Living in Oxford

Living in Oxford for a year will be an unforgettable experience. Oxford is home to some of the most advanced research laboratories in the world, but remains best known for its medieval colleges and dreaming spires.  

Oxford has educated future leaders for over 800 years. As a student in Oxford, you can enjoy the City’s centuries-old pleasures: punting on the waterways and picnicking in parks; powering down the river in a rowing boat; browsing the artefacts in the Ashmolean, Britain’s oldest museum; walking through the early morning mist that rises above Christ Church Meadow; hearing the choristers sing from Magdalen Tower on May morning; or enjoying a pint in the Eagle and Child, where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien used to meet. 

Oxford is also a modern and cosmopolitan city. Food lovers can sample the international cuisine in a broad range of eateries, from the popular Indian restaurant, Aziz, on the Cowley road to the original Brasserie Blanc. Live music venues include the legendary Jericho Tavern, the site of early gigs by Radiohead and Supergrass, and the Bullingdon Arms.

With 30,000 students from all around the world in the city, there is no shortage of nightlife, and societies exist for everything from snowboarding and aikido to journalism and medieval music. The most famous of these is the Oxford Union, a prestigious debating society, which over the years has attracted speakers ranging from Lord Randolph Churchill to Malcolm X, and from Yasser Arafat to the Dalai Lama.