St Hilda’s welcomes visiting students
As a visiting student, you are sure of a warm welcome at St Hilda’s College, one of the University of Oxford's world-famous Colleges.
You’ll find that we are friendly and inclusive, and as a mid-sized College, we’re small enough that you can make friends easily yet large enough to have a diverse range of students, tutors, and courses.
It’s easy to settle in quickly here, and before you know it, you’ll be calling St Hilda's your home from home.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about becoming a visiting student, please email us at:
Academic year
As a visiting student, you will join us for a full academic year, from 1 October to 31 July.
University privileges
You will be formally recognised by the University of Oxford, opening up many of the same privileges available to our undergraduates. That includes access to lecturers, tutorials, libraries and membership of the Junior Common Room as well as access to our societies and sports clubs.
Accommodation
You’ll stay in a single furnished room with an ensuite bathroom alongside other College students. The rooms sockets for laptops and WiFi. Your accommodation is available for your full year with us, including during the Oxford vacations.
Meals
At mealtimes you are welcome to use our Dining Hall, a focal point of College life, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner on weekdays and brunch at weekends. We subsidise the cost of food so meals are relatively inexpensive. Alternatively, you may wish to cook for yourself and the friends you make here in Oxford in your accommodation which includes a kitchen shared with other students.
Your personal tutor
As a visiting student, you are assigned a Personal Tutor who is also the Director of the Visiting Student Programme, taking care of your wellbeing and academic studies, including planning your teaching here. You will meet with your Personal Tutor at the start of term to ensure you are prepared, and at the end of term to discuss your progress. Your Personal Tutor is your primary pastoral contact to discuss anything that is impacting your ability to engage with your academic work. Your Personal Tutor can also direct you to other sources of help and support in the College.
Experiencing University Life
Spending a full academic year at St Hilda's College will give you the opportunity to gain as much as possible from the intellectually stimulating and academically challenging environment of the University of Oxford.
Academic work
The academic year at Oxford is divided into three terms, each eight weeks long with five-week-long vacations between them.
- Michaelmas (early October to early December)
- Hilary (early-mid January to early-mid March)
- Trinity (late April to late June).
You are expected to arrive in the week before term begins.
Assessment
Visiting Students do not sit University of Oxford examinations, but you will sit a College examination in June. Your progress at St Hilda's will be closely monitored with termly reports from your tutors which will be discussed with you. The grades you receive during your time at Oxford are converted for accreditation at your home institution.
Choosing a course to study
Being able to immerse yourself in your chosen course or courses is an important part of teaching and learning at Oxford. You can choose to study one course or two complementary courses.
The course or courses that you choose must relate to your studies at your home institution.
Modules
Each term, you will study a new module or “paper” for each course you have chosen.
Academic schedule and independent study
A unique aspect of learning at the University of Oxford is the world-renowned tutorial system.
- You will typically attend a tutorial once a week or every two weeks for each course you are studying.
- Tutorials usually last for one hour, and each tutor either sees students individually or in pairs.
- Tutorials are highly concentrated sessions of discussion and debate.
The tutorial system is intellectually challenging, stimulating, and hugely rewarding.
Tutorials are supplemented by lectures and depending on your course, group tutorials and laboratory practical classes run by the University with students from other Colleges.
To make the most of your studies, you will need to be motivated, organised and prepared. You will develop your independent study skills and learn to debate and defend your ideas. You are expected to undertake a considerable amount of independent study and research to prepare for your tutorials, which could include readings, research, essay writing and problem solving. For each tutorial, you will be expected to independently prepare an essay on a set topic or problem or another kind of assignment. Your tutor will usually provide you with a reading list or other guidance to help you get started.
Transcripts and grades
At the end of your year here, we will produce a transcript, based on the reports of your tutors and your College examination(s), which we will send to you and your home institution. Your home institution will allocate and award you academic credit and a final grade for the work that you have done at Oxford.
As visiting students do not sit formal University examinations, they are not eligible to receive a degree or diploma from the University of Oxford.
How to apply
To apply for a place at St Hilda's as a visiting student for the 2024/25 academic year, please complete the application form below.
Email your completed form by 9am on Monday 25 March 2024 to:
