+1 (503) 555-0192 study@northcrest.edu

Graduate Admission

Master's and doctoral entry

Postgraduate researchers at work
112Nationalities
Graduate Admission

Come here to work on something, not just to study it

Graduate study at Northcrest University is organised around research groups rather than around courses. You are admitted to a group, with a named supervisor, a desk, and a project that was already underway before you arrived.

That has one practical consequence worth knowing before you apply: we admit fewer people than we could, because we only admit as many as we can supervise properly.

  • Every doctoral offer carries guaranteed funding and a travel budget.
  • Supervisors are assigned at offer stage, not after arrival.
  • Taught master's programmes may be studied part-time over two or three years.
Begin An Application
Routes

Graduate Programmes

Taught Master's (MA / MSc)

1 year full-time, 2–3 part-time

  • Twelve months, including a summer dissertation
  • Evening options in eleven subjects
  • September and January entry
See Programmes

Research Master's (MRes)

1 year full-time

  • Two thirds research, one third taught methods
  • A natural bridge into doctoral study
  • September entry only
See Programmes

Doctoral Study (PhD)

4–5 years full-time

  • Guaranteed five-year stipend
  • Tuition remission in full
  • Conference and fieldwork budget
See Programmes
What To Send

Your Application Checklist

Everything below is uploaded through the applicant portal. Nothing needs to be posted.

All graduate applicants

  • Degree transcripts, with a certified translation if not in English.
  • Two academic references, sent directly by the referee.
  • A personal statement of up to 1,000 words.
  • Evidence of English language ability where applicable.
  • A current curriculum vitae.

Doctoral applicants also send

  • A research proposal of 2,000–3,000 words.
  • The name of a potential supervisor you have already contacted.
  • A writing sample: a dissertation chapter or published article.
  • A statement of any funding you already hold.
Ask The Graduate School
Questions

Graduate Admission FAQ

The main round closes on 1 December for entry the following September, with decisions released in February. A rolling round runs from March for programmes still holding places.

Northcrest awards need-based maintenance to roughly 62 per cent of undergraduates. Studio subjects additionally have their materials, film stock and studio hire covered under the 2026 bursary.

No. Northcrest has been test-blind since 2023 — submitted scores are not read at all, so there is no advantage or disadvantage either way.

Yes, for all first-year and all international students. Returning students apply through a March ballot, and roughly 70 per cent are housed on the ridge.

IELTS 6.5 with no band below 6.0, or TOEFL iBT 92. The requirement is waived after two years of study taught wholly in English.

See All Questions

Newsletter to get
in touch