of the university In common with most British universities, prospective students apply through the UCAS application system; but, prospective applicants for the University of Oxford, along with those for medicine, dentistry, and University of Cambridge applicants, must observe an earlier deadline of 15 October.[87] To allow a more p

Age[edit]
In line with the other UK universities, almost all students are aged 17 or over, and the majority commence undergraduate courses at 18 or 19. However there is no upper or lower limit on the age of those admitted. There is a college, Harris Manchester, that caters only for students aged 21 or over.
Historically, it was common for boys to become members of the university between the ages of 14 and 19.[83] Jeremy Bentham matriculated in 1761 at the age of 13, which was unusually young.[84] Much younger people are still occasionally admitted to the university if they are of the required standard; for example, Ruth Lawrence matriculated age 12 in 1983,[85] as did Sufiah Yusof aged 13 in 1997.[86]
Procedure[edit]


The coat of arms of the university
In common with most British universities, prospective students apply through the UCAS application system; but, prospective applicants for the University of Oxford, along with those for medicine, dentistry, and University of Cambridge applicants, must observe an earlier deadline of 15 October.[87]
To allow a more personalised judgement of students, who might otherwise apply for both, undergraduate applicants are not permitted to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year. The only exceptions are applicants for Organ Scholarships[88] and those applying to read for a second undergraduate degree.[89]
Students from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply, with "contextual data" (factors that may have influenced prior exam performance) taken into account during the admission procedure. The university believes that there are many potential students from less well-off backgrounds whom the university cannot admit simply because they do not apply.[90]
Most applicants choose to apply to one of the individual colleges, which work with each other to ensure that the best students gain a place somewhere at the University regardless of their college preferences.[91] Shortlisting is based on achieved and predicted exam results; school references; and, in some subjects, written admission tests or candidate-submitted written work. Approximately 60% of applicants are shortlisted, although this varies by subject. If a large number of shortlisted applicants for a subje

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The Guardian[72] (2014, national) 2 Times/Sunday Times[73] (2014, national) 2 According to the 2012 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings – based on a survey of 17,554 academics over

(2013, national)    2
ARWU[68]
(2013, world)    10
QS[69]
(2013/14, national)    4
QS[69]
(2013/14, world)    5
THE[70]
(2013/14, national)    1
THE[70]
(2013/14, world)    2
Complete[71]
(2014, national)    2
The Guardian[72]
(2014, national)    2
Times/Sunday Times[73]
(2014, national)    2
According to the 2012 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings – based on a survey of 17,554 academics over 149 countries – Oxford belongs to the elite group of six universities touted as the globally recognised 'super-brands'.[74]
Oxford has held the first position in the Times Good University Guide for eleven consecutive years.[75] The University is in second position in the most recent publications of the The Guardian's rankings (2012),[76] Sunday Times University Guide (2012)[77] and third in the The Complete University Guide (2013).[78]
In the 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities, Oxford was ranked 10th in the world and second in Europe.[79] In the 2012–13 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Oxford was placed second in the world and first in Europe.[80] In the 2012 QS World University Rankings, Oxford was placed fifth in the world and third in the UK.[81] With the exception of 2010, it has been consistently in the top five since the QS rankings began in 2004. The University of Oxford ranked 10th in the world and 2nd in Europe in Best World Universities 2012 compiled by Human Resources & Labor Review (HRLR) using Measurements of World's Top 300 Universities Graduates' Performance.[82]
Undergraduate admissions[edit]

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vocation has been widened to consist of all graduates.[64][65] Research degrees at the master's and doctoral level are conferred in all subjects studied at graduate level at the university. Academic year[edit]

social sciences). Successful candidates receive first-, upper or lower second-, or third-class honours, or simply a "pass" without honours, based on their performance in Finals. An upper second is the most usual result, and a first is often prerequisite for graduate study. A "double first" reflects first-class results in both Honour Moderations and Finals.
As a matter of tradition, bachelor's degree graduates are eligible, after seven years from matriculation (formal induction of students into the university) and without additional study, to purchase for a nominal fee an upgrade of their bachelor's degree to an "MA" or Master of Arts. All MAs were members of Convocation; and, until 1913, all resident members of Convocation were members of Congregation.[63] MAs, as members of Convocation, elected the Chancellor and Professor of Poetry, but recently Convocation has been widened to consist of all graduates.[64][65]
Research degrees at the master's and doctoral level are conferred in all subjects studied at graduate level at the university.
Academic year[edit]


Tom Quad, Christ Church in the snow.
The academic year is divided into three terms.[66] Michaelmas Term lasts from October to December; Hilary Term from January to March; and Trinity Term from April to June. Within each of these terms, Council determines an eight-week period called Full Term, during which undergraduate teaching takes place. These teaching terms are shorter than those of many other British universities,[67] and the total duration of Full Terms amounts to less than half the year. However, undergraduates are also expected to do some academic work during the three holidays (known as the Christmas, Easter, and Long Vacations).
Internally at least, the weeks in the term are often referred to by the time elapsed since 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 precede "1st week". These weeks begin on a Sunday. Undergraduates must be in residence from Thursday of 0th week.
Reputation[edit]
Rankings
ARWU[68]

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dit] The atrium of the Chemistry Research Laboratory. The university has invested heavily in new facilities in

adham, Hertford and St Catherine's became the first previously all-male colleges to admit women.[30][31]
In 2008, the last single-sex college, St Hilda's, admitted its first men, meaning all colleges are now co-residential. By 1988, 40% of undergraduates at Oxford were female;[32] the ratio is now about 48:52 in men's favour.
The detective novel Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers, herself one of the first women to gain an academic degree from Oxford, takes place in a (fictional) women's college at Oxford, and the issue of women's education is central to its plot.
Buildings, collections, and facilities[edit]

Main sites[edit]


The atrium of the Chemistry Research Laboratory. The university has invested heavily in new facilities in recent years.
The University is a "city university" in that it does not have a main campus; instead, colleges, departments, accommodation, and other facilities are scattered throughout the city centre. The Science Area, in which most science departments are located, is the area that bears closest resemblance to a campus. The ten-acre Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in the northwest of the city is currently under development. However, the larger colleges' sites are of similar size to these areas.
Iconic university buildings include the Sheldonian Theatre used for music concerts, lectures, and university ceremonies, and Examination Schools, where examinations and some lectures take place. The University Church of St Mary the Virgin was used for university ceremonies before the construction of the Sheldonian. Christ Church Cathedral uniquely serves as both a college chapel and as a cathedral.
In 2012, the University embarked on the controversial one-hectare (400m × 25m) Castle Mill development of 4–5 storey blocks of student flats overlooking Cripley Meadow and the historic Port Meadow, blocking views of the spires in the city centre.[33] The development has been likened to building a "skyscraper beside Stonehenge".[34]
Libraries[edit]
See also: Category:Libraries of the University of Oxford

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William of Durham, who in 1249 endowed University College, and John Balliol, father of a future King of Scots; Balliol College bears his name. Another founder, Walter de Merton, a chancellor of England and afterwards Bishop of Rochester, devised a series of regulations for college life; Merton College 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 hous

orth is at the bottom on this map.)
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 college or hall became customary in Oxford. In addition to this, members of many religious orders, including Dominicans, 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 such founders were William of Durham, who in 1249 endowed University College, and John Balliol, father of a future King of Scots; Balliol College bears his name. Another founder, Walter de Merton, a chancellor of England and afterwards Bishop of Rochester, devised a series of regulations for college life; Merton College 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 in colleges.
In 1333–34, an attempt by some dissatisfied Oxford scholars to found a new university at Stamford, Lincolnshire was blocked by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge petitioning king Edward III.[14] Thereafter until the 1820s, no new universities were allowed to start in England, even in London; and, subsequently, Oxford and Cambridge had a duopoly unusual in western European countries.[15][16]
Renaissance period[edit]


Magdalen College - founded in the mid 15th century.
The new learning of the Renaissance greatly influenced Oxford from the late 15th century onwards. Among university scholars of the period were William Grocyn, who contributed to the revival of Greek language studies, and John Colet, the noted biblical scholar.
With the Reformation and the breaking of ties with the Roman Catholic Church, Recusant scholars from Oxford fled to continental Europe, settling especially at the University of Douai. The method of teaching at Oxford was transformed from the medieval Scholastic method to Renaissance education, although institut

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