The University of Oxford The University of Oxford , located in the City of Oxford, Oxfordshire, Great Britain, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. It is also regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions and best university in the UK according to all recent League tables of British universities. The name is sometimes abbreviated as Oxon comprises 38 Colleges College is a term most often used today to denote degree awarding tertiary educational institution. More broadly, it can be the name of any group of colleagues, for example, an electoral college, a College of Arms or the College of Cardinals. Originally, it meant a group of persons living together, under a common set of rules (con- = " and 6 Permanent Private Halls A Permanent Private Hall at the University of Oxford is an educational institution within the university — not as a constituent college, but able to present students for Oxford University degrees. "PPHs" are usually, though not necessarily, small foundations of a religious character; thus many offer a limited number of degrees, (PPHs) of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations A corporation is a legal entity separate from the persons that own it. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate (involving more persons). In American and, increasingly, international usage, the term denotes a body corporate formed to conduct business, and within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges or PPHs. These colleges are not only houses of residence, but have substantial responsibility for student teaching. Generally tutorials A tutorial is one method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of learning. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture; a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task (the main method of teaching in Oxford) and classes are the responsibility of colleges, while lectures, examinations, laboratories and the central library are run by the university. Most colleges take both graduates and undergraduates, but several are for graduates only.

Undergraduate and graduate students may name preferred colleges in their applications. For undergraduate students, an increasing number of departments practice reallocation to ensure that the ratio between potential students and subject places available at all colleges are as uniform as possible. For the Department of Physics, reallocation is done on a random basis after a shortlist of candidates is drawn up and before candidates are invited for interviews at the university.[1]

For graduate students, many colleges express a preference for candidates who will be undertaking research in an area of interest of one of its fellows. St Hugh's College St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, England, located on St Margaret's Road, North Oxford. It was founded in 1886 as a women's college, and accepted its first male students in 1986. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £27 million. It enjoys a reputation as one of the prettier, for example, states that it accepts graduate students in most subjects, principally those in the fields of interest of the Fellows of the college.[2]

A typical college consists of a hall Formal Hall or Formal Meal is the traditional meal held at some of the older universities in the United Kingdom at which students dress in formal attire and often gowns to dine. These are held commonly in the colleges of Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews and Durham, as well as at the halls of Nottingham and Bristol for dining, a chapel, a library, a college bar, senior, middle (postgraduate) and junior common rooms In some universities in the United Kingdom — particularly collegiate universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Durham — students and the academic body are organised into common rooms. These groups exist to provide representation in the organisation of college or residential hall life, to operate certain services within these institutions such, rooms for 200-400 undergraduates as well as lodgings for the head of the college and other dons. College buildings range from the medieval to very modern buildings, but most are made up of interlinked quadrangles (courtyards), with one or more large wooden gates controlling entry from the outside.

In 2008 there has been the first merger, with Green College and Templeton College merging, to form Green Templeton College. This has reduced the number of official Oxford Colleges from 39 to 38.[3] The number of Halls also reduced in this year, when Greyfriars closed down.[4]

Brasenose College in the 1670s

Contents

History

The University of Oxford The University of Oxford , located in the City of Oxford, Oxfordshire, Great Britain, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. It is also regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions and best university in the UK according to all recent League tables of British universities. The name is sometimes abbreviated as Oxon's collegiate system springs from the fact that the university came into existence through the gradual agglomeration of independent institutions in the city of Oxford.

The first academic houses were monastic halls. Of the dozens that settled in the university during the 12th to 15th centuries, none survived the Reformation The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. The modern Dominican The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France. Membership in the Order includes the friars, the nuns, the sisters, and lay persons affiliated with the order (formerly known as tertiaries) permanent private hall of Blackfriars Blackfriars, Oxford. The name Blackfriars is commonly used to denote a house of the Dominican Friars in England. Blackfriars in Oxford houses three distinct institutions: the Priory of the Holy Spirit, the religious house of the friars; Blackfriars Studium, the centre of studies of the English Province of the Dominican Friars ; and Blackfriars (1921) is a descendant of the original (1221), and is therefore sometimes described as heir to the oldest tradition of teaching in Oxford.

As the University took shape, friction between the hundreds of students living where and how they pleased led to a decree that all undergraduates would have to reside in approved halls. Of the hundreds of Aularian houses that sprang up across the city, only St Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Better known within the University by its nickname, "Teddy Hall", the college has a claim to being "the oldest academical society for the education of undergraduates in any university". As of 2007 St Edmund Hall had an estimated financial (c 1225) remains. What put an end to the halls was the emergence of colleges. Generously endowed and with permanent teaching staff, the colleges were originally the preserve of graduate students. However, once they began accepting fee-paying undergraduates in the 14th century, the halls' days were numbered.

The oldest of Oxford's colleges are University College University College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a contender for being the oldest of the colleges of the university, and is amongst the largest in terms of population, Balliol Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and Merton Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it. The important feature of Walter's, established between 1249 and 1264, although there is some dispute over the exact order and precisely when each began teaching. The fourth oldest college is Exeter Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the 4th oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street. As of 2006, the college had an estimated financial endowment of £47m, which was founded in 1314 and the fifth is Oriel Oriel College, located in Oriel Square, Oxford, is the fifth oldest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Oriel has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford, a title formerly claimed by University College, whose claim of being founded by King Alfred is no longer promoted. In recognition of this, which was founded in 1326. The most recent is Kellogg College Kellogg College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It focuses on the concept of lifelong learning and mostly caters to part-time mature students, though the full-time student body now numbers fifty three students, founded in 1990.

Women entered the university for the first time in 1878, becoming members of the University (and thus eligible to receive degrees) in 1920. Women's colleges before integration included Somerville College Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there. As of 2006, Somerville had an estimated financial endowment of £44.5 million, St Anne's, St. Hugh's, and Lady Margaret Hall. All colleges are now co-educational. St.Hilda's decided to accept male members at all levels from 2008. Some colleges, such as St. Cross St Cross College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As an all-graduate college, it is one of the smaller ones in terms of student numbers. The college occupies attractive, traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles'. It is keen to match the structure, life and support of undergraduate colleges, and Linacre, accept only graduate students. All Souls College accepts only fellows. Harris Manchester College accepts only "mature students" with a minimum age of 21.[5]

List of colleges

For the college scarf colours see Oxbridge scarf colours In many British and Irish colleges and universities, sets of two or more colours have traditionally been used as part of the distinctive visual identity of the institution. These colours are used in clothing and symbols of all kinds, from ties to trophies, but notably in the long woollen winter scarves that students often wear to show their pride.
Name Foundation Website Sister college at Cambridge Financial Endowment (as of 2006)
All Souls College All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England 1438 Website Trinity Hall Trinity Hall is the fifth oldest college of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich £224,588,173
Balliol College Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England 1263 Website St John's College St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge £78,307,504
Brasenose College Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m 1509 Website Gonville and Caius College Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Located in Cambridge, England, in the United Kingdom, the college is often referred to simply as Caius after the College’s second founder John Keys who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy £97,731,209
Christ Church This article is about the Oxford college. For other uses, see Christ Church or Christchurch (disambiguation) 1546 Website Trinity College Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 160 Fellows . It is also the wealthiest Oxbridge college with an independent financial endowment of approximately £621 million (as of 2005). Of £228,744,460
Corpus Christi College Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the twelfth oldest college in Oxford, with an estimated financial endowment of £58m as of 2006 1517 Website Corpus Christi College Corpus Christi College is a College of the University of Cambridge. It is notable for being the only college to have been founded by Cambridge townspeople, having been founded in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the second-smallest college (after Peterhouse), but the smallest in terms of undergraduates £57,749,353
Exeter College Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the 4th oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street. As of 2006, the college had an estimated financial endowment of £47m 1314 Website Emmanuel College Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary. Mildmay, a Puritan, originally intended Emmanuel to be a college of training for Protestant preachers to rival the successful Catholic theological schools that had trained Dominican friars for years £46,831,123
Green Templeton College Green Templeton College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is the university's newest college having come into existence on the 1st October 2008 from the merger of Green College and Templeton College. The college is located on the previous Green College site in North Oxford and is home to the splendid 18 2008 Website St Edmund's College Saint Edmund's College is a college of the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1896 as a residential hall of residence by Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk and Baron Anatole von Hügel. St Edmund's College received its Royal Charter in 1996
Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Formerly known as Manchester College, it is listed in the University Statutes as Manchester Academy and Harris College, and at University ceremonies it is called Collegium de Harris et Manchester 1786, College status 1996 Website £7,871,000
Hertford College Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m 1282, College status 1740 Website £51,736,000
Jesus College Jesus College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had a financial endowment of £119m. The main entrance is on the west side of Turl Street. It is flanked by Ship Street to the north and Market Street to the south 1571 Website Jesus College Jesus College in the University of Cambridge was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely. It has been traditionally believed that the nunnery was turned into a college because the nunnery had gained a reputation for licentiousness £118,606,000
Keble College Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall Road 1870 Website Selwyn College Coordinates: 52°12′03″N 0°06′20″E / 52.20083°N 0.10556°E Selwyn College is a College of the University of Cambridge. It was founded in memory of the Rt Revd George Augustus Selwyn , the first Bishop of New Zealand (1841–1868) and Bishop of Lichfield (1868–1878). The College was founded by subscription, with an explicitly £47,248,000
Kellogg College Kellogg College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It focuses on the concept of lifelong learning and mostly caters to part-time mature students, though the full-time student body now numbers fifty three students 1990, College status 1994 Website
Lady Margaret Hall 1878 Website Newnham College Newnham College is a women's college in the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick and was the second Cambridge college to admit women, the first being Girton £33,815,000
Linacre College 1962 Website Wolfson College Wolfson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge. The college was founded in 1965 as "University College", but changed its name to Wolfson College in 1972 in recognition of the benefaction of the Wolfson Foundation. Wolfson is largely a postgraduate college, but also admits a small number of mature £12,971,000
Lincoln College 1427 Website Downing College Downing College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom £69,476,000
Magdalen College Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million 1458 Website Magdalene College Magdalene College was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Magdalene College has some of the grandest benefactors including Britain's premier noble the Duke of Norfolk, the £153,086,000
Mansfield College 1886, College status 1995 Website Homerton College £11,766,000
Merton College Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it. The important feature of Walter's 1264 Website Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest college in the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has 284 undergraduates, 130 graduate students and 45 fellows, making it the smallest college in Cambridge, except for certain colleges that admit only women, graduates, or mature students and which are smaller £142,366,000
New College 1379 Website King's College £143,000,000
Nuffield College 1937 Website £146,206,203
Oriel College 1326 Website Clare College £77,486,982
Pembroke College 1624 Website Queens' College £40,441,909
The Queen's College 1341 Website Pembroke College £130,872,576
St Anne's College 1878 Website Murray Edwards College £39,751,255
St Antony's College 1950, College status 1963 Website £29,619,743
St Catherine's College 1963 Website Robinson College £53,138,357
St Cross College 1965 Website Clare Hall
St Edmund Hall 1226, College status 1957 Website Fitzwilliam College
St Hilda's College 1893 Website
St Hugh's College 1886 Website Clare College
St John's College 1555 Website Sidney Sussex College £303,850,750
St Peter's College 1929 Website
Somerville College 1879 Website Girton College
Trinity College 1554 Website Churchill College
University College 1249 Website Trinity Hall
Wadham College 1610 Website Christ's College
Wolfson College 1966, College status 1981 Website Darwin College
Worcester College 1714 Website St Catharine's College £32,000,000

List of Permanent Private Halls

Name Foundation Website
Blackfriars 1221, refounded 1921 Website
Campion Hall 1896 Website
Regent's Park College 1752, moved to Oxford 1927 Website
St Benet's Hall 1897 Website
St Stephen's House 1876, PPH status granted in 2003 Website
Wycliffe Hall 1877 Website

Heads of Houses

The senior member of each college is an officer known generically as the Head of House. His or her specific title varies from college to college as indicated in the list below. While the Head of House will usually be an academic, it is not uncommon for a person to be appointed who has had a distinguished career outside academic circles, especially in the Civil Service.

For a list of current Heads of Houses see Heads of Houses.

Until 2004 the President of Templeton was both Head of House and Chairman of the Governing Body. In 2004 the college statutes were amended so that these roles were separated. The Dean was the Head of House until 2008. When the college merged with Green the Head of the new college, Green Templeton, assumed the title of Principal. The Dean of Christ Church is head of both the college and the cathedral. The President of Kellogg is also Director of the Department for Continuing Education.

Academic rankings

For some years an unofficial ranking of undergraduate colleges by performance in Final Honour Schools examinations has been published annually, known as the "Norrington Table". As the table only takes into account the examination results for the year it is published in, college rankings may fluctuate considerably.

Beginning in 2005, the university started publishing a list of colleges classified by a "Norrington Score", effectively replicating the Norrington Table. The university claim to have published the results "in the interests of openness". Although the university says that the college listings are "not very significant", the 2005 table is the first Norrington Table with official data, and also likely the first to be truly correct. Dame Fiona Caldicott, the Chairman of the Conference of Colleges, has said that in previous years some students have used the Data Protection Act to ensure their results were not published, rendering the unofficial tables inaccurate.[6]

Rivalry between Colleges

A tradition of the University is a friendly rivalry between colleges. Often, two neighbouring colleges will be rivals, and each college will pride itself in its athletic victories over the other one. Examples include:

As well as historic rivalries based on geographical proximity, colleges often develop foes in the sporting arena that can become full-scale rivalries, although these are usually much more short-term. A recent example of this came as a result of the 2006 rugby Cuppers final between Pembroke and St. Peter's that culminated in a fight between the Pink Pembroke Panther and the St. Peter's Squirrel, the respective mascots of each team.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ http://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/admissions/FAQs08.pdf
  2. ^ St Hugh's College : Oxford University Graduate Studies Prospectus 2008/09
  3. ^ http://www.gtc.ox.ac.uk/
  4. ^ http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2007/251007.html
  5. ^ "Who We Are". Harris Manchester College. http://www.hmc.ox.ac.uk/whoweare.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  6. ^ BBC NEWS | Education | Oxford publishes college rankings
University of Oxford
Leadership Chancellor: The Lord Patten of Barnes • Vice Chancellor: Dr John Hood
Colleges All Souls · Balliol · Brasenose · Christ Church · Corpus Christi · Exeter · Green Templeton · Harris Manchester · Hertford · Jesus · Keble · Kellogg · Lady Margaret Hall · Linacre · Lincoln · Magdalen · Mansfield · Merton · New College · Nuffield · Oriel · Pembroke · Queen's · St Anne's • St Antony's · St Catherine's · St Cross · St Edmund Hall · St Hilda's · St Hugh's · St John's · St Peter's · Somerville · Trinity · University · Wadham · Wolfson · Worcester
Categories University · Chancellors · Colleges · Permanent Private Halls · Departments · Academics · Chairs · Alumni

Categories: Colleges of the University of Oxford

 

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