The chapel and quad in Exeter College
View across Front Quad with the MCR on the left and the Chapel on the right.
(Image credit: Greg Smolonski / Oxford University Images).

Exeter College

About the college

Graduates make a valuable, and valued, contribution to life at Exeter, both through regular events designed to stimulate intellectual debate and through the thriving MCR, which in 2016 celebrated the 50th anniversary of its foundation.

The college is one of the oldest in the University. Graduate students enjoy a lively and supportive community within Exeter's historic walls.

The Senior Tutor and the College Adviser system, provided by the college and independent of departmental or faculty supervision, build links with the college’s full-time academics. The college's modern graduate centre at Exeter House on Iffley Road provides a warm and welcoming base for graduates from all over the world.

The college funds several generous graduate scholarships, including one reserved for Exeter College students who want to stay on for a further degree - the Amelia Jackson Senior Studentship.

College facilities

Library and IT services 

The library has generous opening hours, both in term time and over the vacations. The library has a collection of over 34,000 books on open shelves and an additional 34,000 in its historic collections, including manuscripts and early printed books, which provide a particularly useful resource for students involved in historical research. The library also provides access to a wide range of electronic books and resources.

The college has a general computing room for all students, as well as dedicated computing facilities for graduate students.

There is wireless internet access in most parts of the college, including the library, lecture theatre and the MCR, the college's graduate common room, located within the historic Turl Street site.

In 2017, the college opened a new site in central Oxford, just a few minutes’ walk from Turl Street. The Cohen Quadrangle provides accommodation for undergraduates and study and social space (including a learning commons and lecture theatre), for the whole Exeter College community – including graduate students.

Sport, music and college facilities

Exeter College has its own playing fields, squash courts and boathouse. Free gym and pool membership at the Iffley Road sports complex is currently arranged through the student common rooms.

Exeter maintains an internationally-renowned choir and hosts an annual arts festival in collaboration with other nearby colleges on Turl Street. 

Facilities for disabled students

Exeter College is committed to enabling disabled students to participate as fully as possible in the college and university life. Like many others in the university, the college is made up of very old buildings, which can make disabled access to certain areas difficult for some applicants. Prospective students are advised to contact the Academic Registrar to discuss specific requirements and how they might be addressed. 

MCR

Exeter College's Middle Common Room (MCR) has a strong reputation as a friendly, comfortable and welcoming graduate student body, with a deep sense of community among Exeter graduates. The traditional and cosy MCR facilities located within the city centre are always available for students to catch up with friends over a cup of tea. The MCR is a popular spot to relax between lectures, and is open 24 hours a day.

The MCR social calendar is filled with bops, exchange dinners and social events with other Oxford colleges, games and film nights, excursions and weekly tea and cakes.

A 'parenting' scheme also helps new graduate students find their footing upon arrival in Oxford and acclimatise to college life. 

Both the College and Exeter’s MCR hold events throughout the calendar year, giving graduates students the opportunity to socialise, share their own research, and meet distinguished guest alumni speakers.

Accommodation and meals

Accommodation

A selection of accommodation for full-time graduate students is available at Exeter House, the college's graduate centre in vibrant East Oxford, and includes a small number of flats for couples and families. Rooms, however, are not guaranteed and must be requested well in advance.

Graduate students may continue to live in Exeter House after their first year subject to availability. If not, Exeter's postgraduates also enjoy living in private accommodation following their first year, alongside the friends they made whilst staying in Exeter House. 

Facilities at Exeter House include:

  • fully-equipped self-catering kitchens
  • two laundry rooms
  • computing facilities
  • two common rooms.

Meals

Meals can also be taken in the college’s dining hall at its historic Turl Street site and in the Dakota Café at the modern Cohen Quadrangle. A free graduate High Table meal is served twice each year. Students can book themselves and their guests into special dinners two times per week during term time, in addition to other pedagogical and special occasion dinners throughout the academic year.

Courses

This college accepts graduate students for the following courses:


Please note that not all subjects areas or streams of a particular course may be offered by this college. Please see the college information on the relevant course page for further details. For a comprehensive list of all graduate courses available at the University of Oxford, please refer to our courses A-Z listing

Location

Exeter College is located right in the centre of Oxford, next-door to the Bodleian Library and close to the science labs.

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