University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. Teaching there dates back at least to 1096, which makes it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest in continuous operation. It grew rapidly from 1167, when Henry II barred English students from the University of Paris. Oxford has no main campus: its 43 colleges, halls and societies and its departments are spread across the city.

Times Higher Education ranks Oxford No. 1 in its World University Rankings 2027 and 2026; THE notes that 2027 is its "record 11th consecutive year" at the top of a table of 2,297 institutions from 118 countries and territories. QS ranks it No. 4 in its 2027 and 2026 World University Rankings, and first in its 2026 ranking of European universities. U.S. News & World Report places it No. 4 in its Best Global Universities 2026–2027 and 2025–2026. CWUR ranks it No. 5 in both 2026 and 2025, and ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities puts it No. 7 in 2026 and No. 6 in 2025.

Oxford runs the Ashmolean Museum, the world's oldest university museum, and Oxford University Press, the largest university press in the world. In the year to 31 July 2025 its consolidated income was £3.02 billion, of which £801.3 million came from research grants and contracts. Its alumni include 31 UK prime ministers, and as of October 2025, 76 Nobel laureates had studied, worked or held fellowships there. It is also home to the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the oldest international graduate scholarship programmes.

Sources of this text: Wikipedia · Times Higher Education · Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) · U.S. News & World Report · Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) · ShanghaiRanking Consultancy (ARWU)