Visiting Students Courses

As a student in the Archaeology and Anthropology course, you will find that you are given a great deal of freedom to follow your own interests and work independently. The courses you take will be chosen in consultation with your tutor, usually in an initial meeting at the start of term.

Formal teaching consists of one or two tutorials each week: each tutorial lasts one hour, and will usually consist of a discussion of the written work you have produced that week, and of the reading you have been advised to do. You will be taught either on your own or with one or two other students. In addition to tutorials, you will be expected to attend the relevant lectures. Lectures are designed to enhance your study of a particular period/topic. Oxford also has a vast number of extra seminars, talks, readings, workshops, discussion groups and so forth, all of which will be open to you.

In the course of each eight-week term, Archaeology and Anthropology students will be expected to take 12 tutorials. The recommended division is to take 8 tutorials in one subject and 4 in another. In order to gain overview of the core and option courses that are on offer in the Schools of Archaeology and Anthropology, have a look at the University Archaeology & Anthropology course webpage.

Courses on offer include:

• Cells and Developmental Biology
• Genomics and Host-microbe interactions
• Ecology and Evolution
• Organisms
• Statistics and Scientific Methods

The courses available to Visiting Students change from year-to-year. If you are interested in a specific topic, please get in touch directly.

Earth Sciences is the study of the planet we live upon. We combine physics, chemistry and biology with geology, geography and palaeontology to answer fundamental questions about the origin, development, and future of the Earth.

You will receive a rigorous training in the way that our planet works, as well as addressing some of the major issues of our times:

• The origin of the Solar System, the Earth, and Life
• Physics and chemistry of the Earth’s interior
• Plates, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes
• Interactions between the atmosphere, oceans and the solid earth
• The climate system
• The fate of glaciers and ice sheets
• Chemical and biological evolution of the oceans
• Natural hazards
• Natural resources

The Oxford Earth Sciences department has received the top grading in all teaching and research assessments since national assessments began. A major reason for the success of our undergraduate course is its close link between research and teaching. The emphasis on teaching in Oxford is not just about feeding you information, or getting you through exams: its more about training you to think, to solve problems and to apply your understanding to new situations. You will be taught by some of the world’s best Earth Scientists, with unparalleled access to tutors and lecturers, both formally in the classroom, and more informally on our many field trips.

Course Information

Our combination of lectures, practicals, field teaching, and tutorials provide an unrivalled education in the Earth Sciences. More information on the various course modules can be found on the University Earth Sciences (Geology) course webpage.

Our Economics courses are offered in combination with other subjects (usually Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), History and Economics and Economics and Management). As a Visiting Student, we may be able to consider different course combinations.

More information about the courses available can be found in this document.

Oxford has a unified Engineering Science department. Visiting students will usually study a relatively broad curriculum and can take courses across all engineering disciplines.

Details of the Oxford Engineering Science course can be found here. Typically, visiting students will take a range of courses from the second, third and fourth year of the standard Oxford course, tailored to their educational background. They usually also complete an individual project during their stay in Oxford. Details of Engineering Science at St Peter’s can be found here.

As an Oxford student, you will find that you are given a great deal of freedom to follow your own interests and work independently. Each course you take will be designed in consultation with your tutor, usually in an initial meeting at the start of term.

Formal teaching consists of one or two tutorials each week, either on your own or with another student. Each tutorial lasts an hour, and will usually consist of a discussion of the written work you have produced that week, and of the reading you have been advised to do. In addition to tutorials, you will have the chance to attend any lectures you choose. Oxford also has a vast number of extra seminars, talks, readings, workshops, discussion groups, theatrical events and so forth, all of which will be open to you.

As a Visiting Student, you have considerably more flexibility than registered undergraduates because they study specified courses leading to final examinations. You are more likely to be taught on your own or with another Visiting Student than with the undergraduates at St Peter's. However, if you wish to be more fully integrated into the 2nd year - the year you will be associated with - you can take the same courses as students in that year. There are survey courses of particular literary periods - those primarily studied in the 2nd year are: Medieval literature, Literature in English 1550-1660, Literature in English 1660-1760 and Literature in English 1760-1830.

In the course of each eight-week term, we expect you to take 12 tutorials. The normal division is to take 8 tutorials in one subject and 4 in another. Those taking a double major, or with a major or minor in English, will have a similar workload divided over the two disciplines.

Learn more about English at St Peter's here.

List of courses

• Old English Literature
• Medieval Literature
• Literature in English 1550-1660
• Literature in English 1660-1760
• Literature in English 1760-1830
• Literature in English 1910-the Present
• Shakespeare in his Time
• Early Modern Women Writers
• Epic and Mock Epic in the Eighteenth Century
• Material Culture and Objects of Empire in Eighteenth-Century
• Literature
• The Rise of the Novel
• Jane Austen
• Virginia Woolf
• Literature, Culture, and Politics in the 1930s
• Literature of War
• Contemporary British Fiction

Formal teaching consists of one tutorial a week, mainly with other undergraduate students. Each tutorial lasts an hour, and will usually consist of a discussion of the written work you have produced that week, and of the reading you have been advised to do. In addition to tutorials, you will have the chance to attend lectures at the School of Geography and the Environment. Oxford also has a vast number of extra seminars, talks and workshops relevant to geography students, including those organised by the thriving research centres within the School of Geography and the Environment: the Environmental Change Institute, the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, and the Transport Studies Unit.

For a full list of course subjects, please refer to the departmental website. You will discuss the best course options with your assigned Tutor before commencing your studies.

As an Oxford historian, you will have the opportunity to study the past from the last days of the Roman Empire (c.300AD) to the present day. With more than one hundred historians working across the University, you can study the history of the world from an unparalleled range of thematic and geographic vantage points.

Teaching and Learning

The tutorial system is at the heart of history tuition in Oxford. Usually, you will have one weekly tutorial and one fortnightly tutorial; either on your own or with another student. Your tutors will offer you guidance on which topics to pursue and how to navigate the vast historical literature available to you. Each tutorial lasts an hour, and centres on the written work you have submitted and the reading you have been assigned that week. Tutorials are a collaborative space to challenge received wisdom, test original ideas, and explore new periods and concepts. We also help you to hone the craft of historical writing through regular feedback on your submitted work. We find it particularly stimulating to teach visiting students with experience of different teaching backgrounds out of which they bring new insights to discussion.

In addition to tutorials, you are also welcome to attend any lecture you choose. Many lecture series are specially designed to introduce you to the key historical works and interpretations of the papers on offer (see below), but there is a wide variety of extra seminars, talks, workshops, and special lectures hosted by staff and students alike that take place around the University – all of which are open to you.

Course Options

Your choices are not constrained by the research specialisms of the historians at St Peter’s, we will arrange tuition with a specialist historian from across the University.

Single Honours

As a single honours student, you will be fully integrated with our second-year historians. The year is structured as follows

Michaelmas Term: 1 paper on the History of the British Isles & the “Making Historical Arguments” strand of Disciplines of History.

Hilary Term: 1 paper of either British or European and World History*, or a Further Subject*, and the “Making Historical Comparisons” strand of Disciplines of History.

Trinity Term: 1 paper of European and World History

* Subject to Faculty capacity

Joint Honours

As a Joint Honours student you can choose to combine your historical studies with another subject such as Politics, English, Modern Languages, or Economics. You can therefore balance the paper choices above in combination with papers from your partner subject.

A full list of courses and related information can be found here.

History of Art courses differ year-to-year, and in the past have included:

• Image Ethics and Politics in the Victorian Era
• Collecting Greco-Roman Antiquities in Britain: Grand Tour to Knossos
• Gesture in French Paining 1850-1900
• The Colourful Nineteenth Century

Some of these bespoke courses have involved trips to the Ashmolean and other collections. If you are interested in applying to History of Art, please contact us.

Management at Oxford is studied jointly with at least another subject, mostly Economics but also Engineering. As a visiting student you may be able to take combinations with other subjects, but taking management as a single subject is not possible.

Management courses are usually taught in tutorials, normally on your own or with another student. Each tutorial lasts an hour and will consist of a discussion of the written work you have produced that week, and of the reading you have been advised to do. You will normally take one tutorial per week in Management and one in another subject. In addition to tutorials, you will have the chance to attend any undergraduate lectures you choose. Oxford also has a vast number of extra seminars, talks, and events, all of which will be open to you.

List of courses

The following course is taught in college and is likely to be on offer most years:

• General Management

Tuition for courses in other areas of management would need to be arranged with tutors from the central University, and we cannot guarantee that it will be possible. Please note that for Finance and Accounting in particular there is usually excess demand. Tuition in those subjects is not available for Visiting Students in most years.

Teaching of Mathematics and Statistics in Oxford is done in lectures, followed by tutorials or problem classes. Tutorials, accompanying first- and second-year courses, are hour-long lessons in college between a tutor, often a senior member of the College, and a small group of students (typically a pair). This form of teaching is very flexible and personalized, allowing a tutor time with the specific difficulties of the group and allowing the students opportunities to ask plenty of questions. Classes, which accompany third- and fourth-year modules, are typically 90-minute sessions in groups of 7-10 students, led by a specialist Tutor. There are still plenty of opportunities for students to ask questions from their tutors, and to develop personal relationships in the group.

Visiting Students in Mathematics generally take courses ranging over the first four years of the Mathematics and Statistics syllabi. For a full list of courses available, please email admissions@spc.ox.ac.uk

Beginner and intermediate courses in foreign modern languages are not offered at St Peter’s. Students interested in these options may be able to join courses in the Oxford University Language Centre, subject to availability.

French

For students with credits in Advanced French (equivalent to C1 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), the following courses are available:

1. Advanced Translation. In all three terms: fortnightly classes translating from French into English.
2. Philology. Term-long courses of four fortnightly tutorials:
   1. Medieval French Language
   2. Medieval French Literature

All Visiting Students in French take Advanced Translation. Those combining French with another subject choose one course per term from Philology. Those taking French on its own choose two courses per term from this list.

Students also have the option to attend any lectures which interest them. It may be possible to arrange teaching outside the college on literary subjects and periods other than those listed above.

German

For students with credits in Advanced German (equivalent to Goethe-Institut level C1), the following courses are available:

1. Advanced translation. In all three terms: weekly classes translating from German into English and vice versa.
2. Literature. Term-long courses of four fortnightly tutorials:
   1. Goethe and Schiller.
   2. Hölderlin and Kleist.
   3. The literature of German Romanticism: Novalis, Tieck, Hoffer, Eichendorff.
   4. 19th-century realism: Büchner, Storm, Fontane.
   5. Prose fiction of the Klassische Moderne: Mann, Schnitzler, Musil, Kafka.

All Visiting Students in German take Advanced translation. Those combining German with another subject choose one course per term from Literature". Those taking German on its own choose two courses per term from this list.

For one term out of three, it may be possible to arrange teaching outside the college on literary subjects and periods other than those listed above.

Portuguese

Although knowledge of Portuguese is desirable, texts can be taught using English translations if necessary. These courses must be taken in combination with another subject.

Literature and Culture of the Portuguese-Speaking World (term-long courses of four fortnightly tutorials):

Michaelmas term:

1. Modern Brazilian Literature (1880-2010)
2. Special Author: Machado de Assis OR Clarice Lispector
3. Special Author: Pepetela OR Mia Couto

Hilary term:

1. Brazilian Cinema
2. Contemporary Brazilian Literature
3. Lusophone African Literature

Trinity term:

1. Special Author: Clarice Lispector OR Machado de Assis
2. Women's Writing from Portugal, Brazil and Mozambique

It may be possible to arrange teaching outside the college on literary subjects and periods other than those listed above.

As a visiting student at the University of Oxford and St Peter’s College, you will have the opportunity to engage with a diverse and enriching neuroscience curriculum. You can attend neuroscience-related lectures across several university programmes and departments, participate in the distinctive college tutorial system, and undertake a lab-based rotation project in one of Oxford’s neuroscience labs.

Academic activities

The visiting student programme in neuroscience combines formal group-based and tutorial teaching with the chance to pursue a lab rotation project or an extended essay. This unique combination of teaching approaches and hands-on research allows students to deepen their understanding of neuroscientific concepts and develop valuable academic skills.

Group teaching

Visiting students attend neuroscience lectures alongside second and third-year undergraduate students, with the additional option of attending specific lectures or modules from graduate programmes in neuroscience. With guidance from their tutor, students can tailor their lecture schedule to match their interests and prior academic experience, ensuring a focused and personalised approach to their studies at St Peter’s College.

Tutorials

Besides group teaching, the programme includes weekly tutorials each term (eight weeks per term). These small-group sessions, typically with three students, provide an opportunity to explore a range of neuroscientific concepts in greater depth. Tutorials involve discussions of written assignments or presentations prepared during the week. Topics covered may include but are not limited to neurophysiology, sensory and motor systems, and neuropathology. Additionally, students are supported and assessed in developing their academic writing and presentation skills.

Research opportunities

In Hilary and/or Trinity term, visiting students can undertake a lab-based rotation project. This includes writing a brief research proposal at the start and producing a final report or presentation upon completion of the project. Alternatively, students may choose to write an extended essay, which allows them to investigate a neuroscience topic in greater depth and requires the integration of primary sources. Both options are designed to help students refine their research, analytical, and communication skills.

The Oxford Neuroscience community

The University of Oxford is home to a dynamic neuroscience community, spanning nearly all neuroscientific disciplines. Alongside departmental seminars and local neuroscience conferences, the Oxford University Neuroscience Society, a student-led organisation, offers weekly talks, workshops, and social events. Visiting students are encouraged to participate in these activities, which provide further opportunities to connect and engage with researchers and peers in neuroscience.

Overall, the Visiting Students in Neuroscience Programme at St Peter’s College offers a well-rounded experience, combining academic rigour with opportunities for personal and professional growth. By engaging in lectures, tutorials, and research projects, and becoming part of Oxford’s neuroscience community, students can enhance their knowledge and skills in a supportive and stimulating environment.

Topics covered during lectures and/or tutorials may include:

• Gross structure of the CNS
• Basic neurophysiology
• Sensory systems (Olfaction and gustation, Audition, Vision, Touch and Nociception)
• Motor systems (Motor pathways from cortex to muscle, cerebellum, basal ganglia)
• Cognition (Thalamus and cortex, Limbic system, Learning and memory)
• Neuropathology and brain disorders

Skills strengthened and assessed:

• Critical reading
• Scientific writing
• Scientific methods
• Presentation skills

As a PPE student over the year you will have a chance to either study all three subjects, or study any combination of two out of the three subjects. There is a broad choice of courses to choose from in each subject, and tutors will help you to plan your studies. PPE students normally take two courses per term.

Most PPE courses are taught in tutorials, typically with one or two other students, but some of the more quantitative courses may be taught in small classes or as a combination of tutorials and classes. Tutorials usually last an hour, and consist of a discussion of the work the tutor has asked you to prepare, as well as of the literature you have been advised to read. The tutorial is a structured discussion between you, your tutorial partner and your tutor. Tutorial discussion will allow you to discuss and develop your ideas on the subject, as well as learn from the tutor and tutorial partners. For each tutorial you will be assigned some work, usually an essay to write, a problem set, or practical statistical work for quantitative courses. In addition to tutorials there will be lectures for each course.

As a PPE student, over the year you will have a chance to either study all three subjects, or study any combination of two out of the three subjects. There is a broad choice of courses to choose from in each subject, and tutors will help you to plan your studies. PPE students normally take two courses per term.

More information concerning the courses you can normally choose from is available here. Please note that these lists are subject to small changes from year to year, and that some courses may require a core course as a prerequisite.

Visiting students can choose from the lecture courses offered by the Physics Department supported by weekly tutorials in college. Physics undergraduates typically have two tutorials per week throughout the second and third year. For all year groups, the second half of the summer term is taken up by revision classes and alternative arrangements are made for Visiting Students. The more advanced fourth year courses are taught by classes organised by the Department. In addition to the mainstream courses, students can also carry out practical work in the teaching laboratories or study Physics and Philosophy.

The topics covered in the second year are quantum mechanics (including mathematical physics and introductory atomic physics), thermal physics (including thermodynamics, kinetic theory and statistical mechanics), electromagnetism and optics. Students give a short talk on a physics subject, which is an assessed part of the course for Oxford undergraduates but is optional for Visiting Students.

The six lecture courses in the third year are Flows and Complexity; Special Relativity; Atoms, Molecules & Lasers, Condensed Matter Physics, Nuclear and Particle Physics and General Relativity. It is possible to follow a mixture of second and third year courses, but lectures may clash in some cases. There are also short optional courses and many talks by visiting speakers.

Full details are given in the Physics Course Handbook which can be sent out electronically by request. Visiting Students may chose to carry out experimental work on the practical course. Several Visiting Students have successfully arranged projects with particular research groups.

More generally, being in Oxford for a year provides an opportunity to find out about the many areas of active research in the Physics Department.

The study of Theology and Religion develops skills in many different areas of humanities, including philosophy, history, language, and literary and textual criticism. The Oxford course attracts students from a great variety of intellectual and religious or non-religious backgrounds.

Students may choose to focus on the origins and development of Christian theology, or on the study of other major world religions such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. They may also study topics such as the nature of religion, and the anthropology, psychology, or sociology of religion. Theology and Religion may either be studied as a single subject, or combined with Philosophy or Oriental Studies.

Course options

Paper options within Theology and Religion are available here.

Visiting students normally take FHS papers (that is, papers sat by Oxford undergraduates in their second or final years of study). We try to offer all subjects offered by the faculty subject to tutor availability.