University of Oxford
Country: United Kingdom
School establishment time: 1 167.
Oxford University has a long history and enjoys a world-renowned reputation. Despite the relative decline in national and resource advantages, the days when Oxford and Cambridge were the top universities in the world are long gone. However, it still plays an extremely important role in British society and higher education system, and still has worldwide influence. The education in Britain and even the whole world will be called Oxford. Many young students in Britain and the world want to go to Oxford.
After the baptism of Renaissance and Reformation and the process of modernization, Oxford University has now developed into a comprehensive university with more than 30 colleges and more than 654.38+0 million students. Oxford University has shocked the whole world with its continuous progress and innovative achievements in natural science, applied economic science and business management philosophy. At the same time, it is famous for its rich and varied teaching methods: combining reading, experiment and tutor's guidance, respecting learning rules, mobilizing students' enthusiasm for learning, and cultivating generations of Oxford elites. The school is in a leading position in the fields of psychology, biology and law, engineering, social science, economy, philosophy, history, music, chemistry, biochemistry, literature, French, German, Danish, mathematics, physics and earth science.
In the history of nearly 800 years, Oxford University has trained five kings, 26 British prime ministers (including former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair), many foreign heads of government (such as former US President Bill Clinton), nearly 40 Nobel Prize winners and a large number of famous scientists, such as economist Adam Smith, philosopher Bacon, poet Shelley, writer Green, chemist robert boyle and astronomer Harley. Even Naipaul, the 200/kloc-0 Nobel Prize in Literature winner, graduated from the English Department of Oxford University. From 200 1 to the academic year of 2002, the total number of students studying in Oxford University exceeded 16500, among which foreign students from more than 30 countries accounted for 1/3, and the number of graduate students was about 5000. Oxford University has made great contributions to the development and progress of human civilization.
At present, there are 39 colleges in Oxford, and their relationship with schools is in the form of federalism, just like the relationship between the central government and local governments in the United States. Each college is managed by the dean of the college and several researchers, who are experts in various academic fields, and most of them have positions in the school. Six quasi-colleges (called "permanent private schools"-run by various religious factions) still retain their religious charters. In addition, there is a continuing education college. Among the 35 colleges, Wanling College currently has no students, only academicians (including visiting academicians). Each college has a different size, but all colleges have less than 500 students. Students and teachers (academicians) come from different professional disciplines.
In addition to colleges, the teaching and research activities of Oxford University (especially the latter) are mainly organized by departments, which are not autonomous units within the university. They are all inter-school institutions and are not affiliated to any college. However, teachers and students in each department must first be members of Oxford University College. Oxford now has 16 departments: anthropology and geography, biological sciences, clinical medicine, English and literature, law, classical literature, philosophy and ancient history, mathematics, medieval and modern languages, modern history, music, orientalism, physical sciences, physiology, psychology, sociology, theology and art. In addition, some research institutes (such as education colleges that recruit graduate students) are not affiliated to the above departments, but directly affiliated to universities.
Oxford University has a strong research force. Among its teachers, there are 83 members of the Royal Society and 125 members of the British Academy of Sciences. In mathematics, computer science, physics, biology, medicine and other fields, it is among the best in Britain and even the world. In recent years, Oxford has made remarkable achievements not only in liberal arts but also in science, not only in basic science, but also in applied science research.
In the field of biomedicine, since Fleming discovered penicillin in London, Oxford scientists Flory and Tsai En put it into clinical application in the 1940s, and they won the Nobel Prize. The most widely used antibiotic 1955 was discovered by Edward Abraham of Oxford. Oxford University is also committed to applying molecular biology to clinical practice, applying the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance to medical diagnosis, and playing a leading role in discovering the human immune melon system and applying genetic engineering technology to clinical problems. The college also has great potential in HIV, transplant surgery and genetic disease research. 1987 Squibb & Sons donated 20 million pounds to the Department of Pharmacy to support their research work.
In the field of environmental science, Oxford's research involves forest history, climate change, remote sensing, land use, wildlife protection, livestock management, pollution, corrosion, desert invasion and many other topics.
Oxford is in a leading position in solid-state physics, high magnetism, laser research, elementary particle research and atmospheric physics. Clarendon Laboratory of Physics Department plays a special role in the field of nuclear research in the world. Basic research has also led to important industrial development, including the establishment of enterprises such as Oxford Instruments and Oxford Laser Company.
In the Department of Chemistry alone, there are currently four Nobel Prize winners in Oxford. Great achievements have been made in protein, synthesis of new inorganic materials and computer-aided design of molecules. , and has been widely used in chemical industry, medicine, microelectronics industry and other fields.
Oxford has also made great achievements in the fields of internal dynamics of the earth, research on land boundary deformation, low temperature treatment and paleontology. Oxford Institute of Mathematics is in the forefront of many branches of mathematics in the world, and computer science research also has a certain position at home and abroad. Oxford is an internationally recognized British economic center. Not only experts in finance and management disciplines, but also experts in law, psychology and natural science participated in the study of economics. 1987 the number of Oxford graduates entering the industrial and commercial field exceeds the number of people employed in other industries.
Oxford University is also very active in the study of development economics and international relations, and is also known as one of the most active centers for the study of contemporary China.
There are many outstanding theologians, philosophers, jurists, historians, musicians, writers and literary critics in Oxford University, and they are quite powerful in politics, geography, sociology and psychology.
Oxford * * * has 104 libraries, among which Bodley Library is the second largest library in Britain (second only to Great Britain Library), with 6 million books.
Oxford Press is world-famous and the largest university press in the world. Especially its 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is world-famous.
For young students, studying in Oxford should be said to be an outstanding opportunity, a painful and attractive thing and a glorious road. However, for British society, there is something beyond glory. Oxford and Cambridge are important and hopeful roads to the highest power. They train a group of intellectual dignitaries for Britain every year, some of whom will reach the peak of power. Just give an example to see the weight of this temptation. In the parliamentary session of 1979, among the 339 Conservative MPs, 94 are from Oxford and 75 are from Cambridge. These alumni formed clubs and alumni associations, supported each other through thick and thin, and formed a network of relationships from their parents to their children. Think about it, what kind of situation should this be?
Robbins, President of the Financial Times and Dean of the London School of Economics, presented the Robbins Report at 1963. Accuse Oxford and Cambridge of its monopoly position and the serious influence of coldness and conservatism. The British government at that time was impressed by this and approved the report within 48 hours. The government decided to build more universities to dilute the influence of Oxford and Cambridge. Soon, eight universities opened. But soon people were surprised to find that these eight universities were almost the same as Oxford and Cambridge. The architectural style of school buildings and the style and pattern of campus seem to have been inherited from Oxford and Cambridge. More interestingly, these eight universities are led by vice presidents from Oxford or Cambridge respectively.