Graduate Studies Prospectus [antikvár]

Students working for higher degrees are an important and valued part of the University of Oxford. They currently make up over a quarter of the total student body, (4,816 out of a total of 16,185 students) drawn by the excellent facilities for research which the University can offer, and the pro- portion of graduate students is increasing. Across both the Arts and the Sciences, Oxford research is consistently in the top rank both nationally and internationally. As well as being in the forefront of scientific, medical and technological achievement, the University has strong links with research institutions and industrial concerns both in the United Kingdom and overseas. The University's income from externally funded research grants and contracts in 1999-2000 totalled over L130 million. The University's great age also allows its teaching staff and research stu- dents to draw on a heritage of magnificent library and museum collections. In all these fields, Oxford attracts schol- ars from many parts of the world to join its teaching and research staff, and values also the important role of overseas graduate students (approximately one third of the total graduate body) in providing intellectual stimulation and creating and maintaining academic links with colleagues abroad. A hundred countries are at present represented in this way. The development of graduate studies has largely taken place in the 20th century and in the last 30 years seven new graduate colleges have been set up. However, most graduate students still belong to a traditional under- graduate college where their presence is valu- able to teachers and undergraduates alike. An Introduction to the University's Structure and Government Oxford University came into existence - it had no formal 'foundation' - over 800 years ago as a self-governing group, or guild, of teachers who lectured to a frequently changing popu- lation of students; it rapidly achieved interna- tional status and a cosmopolitan membership, the first 'overseas student' arriving in 1190. A few colleges date from the 13th century. By the middle of the 17th century most of the under- graduate colleges established for men had come into being. Keble and the colleges orig- inally established for women date from the late 19th century, and the 20th century has seen the foundation of two more undergrad- uate colleges and the seven colleges for grad- uate students only (see pp. 179-225). Oxford University is a self-governing community of scholars, with ultimate author- ity in the hands of Congregation, consisting of some 3,000 senior members of the University engaged in teaching, research, and administration. Responsibility for degree and diploma courses - subjects, syllabuses, and examina- tions - lies initially with the teachers of the relevant subjects, who are organized as members of departments or faculties within divisions. There are 5 divisions each administered by a divisional board*. Within the Sciences, many departments or institutes correspond with broad subject divisions such as Physics or Biochemistry. In the Humanities, * Humanities, Life and Environmental Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Medical Sciences, and Social Sciences. oxford and the graduate student 5