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90-502: The Department of Engineering Science is the engineering department of the University of Oxford . It is part of the university's Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division . The department was ranked third best institute in the UK for engineering in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework . It is principally located on a triangular plot formed by Banbury Road to the west, Parks Road to

180-474: A Lord 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 lived in colleges rather than in halls and religious houses. In 1333–1334, an attempt by some dissatisfied Oxford scholars to found

270-729: A Scottish engineer who was also a professor of engineering at Oxford. The adjacent Holder Building followed in 1976. The department celebrated its centenary in 2008 and Lord Jenkin acted as its patron. There have been approximately 40 spin-offs from research done in the Department of Engineering Science. These companies operate in the medical, biotech, energy, transport, instrumentation, materials, nanotech, optics, robotics, and information technology spaces. The list includes PowderJect Pharmaceuticals , YASA , OrganOx , First Light Fusion , Oxsonics , Oxbotica , Sensyne Health , OxVent , Mind Foundry Oxa and Opsydia . The intake of students into

360-513: A college and a PPH is that whereas colleges are governed by the fellows of the college, the governance of a PPH resides, at least in part, with the corresponding Christian denomination. The four current PPHs are: The PPHs and colleges join as the Conference of Colleges, which represents the common concerns of the several colleges of the university, to discuss matters of shared interest and to act collectively when necessary, such as in dealings with

450-646: A diverse range of subjects. Facilities such as libraries are provided on all these levels: by the central university (the Bodleian ), by the departments (individual departmental libraries, such as the English Faculty Library), and by colleges (each of which maintains a multi-discipline library for the use of its members). The university's formal head is the Chancellor , currently Lord Patten of Barnes (due to retire in 2024), though as at most British universities,

540-409: A first-year examination that was heavily focused on classical languages . Science students found this particularly burdensome and supported a separate science degree with Greek language study removed from their required courses. This concept of a Bachelor of Science had been adopted at other European universities ( London University had implemented it in 1860) but an 1880 proposal at Oxford to replace

630-636: A former headmaster of Rugby School, was a key member of the Oxford Commission; he wanted Oxford to follow the German and Scottish model in which the professorship was paramount. The commission's report envisioned a centralised university run predominantly by professors and faculties, with a much stronger emphasis on research. The professional staff should be strengthened and better paid. For students, restrictions on entry should be dropped, and more opportunities given to poorer families. It called for an enlargement of

720-449: A group which evolved into the Society of Oxford Home-Students and in 1952 into St Anne's College . These first three societies for women were followed by St Hugh's (1886) and St Hilda's (1893). All of these colleges later became coeducational, starting with Lady Margaret Hall and St Anne's in 1979, and finishing with St Hilda's , which began to accept male students in 2008. In

810-551: A major public fundraising campaign, the Campaign for Oxford . The current campaign, its second, was launched in May 2008 and is entitled "Oxford Thinking – The Campaign for the University of Oxford". This is looking to support three areas: academic posts and programmes, student support, and buildings and infrastructure; having passed its original target of £1.25 billion in March 2012, the target

900-511: A member of the university, all students, and most academic staff, must also be a member of a college or hall. There are thirty-nine colleges of the University of Oxford and four permanent private halls (PPHs), each controlling its membership and with its own internal structure and activities. Not all colleges offer all courses, but they generally cover a broad range of subjects. The colleges are: The permanent private halls were founded by different Christian denominations. One difference between

990-493: A method section, and thereby making the assessment of what type of impact was claimed a rhetoric game of who can claim the most (cf. Brauer, 2018). Thereby, grand claims are incentivized by the assessment structure. The problem occurs, because qualitative judgments of the significance and reach of the impact (without an account of the underlying method) cement contemporary values into the assessment, as such; "[…] call it socially constructed, mutual learning, social practice whatever,

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1080-559: A new university at Stamford, Lincolnshire , was blocked by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge petitioning King Edward III . Thereafter, until the 1820s, no new universities were allowed to be founded in England, even in London; thus, Oxford and Cambridge had a duopoly, which was unusual in large western European countries. The new learning of the Renaissance greatly influenced Oxford from

1170-470: A range of topics. Crowdfunding for research has two advantages: one, it is a source for a relatively high guaranteed funding, with a rate of around 50%, second, it is a very effective tool to engage with the general public. One problem that the Stern review did not address in relation to the research impact assessment, is that the structure of case study design template on which impact is assessed, does not contain

1260-567: A reverence for the past, a code of honour for the present, which could not but be serviceable. He had enjoyed opportunities... of intercourse with men, some of whom were certain to rise to the highest places in the Senate, in the Church, or at the Bar. He might have mixed with them in his sports, in his studies, and perhaps in his debating society; and any associations which he had this formed had been useful to him at

1350-475: A rotating basis from any two of the colleges, are the internal ombudsmen who make sure that the university and its members adhere to its statutes. This role incorporates student discipline and complaints, as well as oversight of the university's proceedings. The university's professors are collectively referred to as the Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford . They are particularly influential in

1440-885: A student study area. The adjacent array of four interconnected buildings house departmental professor and postgraduate research space, some of which is shared with the Department of Materials . The department also maintains satellite facilities in a number of locations throughout the city. This includes the Old Road Campus Building, which houses the Institute of Biomedical Engineering , the Southwell Building (the Oxford Thermofluids Institute ), Eagle House (the Oxford Man Institute for Quantitative Finance ),

1530-601: Is a collegiate research university in Oxford , England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in continuous operation . It grew rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris . After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk, some Oxford academics fled northeast to Cambridge , where, in 1209, they established

1620-479: Is a self-governing institution within the university, controlling its own membership and having its own internal structure and activities. All students are members of a college. The university does not have a main campus, but its buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city centre. Undergraduate teaching at Oxford consists of lectures, small-group tutorials at the colleges and halls, seminars, laboratory work and occasionally further tutorials provided by

1710-594: Is encouraged by the REF structure is quite conservative. Also, in terms of the impact of the examined research, in the history of the sciences and the humanities it is not unusual to take some time until the full impact of a discovery is made. The present system has a vista of only four or five years. The Times Higher Education also revealed that some universities appeared to be "gaming" the REF system. This included "REF Poaching", in which staff with established research records were headhunted from their universities immediately before

1800-400: Is particularly evident in the humanities, where most of the ground-breaking research is traditionally not published in articles. Therefore, many researchers are pushed towards a relatively mediocre activity, which will allow them to produce one or two books during the assessment period, but not the kind of monograph that normally would need four or five years of research and writing. Moreover,

1890-488: Is suited practically more for the assessment. Another area of criticism, which the REF inherited from the structure of the RAE, is that for most full-time staff members submission normally consists of four published 'research output items'. There is no recognition of the difference between a book and an article in terms of research value. Therefore, the REF system discourages long-term projects that strive for excellence. This problem

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1980-618: Is taught in coordination with the Saïd Business School . The Department of Engineering Science carries out research in the following areas: The department is home to five research institutes: The research degrees offered by the department are MSc(R), DEng and DPhil. The department has approximately 500 postgraduate research students. The department was ranked third among UK engineering departments in 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), having previously ranked first in 2014. University of Oxford The University of Oxford

2070-549: Is the home of numerous scholarships, including the Rhodes Scholarship , one of the oldest international graduate scholarship programmes. The University of Oxford's foundation date is unknown. In the 14th century, the historian Ranulf Higden wrote that the university was founded in the 10th century by Alfred the Great , but this story is apocryphal. It is known that teaching at Oxford existed in some form as early as 1096, but it

2160-431: Is unclear when the university came into being. Scholar Theobald of Étampes lectured at Oxford in the early 1100s. It grew quickly from 1167 when English students returned from the University of Paris . The historian Gerald of Wales lectured to such scholars in 1188, and the first known foreign scholar, Emo of Friesland , arrived in 1190. The head of the university had the title of chancellor from at least 1201, and

2250-597: The Examination Schools , where examinations and some lectures take place. The University Church of St Mary the Virgin was used for university ceremonies before the construction of the Sheldonian. In 2012–2013, the university built the controversial one-hectare (400 m × 25 m) Castle Mill development of 4–5-storey blocks of student flats overlooking Cripley Meadow and the historic Port Meadow , blocking views of

2340-583: The High Street is the oldest botanic garden in the UK. It contains over 8,000 different plant species on 1.8 ha ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 acres). It is one of the most diverse yet compact major collections of plants in the world and includes representatives of over 90% of the higher plant families. The Harcourt Arboretum is a 130-acre (53 ha) site six miles (9.7 km) south of the city that includes native woodland and 67 acres (27 hectares) of meadow. The 1,000-acre (4.0 km ) Wytham Woods are owned by

2430-557: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) issued a circular letter announcing that a new framework for assessing research quality in UK universities would replace the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), following the 2008 RAE. The following quote from the letter indicates some of the original motivation: Our key aims for the new framework will be: The letter also set out a timetable for

2520-486: The University of Cambridge . The two English ancient universities share many common features and are jointly referred to as Oxbridge . The University of Oxford is made up of 43 constituent colleges, consisting of 36 semi-autonomous colleges , four permanent private halls and three societies (colleges that are departments of the university, without their own royal charter ), and a range of academic departments which are organised into four divisions . Each college

2610-582: The " steamboat ladies " to receive ad eundem degrees from the University of Dublin . In June 1878, the Association for the Education of Women (AEW) was formed, aiming for the eventual creation of a college for women in Oxford. Some of the more prominent members of the association were George Granville Bradley , T. H. Green and Edward Stuart Talbot . Talbot insisted on a specifically Anglican institution, which

2700-452: The "market share" measure uses the weighting used to calculate block grants from the institutional profiles, with 4* grades given a weighting of four, 3* grades given a weighting of one, and 2* and below given a weighting of zero. A particular source of criticism has been the element of the REF that addresses the "impact" of research. The articles below raise two objections. The main one is that "impact" has been defined to mean impact outside

2790-483: The 19th century included the replacement of oral examinations with written entrance tests, greater tolerance for religious dissent , and the establishment of four women's colleges. Privy Council decisions in the 20th century (e.g. the abolition of compulsory daily worship, dissociation of the Regius Professorship of Hebrew from clerical status, diversion of colleges' theological bequests to other purposes) loosened

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2880-401: The 2021 REF based on research power, market share and quality (GPA). The THE institutional GPA is an average of each institution's GPA across the units of assessment weighted by the number of full time equivalent staff submitted to each unit of assessment, the "research power" measure is this institutional GPA multiplied by the number of full time equivalent staff submitted by the institution, and

2970-433: The 20th century, with the exception of St Antony's, which was founded as a men's college in 1950 and began to accept women only in 1962. By 1988, 40% of undergraduates at Oxford were female; in 2016, 45% of the student population, and 47% of undergraduate students, were female. In June 2017, Oxford announced that starting the following academic year, history students may choose to sit a take-home exam in some courses, with

3060-624: The Chancellor is a titular figurehead and is not involved with the day-to-day running of the university. The Chancellor is elected by the members of Convocation , a body comprising all graduates of the university, and may hold office until death. The Vice-Chancellor , currently Irene Tracey , 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. Two university proctors , elected annually on

3150-722: The George Building (the Oxford Robotics Institute ), and Begbroke Science Park (the Institute for Advanced Technology building). The department was originally established in 1908 with the appointment of the first professor of engineering science at Oxford, Frewen Jenkin , grandfather of Lord Jenkin of Roding . The Jenkin Building is named after him. On 2 February 1909, the Honour School of Natural Science (Engineering Science)

3240-456: The German armed forces, bearing the inscription, 'In memory of the men of this college who coming from a foreign land entered into the inheritance of this place and returning fought and died for their country in the war 1914–1918'. During the war years the university buildings became hospitals, cadet schools and military training camps. Two parliamentary commissions in 1852 issued recommendations for Oxford and Cambridge. Archibald Campbell Tait ,

3330-942: The North ( northerners or Boreales , who included the English people from north of the River Trent and the Scots ) and the South ( southerners or Australes , who included English people from south of the Trent, 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. In addition, members of many religious orders , including Dominicans , Franciscans , Carmelites , and Augustinians , settled in Oxford in

3420-491: The Oxford Martin Principles. The total assets of the colleges of £6.3 billion also exceed total university assets of £4.1 billion. The college figure does not reflect all the assets held by the colleges as their accounts do not include the cost or value of many of their main sites or heritage assets such as works of art or libraries. The university was one of the first in the UK to raise money through

3510-454: The REF took sometimes two weeks to produce associated references. Thereby, the external impact focus disciplines the assessment into focusing on external values. In 2018, it was said that REF has negative effects on the humanities. Despite its criticisms, the UK’s research impact evaluation system – assessing the quality of research outputs, research impact and research environment – has inspired

3600-643: The REF will be delayed by a year in order to assess the efficacy of the impact measure. In July 2016, Lord Nicholas Stern's review was published, drafting general guidelines for the next REF in 2021. In general, the review was supportive with the methodology used in 2014 to evaluate universities' research, however it emphasised the need for more engagement with the general public and the increase of number of case studies that undertook interdisciplinary approach. The Research-impact.org team at Loughborough University Business and Economic School have been experimenting with crowdfunding for research in order to increase

3690-407: The REF, giving the poaching institution full credit for their publications without having taken the risk of supporting the researcher. It also included employing large numbers of staff on 0.2 FTE contracts, the lowest level of employment that qualifies them for REF submission. In addition to such concerns about what really can be measured by four research output items, and how impact may be measured,

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3780-419: The University of Oxford is long and includes many who have made major contributions to politics, the sciences, medicine, and literature. As of October 2022, 73 Nobel laureates and more than 50 world leaders have been affiliated with the University of Oxford. The university passed a statute in 1875 allowing examinations for women at roughly undergraduate level; for a brief period in the early 1900s, this allowed

3870-426: The academy. If researchers were required to pursue this form of impact, it would undermine academic freedom . The other is that impact—as currently construed—is hard to measure in any way that would be regarded as fair and impartial. The Higher Education Funding Council for England argue that their measure of "impact" is a broad one which will encompass impact upon the "economy, society, public policy, culture and

3960-555: The armed forces. By 1918 virtually all fellows were in uniform, and the student population in residence was reduced to 12 per cent of the pre-war total. The University Roll of Service records that, in total, 14,792 members of the university served in the war, with 2,716 (18.36%) killed. Not all the members of the university who served in the Great War were on the Allied side; there is a remarkable memorial to members of New College who served in

4050-527: The central university faculties and departments. Postgraduate teaching is provided in a predominantly centralised fashion. Oxford operates the Ashmolean Museum , the world's oldest university museum ; Oxford University Press , the largest university press in the world; and the largest academic library system nationwide. In the fiscal year ending 31 July 2023, the university had a total consolidated income of £2.92 billion, of which £789 million

4140-623: The central university. The Conference of Colleges was established as a recommendation of the Franks Commission in 1965. Teaching members of the colleges (i.e. fellows and tutors) are collectively and familiarly known as dons , although the term is rarely used by 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

4230-513: The church was a requirement to graduate as a Bachelor of Arts, and " dissenters " were only permitted to be promoted to Master of Arts in 1871. The university was a centre of the Royalist party during the English Civil War (1642–1649), while the town favoured the opposing Parliamentarian cause. Wadham College , founded in 1610, was the undergraduate college of Sir Christopher Wren . Wren

4320-528: The city centre. The Science Area , in which most science departments are located, is the area that bears closest resemblance to a campus. The ten-acre (4-hectare) Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in the northwest of the city is currently under development. Iconic university buildings include the Radcliffe Camera , the Sheldonian Theatre used for music concerts, lectures, and university ceremonies, and

4410-516: The classical requirement with a modern language (like German or French) was unsuccessful. After considerable internal wrangling over the structure of the arts curriculum, in 1886 the "natural science preliminary" was recognised as a qualifying part of the first year examination. At the start of 1914, the university housed about 3,000 undergraduates and about 100 postgraduate students. During the First World War, many undergraduates and fellows joined

4500-460: The colleges', is managed by the university's wholly-owned endowment management office, Oxford University Endowment Management, formed in 2007. The university used to maintain substantial investments in fossil fuel companies. However, in April 2020, the university committed to divest from direct investments in fossil fuel companies and to require indirect investments in fossil fuel companies be subjected to

4590-578: The curriculum, with honours to be awarded in many new fields. Undergraduate scholarships should be open to all Britons. Graduate fellowships should be opened up to all members of the university. It recommended that fellows be released from an obligation for ordination. Students were to be allowed to save money by boarding in the city, instead of in a college. The system of separate honour schools for different subjects began in 1802, with Mathematics and Literae Humaniores . Schools of "Natural Sciences" and "Law, and Modern History" were added in 1853. By 1872,

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4680-468: The department is between 160 and 170 annually. The department offers a general engineering course, where students only specialise in one of six areas in their third and fourth years of their Masters in Engineering degree (MEng). These specialisations are: Students can also choose to follow an Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Management (EEM) pathway in the third and fourth years of their degree. This option

4770-414: The departments. In 2017–18, the university had an income of £2,237m; key sources were research grants (£579.1m) and academic fees (£332.5m). The colleges had a total income of £492.9m. While the university has a larger annual income and operating budget, the colleges have a larger aggregate endowment: over £6.4bn compared to the university's £1.2bn. The central University's endowment, along with some of

4860-512: The development of the REF. HEFCE undertook a consultation exercise during September–December 2009, soliciting responses from stakeholders on the proposals. These include for example the response from Universities UK , and the response from the University and College Union . In July 2010 (following the May 2010 general election ), the Universities and Science minister David Willetts announced that

4950-526: The early 19th century, the curriculum at Oxford was notoriously narrow and impractical. Sir Spencer Walpole , a historian of contemporary Britain and a senior government official, had not attended any university. He said, "Few medical men, few solicitors, few persons intended for commerce or trade, ever dreamed of passing through a university career." He quoted the Oxford University Commissioners in 1852 stating: "The education imparted at Oxford

5040-421: The early 20th century, Oxford and Cambridge were widely perceived to be bastions of male privilege ; however, the integration of women into Oxford moved forward during the First World War. In 1916 women were admitted as medical students on a par with men, and in 1917 the university accepted financial responsibility for women's examinations. On 7 October 1920 women became eligible for admission as full members of

5130-642: The east and Keble Road to the south. The main building is the tall 1960s Thom Building that dominates the local landscape, especially the view from the University Parks to the east. Further lower buildings have been added to the north since then. The department shares buildings with the Department of Materials . The department is based in the Thom Building , built in 1960, which houses two main lectures theatres, four floors of teaching, research and technical support laboratories, core administration offices and

5220-507: The fossil fuel industry between 2010 and 2015, £18.8 million between 2015 and 2020 and £1.6 million between 2020 and 2021. Research Excellence Framework Its stated aims are to: Critics argue, inter alia, that there is too much focus on the impact of research outside of the university system, and that impact has no real relevance to the quality of research. It is suggested that REF actually encourages mediocrity in published research, and discourages research which might have value in

5310-623: The imperialist Cecil Rhodes in 1902. In 1996 a donation of £20 million was received from Wafic Saïd who was involved in the Al-Yammah arms deal , and taking £150 million from the US billionaire businessman Stephen A. Schwarzman in 2019. The university has defended its decisions saying it "takes legal, ethical and reputational issues into consideration". The university has also faced criticism, as noted above, over its decision to accept donations from fossil fuel companies having received £21.8 million from

5400-473: The intention that this will equalise rates of firsts awarded to women and men at Oxford. That same summer, maths and computer science tests were extended by 15 minutes, in a bid to see if female student scores would improve. The detective novel Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers , herself one of the first women to gain an academic degree from Oxford, is largely set in the all-female Shrewsbury College, Oxford (based on Sayers' own Somerville College ), and

5490-496: The issue of women's education is central to its plot. Social historian and Somerville College alumna Jane Robinson 's book Bluestockings: A Remarkable History of the First Women to Fight for an Education gives a very detailed and immersive account of this history. The university is a "city university" in that it does not have a main campus; instead, colleges, departments, accommodation, and other facilities are scattered throughout

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5580-451: The key is that we can’t separate characteristics of Impact from the process imposed on value and recognise it as such. " (Derrick, 2018:160) When checking the reference of current claims, these were either not accessible (e.g. the relevant websites were taken down), referenced in such a way that it didn't reflect self-authorship or testimonials of individuals connected to the researcher (Brauer, 2018:142-147). Similarly, Sayer (2014) criticizes

5670-458: The last of these had split into "Jurisprudence" and "Modern History". Theology became the sixth honour school. In addition to these B.A. Honours degrees, the postgraduate Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) was, and still is, offered. The mid-19th century saw the impact of the Oxford Movement (1833–1845), led among others by the future Cardinal John Henry Newman . Administrative reforms during

5760-568: The late 15th century onwards. Among university scholars of the period were William Grocyn , who contributed to the revival of Greek language studies, and John Colet , the noted biblical scholar . With the English Reformation and the breaking of communion with the Roman Catholic Church , recusant scholars from Oxford fled to continental Europe, settling especially at the University of Douai . The method of teaching at Oxford

5850-435: The link with traditional belief and practice. Furthermore, although the university's emphasis had historically been on classical knowledge, its curriculum expanded during the 19th century to include scientific and medical studies. The University of Oxford began to award doctorates for research in the first third of the 20th century. The first Oxford DPhil in mathematics was awarded in 1921. The list of distinguished scholars at

5940-526: The long term. It has repeatedly been argued that REF does more harm than good to higher education. The latest REF was in 2021, with results released in May 2022, continuing the previous assessment model of focusing on research outputs, research impact and research environment. This process was slightly delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic . In June 2023, it was announced that the next exercise would conclude in 2028, with submissions in 2027. In June 2007

6030-433: The masters were recognised as a universitas or corporation in 1231. The university was granted a royal charter in 1248 during the reign of King Henry III . After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled from the violence to Cambridge , later forming the University of Cambridge . The students associated together on the basis of geographical origins, into two ' nations ', representing

6120-420: The mid-13th century, gained influence and maintained houses or halls for students. At about the same time, private benefactors established colleges as self-contained scholarly communities. Among the earliest such founders were William of Durham , who in 1249 endowed University College , and John Balliol , father of a future King of Scots ; Balliol College bears his name. Another founder, Walter de Merton ,

6210-409: The opportunity of making acquaintance with one another, and full liberty to live their lives in their own way, without evolving in the best among them, some admirable qualities of loyalty, independence, and self-control. If the average undergraduate carried from University little or no learning, which was of any service to him, he carried from it a knowledge of men and respect for his fellows and himself,

6300-413: The overall peer review of the REF process, describing it as poor simulacrum of standard academic quality and that the assessment process is further complicated by the sheer workload of the assessment (p. 35). On a similar note, a RAND study found that the majority of the references were never consulted, certain assessment panels were discouraged from using the internet and the reference help structure of

6390-453: The quality of life". However, the assessment structure does make what impact practically can be claimed rather narrow (4 page limit, no method section, 10 impact references, 10 research references and only 1 page to summarize the research and the impact respectively). These strict discursive guidelines alongside the REF's dated notion of how research impact functions (teaching research impact excluded, linear model, etc.) does restrict what impact

6480-440: The rise of organised sport was one of the most remarkable and distinctive features of the history of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was carried over from the athleticism prevalent at the public schools such as Eton , Winchester , Shrewsbury , and Harrow . All students, regardless of their chosen area of study, were required to spend (at least) their first year preparing for

6570-594: The running of the university's graduate programmes. Examples of statutory professors are the Chichele Professorships and the Drummond Professor of Political Economy . The University of Oxford is only a "public university" in the sense that it receives some public money from the government, but it is a "private university" in the sense that it is entirely self-governing and, in theory, could choose to become entirely private by rejecting public funds. To be

6660-487: The spires in the city centre. The development has been likened to building a "skyscraper beside Stonehenge ". The University Parks are a 70-acre (28 ha) parkland area in the northeast of the city, near Keble College , Somerville College and Lady Margaret Hall . It is open to the public during daylight hours. There are also various college-owned open spaces open to the public, including Bagley Wood and most notably Christ Church Meadow . The Botanic Garden on

6750-418: The system of the four published items discourages long-term projects with relatively high research risk in the sciences as well, since researchers are reluctant to engage in projects or experiments that may not be successful and may not lead to a publication. Since most of the ground-breaking research in the sciences takes place with precisely such risky and imaginative projects, the type of research activity that

6840-481: The time, and might be a source of satisfaction to him in after life. Out of the students who matriculated in 1840, 65% were sons of professionals (34% were Anglican ministers). After graduation, 87% became professionals (59% as Anglican clergy). Out of the students who matriculated in 1870, 59% were sons of professionals (25% were Anglican ministers). After graduation, 87% became professionals (42% as Anglican clergy). M. C. Curthoys and H. S. Jones argue that

6930-422: The university and used for research in zoology and climate change . Colleges arrange the tutorial teaching for their undergraduates, and the members of an academic department are spread around many colleges. Though certain colleges do have subject alignments (e.g., Nuffield College as a centre for the social sciences), these are exceptions, and most colleges will have a broad mix of academics and students from

7020-407: The university and were given the right to take degrees. In 1927 the university's dons created a quota that limited the number of female students to a quarter that of men, a ruling which was not abolished until 1957. However, during this period Oxford colleges were single sex , so the number of women was also limited by the capacity of the women's colleges to admit students. It was not until 1959 that

7110-494: The university's researchers' public engagement. REF's impact is defined as "an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia". Submissions are assessed according to the following criteria: Two publishers, Times Higher Education , (THE) and Research Professional News (RPN; used by The Guardian and other newspapers) produced overall rankings of institutional results in

7200-585: The university's statutes. These, to a large extent, remained its 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. From the beginnings of the Church of England as the established church until 1866, membership of

7290-437: The whole system is often criticized as unnecessarily complex and expensive, whereas quality evaluation in the digital age could be much simpler and effective. The system, with its associated financial implications, has also been criticised for diverting resources from teaching. As such, increases in student fees may often not have resulted in more staff time being spent on teaching. In July 2016, Lord Nicholas Stern's review

7380-466: The women's colleges were given full collegiate status. In 1974, Brasenose , Jesus , Wadham , Hertford and St Catherine's became the first previously all-male colleges to admit women. The majority of men's colleges accepted their first female students in 1979, with Christ Church following in 1980, and Oriel becoming the last men's college to admit women in 1985. Most of Oxford's graduate colleges were founded as coeducational establishments in

7470-534: Was formally instituted by a Statute of Oxford University. The school was initially located at 6 Keble Road , on the south side of what is now known as the Keble Road Triangle , part of the Oxford University Science Area . The main part of the department has remained and expanded at this location to the present day. The Thom Building, built in 1963, is named after Alexander Thom (1894–1985),

7560-503: Was from research grants and contracts. Oxford has educated a wide range of notable alumni, including 31 prime ministers of the United Kingdom and many heads of state and government around the world. As of October 2022, 73 Nobel Prize laureates , 4 Fields Medalists , and 6 Turing Award winners have matriculated, worked, or held visiting fellowships at the University of Oxford, while its alumni have won 160 Olympic medals . Oxford

7650-428: Was not such as to conduce to the advancement in life of many persons, except those intended for the ministry." Nevertheless, Walpole argued: Among the many deficiencies attending a university education there was, however, one good thing about it, and that was the education which the undergraduates gave themselves. It was impossible to collect some thousand or twelve hundred of the best young men in England, to give them

7740-553: Was part of a brilliant group of experimental scientists at Oxford in the 1650s, the Oxford Philosophical Club , which included Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke . This group, which has at times been linked with Boyle's " Invisible College ", held regular meetings at Wadham under the guidance of the college's Warden, John Wilkins , and the group formed the nucleus that went on to found the Royal Society . Before reforms in

7830-458: Was published, drafting general guidelines for the next REF in 2021. One of the recommendations was to increase research public engagement. Research engagement means enhancing delivery of the benefits from research. It also means making the public more aware of the research findings and their implications. One mechanism for public engagement is crowdfunding for research, where dedicated platforms host crowdfunding campaigns for university research, in

7920-405: Was raised to £3 billion. The campaign had raised a total of £2.8 billion by July 2018. The university has faced criticism for some of its sources of donations and funding. In 2017, attention was drawn to historical donations including All Souls College receiving £10,000 from slave trader Christopher Codrington in 1710, and Oriel College having receiving taken £100,000 from the will of

8010-445: Was transformed from the medieval scholastic method to Renaissance education, although institutions associated with the university suffered losses of land and revenues. As a centre of learning and scholarship, Oxford's reputation declined in the Age of Enlightenment ; enrolments fell and teaching was neglected. In 1636, William Laud , the chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury , codified

8100-486: Was unacceptable to most of the other members. The two parties eventually split, and Talbot's group founded Lady Margaret Hall in 1878, while T. H. Green founded the non-denominational Somerville College in 1879. Lady Margaret Hall and Somerville opened their doors to their first 21 students (12 at Somerville, 9 at Lady Margaret Hall) in 1879, who attended lectures in rooms above an Oxford baker's shop. There were also 25 women students living at home or with friends in 1879,

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