What do Edmund Halley, Adam Smith, Cecil Rhodes, T S Eliot, C S Lewis, Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Stephen Hawking, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair have in common? They all attended the University of Oxford at some point in the past few centuries.
The University of Oxford is located in a city that bears the same name. This medium-sized city lies about 57 miles north-west of London, England. Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, is an independent and self-governing institution composed of the central University and 39 colleges. The colleges select and admit undergraduate students, select graduate students after being admitted by the university, provide meals and accommodations, provide libraries and social facilities, and are responsible for tutorial teaching and students’ welfare. Thirty colleges and seven permanent private halls admit undergraduates and all colleges except St. Hilda’s – which is women only – accept men and women. Eight colleges admit only graduate students.
International Students
Oxford attracts students and scholars from all over the world and maintains supporting scholarships specially dedicated for international students: the Clarendon Fund Scholarships and the Rhodes Scholarships. Over 130 nationalities are represented among the student body: 17,664 students in residence. Over one quarter of these students are from overseas. The majority of international students come from countries such as USA, Germany, China, Canada, Australia, Greece, India and France.
Academics
With over 45 academic courses, the most popular “majors” at Oxford are English; Chemistry; Jurisprudence; Mathematics; Modern History; Medical Sciences; Modern Languages; Philosophy, Politics and Economics; and Physics.
Admissions
Admission requirements for undergraduate programs include:
- Excellent High School records (or equivalent)
- Grades AAB or AAA in British A Levels; or
- 38 points in the International Baccaleurate with 6s and 7s in the higher level subjects; or
- Grades 4 or 5 in two or more Advanced Placement tests (for US applicants); or
- SAT I and SAT II scores (700 for all sections) – ACT scores of at least 32/36 (for US applicants) can substitute SAT I scores.
- Written Tests or Written Work (when required)
- Interview
“Generally speaking we are looking for candidates who are in the top 5% of school leavers nationwide; and most successful applicants will be in the top 2%.” – Oxford Admissions
At the undergraduate level, English language tests such as the TOEFL exam are not required. However, colleges strongly encourage international students whose native language is not English to submit TOEFL or IELTS scores. Generally speaking, colleges are looking for a minimum of 650 (paper-based) or 275 (computer-based) in the TOEFL test, or 7.5 in the IELTS in listening, reading, speaking and writing.
Admission requirements for graduate programs include:
- A Bachelor’s degree with a first or upper second-class honours
- At the graduate level, TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge (CPE) scores are required for applicants whose native language is not English
- Other admission requirements specified by the academic program.
Tuition Fees*
Annual tuition fees for undergraduate students include university and college fees. University fees vary according to the academic course elected and range between £8,800 and £11,800. Non-EU students are also assessed a £5,700 college fee.
Tuition fees for graduate students include approximately £10,775 for most humanities, mathematics and social science programmes; £22,570 for clinical medicine programmes; and £28,000 for MBA programmes. College fees vary from college to college, but should not exceed £4,500.
It is recommended that students budget approximately £9,250 for housing, meals and other living expenses.
* These figures generally reflect fees for international, non-EU students. For more information, please visit the links below.
Oxford Undergraduate Admissions Website:
http://www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/
Oxford Graduate Admissions Website:
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/postgraduate/
Oxford International Office Website:
http://www.ox.ac.uk/