Oxford University Key Facts

The Oxford degree programmes fall into three general categories: the undergraduate course, advanced degrees by coursework and examination, and advanced degrees by research and examination. The first, in which most Oxford students are engaged, is the undergraduate course, which leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours.

This degree ordinarily requires a minimum residency of three years; in certain subjects four years of study are required. The University normally awards Senior Status to students who have completed a Bachelor’s degree before their arrival in Oxford.

(Completion of a Bachelor’s degree is required before a Hill Scholar is admitted to the University of Oxford.) Senior Status entitles them, in most cases, to fulfil the requirements of a three-year degree in two academic years. Courses leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree are offered in the chief academic disciplines, and a number of joint programmes provide a course of study combining work in two or more academic fields. Courses in certain fields lead to Master's degrees in those subjects and require four years for completion: the Master of Biochemistry degree in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, the Master of Chemistry degree in Chemistry, the Master of Engineering degree in Engineering Science, Engineering and Computing Science, Engineering and Materials, Engineering-Economics-and-Management, Materials-Economics-and-Management, Metallurgy and the Science of Materials, the Master of Mathematics degree in Mathematics (Course II); and the Master of Physics degree in Physics (Course II).

Details about the requirements for these courses of study are published annually in the Undergraduate Prospectus.