Cost of study

Fees are payable for each year of your course. Most courses have a maximum period for which fees are payable. The rate you pay depends on the University’s assessment of your fee status as ‘Home/EU’ or ‘Overseas’ and on the qualifications you already hold. For more detailed information, please see our page on Fee Status and Liability.

Although fees are incurred on a termly basis, students are usually required by their college to pay a full year’s fees in advance. For some courses at the Sad Business School, fees are charged for the whole programme with only very limited refunds possible for years or terms not started. Some courses also require a deposit to be paid prior to the start of the programme.

Tuition fees for 2010/11 are now available online from the Student Funding website.

A limited number of graduate programmes are offered on a part-time basis. With the exception of the EMBA, part-time programme fees are normally set at half the applicable full-time fee rate over twice the applicable length of time for full-time students. Special fee rates apply to some programmes offered by the Department for Continuing Education where some programmes charge an annual programme fee and a per module fee whilst other programmes charge an annual programme fee only.

If you are in any doubt about the fee level applicable for your chosen programme of study please check the Student Funding website or contact the relevant department or faculty.

The college fee covers academic facilities and other services provided by your college. The fee, which you will need to pay each year to your college for the period you are liable for fees, does not include accommodation or meal charges and is payable in addition to the University tuition fee. See Fee Status and Liability for details of the period for which you will be liable for fees. Each college sets its own fee, although fee rates do not vary greatly between individual colleges.

As a guide, the college fees for 2009–10 were:

College fees for 2010/11 are likely to be confirmed in late 2009 and will be available online from the Student Funding website.

In 2009/10, the average living cost for a graduate student at Oxford living in college accommodation or in private accommodation in a shared house is expected to range between £9,200 and £13,300 depending on whether you plan to stay in Oxford for 9 or 12 months of the year. The costs of travel to and from Oxford are not included. This is based on the projected costs below:

Accommodation Costs

Accommodation for graduates may be organised by the college, the University or privately.

• College Accommodation

  Details about college accommodation can be found on individual college entries via the College Index. Colleges offer accommodation of a high standard and charges are reasonable compared with other universities. When you live in college accommodation you only stay and pay rent during term-time unless you make special arrangements to stay and pay during the vacation. Some colleges offer contracts for nine or twelve months for graduate students. Rents vary so you should check college websites or contact those colleges you are interested in to obtain figures. Please note that your offer of a college place may not also include an offer of college accommodation.

•  Living in University-owned/private accommodation

  The average rent for a single room in a shared house is between £350 and £450 per person per month (excluding utility bills e.g. water, gas, electricity, telephone) depending on how many are sharing, and you will normally be required to rent the accommodation for twelve months. You will also need to budget approximately £50 a month for utility bills.

  Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) publishes a "Living Out" Guide and provides information and advice to anyone who is looking for, or living in, private rented accommodation in Oxford. You can also get details about University and some private housing from the Accommodation Office and the local Daily Info website.

  Whether you are living in college accommodation or private accommodation, you will not have to pay council tax, a property-based tax payable on most houses/flats, provided you are a full-time student (and live on your own or with other full-time students). See Oxford City Council’s website for more information.

Food costs

You should expect to budget around £250 a month for food costs. Meal arrangements vary by college. For further information, please see the individual pages via the College Index for an overview for each college or visit the individual college websites for more detailed information.

Colleges typically provide three meals a day, seven days a week in the dining hall, and have a variety of ways of charging for food. In some you pay directly for what you eat, in others you pay a fixed charge per term to cover catering overheads, and are then charged solely for the food you eat; others have variations on these patterns.

Colleges aim to provide balanced meals to suit a wide variety of tastes and diets that are reasonable value for money. Eating in the college dining hall is generally regarded as excellent value and is an important part of college life, enabling you to mix with other students and staff. However, in most colleges it is possible to opt out of eating in hall, and many have basic self-catering facilities. Some colleges have an additional refectory or café where less formal meals can be bought.

There are a number of medium-sized supermarkets and smaller groceries in central Oxford that sell a range of foods for those who are self-catering. You can also shop online with some of the major UK supermarkets. See the Living & Shopping section of Daily Info for more details. 

General Living Costs

Oxford has a high cost of living and your general living costs, not including food or accommodation, will vary depending on your individual needs. These are costs that you should budget for that could include, but may not be limited to:

• Clothing
• Entertainment
• Other personal requirements
• Books
  You do not always have to spend a lot of money on books at Oxford because the library resources are outstanding. Your tutors will advise you about buying books; in some subjects it may be necessary to spend more than others on books, but you can often find cheaper copies online or in second-hand bookshops
• Communication (phone bills, broadband, etc)
• Stationery
• Specialist course equipment
• Medical expenses not covered by the National Health Service.
  
  

  Please see the Student Health and Welfare section of the University website for more information

• Local transport
  Your transport costs as an Oxford student should be very low because departments, libraries and colleges are easy to reach on foot or by bike.

All colleges have computer rooms where you can work and make use of free internet access and email. Many colleges and departments also provide Wi-Fi access.

Additional Costs

In addition to the accommodation, food and general costs that you budget for, you may also need to include additional funding to cover the following costs:

• One-off costs at the start of your course (e.g. bicycle, computer)
• Expenses relevant to your circumstances (e.g. childcare, fieldwork)
• Travel to and from Oxford
• Student visa
• Inflation and fluctuations in exchange rates
• Other family members accompanying you to Oxford