Welcome from the Chancellor
Welcome to the University of Oxford. People from all walks of life and all parts of the world have been visiting us for nine centuries and we are delighted that via this website you are joining that long tradition. Oxford was the first University in the English-speaking world. Our aim is to remain at the forefront of centres of learning, teaching and research.

Oxford’s remarkable global appeal continues to grow. Students from more than a hundred and forty countries and territories make up a student population of over twenty thousand. Over a third comes from outside the United Kingdom.

But it is not just longevity and global reach that mark Oxford out and give the University its special character. There is also our distinctive college and tutorial system which underpins a culture of close academic supervision and careful personal support for our outstanding students. Our colleges and halls of which there are more than forty also help to foster the intense interdisciplinary approach that inspires much of the outstanding research achievement of the University and makes Oxford a leader in so many fields. It is an approach especially suited to confronting many of the hugely complex challenges that face us all. That is why we believe that the greater we can make Oxford, the greater its contribution to the well-being of the world you and I share.

The Structure of the University
Oxford is an independent and self-governing institution, consisting of the central University and the Colleges.

Vice-Chancellor
The Vice-Chancellor holds office for up to seven years and is the senior officer of the University.
Pro-Vice-Chancellors
Five Pro-Vice-Chancellors have specific responsibility for Development and External Affairs: Education, Academic Services and University Collections; Personnel and Equality; Planning and Resources; and Research.
Chancellor
The Chancellor is usually an eminent public figure elected for life and serves as the titular head of the University, presiding over all major ceremonies.
University Council
The Council of the University is responsible for the academic policy and strategic direction of the University, It operates through five major committees: Education; General Purposes; Personnel; Planning and Resource Allocation; and Research.
Congregation
Final responsibility for legislative matters rests with Congregation, which comprises over 4,100 members of the academic, senior research, library, museum and administrative staff.
Academic Divisions
Day-to-day decision-making in matters such as finance and planning is devolved to the University's four Academic Divisions - Humanities; Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences; Medical Sciences; and Social Sciences. Each division has a full-time divisional head and an elected divisional board. Continuing Education is the responsibility of a separate board.
Colleges
Thirty-eight Colleges, though independent and self-governing, form a core element of the University, to which they are related in a federal system, not unlike the United States.
Each college is granted a charter approved by the Privy Council, under which it is governed by a Head of House and a Governing Body comprising of a number of Fellows, most of whom also hold University posts.
There are also six Permanent Private Halls, which were founded by different Christian denominations, and still retain their religious character today.
Thirty colleges and all six halls admit students for both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Six other colleges are for graduates only. In addition, All Souls College has Fellows only and Kellogg College supports the lifelong learning work of the University for adult, part-time, and professional development students.

Student Life
There are over 20,000 students at Oxford, including 11,734 undergraduates and 8,101 postgraduates.
Oxford has one of the lowest drop-out rates in the UK: figures published in summer 2009 by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that only 1.8 per cent of Oxford students dropped out, compared with the national average of 9 per cent.
53 per cent of undergraduates are studying for degrees in the humanities and social sciences, and 43 per cent in the medical, mathematical, physical and life sciences. The rest are studying for undergraduate level diplomas and certificates offered by the Department for Continuing Education.
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.
At graduate level, 36 per cent of students are studying for higher degrees in the medical, mathematical, physical and life sciences and 56 per cent in the humanities and social sciences. The rest are studying for postgraduate certificates and diplomas offered by the Deparment for Continuing Education.hxw.red