University Of Oxford



{{Infobox University|name = University of Oxford|latin_name = Universitas Oxoniensis Arms of the University of Oxford|image_name = Oxford University.svg|motto = Dominus Illuminatio Mea
"The Lord is my Light"|established = Unknown, teaching existed since 1096|vice_chancellor = [John Hood|city = Oxford|country = [England|affiliations = [International Alliance of Research Universities Russell Group Coimbra Group Europaeum European University Association LERU Golden Triangle (UK universities)|website = http://www.ox.ac.uk/-->

The University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. for Post-nominal letters, from "Oxoniensis"), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the Anglosphere. It is also regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions.

The university traces its roots back to at least the end of the 11th century, although the exact date of foundation remains unclear. After a dispute between students and townsfolk broke out in 1209, some of the academics at Oxford fled north-east to the town of Cambridge, where the University of Cambridge was founded. The two universities have since had a long history of competition with each other. (See Oxbridge rivalry.)

The University of Oxford is a member of the Russell Group of Universities of research-led British universities, the Coimbra Group (a network of leading European universities), the League of European Research Universities, and is also a core member of the Europaeum. Academically, Oxford is consistently Academic Ranking of World Universities in the world's top ten universities. For more than a century it has served as the home of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, which brings highly accomplished students from a number of countries to study at Oxford as postgraduates.

History of the University of Oxford

The town of Oxford was already an important centre of learning by the end of the 12th century. Teachers from Continental Europe and other scholars settled there, and lectures are known to have been delivered by as early as 1096. The expulsion of foreigners from the University of Paris in 1167 caused many English scholars to return from France and settle in Oxford. The historian Gerald of Wales lectured to the scholars in 1188, and the first foreign scholar, Emo of Friesland arrived in 1190. The head of the University was named a chancellor from 1201, and the masters were recognised as a universitas or corporation in 1231. The students associated together, on the basis of geographical origins, into two “nations,” representing the North (including the Scots) and the South (including the Irish and the Welsh). In later centuries, geographical origins continued to influence many students' affiliations when membership of a Colleges of the University of Oxford or Permanent Private Hall became customary in Oxford. Members of many religious orders, including Dominican Order, Franciscans, Carmelites, and Augustinians, settled in Oxford in the mid-13th century, gained influence, and maintained houses for students. At about the same time, private benefactors established colleges to serve as self-contained scholarly communities. Among the earliest were John de Balliol, father of the future John of Scotland; Balliol College, Oxford bears his name. Another founder, Walter de Merton, a Lord Chancellor of England and afterwards Bishop of Rochester, devised a series of regulations for college life; Merton College, Oxford thereby became the model for such establishments at Oxford as well as at the University of Cambridge. Thereafter, an increasing number of students forsook living in halls and religious houses in favour of living at colleges.

The new learning of the Renaissance greatly influenced Oxford from the late 15th century onward. Among university scholars of the period were William Grocyn, who contributed to the revival of the Greek language, and John Colet, the noted Biblical Theology. With the Protestant Reformation and the breaking of ties with the Roman Catholic Church, the method of teaching at the university was transformed from the medieval Scholasticism to Renaissance education, although institutions associated with the university suffered loss of land and revenues. In 1636 Chancellor (education) William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, codified the university statutes; these to a large extent remained the university's governing regulations until the mid-19th century. Laud was also responsible for the granting of a charter securing privileges for the Oxford University Press, and he made significant contributions to the Bodleian Library, the main library of the university.The university was a centre of the Cavalier Party during the English Civil War (1642–1649), while the town favoured the opposing Roundhead cause. Soldier-statesman Oliver Cromwell, chancellor of the university from 1650 to 1657, was responsible for preventing both Oxford and Cambridge from being closed down by the Puritans, who viewed university education as dangerous to religious beliefs. From the mid-18th century onward, however, the University of Oxford took little part in political conflicts.

Administrative reforms during the 19th century included the replacement of oral examinations with written entrance tests, greater tolerance for English Dissenters, and the establishment of four colleges for women. Women have been eligible to be full members of the university and have been entitled to take degrees since 1920. Although Oxford's emphasis traditionally had been on classical knowledge, its curriculum expanded in the course of the 19th century and now attaches equal importance to Science and Medicine studies.

The list of distinguished scholars at the University of Oxford is long and includes many who have made major contributions to Politics of the United Kingdom, the sciences, medicine, and literature. More than forty Nobel laureates and more than fifty World leaders have been affiliated with the University of Oxford. Since its foundation in 1823, the Oxford Union, a private club devoted to formal debating and other social activities, has numbered among its members many of Britain's most noted political leaders.

Organisation , built by Sir Christopher Wren between 1664-1668, hosts the University's Congregation (university), as well as concerts and degree ceremonies Central Governance The university's formal head is the List of Chancellors of the University of Oxford (currently Lord Patten of Barnes), though as with most British universities, the Chancellor is a titular figure, rather than someone involved with the day-to-day running of the university. Elected by the members of Convocation, a body comprising all graduates of the university, the Chancellor holds office until death.

The List of Vice-Chancellors of the University of Oxford, currently John Hood, is the de facto head of the University. Five Pro-Vice-Chancellors have specific responsibilities for Education; Research; Planning and Resources; Development and External Affairs; and Personnel and Equal Opportunities. The University Council is the executive policy-forming body, which consists of the Vice-Chancellor as well as heads of departments and other members elected by Congregation, in addition to observers from the Student Union. Congregation (university), the ‘parliament of the dons’, comprises over 3,700 members of the University’s academic and administrative staff, and has ultimate responsibility for legislative matters: it discusses and pronounces on policies proposed by the University Council. Oxford and Cambridge (which is similarly structured) are unique for this democratic form of governance.

Two university proctors, who are elected annually on a rotating basis from two of the colleges, supervise undergraduate discipline. The collection of University Professors is called the Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford. They are particularly influential in the running of the graduate programmes within the University. Examples of Statutory Professors include the Chichele Professorships, the Drummond Professor of Political Economy, etc. The various academic faculties, departments, and institutes are organised into four divisions, each with their own Head and elected board. They are the Humanities Division; the Social Sciences Division; the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division; and the Medical Sciences Division. on May Morning, 2007., founded in 1962, is the youngest undergraduate college Colleges See: Colleges of the University of Oxford There are 39 colleges of the University of Oxford and 7 Permanent Private Halls, each with its own internal structure and activities. All students, and most academic staff, are affiliated to a college. The heads of Oxford colleges are known by various titles, according to the college, including warden, provost, principal, president, rector or master. The colleges join together as the Conference of Colleges to discuss policy and to deal with the central University administration. Teaching members of the colleges (fellows and tutors) are collectively and familiarly known as dons (though the term is rarely used by members of the university itself). In addition to residential and dining facilities, the colleges provide social, cultural, and recreational activities for their members. Colleges have responsibility for admitting undergraduates and organising their tuition; for graduates, this responsibility falls upon the departments.

Teaching and Degrees Undergraduate teaching is centred upon the tutorial, where 1-3 students spend an hour with an academic discussing their week’s work, usually an essay (arts) or problem sheet (sciences). Students usually have around two tutorials a week. These tutorials are complemented by lectures, classes and seminars, which are organised on a departmental basis. Graduate students undertaking taught degrees are usually instructed through classes and seminars, though naturally there is more focus upon individual research.

The university itself is responsible for conducting examinations and conferring degrees. The passing of two sets of examinations is a prerequisite for a first degree. The first set of examinations, called either Honour Moderations (‘Mods’ and ‘Honour Mods’) or Preliminary Examinations (‘Prelims’), are usually held at the end of the first year (or after five terms in the case of Classics). The second set of examinations, the Final Honour School (‘Finals’), is held at the end of the undergraduate course. Successful candidates receive first-, upper or lower second-, or third-class honours based on their performance in Finals. Research degrees at the master's and doctoral level are conferred in all subjects studied at graduate level at the university.

The system of academic degrees in the University is very confusing to those not familiar with it. This is not merely due to the fact that many degree titles date from the Middle Ages, but also because, in recent years, many changes have been haphazardly introduced. Notably, the initials for the Doctor of Philosophy are DPhil rather than PhD., Christ Church in the snow. Academic Year The academic year is divided into three Academic term, determined by Regulations. Michaelmas term lasts from October to December; Hilary term from January to March; and Trinity term from April to July.

Within these terms, Council determines for each year eight week periods called Full Terms, during which undergraduate teaching takes place. These terms are amongst the shortest of any British university. Undergraduates are also expected to prepare heavily in the three vacations (known as the Christmas, Easter and Long Vacations).

Internally at least, the dates in the term are often referred to by a number in reference to the start of each full term, thus the first week of any full term is called "1st week" and the last is "8th week". The numbering of the weeks continues up to the end of the term, and begins again with negative numbering from the beginning of the succeeding term, through "minus first week" and "noughth week", which precedes "1st week". Weeks begin on a Sunday.

Finances In 2005/06 the University had income of £609m, and the colleges £237m (of which £41m is a flow-through from the University). For the University key sources were HEFCE (£166m) and research grants (£213m). For the colleges the largest single source was endowments and interest (£82m) and residential charges (£47m). While the University has the larger operating budget, the colleges have a far larger aggregate endowment, at around £2.7bn compared to the University's £900m.

Admission Procedure The admission process for undergraduates is undertaken by the individual colleges, working with each other to ensure that the best students gain a place at the University regardless of whether they are accepted by their preferred college. Selection is based on achieved and predicted exam results; candidate submitted written work; interviews, which are held between applicants and college tutors; and, in some subjects, written admission tests prior to interview. Personal statements and school references are also considered. Prospective students apply through the UCAS application system, in common with all British universities, but (along with applicants for University of Cambridge) must observe an earlier deadline. They must also complete an additional, Oxford-specific form. Because of the high volume of applications and the direct involvement of the faculty in admissions, students are not permitted to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year, with the exception of applicants for Organ Scholarships and those applying to read for a second undergraduate degree.

The decentralised, college-based nature of the admissions procedure necessitates a number of mechanisms to ensure the best students are offered admission to the University, regardless of whether the college they originally applied to can accommodate them. As such, colleges can 'pool' candidates to other colleges, whereby candidates can be interviewed and/or offered admission to another college. Some applicants are also awarded 'open offers', which does not carry an attachment to a particular college until A Level Results Day in August. The colleges have recently signed up to what they call a "common framework" outlining the principles and procedures they observe.

For graduate students, admission is by the relevant department, and then by a college.

Access Though the University claims admissions policies avoid bias to candidates of certain socio-economic or educational backgrounds Working with Schools and Colleges, University of Oxford Gazette, 2006. Accessed 25 March 2007. Oxford's admissions policy has continued to attract considerable public controversy through episodes such as the Laura Spence Affair in 2000. Though the University puts enormous efforts into attracting working-class students, Oxbridge entrance remains a central focus for many private and selective-state schools, and the under-representation of comprehensive school pupils remains a point of controversy. In 2007, the University refined its admissions procedure to take into account the academic performance of applicants' schools.

Students who apply from state schools and colleges have a comparable acceptance rate to those from independent schools (25% and 32% of applicants accepted respectively, 2006), however most pupils who are accepted from state schools come from elite grammar and selective schools, rather than Comprehensive school. Admissions Statistics 2006, University of Oxford Gazette, 2007. Accessed 11 September 2007. Only about half of applications come from the state sector, Admissions Statistics 2006, University of Oxford Gazette, 2007. Accessed 11 September 2007. and the University of Oxford funds many initiatives to attract applicants from this sector, including the Oxford Access Scheme, Target Schools, and the FE Access Initiative. Working with Schools and Colleges, University of Oxford Gazette, 2006. Accessed 25 March 2007. Most colleges also run their own access schemes and initiatives. is the oldest museum in Britain

Scholarships and Financial Support There are many opportunities for students at Oxford to receive financial help during their studies. The Oxford Opportunity Bursaries, introduced in 2006, is a university-wide means-based bursary available to any British undergraduate. With a total possible grant of £10,235 over a 3-year degree, it is the most generous bursary scheme offered by any British university. In addition, individual colleges also offer bursaries and funds to help their students. For graduate study, there are many scholarships attached to the University, available to students from all sorts of backgrounds, from the famous Rhodes Scholarships to the new Weidenfeld Scholarships.{{cite web ]s and Exhibition (scholarship)s, normally the result of a long-standing endowment, although when tuition fees were first abolished the amounts of money available became purely nominal. Scholars, and exhibitioners in some colleges, are entitled to wear a more voluminous undergraduate gown; "commoners" (originally those who had to pay for their "commons", or food and lodging) being restricted to a short sleeveless garment. The term "scholar" in relation to Oxbridge, therefore, had a specific meaning as well as the more general meaning of someone of outstanding academic ability. In previous times, there were "noblemen commoners" and "gentlemen commoners", but these ranks were abolished in the 19th century. "Closed" scholarships, which were accessible only to candidates who fitted specific conditions such as coming from specific schools, exist now only in name.

Until 1866 one had to belong to Church of England to receive the Bachelor of Arts from Oxford, and "dissenters" were only permitted to receive the MA in 1871. Knowledge of Ancient Greek was required until 1920, and Latin until 1960. Women were admitted to degrees in 1920.

Collections , built 1737-1749, holds books from the Bodleian Library's English and History collections Libraries Oxford’s central research library is the Bodleian Library, founded in 1598 by Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 8 million volumes housed on 117 miles of shelving, it is the second-largest library in the UK, after the British Library. It is a legal deposit library, which means that it is entitled to request a free copy of every book published in the UK. As such, its collection is growing at a rate of over 3 miles of shelving every year.{{cite web ], the Old Schools Quadrangle, the Clarendon Building, and the New Bodleian Building. A tunnel underneath Broad Street, Oxford connects the buildings. There are plans to build a new book depository in Osney Mead,{{cite web | title =A University Library for the Twenty-first Century - A new depository | work = University of Oxford | url = http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2005-6/supps/1_4743.htm#32Ref | date = 22-09-2005 | accessdate = 2007-10-09 --> and to remodel the New Bodleian building{{cite web | title =A University Library for the Twenty-first Century - New Bodleian upgrading and development | work = University of Oxford | url = http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2005-6/supps/1_4743.htm#33Ref | date = 22-09-2005 | accessdate = 2007-10-09 --> to better showcase the library’s various treasures (which include a Shakespeare First Folio and a Gutenberg Bible) as well as temporary exhibitions. Several other libraries, such as the Radcliffe Science Library and the Oriental Institute Library also fall within the Bodleian Group’s remit.

As well as the Bodleian, there are a number of other specialised libraries in Oxford, such as the Sackler Library which holds classical collections. In addition, most academic departments maintain their own library, as do all colleges. The University’s entire collection is catalogued by the OLIS, though with such a huge collection, this is an ongoing task. Oxford University Library Services, the head of which is Bodley’s Librarian, is the governing administrative body responsible for libraries in Oxford. The Bodleian is currently engaged in a mass-digitisation project with Google.{{cite web | title =Oxford-Google Digitization Programme | work = Bodleian Library | url = http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/google/ | accessdate = 2007-10-09 -->{{cite web | title =Library Partners | work = Google | url = http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/googlebooks/partners.html | accessdate = 2007-10-09 --> See also: :Category:Libraries in Oxford interior

Museums Oxford maintains a number of museums and galleries, in addition to its libraries. The Ashmolean Museum, founded in 1683, is the oldest museum in the UK, and the oldest university museum in the world. It holds significant collections of art and archaeology, including works by Michaelangelo, da Vinci, J. M. W. Turner, and Pablo Picasso, as well as treasures such as the Parian Chronicle and the Alfred Jewel. The Ashmolean is currently undertaking a £49m redevelopment which will double the display space as well as provide new facilities.

The Oxford University Museum of Natural History holds the University’s anatomical and natural history specimens. It is housed in a large neo-Gothic building in the University’s Science Area. Among its collection are the skeletons of a Tyrannosaurus rex and triceratops, and the most complete remains of a dodo found anywhere in the world. It also hosts the Charles Simonyi Professorship of the Public Understanding of Science, currently held by Richard Dawkins.

Adjoining the Museum of Natural History is the Pitt Rivers Museum, founded in 1884, which displays the University’s archaeological and anthropological collections, currently holding over 500,000 items. It recently built a new research annexe; its staff have been involved with the teaching of anthropology at Oxford since its foundation, when as part of his donation General Augustus Pitt Rivers stipulated that the University establish a lectureship in anthropology.

The Museum of the History of Science, Oxford is housed on Broad St in the world’s oldest-surviving purpose-built museum building.{{cite web | title =About the Museum | work = Museum of the History of Science | url = http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/about/index.htm?text | accessdate = 2007-10-09 --> It contains 15,000 artefacts, from antiquity to the 20th century, representing almost all aspects of the history of science. In the Faculty of Music on St Aldate’s, Oxford is the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, a collection mostly comprising of instruments from Western classical music, from the medieval period onwards. The Oxford Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in the UK, and the third-oldest scientific garden in the world. It contains representatives from over 90% of the world’s higher plant families. Christ Church Picture Gallery holds a collection of over 200 old master paintings. See also: :Category:Museums in Oxford

Reputation Internationally, Oxford was rated 3rd (after Harvard and Cambridge) in the THES - QS World University Rankings{{cite web ] Oxford achieved 9th place in 2003, 8th in 2004, and 10th in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

In the UK, Oxford has been placed best in the United Kingdom for the 6th consecutive year in the Times Good University Guide (2003-2008), while The Sunday Times (UK) has placed the University of Cambridge first from 1997 to 2005. Oxford topped the The Guardian league table in 2005, 2006, and 2007http://education.guardian.co.uk/universityguide2008/story/0,,2069022,00.html.

In the subject tables of the Times Good University Guide, Oxford's Physiological Sciences course is ranked first of 48 'Anatomy and Physiology' courses. Fine Art, Business, Materials technology, Middle Eastern and African studies, Music, Philosophy, and Politics, are also first and Education and Linguistics are first equal with Cambridge. Oxford comes second after Cambridge in a further seventeen subjects, and second after Durham in English. The University then takes three third-places and an equal-third, as well as a fourth, fifth, and equal-sixth place in one subject each.

In the Guardian's subject tables for institutions in tariff-band 6 (universities whose prospective students are expected to score 400 or more tariff points) Oxford took first place for Anatomy and Physiology, Anthropology, Biosciences, Business and Management, Earth and Oceanography, Economics, Law, Materials and Mineral Engineering, Modern language, Music, Politics, Psychology, and Sociology. Oxford came second to Cambridge in Archaeology, Classics, English, History, History of art, Mathematics, Philosophy, Theology and Religious studies. Oxford came second to Aberdeen in General Engineering, and third in Fine Art, General Engineering and Physics; fourth place in Chemistry and Medicine; sixth place in Computer Science and IT.

Oxford is one of four UK universities that belong to the Coimbra Group, one of four UK universities that belong to the League of European Research Universities, and one of three UK universities that belong to both. It is the only UK university to belong to the Europaeum group.

Notable alumni and faculty

There are many famous Oxonians, as alumni of the University are known:

Oxford has had a role in educating four British monarch and at least eight foreign monarch, 56 Nobel prize, 3 Fields medallists, 3 Academy Award winners, 25 British Prime Ministers, 28 foreign presidents and prime ministers, 7 saints, 86 archbishops, 18 Cardinal (Catholicism), and 1 pope. 8 of List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom have been Oxford graduates. All four Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom who served between 1880 and 1905 - William Ewart Gladstone, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and Arthur Balfour - were educated at Eton and then at Christ Church.

T. E. Lawrence was both a student and a don at Oxford, while other illustrious members have ranged from the explorer, courtier, and man of letters Walter Raleigh to the media magnate Rupert Murdoch. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, studied at Christ Church and was elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. The Burmese Democracy Activist and List of Nobel laureates Aung San Suu Kyi was a student of St Hugh's College, Oxford.

Amongst the long list of writers associated with Oxford are Evelyn Waugh, Lewis Carroll, Aldous Huxley, Oscar Wilde, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Graham Greene, Phillip Pullman, Vikram Seth and Plum Sykes, the poets Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Donne, A. E. Housman, W. H. Auden, and Philip Larkin, and Poet Laureate Thomas Warton, Henry James Pye, Robert Southey, Robert Bridges, Cecil Day-Lewis, John Betjeman, and Andrew Motion.

Some contemporary scientists include Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins and Nobel prize-winner Anthony James Leggett, and Tim Berners-Lee, co-inventor of the World Wide Web.

Actors Hugh Grant, Kate Beckinsale, Dudley Moore, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones were undergraduates at the University, as were Academy Award winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and film-maker Ken Loach.

More complete information on famous senior and junior members of the University can be found in the individual Colleges of the University of Oxford articles (an individual may be associated with two or more colleges, as an undergraduate, postgraduate, and/or member of staff).

Other students in Oxford Many University of Oxford colleges host overseas students (primarily from United States universities) enrolled in study abroad programmes during the summer months.

Oxford University Department for Continuing Education caters mainly for mature and part-time students.

Oxford's other principal higher education institutions are Ruskin College, Oxford, an adult education college, which although not part of the University of Oxford has close links with it, Oxford Brookes University and the former Lady Spencer Churchill teaching college (now the Wheatley campus of Oxford Brookes University).

There are other higher and further education institutions in Oxford, including various independent "colleges", not associated with either of the universities. These institutions vary considerably in the standard of teaching they provide.

Institutions Well-known organisations and institutions officially connected with the University include:



Departments See: :Category:Departments of the University of Oxford

Clubs and societies See also:

Media

Buildings and parks

See also:

==Oxford in literature and other media==Oxford University is the setting for numerous works of fiction. Quickly becoming part of the cultural imagination, Oxford was mentioned in fiction as early as 1400 when Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales referred to a "Clerk of Oxenford": "For him was levere have at his beddes heed/ Twenty bookes, clad in blak or reed,/ of Aristotle and his philosophie/ Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrie". As of 1989, more than 533 Oxford-based novels had been identified, and the number continues to rise. Literary works include:



Fictional universities based on Oxford include Terry Pratchett Unseen University and "Christminster" in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure.

For a list of fictional colleges of the University of Oxford, see List of fictional Oxford colleges.

Many poets have also been inspired by the University:



Films set in the University include:



This list does not include movies in which university buildings appeared as a backdrop but were not depicted as the University of Oxford, such as the Harry Potter (films) movies and the earlier Young Sherlock Holmes.

Oxford University has also been in the media during animal rights protests held against the opening of a new research institute in the University's science area .

References Further reading

See also Also associated with the University:



Affiliations University of Oxford is an Educational Alliance Partner of the Meade 4M Community who supports the university's Project Jetwatch program.

External links