meOxford is the oldest university in the English speaking world. Today it’s an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research, attracting students and scholars from all over the world.
Oxford is situated about 57 miles (90 km) north-west of London in its own country of Oxfordshire. The city lies at the confluence of the rivers Cherwell and Thames , or “Isis”, as it’s locally known.
The University of Oxford does not have a clear date of foundation. Teaching at Oxford existed in some form in 1096. According to a legend Oxford University was founded by king Alfred the Great in 872 when he happened to meet some monks there and had a scholarly debate that lasted several days. A more realistic scenario is that it grew out of efforts begun by Alfred to encourage education and establish schools throughout his territory. Long after Alfred, during the 11th or 12th century, it’s known that Oxford became a centre of learning for clerks. Oxford was modeled on the University of Paris with initial faculties of theology, law, medicine and the liberal arts. The University was promoted in 1167 when, for political reasons, Henry II of England ordered all English students at Paris to return to England. Most of the returning students settled at Oxford and the University began a period of rapid development. The first college, the University College, was founded in 1249. Other notable colleges include All Souls, Christ Church, Magdalen College, Keble College and Lady Margaret Hall, which was the first women’s college. It’s worth saying that women were first admitted to full membership in the university in 1920. Since 1974 all but one of Oxford’s colleges admit both men and women.
Today Oxford is one of the most highly renowned Universities in Europe. More than 130 nationalities are represented among a student population of over 20, 000. The University’s formal head is the Chancellor (currently Lord Patten of Barnes). The Chancellor is a titular figure and holds office until death. The Vice-Chancellor, currently Andrew Hamilton, is the “de facto” head of the University. He is who is involved with the day-to-day running of the University. Oxford differs from many other Universities that there is no university campus. Instead, the University consists of a large number of colleges and associated buildings, scattered throughout the city. There are 39 different colleges and 6 permanent private halls at the University. Each college is particularly autonomous with its own set of rules and has its own academic fellowship and individual student community. There is also central administration providing services such as libraries, laboratories, lectures and examination. Oxford’s teaching and research is consistently in the top rank nationally and internatioanally. What makes Oxford education special is tutorial teaching. Undergraduates attend on average one hour-long tutorial every week and undertake a considerable number of hours’ preparatory work for each tutorial including background reading, essay-writing and problem-solving. And a serious research university means a place where the cleverest people on the planet think really hard about the hardest problems on the planet.