Colleges of the University of Oxford
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The University of Oxford comprises 39 Colleges and 7 religious Permanent Private Halls (PPHs), which are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university. 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 the teaching of undergraduates. 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.
A typical college consists of a great 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 mediaeval to very modern buildings, but most are made up of interlinked quadrangles (courtyards), with one or more large wooden gates controlling entry from the outside.
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 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 is Kellogg college, founded in 1990.
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. Hugh's, and Lady Margaret Hall. Almost all colleges are now co-educational, the only remaining women-only college being St Hilda's which has decided to accept male members at all levels from 2009. Some colleges accept only graduate students.
List of colleges
- For the college scarf colours see Oxbridge scarf colours.
List of Permanent Private Halls
| Name | Foundation | Website |
|---|---|---|
| '''Blackfriars | 1221, refounded 1921 | [Website] |
| '''Campion Hall | 1896 | [Website] |
| '''Greyfriars | 1910 | [Website] |
| '''Regent's Park College | 1752, moved to Oxford 1927 | [Website] |
| '''St Benet's Hall | 1897 | [Website] |
| '''St Stephen's House | 1876, PPH status granted in 2003 | [Website] |
| '''Wycliffe Hall | 1877 | [Website] |
Academic rankings
For some years an unofficial ranking of colleges by performance in Final Honour Schools examinations has been published annually, known as the "Norrington Table" - [link]. As the table only takes into account the examination results for the year it is published in, college rankings may fluctuate considerably. Nonetheless, there is a clear correlation between the wealth of a college and its position in the tables. The university and colleges have at times attempted to suppress the Norrington Table, largely unsuccessfully.
Beginning in 2005, the university started publishing a list of colleges classified by a "Norrington Score", effectively replicating the Norrington Table[link]. 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 to be 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.[link]
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:
- Exeter College and Jesus College
- Brasenose College and Lincoln College
- The Queen's College and St Edmund Hall
- Balliol College and Trinity College
Fictional Colleges of Oxford
For a list of fictional colleges of Oxford University see List of fictional Oxford colleges.
See also:
| Colleges of the University of Oxford |
|
|---|---|
| All Souls | Balliol | Brasenose | Christ Church | Corpus Christi | Exeter | Green | Harris Manchester | Hertford | Jesus | Keble | Kellogg | Lady Margaret Hall | Linacre | Lincoln | Magdalen | Mansfield | Merton | New College | Nuffield | Oriel | Pembroke | Queen's | St Anne's | St Antony's | St Catherine's | St Cross | St Edmund Hall | St Hilda's | St Hugh's | St John's | St Peter's | Somerville | Templeton | Trinity | University | Wadham | Wolfson | Worcester | |
| Permanent Private Halls at the University of Oxford | |
| Blackfriars | Campion Hall | Greyfriars | Regent's Park College | St Benet's Hall | St Stephen's House | Wycliffe Hall | |
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