Oxford and Cambridge universities, two of the top universities in the United Kingdom, announced their decision to consider students with diploma qualification for admission into the elite institutions.

It will be the first time the Oxbridge are accepting students from vocational background, which combines both practical and theoretical learning.

Both universities will start taking in diploma students, starting with engineering diploma, beginning on September 2009. The number of the first batch is expected to be small compared to A-Levels students but will gradually increase as the years go by.

As a pre-requisite, students wishing to enter the two schools will be made compulsory to take Physics and Mathematics For Engineering as part of their diploma courses.

Both Oxford and Cambridge however are still reluctant to take students with other diploma such as IT, Hospitality and Hair & Beauty. As for other courses, such as Languages and Science, the admission committee will make consideration based on case to case basis.

In the THES-QS World University Ranking 2008/2009, Oxford, Cambridge and Yale University of US were ranked joint-second behind Harvard. Other top 10 universities include Imperial College, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), University College London (UCL), University of Chicago, Columbia University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).