Call to scrap ‘elitist’ Oxford application fee

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Academics at Oxford University want to scrap a £75 fee required to apply for postgraduate courses – arguing it is an “elitist” financial barrier.

The fee is not refundable – and an internal email suggests Oxford receives £2m from applications per year, mostly from those who have been rejected.

There are complaints the fee is “discriminatory” and putting off “excellent candidates”.

But Oxford says a “growing number” of universities charge an application fee.

Michael Cassidy, of the university’s department of earth sciences, said charging a fee for even applying reinforced an image of being “elitist and arrogant”.

The campaign to stop Oxford’s levying of application fees – separate from tuition fees – has been revealed by a higher education publication, Research Professional News.

Next month, the university’s “congregation”, its sovereign body, will…