Colleges of the University of Oxford

Colleges of the University of Oxford
Aerial view of many of the colleges of the University of Oxford

The University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls (PPHs) of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations 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 (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, 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 for dining, a chapel, a library, a college bar, senior, middle (postgraduate) and junior common rooms, 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 a lodge controlling entry from the outside.

2008 saw the first merger of colleges, 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 2008, when Greyfriars closed down.[4]

Brasenose College in the 1670s

Contents

History

The University of Oxford'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 modern Dominican permanent private hall of 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 (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, Balliol, and Merton, 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, which was founded in 1314 and the fifth is Oriel, which was founded in 1326. The most recent new foundation is Kellogg College, founded in 1990, while the most recent overall is Green Templeton College, 2008 (the result of a merger of two existing colleges).

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, St Anne's, St. Hugh's, and Lady Margaret Hall. All colleges are now co-educational, although one of the Permanent Private Halls, St Benet's Hall, only accepts men. St.Hilda's decided to accept male members at all levels from 2008. Some colleges, such as St. Cross 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.
Name Foundation Sister college at Cambridge Financial Endowment (July 2010)[6] Undergraduates Graduates Total Students Academics Endowment / Student Academic / Student Ratio Undergraduate / Graduate Ratio
All Souls College 1438 Trinity Hall £219,827,000[7] 0 0 0
Balliol College 1263 St John's College £58,031,000[8] 403 228 631
Brasenose College 1509 Gonville and Caius College £82,867,000[9] 360 190 550
Christ Church 1546 Trinity College £282,196,000[10] 425 250 675
Corpus Christi College 1517 Corpus Christi College £69,238,000[11] 239 126 365
Exeter College 1314 Emmanuel College £46,915,000[12] 340 200 540
Green Templeton College 2008 St Edmund's College £1,845,000[13] 0 500 500
Harris Manchester College 1786, College status 1996 £5,857,000[14] 110 40 150
Hertford College 1282, College status 1740 £39,988,000[15] 396 216 612
Jesus College 1571 Jesus College £110,463,000[16] 325 150 475
Keble College 1870 Selwyn College £26,656,000[17] 435 245 680
Kellogg College 1990, College status 1994 0 400 400
Lady Margaret Hall 1878 Newnham College £24,337,000[18] 424 174 598
Linacre College 1962 Hughes Hall £8,141,000[19] 0 410 410
Lincoln College 1427 Downing College £65,310,000[20] 281 299 580
Magdalen College 1458 Magdalene College £135,529,000[21] 395 185 580
Mansfield College 1886, College status 1995 Homerton College £10,097,000[22] 212 129 341
Merton College 1264 Peterhouse £154,155,000[23] 302 298 600
New College 1379 King's College £133,226,000[24] 420 180 600
Nuffield College 1937 £138,016,000[25] 0 74 74
Oriel College 1326 Clare College £80,630,000[26] 304 158 462
Pembroke College 1624 Queens' College £35,762,000[27] 402 119 521
The Queen's College 1341 Pembroke College £158,930,000[28] 350 133 463
St Anne's College 1878, College status 1952 Murray Edwards College £24,759,000[29] 425 250 675
St Antony's College 1950, College status 1963 Wolfson College £28,148,000[30] 0 400 400
St Catherine's College 1963 Robinson College £36,340,000[31] 450 160 610
St Cross College 1965 Clare Hall 0 467 467
St Edmund Hall 1226, College status 1957 Fitzwilliam College £28,418,000[32] 412 220 632
St Hilda's College 1893 £32,151,000[33] 420 150 570
St Hugh's College 1886 Clare College £21,755,000[34] 419 205 624
St John's College 1555 Sidney Sussex College £313,319,000[35] 370 245 615
St Peter's College 1929, College status 1961 £24,814,000[36] 346 130 476
Somerville College 1879 Girton College £37,546,000[37] 396 88 484
Trinity College 1554 Churchill College £74,853,000[38] 302 125 427
University College 1249 Trinity Hall £106,299,000[39] 420 144 564
Wadham College 1610 Christ's College £62,408,000[40] 460 180 640
Wolfson College 1966, College status 1981 Darwin College £27,705,000[41] 0 614 614
Worcester College 1714 St Catharine's College £16,701,000[42] 408 167 575

List of Permanent Private Halls

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

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.[43]

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 2007-12-23. 
  6. ^ http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/facts_and_figures/college_finances10.html
  7. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/allsouls.pdf at page 10
  8. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Balliol.pdf at page 8
  9. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Brasenose_College.pdf at page 9
  10. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Christ_Church.pdf at page 12
  11. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Corpus_Christi.pdf
  12. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Exeter.pdf at page 8
  13. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Green_Templeton.pdf at page 8
  14. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Harris_Manchester.pdf at page 8
  15. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Hertford.pdf at page 11
  16. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Jesus.pdf at page 9
  17. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Keble.pdf at page 11
  18. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/LMH.pdf at section 5
  19. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Linacre.pdf at page 8
  20. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Lincoln.pdf at page 10
  21. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Magdalen.pdf at page 11
  22. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Mansfield.pdf at page 9
  23. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Merton.pdf at page 112
  24. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/New_College.pdf at page 9
  25. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Nuffield.pdf at page 11
  26. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Oriel.pdf
  27. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Pembroke.pdf at page 8
  28. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/The_Queens_College.pdf at page 7
  29. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/St_Annes.pdf at page 9
  30. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/St_Anthonys.pdf at page 8
  31. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/St_Catherines.pdf at page 7
  32. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/St_Edmund_Hall.pdf at page 9
  33. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/St_Hildas.pdf at page 12
  34. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/St_Hughs.pdf at page 8
  35. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/St_Johns.pdf at page 9
  36. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/St_Peters.pdf at page 11
  37. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Somerville.pdf at page 9
  38. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Trinity.pdf at page 9
  39. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/University_College.pdf at page 10
  40. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Wadham.pdf at page 11
  41. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Wolfson.pdf at page 10
  42. ^ http://d307gmaoxpdmsg.cloudfront.net/collegeaccounts0910/Worcester.pdf at page 11
  43. ^ "Oxford publishes college rankings". BBC News. 2005-09-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4220284.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-30. 

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