Certificate of Higher Education student spotlights

Meet our students

The transformative Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE) requires no prior experience and is for learners worldwide who are seeking to enhance and expand their knowledge for personal, academic or professional growth.

You decide what, how and where you study with this part-time and fully flexible programme. Students choose a main subject area to specialise in, from a choice of eight subjects in the humanities, and then also undertake study in other subjects of interest to widen their breadth of knowledge.

Credit is gained from completing short courses of your choosing and it's possible to study mainly online, but you must take at least one course face-to-face in Oxford. Most CertHE students gain this in-person credit by attending a week-long residential summer school at Rewley House in central Oxford.

Discover what some of our past and current students have to say about the course using the link below.

Priscilla Sánchez Conejo

Priscilla Sánchez Conejo

The flexibility of the Certificate of Higher Education allowed Priscilla, a tax lawyer and university professor from Costa Rica, to balance her study with her work and home life.

Charles Bush

Charles Bush

Charles Bush published his debut young-adult novel thanks to the skills and experience gained from completing the Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education.

Yukiko Ogawa

Yukiko Ogawa

Yukiko had no academic experience of art history until taking a short online course with the Department. She then decided to further her skills and knowledge with the Certificate of Higher Education, and is currently completing the programme from Moscow.

Scott Gratson

Scott Gratson

Scott completed the Certificate of Higher Education, specialising in history, so he could study with Oxford while living and working in the United States. He has since started the online Advanced Diploma in Local History.

Dyan Ruffen-Madrey

Dyan Ruffen-Madrey

After completing a short course with us, and following her tutor's recommendation, Dyan decided to apply for the Certificate of Higher Education so she could explore her interest in archaeology.

Assia Maryam

Assia Maryam

After completing the Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education Assia was accepted to read English at Cambridge University.

Ray Hare

Ray Hare

Following a rugby accident, Ray Hare was rendered a quadriplegic and unable to continue his career as a History teacher. Since then he has been taking online courses, allowing him to work on something himself without the help of anyone else.

Georgia Fancett

Georgia Fancett

Studying on the Certificate of Higher Education led Georgia to writing a prize winning novel.

Stephen Barnham

Stephen Barnham

Following a 30-year break from formal education, Steven enrolled on one of our online courses in ethics, from the comfort of his own home in Singapore. He is now working towards the Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education.

Pilar Barrera Wey

Pilar Barrera Wey

Pilar lives in Brazil and gained the Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education by completing online courses along with a summer school in Oxford.

Rebecca Davis

Rebecca Davis

Oxford’s Continuing Education Department has been Rebecca's first experience of Higher Education.