning is somewhat different at Oxford compared to other universities. As a graduate student, much of your teaching and supervision will come from your department or faculty. Within College you will have a College Adviser, normally a College Fellow in a relevant discipline, who will support your studies and monitor your progress.
Your department is the centre of your academic life. You might have lectures, seminars, and discussion groups with other students there. It will be where you will find your labs and study spaces to conduct research, and it’s also where your supervisor will be based. Your department may also organise social and networking events that you can take part in and will provide welfare support throughout your studies.
Like departments, colleges are communities of academics, support staff and students. However, colleges also bring individuals from different departments together to create small interdisciplinary communities and provide a shared social space (known as the graduate common room or MCR) that extends beyond your subject
Pembroke College Tour
- Applicants must first have been accepted by a Department or Faculty of the University of Oxford before any college may consider them.
- Applications are considered for any of the courses in which the College offers admission. Please consult the relevant course listing for details.
- Applications are usually considered by academic staff in the relevant subject area and the Tutor for Graduates.
- Preference will normally be given to applicants whose area of study overlaps with the academic interests of the College's academic staff.
- The College aims to admit a certain number of graduate students each year spread across the range of subjects in which it accepts graduate students, and this will determine the number of offers which can be made to applicants. Where there are more applicants than offers which can be made, the relative academic merit and potential of the applicants may be taken into account. It may not be possible to make offers to applicants whose applications are received late in the admissions round, when places are full.
- The possession of competitively-won funding may be taken into account as an indicator of the applicant's academic merit and potential.
- Please note that any offer of a place will be subject to satisfactory completion of the financial declaration form that will be sent to the applicant as part of the offer of a place. Please consult this guidance for more details.
- Preference may be given to current or past students of the College who meet the selection criteria described above.