A quad at Nuffield College with the library tower on a sunny day
The Lower Quadrangle of Nuffield College
(Image Credit: Kadambari Prasad / Graduate Photography Competition)

Nuffield College

About the college

Nuffield is a graduate college dedicated to advanced study and innovative research in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and international relations, and sociology and social policy. 

It is a relatively small college, with a student body of around a hundred and an active community of postdoctoral researchers. The compact size and specialised nature of the college enable its students, postdoctoral researchers and fellows to work closely with one another in a stimulating research-oriented environment.

Nuffield welcomes applications from candidates for research or graduate study in economics, politics and international relations, sociology and social policy, all broadly conceived. Applications for research or graduate study in cognate interdisciplinary areas (for example, economic and social history or political history; public policy; and data science) are also welcome.

Nuffield College endeavours to match the research interests of students with those of the fellows of the college. Applicants are therefore encouraged to consult information on the research interests of Nuffield College's fellows.

College tour

College facilities

Library and IT services

The college's library is especially strong in the social sciences.

The college attaches great importance to the provision of excellent computing and other research facilities. All rooms have a network connection and there is a college-wide Wi-Fi network.

Sport, music and college facilities

The college has active sports teams and access to outdoor sports facilities at neighbouring Worcester College.

There is a piano and harpsichord in the chapel available for practice.

Facilities for disabled students

The college provides facilities for disabled students and visitors, including ramp and lift access in the main buildings which house the dining hall, common rooms, college bar and some of the seminar rooms. The college currently has limited accessible accommodation on-site and will make all reasonable adjustments to meet the specific requirements of its disabled students. Please contact the college about any accessibility requirements. 

MCR

Graduate students are members of the Nuffield Junior Common Room (JCR), which corresponds to the MCR in other colleges. The JCR plays an active role in college life, including the organisation of social activities and providing student representation on college committees.

Accommodation and meals

Accommodation

Nuffield provides student residential accommodation in the form of single bedsits within the college and in adjacent buildings, including some rooms with en-suite facilities. Further single residential accommodation and limited partnered accommodation are offered in properties on the west side of Oxford, which are within approximately half a mile of the college. At present, regrettably, no family accommodation is available. 

Approximately one-half of Nuffield students reside in college or in college properties. Nuffield normally offers a maximum of two years of residential accommodation to graduate students depending on the degree for which students have been admitted and the type of course they studied before they arrived. Normally, students who are new to Oxford are offered accommodation in at least their first year. 

Students within their period of fee liability are also usually provided with office space at no additional charge, either as part of their accommodation (if they live in the main college site), or separately in a shared office or a single study (if they live outside the college site or privately). Charges for residential accommodation cover 48 weeks of residence and are paid termly in advance. 

Nuffield College has access to three sponsored nursery places, and matriculated students with children are eligible to apply for these places at one of the University’s nurseries, if any are available.

Further information on accommodation at Nuffield College is available on the college website.

Meals

All matriculated Nuffield students within their period of fee liability are entitled to take lunch in college at no charge on days when the kitchens are open (normally throughout the year, with the exception of Sundays and Christmas, Easter and bank holiday closures). Students also have the option to take up a breakfast package and/or an evening meal package, which covers ‘low table’ (informal) dinners in college between 1 October and 30 June; otherwise students may take these meals for a ‘pay-as-you-dine’ meal charge. 

Most areas of the college are provided with a pantry/utility room equipped with a refrigerator, kettle and microwave. There is a large communal student kitchen available on the main college site, and kitchens are also provided in other college residential properties. Communal laundry facilities are available on the main college site and in the off-site shared house.

Further information on catering at Nuffield College is available on the college website.

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

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