University of Oxford

 
Oxford is the oldest university in Britain and along with Cambridge probably the most famous in the world.

There are 39 colleges or halls. Every college is self-managing and applications have to be made through a college. 'Open' applicants are allocated a college. Most of the colleges are in and around the city centre.

The colleges are: All Souls, Balliol College, Blackfriars, Brasenose, Campion Hall, Christ Church, Corpus Christi, Exeter, Green College, Greyfriars, Harris Manchester, Hertford, Jesus, Keble, Kellogg, Lady Margaret, Linacre, Lincoln, Magdalen, Mansfield, Merton, New, Nuffield, Oriel, Pembroke, Regent's Park, Somerville, St Anne's, St Antony's College, St Benet's Hall, St Catherine's, St Cross College, St Edmund, St Hilda's, St Hugh's, St John's, Templeton College, The Queen's, Trinity, University College, Wadham College, Wolfson, Worcester, Wycliffe Hall.

Oxford is about 50 miles north-east of London just of the M40. Road and rail communications between Oxford and the rest of the UK are good. There is an hourly coach service to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. Within Oxford most people travel by bike.

 
All first-year students are provided with college accommodation. Each college provides meals in its own refectory, has its own a library, television, bar and common room, and may also have teaching and special recreational facilities. Most meals are informal and self-service, but occasionally there are formal dinners when students wear the traditional black gowns.

After the first tear, about a third of all students move out of college into private rented rooms, shared houses or flats. Student lodgings are concentrated in East Oxford, a lively, multi-ethnic neighbourhood along the Cowley and Iffley Roads, or in North Oxford or off the Abingdon Road to the south. All other students continue to live in college.

 
Undergraduates:10,800
Postgraduates: 4,500
M:F Ratio 60% 40%

 
Attendance at Open Days is by pre-arrangement only. Prospective visitors must contact the college well in advance of the event.

College Open Days
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/admiss/2.HTM

Departmental Open Days
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/admiss/3.HTM

Science Open Days
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/admiss/5.HTM

It is possible for members of the public to walk round college grounds at most times of the year.

 
Today's university has thirty-nine colleges, founded between 1249 and 1996, whose architectural splendour, together with that of the University's libraries and museums, gives the city its unique character. At the same time, Oxford has developed as a major commercial and industrial centre, with a population of 160,000. The city is well supplied with pubs, cafés and restaurants, and the full range of local amenities. Tourism is an important industry.

As well as belonging to Oxford University, every student also belongs to a college. This gives students the resources of a large university with the benefit of living in a small community. A busy shopping centre is within easy reach of all colleges but within a few minutes' walk of the busy city centre are the University Parks, Christ Church Meadow, and the Botanic Gardens.

The city has four theatres, several cinemas, and a wide variety of music venues. On the sports scene, the Manor Ground is home to Oxford United Football Club. The city also has an ice rink and three swimming pools.

Within the collegiate system at Oxford, there is a long tradition of organized sport, often providing a spring-board for sportsmen and women to achieve county, national and international honours. Sport is an integral part of college life. College teams have, in most cases, their own sports grounds, boat-houses, and squash courts and all colleges compete in the annual inter-college competitions - `Cuppers'. Rowing takes place on the Isis and here the major collegiate competition is the Oxford Summer Eights. The Iffley Road sports complex caters for the major and specialist sports. A rowing tank complete with gymnasium was opened in May 1992.

Highlights of the season for the university clubs are the fixtures against Cambridge for which men and women junior members may be awarded a Blue or a Half-Blue. The most famous 'Blues' events include the Varsity rugby match at Twickenham in December and the Boat Race from Putney to Mortlake.

The Oxford Union is the largest independent student society in the university. It provides a broad range of services to its members and promotes a huge range of clubs and societies. Drama (at the Old Fire Station) and all types of music groups are particularly popular.

 
Oxford has an extremely rich, diverse and fragmented library service provided by over 100 independently managed library units. They fall into four categories: central libraries (Bodleian, Taylor, Ashmolean); faculty Libraries; departmental (General Board) and college libraries.

College libraries vary widely in the size and quantity of their stock but include well-organised collections of considerable value. They have a responsibility to serve undergraduates in all disciplines, but access is generally restricted to college members; Templeton and Nuffield are unique in containing major subject collections in the social sciences.

 
University of Oxford
University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford OX1 2JD
Tel. 01865 270000

Web site
http://www.ox.ac.uk/

Colleges and halls
http://units.ox.ac.uk/colleges/:

All Souls College
Oxford OX1 4AL
Tel: 01865 279379

Balliol College
Oxford OX1 3BJ
Tel: 01865 277777

Blackfriars
Blackfriars Priory Oxford OX1 3LY
Tel: 01865 278400

Brasenose College
Oxford OX1 4AJ
Tel: 01865 277830

Campion Hall
Oxford OX1 1QS
Tel: 1865 286100

Christ Church
Oxford OX1 1DP
Tel: 01865 276150

Corpus Christi College
Oxford OX1 4JF
Tel: 1865 276700

Exeter College
Oxford OX1 3DP
Tele: 01865 279600

Green College
Oxford OX2 6HG
Tel: 01865 274770

Greyfriars
Oxford OX4 1SB
Tel: 01865 243694

Harris Manchester College
Oxford OX1 3TD
Tel: 01865 271006

Hertford College
Oxford OX1 3BW
Tel: 01865 279400

Jesus College
Oxford OX1 3DW
Tel: 01865 279700

Keble College
Oxford OX1 3PG
Tel: 01865 272727

Kellogg College
Rewley House
Wellington Square
Oxford

Lady Margaret Hall
Oxford OX2 6QA
Tel: 01865 274300

Linacre College
Oxford OX1 3JA
Tel: 01865 271650

Lincoln College
Oxford OX1 3DR
Tel: 01865 279800

Magdalen College
Oxford OX1 4AU
Tel: 01865 276000

Mansfield College
Oxford OX1 3TF
Tel: 01865 270999

Merton College
Oxford OX1 4JD
Tel: 01865 276310

New College
Oxford OX1 3BN
Tel: 01865 279555

Nuffield College
Oxford OX1 1NF
Tel: 01865 278500

Oriel College
Oxford OX1 4EW
Tel: 01865 276555

Pembroke College
Oxford OX1 1DW
Tel: 01865 276444

Regent's Park College
Oxford OX1 2LB
Tel: 01865 288120

Somerville College
Oxford OX2 6HD
Tel: 01865 270600

St Anne's College
Oxford OX2 6HS
Tel: 01865 274800

St Antony's College
Oxford, OX2 6JF
Tel: 01865 284700

St Benet's Hall
38 St. Giles
Oxford OX1 3LN
Tel: 01865 515006

St Catherine's College
Oxford OX1 3UJ
Tel: 01865 271700

St Cross College
Oxford OX1 3LZ
Tel: 01865 278490

St Edmund Hall
Oxford OX1 4AR
Tel: 01865 279000

St Hilda's College
Oxford OX4 1DY
Tel: 01865 276884

St Hugh's College
Oxford OX2 6LE
Tel: 01865 274900

St John's College
Oxford OX1 3JP
Tel: 01865 277300

St Peter's College
Oxford OX1 3JP
Tel: 01865 277300

Templeton College
Kennington
Oxford OX1 5NY
Tel: 01865 422500

The Queen's College
Oxford OX1 4AW
Tel: 01865 279120

Trinity College
Oxford OX1 3BH
Tel: 01865 279900

University College
Oxford OX1 4BH
Tel: 01865 276602

Wadham College
Oxford OX1 3PN
Tel: 01865 277900

Wolfson College
Oxford OX2 6UD
Tel: 01865 274100

Worcester College
Oxford OX1 2HB
Tel: 01865 278300

Wycliffe Hall
52-54 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 6PW
Tel: 01865 274200