St Edmund Hall

St Edmund Hall is a College renowned for its friendly, tolerant and progressive outlook. Our students are brought together by shared intellectual curiosity and academic ambition. Studing here you will rapidly become part of a large but inclusive community with a strong sense of identity.

We admit about 120 undergraduate students every year, evenly divided between sciences, humanities and social sciences, who bring a wide range of academic and extra-curricular interests to the college. There are an equal number of graduate students following research degrees.

With our roots in the early 13th century, St Edmund Hall is one of the oldest educational institutions within the University of Oxford and we are the only medieval academic hall to have retained its identity. Our college is a blend of ancient and modern with buildings on the main site dating from every century since the 16th. Our graduates include Terry Jones (Monty Python), Stewert Lee (comedian and writer), Anna Botting (Sky News journalist), Samira Ahmed (Channel 4 news) and Keir Starmer QC (current Director of Public Prosecutions).

St Edmund Hall is located in the heart of Oxford, just off the High Street in Queen’s Lane. This central location offers easy access to departments, libraries, institutes, museums and shops.

The college offers rooms to all candidates for two years of study. Most rooms are on the main site at Queen’s Lane, but there are other rooms in large houses near the University Parks and on Iffley Road plus a modern purpose-built block off the Cowley Road. All rooms are single with a washbasin or private bathroom. There are self-catering facilities at every site. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the main dining hall.

The library of St Edmund Hall is located on our main site within the Norman Church of St Peter-in-the-East, making it a beautiful setting for study. This library is well-stocked and additional special collections are held in the separate 17th century ‘Old Library’, also on the main site of the college.

All college sites, including public areas, libraries, common rooms and study bedroom accommodation, have wireless internet provision.

The college has dedicated computer rooms, with printing facilities, located on the main site and at our Norham Gardens accommodation.

Although many of our buildings are old, all main areas of the college are accessible.

The college has a long tradition in drama, music, the arts and journalism. A strong artistic community is built around the John Oldham Drama Society, the college art collection, an orchestra, two choirs and choral groups and a music practice room. St Edmund Hall students participate in many sports with sports clubs that cater for all abilities. There is a dedicated multi-gym at our Norham Gardens centre; we also retain pitches within the University Parks, and have a boathouse on the River Isis.