The University of Oxford
The University of Oxford was the first university in the English-speaking world and remains at the forefront of centers of learning, teaching and research. Students from more than 140 countries and territories make up a student population of over 26,000, including 12.470 undergraduates and 13,920 postgraduates.
More than half of undergraduates are studying for degrees in the humanities and social sciences, and 44 per cent in the medical, mathematical, physical and life sciences. The remainder are studying for undergraduate-level diplomas and certificates offered by the Department for Continuing Education.
Oxford was ranked first in the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 – a record nine consecutive years. It offers more than 350 different graduate degree programmes. Five percent of all the UK’s graduate research students are studying at Oxford University, and according to the Research Excellence Framework, the official UK-wide assessment of all university research, Oxford has the largest volume of world-leading research in the country.
The tutorial is at the core of undergraduate teaching and learning at Oxford. It offers students a unique learning experience in which they meet regularly with their tutor, either on a one-to-one basis or with one or two other students. 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.
The university has 38 independent and self-governing colleges, and 6 permanent private halls. The collegiate system is at the heart of the university’s success, giving students and academics the benefits of belonging to both a large, internationally renowned institution and to a small, interdisciplinary academic community. Colleges bring together leading academics and students across subjects and year groups, and from different cultures and countries. All colleges accept both men and women. The university’s oldest colleges are Balliol College, University College and Merton College, all of which were established by the 13th century.
Oxford’s academic staff come from almost 100 different countries and territories. The largest groups of international academic staff are from the USA, Germany, Italy, China, Australia, France, Ireland, India and Canada. The university, including the colleges and Oxford University Press, is the largest employer in Oxfordshire, supporting around 17,000 jobs and injecting more than £750 million annually into the regional economy.
Other Oxford University Facts
- Entry to undergraduate courses at Oxford continues to be very competitive: there are usually only around 3,300 places, and over 23,000 people applied to start in 2023.
- The majority of Oxford’s UK undergraduates come from state schools. For 2023 entry, over 67% of UK offers went to students from the state sector.
- 450 postgraduate courses received applications for year of entry 2022/23 (including part-time variants).
- For 2022/23 entry, over 37,500 applications were received for some 6,056 postgraduate places.
- International students make up 46% of our total student body – around 12,075 students. Students come to Oxford from more than 160 countries and territories (as of 1 December 2022).
- According to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, which assesses the quality of research in UK Higher Education Institutions, Oxford’s submission had the highest volume of world-leading research¹.
The information above is provided by the University of Oxford.