Undergraduates
As an Oxford student, you’ll belong to both the University and to one of its colleges, which are dotted around the city. Your college is where you’ll live but it’s far more than just accommodation and meals; colleges are the heart of the University, offering a small, welcoming community for students, tutors and staff alike. Worcester is an average-sized college, meaning that we have around 400 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students studying here.
Whichever college you belong to, you’ll be able to access all of the University’s central facilities, including the world-famous Bodleian Libraries, your faculty or department, and the Careers Service. It’s the University that decides what’s on the syllabus, sets examinations and confers degrees at the end of your studies. Your University faculty or department also organises group teaching like lectures, seminars and practical classes for students studying your course at all the colleges.
Like every other college in Oxford, Worcester has its own resources and facilities separate from those of the University, from accommodation and libraries to social spaces and sports facilities. We also have a wide range of academic tutors who often research and teach for both the college and the University. Your college tutors are responsible for supporting your studies and arranging small group tutorial teaching. This style of learning is one of the things that makes Oxford a great place to study, allowing you to explore your subject in depth and receive regular personalised feedback on your progress.
At Oxford, your college offers a personal academic focus and a ready-made smaller community within the larger University. It’s this setting which makes it easy to access individual support and guidance, to form friendships across a range of subject areas, and to participate in the countless extra-curricular activities on offer.
Why Worcester?
When you apply to Oxford, you can choose one college as your first choice or make what’s called an Open Application if you don’t have a preference. The only restricting factor is whether or not the college offers your course, as not every subject is taught at every college. Either way, you’re not limiting your options, as all applicants to Oxford are considered by colleges across the University to ensure that our admissions processes are fair. This means that about a quarter of people who receive an offer from Oxford get it from a college that they didn’t apply to; all candidates are considered on their own individual merits, and we select students solely on the basis of their academic ability and potential.
If we offer your course, we’d love you to consider applying to Worcester. Here are 10 reasons why we think Worcester is a great place to be a student:
- Our strong academic reputation and the expertise of our friendly tutors.
- Our city centre location, convenient for faculties and libraries, as well as Oxford's shops, restaurants, museums and theatres.
- Our excellent accommodation for three years of your degree, with a range of options to suit all preferences and budgets (all rooms are either on-site or no more than 300m from the perimeter).
- Our on-site sports facilities, including a gym and the only sports pitches within a college.
- Our beautiful gardens and lake, offering 26 acres of relaxed and tranquil surroundings to enjoy.
- Our well-stocked libraries, with around 65,000 modern volumes, a separate law library, and a magnificent Old Library housing collections of European importance.
- Our fantastic range of extra-curricular activities led by the Junior Common Room (JCR), including music, sport, drama, and many more.
- Our great food, always served at reasonable prices.
- Our grants for travel and research projects and funding to help students in financial difficulty.
- Our professional welfare provision, including trained staff, medicial practitioners, student reps, and peer supporters.
If you have any questions about applying to Worcester College please get in touch with our Access and Outreach Officer, Zoe Campbell, on admissions@worc.ox.ac.uk or 01865 288222.