Oxford University

1. Oxford University is one of the two oldest and most respected universities in the UK. It is situated 100 km of London in the city of Oxford.

2. The University’s origins can be traced to the early 12th century. It was modelled on the University of Paris, with initial faculties of theology, law, medicine and liberal arts.

3. Oxford is a collegiate university. It consists of about 35 separate colleges. Colleges are self-governing institutions consisting of a head and fellows. Each has its own hall, chapel, library, and endowments.

4. The university has 16 faculties including medieval and modern European languages and literature, agricultural science, social studies and others.

5. The usual course for a bachelor’s degree is 3 years, but in classics and chemistry it is four. Final examination takes place in June, and students are classified. No further examination is required for a master’s degree, which is taken on the payment of the necessary fees seven years after matriculation.

6. Oxford houses the Bodleian Library and the Ashmolean Museum. The Oxford University Press, established in 1478, is one of the largest and most prestigious university publishers in the world.

7. Oxford University is considered to give a very high standard of education, and is known to be a difficult place for students to be accepted to study in. Oxford University graduates often become powerful and successful members of British society, and many of the leading people in professions such as law, politics, and the civil service have traditionally been “Oxford-educated”, though this is beginning to change. Oxford and Cambridge Universities are sometimes criticized for the fact that about half their students come from public schools (expensive private schools), even though most British children do not attend these schools. Some people also think of Oxford and Cambridge colleges as too old-fashioned, traditional, and elitist, and regard them as not really understanding how ordinary people think and live.

Notes:

1. a collegiate university [kэ’li:dζэt] – университет, объединяющий несколько самостоятельных колледжей

2. a fellow – член совета колледжа

3. matriculation [mэ,trikju’lein] – зачисление в университет

4. the Bodleian Library [‘bodliэn] – Бодлианская библиотека Оксфордского университета; вторая по значению в Великобритании после Британской библиотеки (British Library); имеет около 5 млн. томов; основана в 1598 г.; названа по имени основателя Томаса Бодли (Thomas Bodley)

5. the Ashmolean Museum [æ’mэuliэn] – музей Ашмола; музей и библиотека древней истории, изящных искусств и археологии при Оксфордском университете; основан в 1683 г.; назван по имени основателя Элиаса Ашмола (Elias Ashmole)

11. Ask your groupmates about Text 9c and let them answer these questions.

1. Where is Oxford University situated?

2. When was Oxford University established?

3. How many colleges does it consist of?

4. What are Oxford University colleges like?

5. What colleges does the University have?

6. What is the system of degrees at the University?

7. Why is Oxford University considered to be prestigious?

8. What do Oxford graduates become?

9. What are Oxford and Cambridge Universities often criticized for?

10. What does the term “Oxford-educated” mean?