Oxbridge rivalry
Encyclopedia
Rivalry between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge is a phenomenon going back many centuries. During most of that time, the two were the only universities in England and Wales
, making the rivalry more intense than it is now.
The University of Oxford
and the University of Cambridge
, sometimes collectively known as Oxbridge
, are the two oldest universities in the United Kingdom
. Both were founded more than 800 years ago, and between them they have produced a large number of Britain's most prominent scientist
s, writer
s and politician
s, as well as noted figures in many other fields. Competition between Oxford and Cambridge also has a long history, dating back to around 1209 when Cambridge was founded by scholars taking refuge from hostile townsmen in Oxford.
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, the University of California, Berkeley
and Stanford University
.
: each university has more than 30 semi-autonomous residential colleges (see Colleges of the University of Cambridge
, Colleges of the University of Oxford
), which provide the environments in which students live, work and sleep.
Applicants must choose a specific college when applying to Oxford or Cambridge, or allow the university to select one for them, as every undergraduate and graduate student must be a member of one of the colleges. However, all colleges are part of the university and students studying the same subject attend the same lecture
s and exams, irrespective of which college they belong to. Degrees are also awarded by the central university and not by the individual colleges.
Colleges within each university regularly compete with each other in a variety of sporting and other events (e.g. rugby
, rowing
, athletics and chess
), but will pool their talent to form university teams for inter-university contests.
: terms used at Cambridge and Oxford respectively, though the meaning is the same. These are typically weekly or more frequent hour-long sessions in which small groups of students - usually between one and three - meet with a member of the university's teaching staff or a doctoral student. Students are normally required to complete an essay or assignment in advance of the supervision/tutorial, which they will discuss with the supervisor/tutor during the session, along with any concerns or difficulties they have had with the material presented in that week's lecture
s. Students typically receive one to three tutorials/supervisions per week.
and Anglia Ruskin University
. In addition, various English language schools
, secretarial and other non-university colleges are based in the two cities.
is a prominent English-language dictionary worldwide, while Cambridge Assessment provides a number of widely recognised qualifications for students (including GCSEs
, A-levels
and English-language proficiency certificates such as the Certificate in Advanced English
).
is larger (having a population about 30 per cent greater than Cambridge's in 2007 ) and has historically been more urban and industrial, whilst Cambridge
more closely resembles an agricultural market town
. Oxford is associated with the motor industry (BMW
currently produce the Mini
in Oxford, and several Formula One
teams are based in Oxfordshire
and neighbouring counties), whereas the area surrounding Cambridge is known as Silicon Fen
, one of the most important technology centres in Europe, and has a lot of medical technology firms.
Both cities were built near rivers. However, the river is a more prominent feature in Cambridge, flowing through the city centre rather than around it as it does at Oxford. Punting is especially popular in Cambridge along the famous stretch called 'The Backs', which features a number of bridges and 'the backs' of several colleges that abut the River Cam
(punting is also popular at Oxford).
Despite many ancient buildings in both Oxford and Cambridge, there are also distinct differences in architecture. Oxford has a uniformity of building material, as a large proportion of the buildings are in the local sandstone. Cambridge, on the other hand, has little local stone, so the building material has been brought in from many different sources, resulting in a greater variety of character. The contrasts in architecture in Cambridge are more pronounced, as can be seen when comparing King's College
with the neighbouring Senate House
.
Oxford is featured more often in literature and the cinema
; films with scenes shot in Oxford include Shadowlands
and the Harry Potter
movies, while Radcliffe Square was used in the filming of His Dark Materials: Northern Lights. The television series Inspector Morse
and Lewis are also set in Oxford. Cambridge may be best known in film as the real-life location of the court race scene portrayed in the film Chariots of Fire
(although the scene was filmed at Eton College
instead), or for the television series Porterhouse Blue
.
It is still compulsory at Oxford to wear formal academic dress (sub fusc) for all university examinations, although this is not the case at Cambridge. During Hilary Term 2006, the students of Oxford voted 81% in favour of keeping formal academic dress at university exams.) In general, however, traditions and the seriousness with which they are taken tend to vary widely amongst the different colleges within each university, showing more variation than between the two universities as a whole.
, was founded in 1869 and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
, in 1878. Although Cambridge was the first to accommodate female students, women were not permitted to become full members of the university until 1947, whereas at Oxford this had occurred in 1920.
There are still three colleges at Cambridge which only accept women: Newnham
, Murray Edwards and Lucy Cavendish
. In 2008, Oxford's last all-female college, St Hilda's
, admitted men and became coeducational.
and the humanities
, while Cambridge is stronger in the science
s and engineering
. Despite both universities stressing that there is no significant difference between them in either the sciences or humanities today, this disparity in the popular imagination has existed since at least the late 1820s, when The Times
newspaper reported on the appointment of Oxford and Cambridge academics to the newly established professor
ships of University College London
: "it is known to be the intention to choose classical
professors at Oxford, and mathematical at Cambridge", although in the event both the classical and mathematical professors were eventually chosen from Cambridge.
In his book, The Decline of Privilege: The Modernization of Oxford University, American
sociologist Joseph A. Soares suggests that Oxford developed a superior political and literary reputation because of its unparalleled connections to England
's governing class, its status as the oldest and most traditional university in England, and the greater romantic appeal of Oxford to writers:
In contrast, Cambridge has been associated with a large number of Nobel Prize
-winning breakthroughs and the majority of Britain's most culturally significant scientists, including Charles Darwin
and Isaac Newton
. The authors of Oxford Figures also suggest that Cambridge's unrivalled intellectual reputation in England, especially although not exclusively in technical fields, could be partly attributed to the emphasis it placed on mathematics
for many years:
Notwithstanding the above, significant changes have occurred at both Oxford and Cambridge over the last century, including Cambridge's diversification away from intense mathematical study and Oxford's renewed emphasis on ground-breaking scientific research, such as its influential work in the development of penicillin
. However, the withdrawal of equal academic dress
from Oxford's scientist alumni may perhaps reflect a current institutional preference towards the arts.
newspaper, the five top universities in the UK based on undergraduate students' performance in public examinations while at high school (as measured on the UCAS tariff scale
) were Cambridge (546), Oxford (530), Imperial College London
(500), the London School of Economics
(493) and Durham University
(466). Depending on which subject an applicant wishes to specialise in, there are often compulsory subject-specific entrance tests as well.
After an initial screening of submitted applications, short-listed
candidates at Oxford and Cambridge are invited to a series of tests and interviews with the academics who may eventually be teaching them. Oxbridge interviews have acquired something of a mythical status in the British media, becoming a source of various humorous anecdotes and urban legend
s due to the perception that the interviews themselves are bizarre, intimidating and/or frequently involve unusual questions and requests. Interview prompts reportedly used in the past include "Do you think you're clever?" (from a Law interview at Cambridge) and "Talk about a light bulb" (from an Engineering interview at Oxford). Admissions staff have said that there are no correct answers to such questions, but that applicants are assessed on their ability to approach unfamiliar, open-ended problems and discuss them articulately, incorporating new ideas and evidence as the discussion progresses. Candidates are also expected to show a willingness to challenge their own preconceptions
about the topics under discussion, as well as the preconceptions adopted by their interviewers. This is essentially a test of whether the student would do well under the tutorial/supervision system at Oxford and Cambridge, and a poor performance at interview may negate an otherwise strong application.
In recent years, Cambridge has placed slightly more emphasis than Oxford on public exam results during the selection process. Cambridge routinely asks applicants who take A-level exams to report their exact scores, not just letter-grades; this is partly in order to distinguish between high A-grades and borderline A/B grades. In contrast, disclosure of exact scores for Oxford applications is voluntary. In 2010, the new A* grade for A-level exams (an A* indicating a high A) was introduced. Cambridge started requesting that its applicants achieve at least one A* grade if they were taking A-levels, letting students earn a place through their performance in public examinations; Oxford initially stated that it relies more on its own internal aptitude tests and waited to see how effective the A* grade is at highlighting the best candidates, before deciding to implement it as a requirement for most courses starting in 2012.
Due to the similarities between the two universities, and to ease the burden of interviewing so many applicants each year, high school students are not normally allowed to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same application cycle. This restriction does not apply to potential organ scholars or students who already have a degree and are applying for a second undergraduate degree or a graduate degree at Oxbridge.
. First contested in 1829, the race pits Cambridge University Boat Club
against their Oxford counterparts
over a four-mile (6 km) stretch of the River Thames
. The very first Boat Race was won by Oxford, but Cambridge lead the overall series with 80 wins to Oxford's 76, with one dead heat in 1877. Recent races have been closely fought, with Oxford winning by the shortest ever margin of 1 foot (0.3048 m) in 2003 and Cambridge winning in 2004 despite Oxford's claims of a foul.
The other major Oxbridge competitions are the Rugby Union
and Rugby League
Varsity Matches: The Varsity Match
is a rugby union game played annually in December at Twickenham stadium
. Cambridge currently has 60 wins (including the most recent win in December 2009), Oxford has 53, and 14 games have ended in draws. The Rugby Football Union
chose to advertise the 2006 match with a campaign promoting inter-university rivalry: their advertising agency Lowe London produced posters showing the number of Prime Ministers
produced by the universities (Oxford 26 - Cambridge 14), with the tagline "It's time to get even".
The Rugby League Varsity Match
is a rugby league game played annually in March at The Stoop
. Whilst not having the history of its Union counterpart, the fixture has been contested for over 30 years, and is broadcast live on Sky Sports. Cambridge currently lead the series 16-14, with one draw in 1994.
The Boat Race and the two Varsity Matches are notable in the UK in that they are the only university sports events that have any public profile outside the universities themselves; all three are screened live on national television and are widely covered in the national media.
All other significant sports have their own varsity match
at some point during the year; some of these, such as the cricket fixture
and the Ice Hockey Varsity Match
have attracted significant attention in the past. The results of all the varsity matches in The Varsity Games are aggregated and each year one university wins the Varsity Games title. Sportsmen who have competed at a Varsity Match in the prestigious Full Blue sports are eligible for an Oxford Blue or Cambridge Blue respectively.
, which rank universities based on criteria such as their student-staff ratio, drop-out rates and spending on services and facilities. Oxford and Cambridge have been a constant presence at the top end of the tables, never appearing outside the overall top three and rarely not holding the first and second places, but their dominance in individual subjects has been challenged by other institutions.
In recent league tables of UK universities produced by newspapers such as The Times
and The Guardian
, Oxford has generally been ranked 1st and Cambridge 2nd.
On the other hand, international league tables of universities across the world, which use a variety of different criteria (often research output in the sciences and reputation among peer institutions), have generally favoured Cambridge over Oxford; for example the 2010 U.S. News & World Report
's World's Best Universities ranking placed Cambridge as 1st in the world and Oxford the 6th. The
Academic Ranking of World Universities
produced in China ranked Cambridge 5th in the world in 2010 and ranked Oxford 10th.
However, there are exceptions to this trend, such as the International 2012 Times Higher Education rankings, in which Oxford is ranked 4th globally and Cambridge 6th. The Guardian's 2012 UK university rankings also placed Cambridge above Oxford.
and Jesus College, Oxford
. However, namesakes are not always paired up: for example, St John's College, Oxford
is the sister college of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
, while St John's College, Cambridge
is the sister college of Balliol College, Oxford
. Arrangements between sister colleges vary, but may include reciprocal offers of accommodation to students from the other university when they are visiting.
Concerns are often raised that Oxford and Cambridge do not project a socially inclusive image to potential applicants from state schools, and thus Oxbridge students are disproportionately from wealthy backgrounds. The two universities have made individual and combined efforts in recent years to promote themselves to potential applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds. Each year, the Universities spend around £8 million on access schemes and there is a designated Access Officer in every JCR
and students' union.
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
, making the rivalry more intense than it is now.
The University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, sometimes collectively known as Oxbridge
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
, are the two oldest universities in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Both were founded more than 800 years ago, and between them they have produced a large number of Britain's most prominent scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
s and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s, as well as noted figures in many other fields. Competition between Oxford and Cambridge also has a long history, dating back to around 1209 when Cambridge was founded by scholars taking refuge from hostile townsmen in Oxford.
Similarities between Oxford and Cambridge
Academic reputation
In 2011 the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, based on a survey of 13,388 academics over 131 countries which was then the largest evaluation of academic reputation to date found that both Cambridge and Oxford belonged to the elite group of six universities touted as the 'globally recognised super brands'; Cambridge ranked 3rd, Oxford 6th. The other four were Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Institutions and facilities
Oxford and Cambridge both have:- well-regarded publishingPublishingPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
houses (Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
and Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
) - botanical gardenBotanical gardenA botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
s (University of Oxford Botanic GardenUniversity of Oxford Botanic GardenThe University of Oxford Botanic Garden is an historic botanic garden in Oxford, England. It is the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. The garden was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal research. Today it...
and Cambridge University Botanic GardenCambridge University Botanic GardenThe Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England. It lies between Trumpington Road to the west and Hills Road to the east, close to Cambridge railway station. The garden covers an area of 16 hectares...
) - museumMuseumA museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s (the AshmoleanAshmolean MuseumThe Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
and the FitzwilliamFitzwilliam MuseumThe Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
) - legal deposit librariesLegal depositLegal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The requirement is mostly limited to books and periodicals. The number of copies varies and can range from one to 19 . Typically, the national library is one of the...
(the BodleianBodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
and the Cambridge University LibraryCambridge University LibraryThe Cambridge University Library is the centrally-administered library of Cambridge University in England. It comprises five separate libraries:* the University Library main building * the Medical Library...
) - debatingDebateDebate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
societies (the Oxford UnionOxford UnionThe Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
and the Cambridge Union) - business schoolBusiness schoolA business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource...
s (the Saïd Business SchoolSaïd Business SchoolSaïd Business School is the business school of the University of Oxford in England, located on the north side of Frideswide Square on the former site of Oxford Rewley Road railway station. It is the University's centre of learning for graduate and undergraduate students in business, management...
and the Judge Business SchoolJudge Business SchoolCambridge Judge Business School, formerly known as the Judge Institute of Management Studies, is the business school of the University of Cambridge. Established in 1990, the School is a provider of management education and is consistently ranked as one of the world's leading business schools. It is...
) - science parkScience parkA research park, science park, or science and technology park is an area with a collection of buildings dedicated to scientific research on a business footing. There are many approximate synonyms for "science park", including research park, technology park, technopolis and biomedical park...
s (Oxford Science ParkOxford Science ParkThe Oxford Science Park is a science and technology park located on the southern edge of the city of Oxford, England. It was founded jointly by Magdalen College, Oxford and Prudential in 1990...
and Cambridge Science ParkCambridge Science ParkThe Cambridge Science Park, founded by Trinity College in 1970, is the oldest science park in the United Kingdom. It is a concentration of science and technology related businesses, and has strong links with the nearby University of Cambridge....
) - theatrical societies and groups (the Oxford University Dramatic SocietyOxford University Dramatic SocietyThe Oxford University Dramatic Society is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England...
and The Oxford RevueThe Oxford RevueThe Oxford Revue is a comedy group featuring students from Oxford University, England. Founded in the early 1950s, The Oxford Revue has produced many prominent comedians and satirists. The Revue writes, produces and performs several shows each term...
, the Cambridge FootlightsFootlightsCambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University....
and the Marlowe SocietyMarlowe SocietyThe Marlowe Society is a Cambridge University theatre club for Cambridge students. It is dedicated to achieving a high standard of student drama in Cambridge...
)
Collegiate structure
Oxford and Cambridge also share a common collegiate structureCollegiate university
A collegiate university is a university in which governing authority and functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges...
: each university has more than 30 semi-autonomous residential colleges (see Colleges of the University of Cambridge
Colleges of the University of Cambridge
This is a list of the colleges within the University of Cambridge. These colleges are the primary source of accommodation for undergraduates and graduates at the University and at the undergraduate level have responsibility for admitting students and organising their tuition. They also provide...
, Colleges of the University of Oxford
Colleges of the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges...
), which provide the environments in which students live, work and sleep.
Applicants must choose a specific college when applying to Oxford or Cambridge, or allow the university to select one for them, as every undergraduate and graduate student must be a member of one of the colleges. However, all colleges are part of the university and students studying the same subject attend the same lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
s and exams, irrespective of which college they belong to. Degrees are also awarded by the central university and not by the individual colleges.
Colleges within each university regularly compete with each other in a variety of sporting and other events (e.g. rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, rowing
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, athletics and chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
), but will pool their talent to form university teams for inter-university contests.
Teaching method
The principal method of undergraduate teaching (other than lectures) is the "supervision" or "tutorial"Tutorial
A tutorial is one method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture; a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task....
: terms used at Cambridge and Oxford respectively, though the meaning is the same. These are typically weekly or more frequent hour-long sessions in which small groups of students - usually between one and three - meet with a member of the university's teaching staff or a doctoral student. Students are normally required to complete an essay or assignment in advance of the supervision/tutorial, which they will discuss with the supervisor/tutor during the session, along with any concerns or difficulties they have had with the material presented in that week's lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
s. Students typically receive one to three tutorials/supervisions per week.
Neighbouring universities and other institutions
Within the cities of Oxford and Cambridge are campuses of other universities, respectively Oxford Brookes UniversityOxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
and Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University is one of the largest universities in Eastern England, United Kingdom, with a total student population of around 30,000.-History:...
. In addition, various English language schools
English language learning and teaching
English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
, secretarial and other non-university colleges are based in the two cities.
Production of educational materials
Both Oxford and Cambridge have lent their names to educational materials and institutions associated with the two universities. In addition to their printing houses, the Oxford English DictionaryOxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
is a prominent English-language dictionary worldwide, while Cambridge Assessment provides a number of widely recognised qualifications for students (including GCSEs
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
, A-levels
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
and English-language proficiency certificates such as the Certificate in Advanced English
Certificate in Advanced English
The Certificate in Advanced English is the advanced general English examination provided by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations in England.- Overview :The examination comprises five parts:#Reading...
).
The cities
The city of OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
is larger (having a population about 30 per cent greater than Cambridge's in 2007 ) and has historically been more urban and industrial, whilst Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
more closely resembles an agricultural market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
. Oxford is associated with the motor industry (BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
currently produce the Mini
MINI (BMW)
Mini is a British automotive marque owned by BMW which specialises in small cars.Mini originated as a specific vehicle, a small car originally known as the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, and developed into a brand encompassing a range of...
in Oxford, and several Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
teams are based in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and neighbouring counties), whereas the area surrounding Cambridge is known as Silicon Fen
Silicon Fen
Silicon Fen is the name given to the region around Cambridge, England, which is home to a large cluster of high-tech businesses focusing on software, electronics, and biotechnology...
, one of the most important technology centres in Europe, and has a lot of medical technology firms.
Both cities were built near rivers. However, the river is a more prominent feature in Cambridge, flowing through the city centre rather than around it as it does at Oxford. Punting is especially popular in Cambridge along the famous stretch called 'The Backs', which features a number of bridges and 'the backs' of several colleges that abut the River Cam
River Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
(punting is also popular at Oxford).
Despite many ancient buildings in both Oxford and Cambridge, there are also distinct differences in architecture. Oxford has a uniformity of building material, as a large proportion of the buildings are in the local sandstone. Cambridge, on the other hand, has little local stone, so the building material has been brought in from many different sources, resulting in a greater variety of character. The contrasts in architecture in Cambridge are more pronounced, as can be seen when comparing King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
with the neighbouring Senate House
Senate House (University of Cambridge)
The Senate House of the University of Cambridge is now used mainly for degree ceremonies. It was formerly also used for meetings of the Council of the Senate...
.
Oxford is featured more often in literature and the cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
; films with scenes shot in Oxford include Shadowlands
Shadowlands
Shadowlands is a 1985 television film, written by William Nicholson, directed by Norman Stone and produced by David M. Thompson for BBC Wales. Its subject is the relationship between Oxford don and author, C. S. Lewis and Joy Gresham....
and the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
movies, while Radcliffe Square was used in the filming of His Dark Materials: Northern Lights. The television series Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
and Lewis are also set in Oxford. Cambridge may be best known in film as the real-life location of the court race scene portrayed in the film Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
(although the scene was filmed at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
instead), or for the television series Porterhouse Blue
Porterhouse Blue
Porterhouse Blue is a novel written by Tom Sharpe, first published in 1974. There was a Channel 4 TV series in 1987 based on the novel, adapted by Malcolm Bradbury...
.
Tradition
There are differences in the terminology traditionally used at the two universities. For example:- At Oxford, the three terms of the academic year are called MichaelmasMichaelmas termMichaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic years of the following British and Irish universities:*University of Cambridge*University of Oxford*University of St...
, HilaryHilary termHilary Term is the second academic term of Oxford University's academic year. It runs from January to March and is so named because the feast day of St Hilary of Poitiers, 14 January, falls during this term...
and TrinityTrinity termTrinity term is the name of the third and final term of Oxford University's and the University of Dublin's academic year. It runs from about mid April to about the end of June and is named after Trinity Sunday, which falls eight weeks after Easter, in May or June.At the University of Sydney, it was...
, whereas at Cambridge they are Michaelmas, LentLent termLent term is the name of the spring academic term at the following British universities:*University of Cambridge*Kings College London*London School of Economics and Political Science*Exeter University*University of Lancaster...
and EasterEaster termEaster term is the name of the summer term at the University of Cambridge, the University of Wales, Lampeter, University of Durham, and formerly University of Newcastle upon Tyne , in the United Kingdom...
(the Easter term is sometimes called "Exam term"). - The large enclosed squares of grass found in most colleges are referred to as "courts" in Cambridge and "quadrangles" (or "quads") in Oxford.
- College cleaners in the two Universities go by different names: in Oxford they are 'scouts' and in Cambridge they are 'bedderBedderThe term "bedder" is short for "bedmaker" and is a housekeeper in a college of the University of Cambridge and the University of Durham. The equivalent at the University of Oxford is known as a "scout"...
s'. - A Doctor of PhilosophyDoctor of PhilosophyDoctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree is referred to as a "Ph.D." in Cambridge and a "D.Phil." at Oxford.
It is still compulsory at Oxford to wear formal academic dress (sub fusc) for all university examinations, although this is not the case at Cambridge. During Hilary Term 2006, the students of Oxford voted 81% in favour of keeping formal academic dress at university exams.) In general, however, traditions and the seriousness with which they are taken tend to vary widely amongst the different colleges within each university, showing more variation than between the two universities as a whole.
Admission of women
For most of their history, only men were permitted to study at and receive degrees from Oxford and Cambridge. Starting in the late 19th century, both universities saw the establishment of residential colleges exclusively for women students: Girton College, CambridgeGirton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. It was England's first residential women's college, established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon. The full college status was only received in 1948 and marked the official admittance of women to the...
, was founded in 1869 and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Lady Margaret Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located at the end of Norham Gardens in north Oxford. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £34m....
, in 1878. Although Cambridge was the first to accommodate female students, women were not permitted to become full members of the university until 1947, whereas at Oxford this had occurred in 1920.
There are still three colleges at Cambridge which only accept women: Newnham
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
, Murray Edwards and Lucy Cavendish
Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge
Lucy Cavendish College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is a women-only college, which admits only postgraduates and undergraduates aged 21 or over....
. In 2008, Oxford's last all-female college, St Hilda's
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
, admitted men and became coeducational.
Oxford for arts, Cambridge for sciences
There is a somewhat common impression that Oxford is stronger in politicsPolitics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, while Cambridge is stronger in the science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
s and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
. Despite both universities stressing that there is no significant difference between them in either the sciences or humanities today, this disparity in the popular imagination has existed since at least the late 1820s, when The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper reported on the appointment of Oxford and Cambridge academics to the newly established professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
ships of University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
: "it is known to be the intention to choose classical
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
professors at Oxford, and mathematical at Cambridge", although in the event both the classical and mathematical professors were eventually chosen from Cambridge.
In his book, The Decline of Privilege: The Modernization of Oxford University, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sociologist Joseph A. Soares suggests that Oxford developed a superior political and literary reputation because of its unparalleled connections to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's governing class, its status as the oldest and most traditional university in England, and the greater romantic appeal of Oxford to writers:
In contrast, Cambridge has been associated with a large number of Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning breakthroughs and the majority of Britain's most culturally significant scientists, including Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
and Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
. The authors of Oxford Figures also suggest that Cambridge's unrivalled intellectual reputation in England, especially although not exclusively in technical fields, could be partly attributed to the emphasis it placed on mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
for many years:
Notwithstanding the above, significant changes have occurred at both Oxford and Cambridge over the last century, including Cambridge's diversification away from intense mathematical study and Oxford's renewed emphasis on ground-breaking scientific research, such as its influential work in the development of penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
. However, the withdrawal of equal academic dress
Academic dress of the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford has a long tradition of academic dress, and a visitor to Oxford during term will see academic dress worn on a regular basis.- When academic dress is worn :...
from Oxford's scientist alumni may perhaps reflect a current institutional preference towards the arts.
Undergraduate admissions criteria
Entrance to Oxford and Cambridge is academically competitive. According to the 2011 Universities Guide from The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper, the five top universities in the UK based on undergraduate students' performance in public examinations while at high school (as measured on the UCAS tariff scale
UCAS Tariff
The UCAS Points System is a means of differentiating students based upon grades from various post-GCSE qualifications. It is used as a means of giving students from the UK and Republic of Ireland places at UK universities.-Points system:...
) were Cambridge (546), Oxford (530), Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
(500), the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(493) and Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
(466). Depending on which subject an applicant wishes to specialise in, there are often compulsory subject-specific entrance tests as well.
After an initial screening of submitted applications, short-listed
Short list
A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates . The length of short lists varies according to the context.-U.S...
candidates at Oxford and Cambridge are invited to a series of tests and interviews with the academics who may eventually be teaching them. Oxbridge interviews have acquired something of a mythical status in the British media, becoming a source of various humorous anecdotes and urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s due to the perception that the interviews themselves are bizarre, intimidating and/or frequently involve unusual questions and requests. Interview prompts reportedly used in the past include "Do you think you're clever?" (from a Law interview at Cambridge) and "Talk about a light bulb" (from an Engineering interview at Oxford). Admissions staff have said that there are no correct answers to such questions, but that applicants are assessed on their ability to approach unfamiliar, open-ended problems and discuss them articulately, incorporating new ideas and evidence as the discussion progresses. Candidates are also expected to show a willingness to challenge their own preconceptions
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
about the topics under discussion, as well as the preconceptions adopted by their interviewers. This is essentially a test of whether the student would do well under the tutorial/supervision system at Oxford and Cambridge, and a poor performance at interview may negate an otherwise strong application.
In recent years, Cambridge has placed slightly more emphasis than Oxford on public exam results during the selection process. Cambridge routinely asks applicants who take A-level exams to report their exact scores, not just letter-grades; this is partly in order to distinguish between high A-grades and borderline A/B grades. In contrast, disclosure of exact scores for Oxford applications is voluntary. In 2010, the new A* grade for A-level exams (an A* indicating a high A) was introduced. Cambridge started requesting that its applicants achieve at least one A* grade if they were taking A-levels, letting students earn a place through their performance in public examinations; Oxford initially stated that it relies more on its own internal aptitude tests and waited to see how effective the A* grade is at highlighting the best candidates, before deciding to implement it as a requirement for most courses starting in 2012.
Due to the similarities between the two universities, and to ease the burden of interviewing so many applicants each year, high school students are not normally allowed to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same application cycle. This restriction does not apply to potential organ scholars or students who already have a degree and are applying for a second undergraduate degree or a graduate degree at Oxbridge.
Direct competition between the two universities
Many annual competitions are held between Oxford and Cambridge, including the annual Boat RaceThe Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
. First contested in 1829, the race pits Cambridge University Boat Club
Cambridge University Boat Club
The Cambridge University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge, although training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely. The club was founded in 1828...
against their Oxford counterparts
Oxford University Boat Club
The Oxford University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century....
over a four-mile (6 km) stretch of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. The very first Boat Race was won by Oxford, but Cambridge lead the overall series with 80 wins to Oxford's 76, with one dead heat in 1877. Recent races have been closely fought, with Oxford winning by the shortest ever margin of 1 foot (0.3048 m) in 2003 and Cambridge winning in 2004 despite Oxford's claims of a foul.
The other major Oxbridge competitions are the Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
Varsity Matches: The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
is a rugby union game played annually in December at Twickenham stadium
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
. Cambridge currently has 60 wins (including the most recent win in December 2009), Oxford has 53, and 14 games have ended in draws. The Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
chose to advertise the 2006 match with a campaign promoting inter-university rivalry: their advertising agency Lowe London produced posters showing the number of Prime Ministers
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
produced by the universities (Oxford 26 - Cambridge 14), with the tagline "It's time to get even".
The Rugby League Varsity Match
Rugby League Varsity Match
The Rugby League Varsity Match is an annual rugby league match between Cambridge University and Oxford University. It is played at Twickenham Stoop in London, England, usually in the first week of March. The 2010 match took place on Thursday 4 March. Oxford, the winners of the match, received the...
is a rugby league game played annually in March at The Stoop
The Stoop
Twickenham Stoop is a sports stadium located in the western suburbs of London, England. The stadium is home to Harlequins rugby union team, who play in the Aviva Premiership, and tenants London Broncos, who play in the Super League...
. Whilst not having the history of its Union counterpart, the fixture has been contested for over 30 years, and is broadcast live on Sky Sports. Cambridge currently lead the series 16-14, with one draw in 1994.
The Boat Race and the two Varsity Matches are notable in the UK in that they are the only university sports events that have any public profile outside the universities themselves; all three are screened live on national television and are widely covered in the national media.
All other significant sports have their own varsity match
Varsity match
A varsity match is a sporting fixture between two university rivals; in its original and most common form, it is used to describe meetings between Oxford University and Cambridge University.-Popular British and Irish Varsity matches:*University of Oxford v...
at some point during the year; some of these, such as the cricket fixture
The University Match (cricket)
The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club...
and the Ice Hockey Varsity Match
Ice Hockey Varsity Match
The Ice Hockey Varsity Match is a longstanding competition between the Cambridge and Oxford University Ice Hockey Clubs.Tradition places the origin of the match in 1885, when a game is said to have been played in St Moritz...
have attracted significant attention in the past. The results of all the varsity matches in The Varsity Games are aggregated and each year one university wins the Varsity Games title. Sportsmen who have competed at a Varsity Match in the prestigious Full Blue sports are eligible for an Oxford Blue or Cambridge Blue respectively.
University rankings
Over the last few years, British universities have been subjected to the increasing popularity of national university league tablesLeague tables of British universities
Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom are published annually by The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Times and The Times...
, which rank universities based on criteria such as their student-staff ratio, drop-out rates and spending on services and facilities. Oxford and Cambridge have been a constant presence at the top end of the tables, never appearing outside the overall top three and rarely not holding the first and second places, but their dominance in individual subjects has been challenged by other institutions.
In recent league tables of UK universities produced by newspapers such as The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Oxford has generally been ranked 1st and Cambridge 2nd.
On the other hand, international league tables of universities across the world, which use a variety of different criteria (often research output in the sciences and reputation among peer institutions), have generally favoured Cambridge over Oxford; for example the 2010 U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
's World's Best Universities ranking placed Cambridge as 1st in the world and Oxford the 6th. The
Academic Ranking of World Universities
Academic Ranking of World Universities
The Academic Ranking of World Universities , commonly known as the Shanghai ranking, is a publication that was founded and compiled by the Shanghai Jiaotong University to rank universities globally. The rankings have been conducted since 2003 and updated annually...
produced in China ranked Cambridge 5th in the world in 2010 and ranked Oxford 10th.
However, there are exceptions to this trend, such as the International 2012 Times Higher Education rankings, in which Oxford is ranked 4th globally and Cambridge 6th. The Guardian's 2012 UK university rankings also placed Cambridge above Oxford.
Oxbridge co-operation
Despite the impassioned rivalry between the two universities, there is also much cooperation when the need arises. Most Oxford colleges have a sister college in Cambridge (but because Oxford has more colleges than Cambridge, not all Oxford colleges have a "sister"). Some Oxford and Cambridge colleges with the same name are 'sisters': for example, Jesus College, CambridgeJesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
and Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
. However, namesakes are not always paired up: for example, St John's College, Oxford
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
is the sister college of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England.The college was founded in 1596 and named after its foundress, Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex. It was from its inception an avowedly Puritan foundation: some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance...
, while St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
is the sister college of Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. Arrangements between sister colleges vary, but may include reciprocal offers of accommodation to students from the other university when they are visiting.
Concerns are often raised that Oxford and Cambridge do not project a socially inclusive image to potential applicants from state schools, and thus Oxbridge students are disproportionately from wealthy backgrounds. The two universities have made individual and combined efforts in recent years to promote themselves to potential applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds. Each year, the Universities spend around £8 million on access schemes and there is a designated Access Officer in every JCR
Common Room (university)
In some universities in the United Kingdom — particularly collegiate universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Durham — students and the academic body are organised into common rooms...
and students' union.