NOTE: Application Deadline: December 4
Program Overview
This Junior Year Abroad Program is open to a limited number of juniors, who live and study for the year at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University. Harris Manchester College traces its history back more than 200 years, though it only moved to Oxford in 1889. It descends from a distinguished tradition of “dissenting academies,” institutions of higher learning founded to provide instruction to those who dissented from and who were not members of the Church of England. Among its early teachers were Jean-Paul Marat, the French revolutionary; Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen; and John Dalton, the developer of modern atomic theory.
Harris Manchester college has a student body of approximately 200 students. The College is located right in the center of Oxford.
Harris Manchester is a college for mature students within the University of Oxford, meaning that all of the students will be over 21 years of age. Most students, about 2/3, are in their twenties... average of 27, but Oxford also admits students in their thirties, forties, fifties, and beyond. The oldest student they have had thus far was in their 70s at the beginning of their degree.
Academics
Tutorial instruction is available primarily in English, geography, history, religion, philosophy and politics. To browse courses, click here. The academic calendar is that of the university. In each of the three terms – Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity – students receive a major tutorial (two credits) and a minor tutorial (one credit), for a total accumulation of nine course credits. Note: Oxford colleges now strictly enforce a 3.7 GPA admission requirement for incoming international students. Students studying off-campus in the fall can bring up to 4.5 credits back to campus; students studying off-campus in the spring with interim can bring up to 5.5 credits back to campus.
What courses will be offered in 2020-2021? Check out this Prospectus 2024.doc
Learn more about what it's like to be a student at Harris Manchester with A Guide for Perplexed Students. This resource covers information about: time management; lectures & tutorials; tutorial essays; books and libraries; collections; choosing option; and preparing for exams.
This webinar also contains a wealth of information about what to expect while at Oxford: https://youtu.be/8uruS7gnBJo
Student Life
For years, Manchester’s principal educational purpose was to train men and women for the ministry in the Unitarian Church. Today the college is a fully chartered college of the University of Oxford for mature undergraduate and postgraduate students, and thus all the university’s services and facilities – libraries, lectures, associations, sports – are open to its students. It is situated in the heart of Oxford and its neo-Gothic architecture, faculty organization and student lifestyle are like those of any other Oxford college.
Harris Manchester's mature student body creates a unique environment with a strong understanding of non-traditional qualifications. While the College itself is comprised of mature students, visiting study abroad students have ample opportunities to meet younger students from other colleges in Oxford at lectures, clubs and societies, and social and sporting events.
To learn more about student life at Harris Manchester, click here; to learn more about student life at the University of Oxford in general, click here.
Between terms are breaks of about a month, which students may use as they wish at their own expense.
Accommodations/Housing
Students live in residence halls on campus. Most accommodation is ensuite, meaning students have a private bathroom attached to their bedroom. To learn more about accommodations, click here.
