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For American college students, studying abroad has become an encouraged and widely available opportunity. As more colleges recognize the benefits that study abroad experiences can provide, they have increasingly implemented programs worldwide that enable their students to embark upon a learning adventure abroad. The UK is a popular destination for such adventures and many U.S. universities offer extensive programs in the city of Oxford, world-famous for its prestigious academic reputation.

Academics in Oxford

As a world-renowned center of academic excellence, Oxford has always been a city that welcomes throngs of study abroad students from around the world. These students come to the City of Dreaming Spires to immerse themselves in the ultimate academic experience, and to take advantage of the rich and varied learning opportunities that are so widely available there. For starters, college students have the option of choosing between two excellent but incredibly different institutions of higher learning.

Most have heard of the University of Oxford – lauded as the oldest surviving institution of higher learning in the English-speaking world. The sheer weight of the legacy and prestige of this university can be quite daunting for any young person, but having a study abroad experience there is unlike any other. Oxford University is known as much for its picturesque grounds and historical buildings, as it is for its rigorous tutorial system. The 44 self-governing colleges and halls that make up the university each have their own unique heritage, structure, activities and student body, and in a sense they almost function as independent institutions that are just peripherally related through a central administration. In fact, only the Oxford vs. Cambridge rivalry outranks the internal rivalry – both acadmic and athletic – that exists year-round between the various Oxford colleges.

Oxford Brookes University, known as "the other" university in the City of Dreaming Spires, is a much more recent participant in the academic history of Oxford. Although fairly new by the standards of this city, since its creation in 1934 Brookes has become one of the top "modern" universities in the whole of the UK and is often ranked highly by educational authorities. Brookes is particularly well-regarded for its School of the Built Environment and its School of Technology, as well as the courses it offers in publishing, architecture, and engineering. It gained significant media attention in 2003 when it became the first university in the world to be awarded Fairtrade status, quite an achievement. As the "other" university in the city, Brookes offers study abroad students a dramatically different option for a worthwhile learning experience in Oxford.

Student Life in Oxford