Departments offering courses

The School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography is the largest anthropology department in the UK. It tackles real world problems through its uniquely wide-ranging approach. It produces internationally recognised research and teaches on challenging issues.

Oxford’s School of Archaeology is one of the few departments in the world where many diverse aspects of archaeological research are brought together to address critical questions about our past.

Oxford’s Ruskin School of Art provides an exceptional teaching and research environment that enables contemporary artists, art historians and art theorists to work closely together in a world-leading, research-intensive university.

Among subjects in the Humanities, Asian and Middle Eastern studies is unique in offering advanced study of cultures and civilisations in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

The Department of Biochemistry comprises over 45 research groups and around 400 researchers and support staff, including approximately 100 graduate students.

The Department of Biology is one of the leading UK university departments dedicated to research and teaching in biology, possessing world-class strengths across the breadth of modern biological science research.

Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford blends the best of the new and the old. It is a vibrant and innovative business school, yet deeply embedded in an 800-year-old world-class university.

Oxford’s Department of Chemistry is one of the leading chemistry research departments in the world, with around 80 academic staff carrying out international level research and an annual research income of around £38 million.

Oxford offers classical studies in two broad segments: ancient history and classical archaeology; and Greek and Latin languages and literature. The faculty’s core interests lie in the crossovers and synergies between Greek and Roman cultures.

The Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine (NDM) is a large multidisciplinary department, made up of 24 institutes, centres and units.

The Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (NDCN) comprises around 500 staff including nearly 200 graduate students.

The Medical Sciences Division offers several courses that don't use the standard application process. In most cases, you should follow the advice shown on the relevant course page.

The Department of Computer Science is at the heart of computing and related interdisciplinary activity at Oxford.

The MPLS Doctoral Training Centre hosts a number of interdisciplinary centres for doctoral training, established with UK Research Council funding or other sources of funding.

The Medical Sciences Doctoral Training Centre (MSDTC) accommodates the interdisciplinary, cross-departmental DPhil programmes in medical sciences.

The Earth sciences focus upon the scientific understanding of this and other planets. The emphasis of both teaching and research in the department is on understanding the fundamental principles of geological processes.

Oxford's Department of Economics is one of Europe's leading research departments and its members include some of the world's most distinguished academic economists.

Oxford has been a major contributor to the field of education for over 100 years and today the University’s Department of Education has a world class reputation for research, for teacher education and for its graduate courses.

Established in 1908, the Department of Engineering Science brings together the study of all branches of engineering at Oxford.

Oxford’s Faculty of English Language and Literature is the largest English department in the UK, with a highly distinguished research and teaching record covering all periods of English literature.

The Department of Experimental Psychology has a thriving graduate community.

The School of Geography and the Environment undertakes world-class research, which addresses societal and environmental problems.

The Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) is a community devoted to innovative research and graduate teaching using a range of academic disciplines which seek to understand the complexity and the interrelatedness of societies and regions.

The Blavatnik School of Government is a global school committed to excellence in leadership and public policy education and to pursuing a vision of a world better led, better served and better governed.

The Faculty of History comprises an active research community of up to 800 senior academics and graduate students, all contributing to a range of research seminars, lectures, academic societies, and personal contacts.

The department’s core academic staff work on subjects from medieval European architecture to modern Chinese art, and its associated academic staff include teachers and researchers spanning the global and historical range of art and visual culture.

The Humanities Division offers a number of courses that are delivered jointly by several humanities faculties.

The department is recognised internationally as one of the top centres for research and teaching in development studies.

The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) is a multidisciplinary research and teaching department, dedicated to understanding the impact of the internet, data, and information technologies on society.

Oxford’s Faculty of Law, one of the largest in the UK, offers you the opportunity to study alongside some of the best law graduates of your generation, under the direct supervision of some of leading legal scholars.

Oxford Lifelong Learning, at the Department for Continuing Education, brings the quality of an Oxford University education within reach of everyone.

A hallmark of the faculty is the marriage of theory with data, drawing on historical, philological and comparative linguistic data from ancient and modern languages, and on psycholinguistic and phonetic experimental data.

As a student on one of Oxford's research degree programmes in materials, you will be part of one of the top-ranked materials departments in the world (according to the QS World University Rankings 2025).

Mathematics has been studied in Oxford since the University was first established in the 12th century.

The Radcliffe Department of Medicine’s (RDM) mission is to improve health through cross-disciplinary research to understand shared mechanisms of disease and to accelerate the transition from scientific discovery to clinical care.

The Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at Oxford is one of the world’s leading centres for the study of European languages, literatures, and cultures and their relations with other communities and cultures around the globe.

The Faculty of Music is a globally renowned centre of teaching and research in all aspects of music, and an exciting and stimulating environment for work and study.

Oxford Neuroscience is represented by a thriving research community based across a number of departments in the University, with interests spanning molecular medicine to cognitive science.

The Department of Oncology has an established graduate training programme for science graduates and clinical research fellows.

NDORMS is a vibrant multi-disciplinary department focusing on musculoskeletal and immunological diseases, and epidemiological research, from bench to bedside.

The Department of Paediatrics aims to shape the landscape of medical science by positively impacting the lives of millions of children through global research programmes, academic resources and commitment to success.

The Dunn School is a world-class biomedical research department with an outstanding track record. Over 300 scientists from more than 30 countries aim to discover the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie human health and disease.

The Department of Pharmacology is one of the top preclinical departments in the country with excellent research and teaching facilities. It hosts a large and vibrant community of graduate students. 

Over 150 Oxford academics are employed by or associated with the Faculty of Philosophy, making it one of the largest philosophy departments worldwide.

As a graduate student at Oxford’s Department of Physics, you will work alongside world experts and have access to the department’s world-class facilities.

The Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG) is a major basic-science department within the Division of Medical Sciences.

The Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) at Oxford is an internationally-renowned centre of excellence for teaching and research.

The Nuffield Department of Population Health (NDPH) brings together over 600 staff and 200 students from a number of world-leading research groups with the aim of reducing premature death and disability from human disease.

The University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences has been one of the world's most important primary care centres for over 20 years.

The Department of Psychiatry offers supervision in a wide range of research areas including laboratory-based neuroscience, brain imaging, literature synthesis and psychological and pharmacological treatment research.

The Department of Social Policy and Intervention is a multidisciplinary centre of excellence for research and teaching in social policy, and in the development and systematic evaluation of social interventions and policies.

The Department of Sociology at Oxford is one of Europe's leading research departments, evidenced by the 2024 QS World rankings.

The University's Department of Statistics is a world leader in research in probability, bioinformatics, mathematical genetics and statistical methodology, including computational statistics, machine learning and data science.

The Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences is the academic department of surgery at the University of Oxford.

The Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford is a global centre for research in a wide range of fields. There are over 150 graduate students currently studying within the faculty.

The Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health is one of the largest academic and clinical departments in the world in its field, encompassing multi-disciplinary research across the full spectrum of women’s health.