Academics

Academic Objective

The academic experience at BOSP Oxford is quite different from the usual pattern of study on Stanford's main campus, and seeks to give students access to Oxford's unusual culture of teaching and learning. The core idea is to study a smaller number of questions in greater depth than is usually possible as an undergraduate, facilitated by individualised one-on-one teaching (the tutorial) and intensive small-group discussion (the seminar). The programme will teach you new ways to approach your degree back at Stanford, and new ways to think, write, and work throughout your university career and beyond.

Academic Prerequisites

There are no pre-requisites for this programme, although English 66: A Model Island is a required course that can be completed before or during your abroad experience in Oxford. Every student’s academic plan is different. The recommendation is that you enroll in English 66 when it works best for your academic plan. Read more about the course on the Prerequisites page. 

You can choose to study a tutorial in your area of major/minor expertise or on a subject you have some foundational knowledge of or, alternatively, to explore a new field. It is possible to continue to study a foreign language while abroad here, but it is not possible to begin a new language. Please refer to the tutorial guidance below.

Related On-Campus Courses

ENGLISH 105: The Renaissance
ENGLISH 113C: The Two Elizabeths
ENGLISH 115A: Shakespeare and Modern Critical Developments
ENGLISH 20: Masterpieces of English Literature II: From the Enlightenment to the Modern Period
ENGLISH 9: Masterpieces of English Literature I: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, and their Contemporaries
HISTORY 139: Modern Britain and the Empire
HISTORY 233C: The Two British Revolutions
HISTORY 233F: Political Thought in Modern Britain
POLISCI 111D: British Politics

Course Credit

The Oxford program offers courses that provide credit toward Stanford graduation and most classes also count toward an undergraduate major. You must enroll in a minimum of 12 units from the courses offered through the program in Oxford. For a list of all BOSP courses offered in the current academic year and planned for the next, and for information on which courses earn departmental credit or fulfill Education Requirements, please refer to the BOSP course database. For information on courses scheduled for the current academic year and for enrollment, please refer to Axess.

Academic Schedule

Over the 11 weeks of term you are expected to participate fully in at least one Stanford seminar. Our quarter always overlaps with the 8 weeks of Oxford University term, in which you will complete your 8 weekly assignments. You should generally expect to spend a minimum of 10 hours of study on your seminar, and 20 hours of study on your tutorial each week, though the students who gain most from tutorials tend to have committed time beyond that.

Tutorial Programme

Tutorials involve writing a paper, usually of about 2000 words each week over the 8 weeks of Oxford term, based upon a substantial amount of reading assigned by the tutor. Once written, a paper (‘essay’) is submitted to the tutor, and the hour-long tutorial is devoted to discussion, often based on the Socratic Method. Since students write a great deal over the course of the term, their writing skills tend to improve quickly. For some subjects, however, tutorials may be organised around working on problem sheets.

Tutorials are an ideal way for you to deepen your knowledge of a subject in which you will be already well prepared and, in some cases, tutorials are a useful preparation for departmental honors work. Tutorials are not a vehicle for completing sequence course requirements. Under no circumstances can a tutorial satisfy one of the University's Ways of Thinking/Ways of Doing (Ways) or General Education Requirements (GERs).

For a detailed description, see the Tutorials page.