First women admitted to degrees at the University of Oxford

The building of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University
The main quad of Somerville College, Oxford University
The building of St. Hugh's College, Oxford University
First women's colleges at Oxford (l to r): Lady Margaret Hall, founded in 1879; Somerville College, founded in 1879; and St Hugh's College, founded in 1886

In 1920, the University of Oxford admitted women to degrees for the first time during the Michaelmas term. The conferrals took place at the Sheldonian Theatre on 14 October,[1] 26 October,[2] 29 October,[3] 30 October[4] and 13 November.[5] That same year, on 7 October, women also became eligible for admission as full members of the university.[6]

Before 1920, it is estimated that around 4,000 women studied at Oxford since the opening of the university's first women's colleges in 1879.[7] One graduate was Annie Rogers, who took undergraduate exams in 1875 and 1877 and was finally given a degree in 1920, when she was 64 years old.[8] The last survivor of the first conferral ceremony was Constance Savery, who died at the age of 101 in 1999.[9]

  1. ^ "Degrees conferred at Oxford". Yorkshire Post. 15 October 1920.
  2. ^ "MA Degree for Seventeen Women Tutors". Yorkshire Post. 27 October 1920.
  3. ^ "University Intelligence: Oxford–Thursday. Conferment of Degrees". Yorkshire Post. 29 October 1920.
  4. ^ "Oxford–Saturday. Degrees for Women". Yorkshire Post. 1 November 1920.
  5. ^ "University Intelligence: Oxford–Saturday. Conferment of Degrees". Yorkshire Post. 15 November 1920.
  6. ^ Handbook to the University of Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1965. p. 43. OCLC 123244725.
  7. ^ "'They couldn't go on the river with a man on their own' – the changing lives of Oxford's female students". BBC. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Annie Rogers (1856–1937)". St. Anne's College, Oxford. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Constance Savery". Bethlehem Books. Retrieved 12 August 2024.