Materials Science Open Days
Students using a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
Oxford Materials Science Open Days
***Our 2025 Open Days have all taken place. Details for the 2026 Open Days will be released soon***
What: Experience what it's like to study Materials Science at Oxford for the day!
Who: Prospective students in Year 11 & 12
When: Feb & March 2026 - dates TBC
Previously: 18th & 19th February 2025
18th & 19th March 2025
ONLINE 21st February 2025
Where: Department of Materials, University of Oxford
*Booking essential - please see the 'booking information' tab above for more details*
At our annual Materials Science Open Days, you will get the chance to experience what studying Materials Science at Oxford is like. You will gain insight into the subject through taster lectures and workshop sessions, along with a feel for Oxford itself with tours of both the department and an Oxford college.
The format of the day varies, but a typical programme would have the following elements:
- A welcome to the department and a brief introduction to Materials Science as a subject
- A talk from a senior lecturer about their work, often relating to cutting-edge research
- A tour of the department giving an idea of our facilities and showing the variety of on-going research activities
- A brief tour of one of the colleges
- A workshop looking at a variety of aspects of materials science that relate to the Science Curriculum
- Advice on how to apply to study Materials Science
- The chance to meet and speak to some of our current students
This year, we will be holding both in person Open Days (held at the Department of Materials in Oxford) and an online open day. Please be aware that places on the in person Open Days are very limited. We hope that those of you who do not get a place on one of the in person Open Days or who are unable to travel to Oxford for the day will be able to gain just as much by joining us for our online Open Day.
For an example of what the Open Days might look like, please take a look at the draft timetables below:
Priority will be given to students from schools with little or no history of applications to Oxford.
Travel Instructions are available to help you plan your visit. Please note, there is no parking available at the Department of Materials.
Booking Information
The event is aimed at prospective students in Year 11 and Year 12.
As we are hosting both in person and online open days this year, the booking information is slightly different for the two types of event. Please see below for details.
If you have any questions, please email schools.liaison@materials.ox.ac.uk.
In person Open Days - Dates TBC, Feb & March 2026
Places are very limited so booking is essential. Each student wishing to attend an in person open day must complete the relevant application form linked below.
Before completing the form, please confirm with your teacher(s) that you have permission to attend the Open Day if the date of the Open Day falls during your school term-time - on the form we will be asking for the contact information of one of your teachers in order to confirm this. This is to ensure the attendance of all students we allocate places to since these events are usually oversubscribed.
As places are limited, we will limit the number of students from a single school to 6 on any one day. If more than 6 students from a single school register for places, places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, whilst trying to maintain an even gender split of students where possible.
If you are a teacher wishing to bring a group of school students with you to attend one of our Open Days, please contact us by emailing schools.liaison@materials.ox.ac.uk to arrange this. Each student will still have to complete the form individually and we cannot accept any student who has not completed the form before the deadline.
Students may attend with or without their teachers/parents.
If we are oversubscribed, priority will be given to students from UK state schools with little or no history of successful applications to Oxford.
How to book: To register for one of the in person open days, please complete one of the following forms depending on which date you wish to attend:
[Booking forms will be available later in the year once dates are confirmed]
Online Open Day - TBC, Feb 2026
This event will take place online via a Zoom webinar. This webinar will have limited places, so booking is essential, and please only register for a place if you intend to join the event. In the event that this is oversubscribed, we will prioritise students from schools with little or no history of applications to Oxford.
Students may book their place themselves, however if the online Open Day falls on a school day we ask that students obtain permission to join the event from their teacher(s). We expect each student to join the webinar on their own device.
How to book: To register for a place on the online open day, please complete this form: [Booking forms will be available later in the year once dates are confirmed]
The deadline for submitting this form is: TBC (typically the day before). We will email those registered full details of the event, including any joining links, by TBC (typically the day before).
