Oxford University Key Facts

• The University of Oxford’s total student population numbers over 16,000.
• Almost a quarter of these students are from overseas and more than 130 nationalities are represented amongst the student body.
• Almost 5,000 students are engaged in postgraduate work. Of these, around 3,000 are working in the arts and humanities.

As an ancient university, Oxford has extensive and impressive academic and aesthetic resources. The architecture of the colleges is renowned for its history, variety and beauty, and Oxford has become one of the prime tourist attractions in the world. Its scholarly resources place it in the first rank of international research universities. The Bodleian Library, a copyright deposit library since 1610, incorporates extensive collections of books, manuscripts and periodicals. Other scholarly and artistic resources will be found in the Ashmolean Museum, the University Museum and smaller specialised museums, as well as in departmental libraries and the libraries and art collections of individual colleges. These collections contain priceless treasures accumulated over the centuries.

The system of education at Oxford has characteristics, which significantly differentiate study there from Russian universities. Students wishing to read for the Bachelor of Arts degree in one of the Final Honour Schools will be taught in small sessions by a tutor or tutors in his or her college or, as may be appropriate, by a tutor who is a specialist in the field in another college. This approach to learning requires the student to prepare normally one but sometimes two essays each week which the student discusses with the tutor, who will then probe and refine the student’s understanding of the assigned topic. This intellectual exchange accords each student an extraordinary amount of personalised attention. In addition, the student will have available a wide array of lectures given by resident and visiting scholars and, in certain subjects, classes and laboratory exercises. In many subjects attendance at lectures is voluntary, but both those who wish to supplement their tutorial studies and those who seek an acquaintance with an area of knowledge far removed from their own specialties will find these lectures of considerable importance.