How our short courses work
Join us online or in Oxford
Ways to study with Oxford Continuing Education
Explore a new topic or revisit a favourite subject over a few days, a few weeks or a term. Our short courses run in person or online, with some offered in both formats – so you can choose the study option best for you.
- ‘Online – live’ courses are taught completely online and have scheduled, live-time meetings to attend. Live-time discussions and Q&A take place via an online platform. Additionally, some ‘online – live’ weekly courses have prerecorded lectures to enjoy. Courses include day events, weekend schools, lecture series and weekly classes.
- ‘Online – flexible’ courses are taught fully online but have no live-time meetings – so you can study when it suits you at any time of the day or night. Teaching takes place in a virtual learning environment, with students and tutors interacting in online text-based forums. The forums are not live and students can add their comments at any time.
- In-person events require attendance in Oxford and have no online components. These include weekly classes, day events and weekend schools.
- Hybrid teaching events are livestreamed from Oxford and include lecture series, day events and weekend schools. You can choose to join either in person or online.
Upcoming courses
In-person weekly • Short courses
An introduction into existentialist approaches to ethics and the ethical. With a particular focus on subjectivity and individual responsibility, we will ask what morality is and could be.
- Tue 22 Apr 2025 – Tue 24 Jun 2025
- 10 meetings
- 7:00 – 9:00pm
In-person weekly • Short courses
This French consolidation course is based on the syllabus of the previous terms and is primarily tailored to meet the needs of those who completed the weekly class. New students who are at the appropriate level of proficiency are also welcome.
- Tue 22 Apr 2025 – Tue 24 Jun 2025
- 10 meetings
- 7:00 – 9:00pm
In-person weekly • Short courses
This course examines the story of Europe in the nineteenth century focusing on the themes of national identity, political and economic development, colonial expansion and urban development. What was the historical legacy of these dramatic European events?
- Tue 22 Apr 2025 – Tue 24 Jun 2025
- 10 meetings
- 2:00 – 4:00pm
In-person weekly • Short courses
This course introduces the work of the major Hollywood director Otto Preminger, offering critical approaches to understanding his film style across a range of genres and his place within debates about film authorship
- Tue 22 Apr 2025 – Tue 24 Jun 2025
- 10 meetings
- 7:00 – 9:00pm
In-person weekly • Short courses
This Japanese consolidation course is based on the syllabus of the previous terms and is primarily tailored to meet the needs of those who completed the weekly class. New students who are at the appropriate level of proficiency are also welcome.
- Tue 22 Apr 2025 – Tue 24 Jun 2025
- 10 meetings
- 7:00 – 9:00pm
In-person weekly • Short courses
The course will explore the inner workings of cells in organisms that enable them to sense and respond to their environment. Signalling systems that allow communication of an external signal to evoke a cellular response will be examined.
- Tue 22 Apr 2025 – Tue 24 Jun 2025
- 10 meetings
- 10:30am – 12:30pm
Day and weekend events
Join us in Oxford or online to explore a topic in depth over one or two days with multiple speakers or extend your knowledge over several weeks with a lecture series.Lecture series
Weekly lectures on a given topic. All can be enjoyed in person at Rewley House, with the majority also being livestreamed – so you can choose to attend online or in Oxford.Weekly learning
Study with Oxford on a weekly schedule over one or two terms. Choose from courses that meet in-person in Oxford, online courses with live-time sessions and flexible online courses.