University of Oxford

"Oxford University" redirects here. For other uses, see Oxford University (disambiguation).

University of Oxford
Coat of arms
Latin: Universitas Oxoniensis[1][2][3]
Other name
The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford[4]
MottoLatin: Dominus illuminatio mea
Motto in English
The Lord is my light
TypePublic research university
Ancient university
Establishedc. 1096; 928 years ago (1096)[5]
Endowment£8.066 billion (2023; including colleges)[8]
Budget£2.924 billion (2022/23)[7]
ChancellorThe Lord Patten of Barnes
Vice-ChancellorIrene Tracey[9]
Academic staff
6,945 (2022)[10]
Students26,945 (2023)[11][12]
Undergraduates12,580
Postgraduates13,445
Other students
430
Location
Oxford
,
England

51°45′18″N 01°15′18″W / 51.75500°N 1.25500°W / 51.75500; -1.25500
CampusUniversity town
Colours  Oxford Blue[13]
Affiliations
Websiteox.ac.uk Edit this at Wikidata

The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096,[5] making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in continuous operation.[5][14][15] It grew rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.[5] After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk, some Oxford academics fled northeast to Cambridge, where, in 1209, they established the University of Cambridge.[16] The two English ancient universities share many common features and are jointly referred to as Oxbridge.[17]

The University of Oxford is made up of 43 constituent colleges, consisting of 36 semi-autonomous colleges, four permanent private halls and three societies (colleges that are departments of the university, without their own royal charter),[18][19] and a range of academic departments which are organised into four divisions.[20] Each college is a self-governing institution within the university, controlling its own membership and having its own internal structure and activities. All students are members of a college.[18] The university does not have a main campus, but its buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city centre. Undergraduate teaching at Oxford consists of lectures, small-group tutorials at the colleges and halls, seminars, laboratory work and occasionally further tutorials provided by the central university faculties and departments. Postgraduate teaching is provided in a predominantly centralised fashion.

Oxford operates the Ashmolean Museum, the world's oldest university museum; Oxford University Press, the largest university press in the world; and the largest academic library system nationwide.[21] In the fiscal year ending 31 July 2023, the university had a total consolidated income of £2.92 billion, of which £789 million was from research grants and contracts.[7]

Oxford has educated a wide range of notable alumni, including 31 prime ministers of the United Kingdom and many heads of state and government around the world.[22] As of October 2022, 73 Nobel Prize laureates, 4 Fields Medalists, and 6 Turing Award winners have matriculated, worked, or held visiting fellowships at the University of Oxford, while its alumni have won 160 Olympic medals.[23] Oxford is the home of numerous scholarships, including the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the oldest international graduate scholarship programmes.

  1. ^ Record of the Jubilee Celebrations of the University of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales: William Brooks and Co. 1903. ISBN 9781112213304.
  2. ^ Records of The Tercentenary Festival of Dublin University. Dublin, Ireland: Hodges, Figgis & Co. 1894. ISBN 9781355361602.
  3. ^ Actes du Jubilé de 1909 (in Swiss French). Geneva, Switzerland: Georg Keck & Cie. 1910. ISBN 9781360078335.
  4. ^ "The University as a charity". University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d "Introduction and History". University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Aggregated College Accounts: Consolidated and College Balance Sheets For the year ended 31 July 2023" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Financial Statements 2022/23" (PDF). University of Oxford. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  8. ^ Colleges (group) £6,387.7M,[6] University (consolidated) £1,678.0M[7]
  9. ^ "Professor Irene Tracey, CBE, FMedSci". Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Who's working in HE?". HESA. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  11. ^ "University of Oxford – Student Statistics". Tableau Software. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Student Numbers". University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  13. ^ "The brand colour – Oxford blue". Ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  14. ^ Sager, Peter (2005). Oxford and Cambridge: An Uncommon History. p. 36.
  15. ^ "The top 50 universities by reputation". Times Higher Education. 3 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Early records". University of Cambridge. 28 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Oxbridge". oed.com (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. 2005. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  18. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CollegesandHalls was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ "Organisation | University of Oxford". www.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2024. The three societies – Kellogg College, Reuben College, and St Cross College – operate very much like the other colleges but are considered departments of the University rather than independent colleges because, unlike the others, they do not have a royal charter.
  20. ^ "Oxford divisions". University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference uls was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Famous was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ "Oxford at the Olympics". University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2018.