On 6 July 1588 Morley was admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Music at Oxford University, but this does not mean that he attended the university as a student. The degree was awarded on the basis of two tests: the candidate was required to demonstrate that he had studied and practised music for at least seven years; and he had to compose a five-part vocal piece and have it performed in Oxford. Three days' notice of the performance was required. The process was completed by the presentation of the candidate in Congregation. There would have been no requirement for Morley to have attended the university or been resident in Oxford. Anyone studying at either Oxford or Cambridge University was required to go through a formal registration process, or matriculation, at the start of their attendance. Matriculation details, including date and college, are recorded for full-time students such as Thomas's half-brothers, Christopher and Henry Morley, who matriculated at Trinity College Cambridge in 1578 and 1582 respectively, at the start of their studies for the Bachelor of Arts degree, but there is no matriculation information from this period for music graduates of either Oxford or Cambridge. The records for Oxford B. Mus. graduates sometimes give the length of time the candidate had studied or worked in music – for example, Giles Farnaby, ‘12 years in music’; John Bull, ‘14 years a student’ – and there may be a stated association with a college, such as Christ Church in the case of Farnaby.