University of Oxford Courses

The Oxford Tutorial System

At the core of an Oxford education is the tutorial system, where students meet one-on-one or in small groups with a subject tutor who will provide constructive guidance and feedback on your intellectual journey. In most cases, Oxford students focus on one particular subject (like biochemistry or modern history) without general or elective study in subjects outside their specialty. Students meet with tutors and attend lectures for eight weeks a term during three, ten-week terms a year. During the long breaks between teaching terms, students consolidate and extend their reading and work in a subject.

You and your principal tutor will decide on your major and minor tutorial concentrations for that term. For instance, a student in English may be directed to focus on Shakespeare's tragedies or 19th-century women's writing. Additionally, your principal tutor will appoint some of his or her colleagues to supervise your tutorials in each area. Generally, you will meet these tutors on a weekly or bi-weekly basis over the term but this may vary depending on the availability of your tutor and yourself.. You can expect your principal tutor to assign readings, lectures, practical laboratory work, and a topic for you to prepare and present, often in the form of a tutorial essay. These essays, based on extensive independent reading, are concentrated expressions of your analysis of each weekly topic. You can expect to prepare one or two essays per week, which your tutor will critique and help you develop.

What is a tutorial?

Visiting study abroad students at Oxford do not take courses, they take tutorials: a small class of one or a few students in which the tutor (academic staff member) gives individual attention to the student(s). The tutor, an expert in the field of study, will guide the student(s) through the subject area in 8 intense and fulfilling weeks of learning.

For each term in which you enroll, you will generally take 1 major tutorial (8 credits) and 1 minor tutorial (4 credits). A major tutorial meets once a week and a minor tutorial once every other week. Your tutorials will be supplemented by a series of lectures which are recommended by your tutor.

No syllabi are available since you will create your curriculum with your personal tutor though tutorial descriptions may be available. 

What tutorials can I take?

Between the six colleges we partner with you can study nearly every academic subject. You can only study at one college so please ensure you review all the colleges before making your decision. Please see each of the college pages for information on what tutorial subjects you can take.

Laboratory-based tutorials at all Oxford Colleges are limited in availability. Please speak with your Program Manager for more details.

Can’t find a subject area that you’re interested in? The tutorial system at Oxford makes it very malleable and our partner colleges can potentially build around your interests. In fact, some actively encourage you to request tutorials subjects that you have interest in and may not be listed. Speak to your Program Manager if you have a particular subject area you’d like to study.

Completing your Academic Preferences Form

As part of your application, you will submit an Academic Preferences Form to Arcadia detailing your College and Department/Tutorial selections. When completing the form:

• Indicate your first choice College of study and select your Departments/Tutorials from that College. Department/Tutorial offerings can be found on the Courses page for each College, linked from that College’s page on the Arcadia website.
• Choose one or two departments/subject areas.
• Choose tutorials from those departments. List at least 3 major and 3 minor tutorial selections for each term of study. List all tutorial choices and alternates in order of preference.
  • Substantial academic experience required in your area or areas of study (at least three college-level courses in each). It is not possible to take basic-level or general education courses.
• Indicate whether you would like to take each course as a major tutorial or a minor tutorial by typing "8" in the credits column for a major tutorial, and "4" in the credits column for a minor tutorial.
  
  • Most students take one major tutorial and one minor tutorial per term, depending upon department. However, some Oxford colleges will permit students to take three minor tutorials per term.
• Please indicate the term in which you would like to take each individual tutorial in the session column. If you do not have a preference, indicate "no preference."
• Note that there are no pre-set course codes for Oxford tutorials. Simply type “Oxford” where a course code is required.