Careers and Alumni
At Oxford you will develop your ability to think independently, globally and creatively. The impact of the University’s prestigious global research means employers in Europe and throughout the world recognise the value of recruiting Oxford-educated employees.
Financial benefits of studying at Oxford
Considering the shorter length of Oxford’s graduate programmes and the opportunities to proceed to highly-paid careers following your studies, studying at Oxford can be of great financial benefit to you as you pursue your career ambitions.
Career Service offerings
The University of Oxford’s comprehensive Careers Service offers support to students and alumni to help them define and achieve exciting and fulfilling careers. Workshops and training are available to help:
- Build a strong CV/résumé
- Develop an effective job search strategy
- Make competitive job applications
- Develop interview skills
The Careers Service also offers a successful student consultancy programme, a wide range of web resources, and an exceptional Internship Programme which gives Oxford students access to a number of global summer internships, most of which are provided by Oxford alumni or through business or educational partnerships.
Australian alumni
Oxford has over 3,500 Australian alumni, making Australia the fourth largest concentration of Oxford alumni in the world. For Oxford’s alumni living in Australia, there are numerous alumni societies across the country, with groups based in Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns all holding regular sporting and social events.
The University’s alumni are involved in every kind of career imaginable, from business to non-profit work, from the civil service to sports. Oxford has a particular concentration of Australian alumni in academia, the legal profession, and politics.
Oxford’s distinguished Australian alumni include:
Three Prime Ministers:
- Malcolm Fraser
- John Gorton
- Bob Hawke (the longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister)
Prominent Oxonian business leaders:
- Patrick Forth, managing partner of Boston Consulting Group Sydney
- David Kirk, former chief executive officer of Fairfax Media and Chairman of Hoyts Cinemas
- Tim Sims, co-founder and managing director, Pacific Equity Partners
- Steven Skala AO, Vice Chairman, Deutsche Bank for Australia and New Zealand
In the arts, Oxford alumni include:
- Gerard Vaughan, Director of the National Gallery of Victoria
- Richard Flanagan, author, historian, and film director
In addition, three Nobel Prize winning Australians were educated at Oxford:
- Lord (Howard) Florey was co-recipient of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Sir John Eccleswas co-recipient of the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on synapse
- Sir John Cornforth won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions
Tutorial photograph by Jaani Riordan, DPhil Law (Magdalen College)