Coordinates:
51.761147° N 1.253386°
W
The University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. for post-nominals, from "Oxoniensis"), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.[4] It is also
regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions.
The university traces its roots back to at least the end of the 11th century, although
the exact date of foundation remains unclear. After a dispute between students and townsfolk broke out in 1209, some of the
academics at Oxford fled north-east to the town of Cambridge, where the University of Cambridge was founded. The two universities have since had a long history of
competition with each other. (See Oxbridge rivalry.)
The University of Oxford is a member of the Russell Group of research-led
British universities, the Coimbra
Group (a network of leading European universities), the League
of European Research Universities, and is also a core member of the Europaeum.
Academically, Oxford is consistently ranked in the world's top
ten universities.[5][6] For more than a century it has served as the home of the prestigious
Rhodes Scholarship, which brings highly accomplished students from a number of
countries to study at Oxford as postgraduates.
History
The town of Oxford was already an important centre of learning by the end of the 12th century. Teachers from mainland Europe and other scholars settled there, and lectures are known to have been delivered by as
early as 1096. The expulsion of foreigners from the University of Paris in 1167
caused many English scholars to return from France and settle in Oxford. The historian Gerald of Wales lectured to the scholars in 1188, and the first foreign scholar, Emo of Friesland arrived in 1190. The head of the University was named a chancellor from 1201, and the masters were recognised as a universitas or corporation in 1231. The
students associated together, on the basis of geographical origins, into two “nations,” representing the North (including the
Scots) and the South (including the Irish and the Welsh). In later centuries, geographical origins continued to influence many
students' affiliations when membership of a college or
hall became customary in Oxford. Members of many religious orders, including Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and Augustinians, settled in Oxford in the mid-13th century, gained
influence, and maintained houses for students. At about the same time, private benefactors established colleges to serve as
self-contained scholarly communities. Among the earliest were John de Balliol, father of
the future King of Scots; Balliol
College bears his name. Another founder, Walter de Merton, a chancellor of England and afterwards Bishop of Rochester,
devised a series of regulations for college life; Merton College thereby became
the model for such establishments at Oxford as well as at the University of
Cambridge. Thereafter, an increasing number of students forsook living in halls and religious houses in favour of living
at colleges.
The new learning of the Renaissance greatly influenced Oxford from the late
15th century onward. Among university scholars of the period were William Grocyn, who contributed to the revival of the Greek
language, and John Colet, the noted biblical
scholar. With the Reformation and the breaking of ties with the
Roman Catholic Church, the method of teaching at the university was transformed
from the medieval Scholastic method to Renaissance education, although institutions
associated with the university suffered loss of land and revenues. In 1636 Chancellor William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, codified the university statutes; these to a large extent remained
the university's governing regulations until the mid-19th century. Laud was also
responsible for the granting of a charter securing privileges for the university
press, and he made significant contributions to the Bodleian Library, the main
library of the university.
The university was a centre of the Royalist Party during the English Civil War (1642–1649), while the town favoured the opposing Parliamentarian cause. Soldier-statesman Oliver Cromwell, chancellor
of the university from 1650 to 1657, was responsible for preventing both Oxford and Cambridge from being closed down by the
Puritans, who viewed university education as dangerous to religious beliefs. From the mid-18th century onward, however, the
University of Oxford took little part in political conflicts.
Administrative reforms during the 19th century included the replacement of oral examinations with written entrance tests,
greater tolerance for religious dissent, and the establishment of four colleges for
women. Women have been eligible to be full members of the university and have been entitled to take degrees since 1920. Although
Oxford's emphasis traditionally had been on classical knowledge, its curriculum expanded in the course of the 19th century and
now attaches equal importance to scientific and medical
studies.
The list of distinguished scholars at the University of Oxford is long and includes many who have made major contributions to
British politics, the sciences, medicine, and literature. More than forty
Nobel laureates and more than fifty World leaders have been affiliated with the University of Oxford. Since its foundation in
1823, the Oxford Union, a private club devoted to formal debating and other social
activities, has numbered among its members many of Britain's most noted political leaders.
Organisation
Central Governance
The university's formal head is the Chancellor
(currently Lord Patten), though as with most British universities, the Chancellor is a
titular figure, rather than someone involved with the day-to-day running of the university. Elected by the members of
Convocation, a body comprising all graduates of the university, the Chancellor holds office
until death.
The Vice-Chancellor, currently Dr John Hood, is the de facto head of the University. Five Pro-Vice-Chancellors have specific responsibilities
for Education; Research; Planning and Resources; Development and External Affairs; and Personnel and Equal Opportunities. The
University Council is the executive policy-forming body, which consists of the Vice-Chancellor as well as heads of departments
and other members elected by Congregation, in addition to observers from the Student Union. Congregation, the ‘parliament of the dons’, comprises over 3,700 members of the University’s
academic and administrative staff, and has ultimate responsibility for legislative matters: it discusses and pronounces on
policies proposed by the University Council. Oxford and Cambridge (which is similarly structured) are unique for this democratic
form of governance.
Two university proctors, who are elected annually on a rotating basis from two of the colleges, supervise undergraduate
discipline. The collection of University Professors is called the Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford. They are
particularly influential in the running of the graduate programmes within the University. Examples of Statutory Professors
include the Chichele Professorships, the Drummond Professor of Political Economy, etc. The various academic faculties,
departments, and institutes are organised into four divisions, each with their own Head and elected board. They are the
Humanities Division; the Social Sciences Division; the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division; and the Medical
Sciences Division.
Colleges
- See: Colleges of the University of Oxford
There are 39 colleges of the University of Oxford and 7
Permanent Private Halls, each with its own internal structure and activities. All
students, and most academic staff, are affiliated to a college. The heads of Oxford colleges are known by various titles,
according to the college, including warden, provost, principal, president, rector or master. The colleges join together as the
Conference of Colleges to discuss policy and to deal with the central University administration. Teaching members of the colleges
(fellows and tutors) are collectively and familiarly known as dons (though the term is rarely used by members of the university
itself). In addition to residential and dining facilities, the colleges provide social, cultural, and recreational activities for
their members. Colleges have responsibility for admitting undergraduates and organising their tuition; for graduates, this
responsibility falls upon the departments.
Teaching and Degrees
Undergraduate teaching is centred upon the tutorial, where 1-3 students spend an hour with an academic discussing their week’s
work, usually an essay (arts) or problem sheet (sciences). Students usually have around two tutorials a week. These tutorials are
complemented by lectures, classes and seminars, which are organised on a departmental basis. Graduate students undertaking taught
degrees are usually instructed through classes and seminars, though naturally there is more focus upon individual research.
The university itself is responsible for conducting examinations and conferring degrees. The passing of two sets of
examinations is a prerequisite for a first degree. The first set of examinations, called either Honour Moderations (‘Mods’ and
‘Honour Mods’) or Preliminary Examinations (‘Prelims’), are usually held at the end of the first year (or after five terms in the
case of Classics). The second set of examinations, the Final Honour School (‘Finals’), is held at the end of the undergraduate
course. Successful candidates receive first-, upper or lower second-, or third-class honours based on their performance in
Finals. Research degrees at the master's and doctoral level are conferred in all subjects studied at graduate level at the
university.
The system of academic degrees in the University is very confusing to those not
familiar with it. This is not merely due to the fact that many degree titles date from the Middle Ages, but also because, in
recent years, many changes have been haphazardly introduced. Notably, the initials for the Doctor of Philosophy are DPhil rather than PhD.
-
Academic Year
The academic year is divided into three terms, determined by Regulations.[7] Michaelmas Term lasts
from October to December; Hilary Term from January to March; and Trinity Term from April to July.
Within these terms, Council determines for each year eight week periods called Full Terms, during which undergraduate teaching
takes place. These terms are amongst the shortest of any British university. Undergraduates are also expected to prepare heavily
in the three vacations (known as the Christmas, Easter and
Long Vacations).
Internally at least, the dates in the term are often referred to by a number in reference to the start of each full term, thus
the first week of any full term is called "1st week" and the last is "8th week". The numbering of the weeks continues up to the
end of the term, and begins again with negative numbering from the beginning of the succeeding term, through "minus first week"
and "noughth week", which precedes "1st week". Weeks begin on a Sunday.
Finances
In 2005/06 the University had income of £609m, and the colleges £237m (of which £41m is a flow-through from the University).
For the University key sources were HEFCE (£166m) and
research grants (£213m). For the colleges the largest single source was endowments and interest (£82m) and residential charges
(£47m). While the University has the larger operating budget, the colleges have a far larger aggregate endowment, at around
£2.7bn compared to the University's £900m.[8]
Admission
Procedure
The admission process for undergraduates is undertaken by the individual colleges, working with each other to ensure that the
best students gain a place at the University regardless of whether they are accepted by their preferred college. Selection is
based on achieved and predicted exam results; candidate submitted written work; interviews, which are held between applicants and
college tutors; and, in some subjects, written admission tests prior to interview. Personal statements and school references are
also considered. Prospective students apply through the UCAS application system, in common with all
British universities, but (along with applicants for Cambridge) must observe an
earlier deadline. They must also complete an additional, Oxford-specific form. Because of the high volume of applications and the
direct involvement of the faculty in admissions, students are not permitted to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same
year, with the exception of applicants for Organ Scholarships and those applying to read for a second undergraduate degree.
The decentralised, college-based nature of the admissions procedure necessitates a number of mechanisms to ensure the best
students are offered admission to the University, regardless of whether the college they originally applied to can accommodate
them. As such, colleges can 'pool' candidates to other colleges, whereby candidates can be interviewed and/or offered admission
to another college. Some applicants are also awarded 'open offers', which does not carry an attachment to a particular college
until A Level Results Day in August. The colleges have recently signed up to what they call a "common framework" outlining the
principles and procedures they observe.
For graduate students, admission is by the relevant department, and then by a college.
Access
Though the University claims admissions policies avoid bias to candidates of certain socio-economic or educational
backgrounds[9] Oxford's admissions policy has continued to
attract considerable public controversy through episodes such as the Laura Spence
Affair in 2000.[10] Though the University puts
enormous efforts into attracting working-class students, Oxbridge entrance remains a central focus for many private and
selective-state schools, and the under-representation of comprehensive school pupils remains a point of controversy.[11] In 2007, the University refined its admissions procedure to
take into account the academic performance of applicants' schools.[12]
Students who apply from state schools and colleges have a comparable acceptance rate to
those from independent schools (25% and 32% of applicants accepted respectively,
2006), however most pupils who are accepted from state schools come from elite grammar and selective schools, rather than
comprehensives.[13] Only about half of applications come from the state sector,[14] and the University of Oxford funds many initiatives to attract applicants from
this sector, including the Oxford Access Scheme, Target Schools, and the FE Access Initiative.[15] Most colleges also run their own access schemes and initiatives.
The
Ashmolean is the oldest museum in Britain
Scholarships and Financial Support
There are many opportunities for students at Oxford to receive financial help during their studies. The Oxford Opportunity
Bursaries, introduced in 2006, is a university-wide means-based bursary available to any British undergraduate. With a total
possible grant of £10,235 over a 3-year degree, it is the most generous bursary scheme offered by any British university.[16] In addition, individual colleges also offer bursaries and
funds to help their students. For graduate study, there are many scholarships attached to the University, available to students
from all sorts of backgrounds, from the famous Rhodes Scholarships to the new
Weidenfeld Scholarships.[17] In October 2007 it was
announced that Oxford would be launching a fund-raising campaign with a goal in excess of £1 billion. Of the money raised,
approximately one quarter is expected to go towards student financial support. [18]
Students successful in early examinations are rewarded by their colleges with scholarships and exhibitions, normally the result of a
long-standing endowment, although when tuition fees were first abolished the amounts of money available became purely nominal.
Scholars, and exhibitioners in some colleges, are entitled to wear a more voluminous undergraduate gown; "commoners" (originally
those who had to pay for their "commons", or food and lodging) being restricted to a short sleeveless garment. The term "scholar"
in relation to Oxbridge, therefore, had a specific meaning as well as the more general meaning of someone of outstanding academic
ability. In previous times, there were "noblemen commoners" and "gentlemen commoners", but these ranks were abolished in the 19th
century. "Closed" scholarships, which were accessible only to candidates who fitted specific conditions such as coming from
specific schools, exist now only in name.
Until 1866 one had to belong to the Church of England to receive the
BA degree from Oxford, and "dissenters" were only permitted to receive the MA in 1871.
Knowledge of Ancient Greek was required until 1920, and Latin until 1960. Women were admitted to degrees in 1920.
Collections
Libraries
Oxford’s central research library is the Bodleian, founded in 1598 by
Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 8 million volumes housed on 117 miles of shelving, it is the
second-largest library in the UK, after the British Library. It is a legal deposit library, which means that it is entitled to request a free copy of every book published
in the UK. As such, its collection is growing at a rate of over 3 miles of shelving every year.[19] Its main central site is comprised of the Radcliffe Camera, the Old Schools Quadrangle, the Clarendon
Building, and the New Bodleian Building. A tunnel underneath Broad St
connects the buildings. There are plans to build a new book depository in Osney Mead,[20] and to remodel the New Bodleian building[21] to better showcase the library’s various treasures (which include a Shakespeare
First Folio and a Gutenberg Bible) as well as
temporary exhibitions. Several other libraries, such as the Radcliffe Science
Library and the Oriental Institute Library also fall within the
Bodleian Group’s remit.
As well as the Bodleian, there are a number of other specialised libraries in Oxford, such as the Sackler Library which holds classical collections. In addition, most academic departments maintain their
own library, as do all colleges. The University’s entire collection is catalogued by the Oxford Libraries
Information System, though with such a huge collection, this is an ongoing task. Oxford University Library Services, the
head of which is Bodley’s Librarian, is the governing administrative body responsible for libraries in Oxford. The Bodleian is
currently engaged in a mass-digitisation project with Google.[22][23]
- See also: Category:Libraries in Oxford
Museums
Oxford maintains a number of museums and galleries, in addition to its libraries. The Ashmolean Museum, founded in 1683, is the oldest museum in the UK, and the oldest university museum in
the world.[24] It holds significant collections of art
and archaeology, including works by Michaelangelo, da
Vinci, Turner, and Picasso, as well as
treasures such as the Parian Marble and the Alfred
Jewel. The Ashmolean is currently undertaking a £49m redevelopment[25] which will double the display space as well as provide new facilities.
The Museum of Natural History holds the University’s
anatomical and natural history specimens. It is housed in a large neo-Gothic building in the University’s Science Area. Among its
collection are the skeletons of a Tyrannosaurus rex and triceratops, and the most complete remains of a dodo found anywhere in the
world. It also hosts the Simonyi Professorship of the Public Understanding of Science,
currently held by Richard Dawkins.
Adjoining the Museum of Natural History is the Pitt Rivers Museum, founded in
1884, which displays the University’s archaeological and anthropological collections, currently holding over 500,000 items. It
recently built a new research annexe; its staff have been involved with the teaching of anthropology at Oxford since its
foundation, when as part of his donation General Augustus Pitt Rivers stipulated
that the University establish a lectureship in anthropology.
The Museum of the History of Science is housed on Broad St
in the world’s oldest-surviving purpose-built museum building.[26] It contains 15,000 artefacts, from antiquity to the 20th century, representing almost all aspects
of the history of science. In the Faculty of Music on St
Aldate’s is the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, a
collection mostly comprising of instruments from Western classical music, from the medieval period onwards. The Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in the UK, and the third-oldest
scientific garden in the world. It contains representatives from over 90% of the world’s higher plant families. Christ Church Picture Gallery holds a collection of over 200 old master paintings.
- See also: Category:Museums in Oxford
Reputation
Internationally, Oxford was rated 3rd (after Harvard and Cambridge) in the THES - QS World University
Rankings[27] 2006. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities Oxford achieved 9th place in 2003, 8th
in 2004, and 10th in 2005, 2006, and 2007.[28]
In the UK, Oxford has been placed best in the United Kingdom for the 6th consecutive year in the Times Good University
Guide (2003-2008), while The Sunday Times has placed the
University of Cambridge first from 1997 to 2005. Oxford topped the Guardian league
table in 2005,[29] 2006,[30] and 2007[31].
In the subject tables of the Times Good University Guide, Oxford's Physiological Sciences course is ranked first of 48
'Anatomy and Physiology' courses. Fine Art, Business Studies, Materials technology,
Middle Eastern and African Studies, Music,
Philosophy, and Politics, are also first and Education and Linguistics are first equal with Cambridge. Oxford comes second after
Cambridge in a further seventeen subjects, and second after Durham in English. The University then takes three third-places and
an equal-third, as well as a fourth, fifth, and equal-sixth place in one subject each.[32]
In the Guardian's subject tables for institutions in tariff-band 6 (universities whose prospective students are expected to
score 400 or more tariff points) Oxford took first place for Anatomy and Physiology, Anthropology, Biosciences, Business and
Management Studies, Earth and Marine Sciences,
Economics, Law, Materials and Mineral Engineering, Modern Languages, Music, Politics,
Psychology, and Sociology. Oxford came second to Cambridge in Archaeology, Classics, English, History, History of Art, Mathematics, Philosophy, Theology and Religious
Studies. Oxford came second to Aberdeen in General Engineering, and third in Fine Art, General Engineering and Physics;
fourth place in Chemistry and Medicine; sixth place in Computer Science and IT.[33]
Oxford is one of four UK universities that belong to the Coimbra Group, one of four UK
universities that belong to the League of European Research
Universities, and one of three UK universities that belong to both. It is the only UK university to belong to the
Europaeum group.
Notable alumni and faculty
-
There are many famous Oxonians, as alumni of the University are known:
Oxford has had a role in educating four British and at least eight foreign
kings, 56 Nobel prize-winners, 3 Fields medallists, 3 Oscar winners, 25 British Prime Ministers, 28 foreign presidents
and prime ministers, 7 saints, 86 archbishops, 18 cardinals, and 1 pope. 8 of the last 12 British Prime
Ministers have been Oxford graduates. All four Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom who served between 1880 and 1905 -
Gladstone, Lord
Salisbury, Lord Rosebery and Balfour - were educated at Eton and then at Christ Church.
T. E. Lawrence was both a student and a don at Oxford, while other illustrious members
have ranged from the explorer, courtier, and man of letters Sir Walter Raleigh to the
media magnate Rupert Murdoch. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, studied at Christ Church and was elected a fellow
of Lincoln College. The Burmese Democracy Activist and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was a student of St
Hugh's College, Oxford.
Amongst the long list of writers associated with Oxford are Evelyn Waugh,
Lewis Carroll, Aldous Huxley, Oscar Wilde, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R.
Tolkien, Graham Greene, Phillip Pullman,
Vikram Seth and Plum Sykes, the poets Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Donne, A. E. Housman, W. H. Auden, and Philip Larkin, and Poets Laureate Thomas Warton, Henry James Pye, Robert Southey, Robert Bridges, Cecil Day-Lewis, Sir John Betjeman, and Andrew Motion.
Some contemporary scientists include Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins and Nobel prize-winner Anthony James
Leggett, and Tim Berners-Lee, co-inventor of the World Wide Web.
Actors Hugh Grant, Kate Beckinsale,
Dudley Moore, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones were undergraduates at the University, as were Oscar
winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and film-maker Ken Loach.
More complete information on famous senior and junior members of the University can be found in the individual
college articles (an individual may be associated with two or more
colleges, as an undergraduate, postgraduate, and/or member of staff).
Other students in Oxford
Many University of Oxford colleges host overseas students (primarily from American
universities) enrolled in study abroad programmes during the summer months.
Oxford University Department for Continuing
Education caters mainly for mature and part-time students.
Oxford's other principal higher education institutions are Ruskin College, Oxford, an
adult education college, which although not part of the University of Oxford has close
links with it, Oxford Brookes University and the former Lady Spencer Churchill
teaching college (now the Wheatley campus of Oxford Brookes).
There are other higher and further education institutions in Oxford, including
various independent "colleges", not associated with either of the universities. These institutions vary considerably in the
standard of teaching they provide.
Institutions
Well-known organisations and institutions officially connected with the University include:
University Church of St Mary the Virgin
Worcester College, Backs of medieval cottages
Departments
- See: Category:Departments of the University of Oxford
Clubs and societies
- See also:
- Category:Oxford student societies
- Category:Oxford student sports clubs
Media
Buildings and parks
- See also:
- Category:Buildings and structures in Oxford
- Category:Churches in Oxford
- Category:Parks and open spaces in Oxford
Oxford in literature and other media
Oxford University is the setting for numerous works of fiction. Quickly becoming part of the cultural imagination, Oxford was
mentioned in fiction as early as 1400 when Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales referred to a "Clerk [student] of Oxenford": "For him was
levere have at his beddes heed/ Twenty bookes, clad in blak or reed,/ of Aristotle and his philosophie/ Than robes riche, or
fithele, or gay sautrie". As of 1989, more than 533 Oxford-based novels had been identified, and the number continues to rise.
Literary works include:
- Gaudy Night, a Lord Peter Wimsey
mystery by Dorothy L. Sayers (who was herself a graduate of Somerville).
- Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn
Waugh.
- A Staircase in Surrey, a quintet of novels by J. I. M. Stewart.
- A series of whodunnits by Veronica Stallwood,
including Oxford Blue, Oxford Exit, etc.
- The His Dark Materials trilogy of Philip
Pullman (alternative reality)
- The Inspector Morse series by Colin
Dexter is set in Oxford and frequently refers to the University (although most of the college names are fictional).
- An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
- Where the Rivers Meet, a trilogy of novels by John
Wain
- Tom Brown at Oxford, by Thomas Hughes
- Zuleika Dobson, by Max Beerbohm
- Jill, by Philip Larkin
- Doomsday Book, To Say
Nothing of the Dog, and the short story Firewatch, by Connie Willis
- Accident, by Nicholas Mosley; the novel
served as the basis for the film of the same name, which is mentioned below
Fictional universities based on Oxford include Terry Pratchett's Unseen University and "Christminster" in Thomas Hardy's
Jude the Obscure.
For a list of fictional colleges of the University of Oxford, see List of
fictional Oxford colleges.
Many poets have also been inspired by the University:
- The Oxford Sausage was an anthology published in 1764 and edited by
Thomas Warton. The Glamour of Oxford (1911) is a collection of verse and prose
edited by William Angus Knight, and another anthology — Seccombe and Scott's In
Praise of Oxford (1912) — spans two volumes. More recent compilations include Oxford and Oxfordshire in Verse (1983)
and Oxford in Verse (1999) (see 'Further Reading').
- 'Duns Scotus' Oxford' is one of Gerard Manley Hopkins' better-known
poems.
Films set in the University include:
- A Yank at Oxford (1938), starring Robert Taylor and Vivien Leigh
- A Chump at Oxford (1940) starring Stan
Laurel and Oliver Hardy
- Accident (movie) (1967), film about an Oxford don, co-written by
Harold Pinter
- May Morning (1970), a critique of social mores in early
1970s Oxford
- Incense for the Damned (1972), starring Peter
Cushing, Patrick Macnee and Edward
Woodward (based on the novel Doctors Wear Scarlet by Simon Raven)
- Brideshead Revisited (1981), based on Waugh's novel; a mini-series enormously popular in Britain and America,
the film has sometimes been seen as drawing unwanted attention to Oxford's stereotypical reputation as a playground of the
upper classes. It stars Jeremy Irons, and most
college shots are of Christ Church and Hertford.
- Oxford Blues (1984), starring Rob Lowe,
Ally Sheedy and Amanda Pays
- American Friends (1991), starring Michael
Palin
- Shadowlands (1993), starring Anthony
Hopkins and Debra Winger, about the life of C. S.
Lewis
- The Madness of King George (1994), with Nigel Hawthorne
- Tom & Viv (1994), a film which explores the troubled relationship between
T. S. Eliot (played by Willem Dafoe) and his mentally
ill wife Vivienne Haigh-Wood (Miranda
Richardson)
- True Blue (1996), about the mutiny at the time of the Oxford-Cambridge
Boat Race of 1987
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), a James
Bond sequel starring Pierce Brosnan (Bond returns to Oxford to brush up on his
Danish.)
- The Saint (1997), film starring Val
Kilmer as the sleuth Simon Templar
- Wilde (1997), film about the outlandish playwright starring Stephen Fry, Jude Law and Vanessa
Redgrave
- The Red Violin (1998), the violin arrives in Oxford after being given to an
English lord
- Iris (2001), starring Judi Dench,
Jim Broadbent and Kate Winslet, about the life of
Iris Murdoch
- National Lampoon's Van Wilder 2: Rise of Taj
(2006), under the name of "Camford"
- What A Girl Wants (2003), movie about a vivacious teenager called Daphne who goes to
visit her father in London, only to learn he is a lord. In the end she attends The University of Oxford just like her
father.
- The Oxford Murders (film) (2007) starring Elijah Wood and John Hurt.
- Blue Blood (film) (2007)
This list does not include movies in which university buildings appeared as a backdrop but were not depicted as the University
of Oxford, such as the Harry Potter movies and the earlier Young Sherlock Holmes.
Oxford University has also been in the media during animal rights protests held against the opening of a new research
institute in the University's science area [citation needed].
References
