The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford , England. There is evidence of teaching as early as , [ 5 ] making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in continuous operation.
The University of Oxford is made up of 43 constituent colleges, consisting of 36 semi-autonomous colleges , four permanent private halls and three societies colleges that are departments of the university, without their own royal charter , [ 18 ] [ 19 ] and a range of academic departments which are organised into four divisions.
All students are members of a college. Undergraduate teaching at Oxford consists of lectures, small-group tutorials at the colleges and halls, seminars, laboratory work and occasionally further tutorials provided by the central university faculties and departments.
Postgraduate teaching is provided in a predominantly centralised fashion. Oxford operates the Ashmolean Museum , the world's oldest university museum ; Oxford University Press , the largest university press in the world; and the largest academic library system nationwide. Oxford has educated a wide range of notable alumni, including 31 prime ministers of the United Kingdom and many heads of state and government around the world.
The University of Oxford's foundation date is unknown. It grew quickly from when English students returned from the University of Paris. The head of the university had the title of chancellor from at least , and the masters were recognised as a universitas or corporation in The students associated together on the basis of geographical origins, into two ' nations ', representing the North northerners or Boreales , who included the English people from north of the River Trent and the Scots and the South southerners or Australes , who included English people from south of the Trent, the Irish and the Welsh.
