The Oxford Internet Institute welcomes some of the brightest students from around the world to Oxford every year. The majority of our student body come from outside the UK, bringing with them their unique cultural backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints that enrich the intellectual life of the department.
Oxford is a very diverse city with a long history of inviting students into local community. Among the historical architecture, beautiful gardens, state-of-the-art sports facilities, and fascinating museums and libraries, you’ll find an abundance of restaurants, bars, cafés, shops, cinemas and theatres to keep you busy outside of your studies. Oxford has excellent public transport connections, though many students choose to cycle around the city. London is an hour’s train ride away from Oxford station, where you will find exciting landmarks, museums and city life.
Oxford is a safe city, recognised by its Purple Flag status and ranked in the top ten safest student cities by the Complete University Guide.
Many of our students choose to live in their college. Living in your college gives you easy access to the city centre and other facilities such as libraries and your college dining hall, as well as your college’s Middle Common Room (MCR), the hub of graduate student social life. Your college will also offer a range of additional support services to help you achieve your best results. For more information on colleges, visit the University’s Graduate Admissions website. College accommodation is not guaranteed for postgraduate students.
Even if you choose not to live within your college or college accommodation isn’t available, you will still have access to all your college’s facilities. In this case, you can rent rooms or properties externally. Visit the Graduate Accommodation Office website for assistance finding a room to rent.
Studying in a new country is a major life change. It can take some time to adjust. Opportunities to socialise with other students, including other international students who are experiencing the same change as you, are abundant inside and outside the department. The University hosts over 400 clubs and societies you can join, many of which are international student groups from various countries around the world. An Orientation Programme specifically for international students is also held each year, which will give you the opportunity to meet with other international students as well as ask questions.
Life in the OII is also rich with opportunities to socialise with other students and faculty. Pub socials are held frequently throughout the academic year, as well as the annual Summer Shindig. The department has a busy events schedule and hosts speakers from across the field of Internet scholarship. As a small department with a student to faculty ratio of 2:1, you will have ample opportunity to get to know your peers and professors.
If you are struggling to adjust, the University offers a counselling service and other wellbeing resources that may help you. The department and your college are also available to support you during and after your transition to life in the UK.
If you are an overseas student from outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland, you will require a student visa to study at the OII. Once your acceptance to the OII and University of Oxford is unconditional (i.e. all conditions have been met), you will need to apply for a Student Visa from the UK government. The visa process involves a number of steps. Visit the Oxford Student Visa and Immigration web page for more information.
Studying at the OII is intensive and challenging, whether you are embarking on one of our MSc or PhD programmes. To help you prepare, you may be interested in registering for the summer Pre-sessional course in English for academic purposes. This six-week course run by the University Language Centre is focused on language proficieny, academic writing and study skills to help you perform your best when the course begins. Please let OII know as soon as possible if you would like to attend the Pre-sessional course in English. The Language Centre also offers year-round courses and support for students with English as a second language, as well as training and resources in many other languages.
You will have an academic supervisor in both your college and at the department to support you during your studies. Our Graduate Studies Team is also available to help with academic administrative matters.
The Oxford Students Academic Matters web pages offer more information on studying at the University of Oxford.
Information on traveling to Oxford from airports around the UK, opening a UK bank account, registering with a doctor, fulfilling your visa conditions, and much more is available on the Oxford Students website.
