When am I required to be in residence?
N.B. all the below information applies to Undergraduate students only. The only residence requirements from the University for graduate students are that you keep residence in Oxford for the minimum of 6 weeks each term for the purpose of your degree/diploma, and you must reside within 25 miles of Oxford city centre for the duration of your course. You can find further information on these requirements and other regulations in the University Student Handbook.
There are eight teaching weeks in each term, which you will hear referred to by number as weeks 1 to 8, or collectively as ‘full term’. However, Collections and meetings with Tutors will take place in the week before ‘full term’ begins – referred to as 0th week. All students are therefore required to return to College by 1pm on the Wednesday of 0th week and will need to be available for meetings or Collections on the Wednesday afternoon. In some subjects, examinations extend into 9th week, in which case students must remain in Oxford beyond full term. It is the responsibility of the student to request college accommodation beyond the end of 8th week if required: please contact the Accommodation Manager.
It is a University requirement that students should have spent sufficient time in residence (details on ‘statutory residence’ can be found in the Student Handbook and the Exam Regulations). Students should not, therefore, be away from College on weekdays during full term without their Personal Tutor’s and Senior Tutor’s permission. Please note that permission is required to leave College before 6pm on Friday of 8th week.
University regulations require that undergraduates must reside within 6 miles of Oxford city centre for the duration of their course. Exceptions to this rule are undergraduates who: a) have senior status, i.e. 2nd BA students; b) are married; or c) are living in the home of their parent or guardian. In cases such as these, undergraduates can apply (via the Academic Registrar) to the Proctors for permission to reside within 25 miles of Oxford city centre, but this is the maximum.
Can I live outside of the College in private accommodation?
We are able to accommodate all undergraduates for three years of their course and expect that students will live in. Any undergraduate who wishes to live out for one or more of the three years must obtain the College’s permission to do so. All students on four year courses are required to live out in one of their four years, generally the 4th year.
Living in College
College accommodation agreements last from the start of 0th week through to the end of 8th week for all three terms. Should you wish to be in College during a vacation, you will need to request permission from the Accommodation Manager. Only requests with a sound academic or travel reason will be granted. Students taking University exams beyond the end of 8th week will be granted permission to stay until the morning after their last exam. (Your room will need to be completely cleared during the vacations).
How do I make the most of vacations?
You will find that full term is very intensive and that there is not much time for the consolidation of one topic before moving on to the next. Oxford terms are shorter than other university terms, but there is an expectation that you will complete additional academic work during the vacation either by consolidating topics studied or preparing new material. All students will deserve some holiday period, and many students will need to earn money during the vacation. However, you should plan to include some time for academic work. If this causes financial difficulties for you, you should contact the the Student Finance Officer, Student Support Coordinator or Head of Wellbeing about the availability of hardship funds.
General Education
While your priority should be to do well in your subject and to gain a good degree, there are many academic and cultural opportunities available beyond your course. Numerous distinguished speakers, from all walks of life and from around the world, give public lectures in the University, and several come to the College itself (including our own alumni and Visiting Fellows). Departments run seminars in which experts from other universities come to discuss their current research. The College environment will offer you the opportunity to interact with a range of people from different backgrounds studying different subjects. We encourage you to take advantage of these learning opportunities and to live your academic life to the full!