No. Each student is responsible for making travel arrangements to and from the OSP.
Many students take the opportunity to travel in Britain and the rest of Europe and OSP encourages all students to make the most of their time in this way. However, since you are required to attend all lectures, field trips and your chosen seminars, we encourage you to travel prior to coming to the OSP and/or after leaving the programme in July. During the OSP, you should not expect to have much free time for travel and most students study at the weekend to get through the work expected.
The OSP does not prohibit visits out right. However, we strongly discourage them during the programme as you will have a very full schedule and visitors should not interfere with your work and should understand that you will not be able to take much time off to show people around Oxford. It is best if people come prior to the advent of the OSP and/or at the end of the programme.
Visitors are strictly not allowed to stay in the OSP accommodations. There are plenty of B&Bs and guest accommodations in and around Oxford. Contact Oxford Tourist Information for options.
Certainly but be advised that you will be living in shared accommodation and private practice rooms cannot be guaranteed!
You will live with other OSP students in shared OSP housing.
Generally speaking, no. However if you are a mature (older) student or a married student, it is sometimes possible to allow for alternative housing arrangements. All other students are required to live in OSP housing.
Weekday meals (lunch) are provided in the cost of the program (except lunches on field trips) for the first two weeks of the programme. Weekday lunches will be taken at Wycliffe Hall unless otherwise noted. You will be provided with refrigerator and cupboard space in the self-catering kitchen facilities to store your own food for breakfasts and dinners. In addition to buying groceries for the other meals you will want to bring some extra money when on field trips, weekend meals, and for any meals you wish to dine out.
No. Programme houses are not available for occupation before 9 a.m. of the first day of the programme or after 11a.m. on the last day of the programme.
You will receive a transcript recommending that you have earned 6 credits.
We use this phrase because, strictly speaking, the OSP does not grant you course credit; your home institution does. The OSP is a joint offering of CCCU and Wycliffe Hall but the students are not members of the University. Wycliffe in its own right—i.e., offering a course under auspices of University—does not then offer credit. We recommend grades and credit hours based on guidelines set by CCCU, but your own institution will determine what credit or grades you receive. You need to work out with your school what credit you will receive before coming to Oxford, as well as whether you can take courses on a Pass / Fail system. Should your school allow you to take courses Pass / Fail, the OSP will still assign you a grade for that course, which your school may then convert to Pass or Fail.
In practice, OSP credit will function just like your other credits. Though some schools have their own policies about grades and credits vis a vis off-campus study programs, most CCCU schools. Graduate schools, seminaries and the Open University will accept the recommended credit hours and grades for courses that they are able to transfer.
It provides a basic international insurance which is useful in an emergency, and it serves as a second international identification card (American drivers’ licenses and credit cards are not generally accepted). The CCCU in Washington requires that all students on CCCU programmes have one.
The OSP welcomes applications from all students, including students with disabilities. The OSP always selects those students who it believes will be able to benefit most from study in Oxford. Students with disabilities have very successfully participated in the programme in the past. Because students with disabilities may have special needs they should discuss the possibility of study abroad with the relevant authorities (such as the disabilities office and study abroad office) at their home universities, and contact the Washington office as early as possible in the application process so that practical arrangements (including, where appropriate, financial arrangements) can be investigated.
No. All students must take all elements of the programme which are designed to complement one another. The exceptions to this rule would be students with special needs consequent on disability for whom a reduction in workload might be suitable, and non-traditional students with prior consent of OSP staff in Oxford. Exceptional cases are dealt with ad hoc and students falling into these categories should make detailed arrangements with OSP staff before the start of the programme.
No. No student may do any extra work such as outside independent study during the OSP. This is partly because OSP students typically work harder in Oxford than they ever have before and they have neither time nor energy for yet more study. This is in part due to the time constraints of the programme structure. Many students, however, find that work they do in Oxford is excellent preparation for advanced study, such as a senior thesis or dissertation required at their home institution. Seminars are often selected for such reasons as the advanced research undertaken at Oxford provides a strong foundation for future scholarly work.
No. OSP courses are limited to those offered on the website.
Yes. The OSP welcomes all applicants. Applicants with a non-conventional background should submit all the information normally required and provide any explanatory material they feel will strengthen their application.
The OSP has an extensive group of seminar leaders (tutors) and lecturers from Oxford. The website gives biographical information for seminar leaders and biographical materials for lecturers will be included in materials given to you when you get to Oxford.
You will meet in each of your seminars twice a week during for the first two weeks of the OSP. You will then meet for two individual tutorials relevant to each seminar during the third and fourth week. Meeting times are subject to your schedule and that of your tutor. In addition, you will attend a required lecture series and three field trips during the first two weeks of the programme. Remember that you will spend about 20 to 30 hours reading for each seminar meeting and will write two substantial tutorial essays for each seminar which are due before you leave the programme. Precise deadlines will be provided in the programme handbook distributed at programme orientation. The final week of the programme is free of lectures, seminars and tutorials to enable you to complete your written work.
When you confirm your acceptance of a place on the OSP you must confirm your seminar selections. Any change requests must be made directly to support staff in the Washington, DC offices. Change requests are not guaranteed and will be made subject to numbers in each seminar.
Most students get their first choice seminars. Seminar placements are made on a first confirmed, first guaranteed basis. However, some seminars fill up quickly. In this event, you will be placed in your second choice seminar. You will be notified of your seminar choices only after you have confirmed your participation in the programme. So please confirm as quickly as you possibly can.
All academic work is due on the deadlines stated in the OSP handbook. You are not allowed extensions on any academic work accept under extraordinary circumstances. No seminar leader may grant you an extension without the express consent of the OSP Programme Manager.
The main criterion is that you should have a strong interest in the field and have some foundation in the field. Most students find they work more intensely than they ever have before and to sustain that level of effort it is important to have a genuine interest in the subject matter. You might choose seminars not available at your home university, or ones which depend on the extensive libraries and other research collections in Oxford. It often works well to build on topics you have particularly enjoyed at your home university and would like to pursue in greater depth.
Tutors are of many denominations, several different faiths, and none. They are chosen on the basis of their intellectual and teaching skills, not their religious stance. SCIO staff represent a breadth of the Christian tradition.
All Oxford tutors will challenge OSP students’ views and existing positions with a view to sharpening their intellectual skills. The challenge will not be intended to undermine views students hold dear, but to force students to re-examine and perhaps rethink ideas which they have accepted without rigorous enough thought. OSP does not per se encourage people to change their views, but we certainly encourage them to think about them rigorously and critically. We do not expect any of our tutors to try to win converts for any particular approach, and expect our students to challenge their tutors just as they will find themselves challenged.
Anywhere you like. There is a very broad range of churches and chapels inside the University and outside. Many denominations are represented, though several specifically American denominations are not. Most students try more than one place of worship. Some students make a firm commitment to a place of worship. Others take full advantage of the freedom offered, visiting some places for the high quality of the preaching, others to listen to world class music, and others to experience a church in the community near to OSP houses.
Yes. Orientation begins on the first evening so you must arrive in Oxford between 8 am and 4pm of that day.
For the card which gets you into libraries and other facilities, for OSP and Wycliffe Hall noticeboards so staff can get to know you better, and for your permanent file which is referred to, for example, if staff are asked to write references for students after they have left.
A debit card is a convenient way to draw money from your bank account in England. You must let your bank and credit card companies know that you will be leaving the country and regularly using your card in England. This will prevent them from locking your account as part of their security measures. Visa and Master card credit cards are very widely accepted in Britain, but American Express and, particularly, Diner's Card are not widely used. Bear in mind that most, if not all, foreign transactions on a credit card and ATM withdrawals will incur some type of fee.
Though you should expect to behave more formally in classes in Oxford than at home (no eating, drinking, or gum chewing for example) you’ll find that dress is fairly casual, and anything clean and tidy will be fine. You should not, though, wear a hat or cap inside as this might be read as rude. You’ll get more hints on how to avoid things which might appear too informal or rude in Britain once you arrive: but as you pack your clothes, put in one smart and more formal outfit for formal occasions along with your casual items which are fine for the most part. Plan on all kinds of weather; summer in Oxford can mean anything from surprise downpours to warm, muggy days. It is generally advisable to dress in layers, bring an umbrella and make sure you have comfortable walking shoes.
Yes. Some students enjoy their time at Oxford so much that they want either to participate in the programme the following summer or to reapply for a semester programme after they have gone back home. Such applicants should go through the normal application process for each semester. SCIO staff welcomes all applications, including those from people who have been on previous programmes and will consider each carefully, on its own merits. Students thinking about returning should listen carefully to advice from their own schools on this matter.
Seminars assume prior foundation in the subject matter. For other seminars and tutorials we strongly recommend your having taken some classes in the subject, broadly defined. For example, the Oxford summer programme is probably not the time to start studying philosophy from scratch, but if you have done some philosophy at your home school, you could well try a new branch of philosophy in Oxford.
