History, Politics & Society Summer School



Overview

Summary

  • A three-week residential summer school providing insight into issues and events that have influenced the contemporary world using a thematic approach.
  • Participate in two interactive seminar groups with with specialist tutors. Each seminar has two two-hour meetings per week, and classes will usually contain no more than 15 students.
  • Attend a daily lecture programme given by leading scholars and distinguished speakers.
  • Study and live at Exeter College, founded 1314 - one of Oxford University's oldest colleges.
  • Enjoy a range of social events, including walking tours and excursions.

Contact hours

The programme provides a minimum of 46.5 contact hours, comprising:

  • 24 hours of seminar meetings (12 hours per seminar); and
  • 22.5 hours of lectures (15 lectures, each lasting 1.5 hours).

Social programme

A range of optional social events will be offered throughout the summer school. These are likely to include: a walking tour of Oxford, after-dinner talks and discussions; and weekend excursions to sites of historical and/or literary interest. Most of these activities incur additional costs.

Beyond the summer school, Oxford is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city with a busy cultural and social scene offering a wide variety of plays and shows, concerts, films and exhibitions.

Programme details

Seminar options

Seminar topics will be announced in January 2024.

Certification

All students who complete the programme will receive an attendance certificate.

Those seeking credit at their home institution may request a detailed certificate which lists contact hours (for seminars and lectures), an assessment of their contribution to seminar discussions, grades achieved for written work, and the number of private study hours required. Certificates will usually be sent to students' home institutions within a month of the end of the summer school.

As Oxford University does not offer credit for this summer school, those wishing to obtain credit from their home institution for attending this programme must make appropriate arrangements with that institution in advance.

Fees

Residential: Standard (shared bathroom) - £4,380; Residential: En suite (private bathroom facilities) - £4,765; Non-residential (no accommodation, lunches only) - £2,255

Payment

Programme fees

  • Residential: Standard (shared bathroom facilities) - £4,380
    Fees include tuition (2 seminars and the daily lecture programme); access to IT facilities and libraries; accommodation in a standard single room with shared bathroom facilities for the nights of Sunday 30 June to Friday 19 July 2024 inclusive; meals in hall from dinner on Sunday 30 June to breakfast on Saturday 20 July 2024 (except lunch on Saturdays and Sundays).

  • Residential: En suite (private bathroom facilities) - £4,765
    Fees include tuition (2 seminars and the daily lecture programme); access to IT facilities and libraries; accommodation in a single en suite room with private shower and toilet for the nights of Sunday 30 June to Friday 19 July 2024 inclusive; meals in hall from dinner on Sunday 30 June to breakfast on Saturday 20 July 2024 (except lunch on Saturdays and Sundays).

  • Non-residential - £2,255
    Fees include tuition (2 seminars and the daily lecture programme); access to IT facilities and libraries; no accommodation; lunch Monday-Friday, and the programme's formal opening and closing dinners on Sunday 30 June and Friday 19 July 2024, respectively.

There are no sources of funding (scholarships, bursaries, etc) available for applicants.

Invoicing and payment

Successful applicants who accept their offer of a place on the summer school will be invoiced for the appropriate programme fee once they have been formally enrolled on the programme.

Invoices will be emailed to students together with full instructions for payment. Fees may be paid online with a credit or debit card, or by bank transfer.

Students are required to pay the full fee within 30 days of the date on which their invoice was issued. Late applicants (see "Apply for this course", below) are required to pay the full fee within 7 days of their invoice date.

Please note that:

  • students need to purchase travel insurance to cover the programme fee, travel costs, and any other expenses incurred (see "Cancellations", below);

  • a student's place on the summer school is not confirmed until their fees have been paid in full;

  • places will not be held for students whose fees are not paid in full by the due date; and

  • in no circumstances will students be admitted to the summer school unless all fees have been paid in full.

When you have paid your fees

Your place on the summer school is confirmed as soon as your payment is received by OUDCE.

You will receive a receipt for your payment: an automated email from webpayments@conted.ox.ac.uk if paid online, or via email from historysummer@conted.ox.ac.uk if paid by bank transfer.

The Programme Administrator will provide all non-UK/Irish nationals enrolled on the summer school with a standard format pdf letter by email confirming enrolment and course details (see "Level and demands", below).

Cancellations

All enrolments are subject to OUDCE's Short Selective Course Terms and Conditions.

By accepting your offer of a place on the summer school you enter into your contract with the University.

You have the right to cancel your contract at any time within 14 days, beginning on the day you accepted the offer. You will receive a full refund of any payments you have made within those 14 days.

If you cancel your place at any time after the expiry of the 14-day period you will not be entitled to a refund.

You need to purchase travel insurance to cover the programme fee, travel costs, and any other expenses incurred.

If you wish to cancel your place on the summer school you must inform the Programme Administrator by email at historysummer@conted.ox.ac.uk

OUDCE reserves the right to alter details of any course should illness or any other emergency prevent a tutor from teaching, and to cancel a course or seminar if exceptionally low enrolment would make it educationally unviable.

Course aims

Each seminar has its own course aim and objectives.

Teaching methods

Students will attend a lecture programme.

Elements of seminar teaching will normally include:

  • mini lectures by tutors;
  • tutor-led class discussions;
  • small group activities; and
  • individual student presentations.

Students will attend short (10-minute) tutorials with their tutors to receive feedback on their written work.

Learning outcomes

Each seminar has its own learning outcomes.

Assessment methods

Tutors will monitor and assess students’ contribution to class discussions.

Students are expected to submit an assignment of 2,500 words in length for assessment for each seminar taken.

Application

Before you submit your application

  • ensure you meet the admissions criteria (see "Selection criteria", below);
  • clease check the seminar timetable (available to view in January 2024) carefully to ensure that your first and second choice courses do not run at the same time;
  • make sure you have all the required supporting documents listed below;
  • ensure you are familiar with the terms and conditions of enrolment on the summer school, especially those relating to payment of fees and cancellations (see "Payment", above); and
  • read the 'Important information regarding immigration and visa requirements' (see "Level and demands", below).

The application process

Complete the application form, which will be available to download in January 2024.

Please ensure all sections are completed fully, clearly, and in BLOCK CAPITALS.

The form must be accompanied by:

  • A brief statement of purpose (250-300 words) detailing your academic reasons for wishing to attend the summer school. This should include what you hope to get out of the programme, and what you are likely to contribute to the intellectual life of the summer school. This may include details of history, politics, political or social science courses you have previously taken, or the relevance of the summer school to your present course of study or professional development. It is essential that you clearly state your reasons for wishing to enrol on specific seminars.
  • In the case of non-native speakers of English, official evidence of English language proficiency.
  • JPEG portrait photograph.

Applications should be emailed to: historysummer@conted.ox.ac.uk

After you have submitted your application

You will receive an email from historysummer@conted.ox.ac.uk confirming receipt of your application materials, and informing you when your application will be reviewed by the admissions panel.

Application deadlines

This summer school operates a gathered field closing date system by which applications are reviewed fairly and equally in batches at specific dates throughout the admissions period rather than on a first come, first served or rolling basis.

There is a limited number of places available on every seminar within each gathered field, and in assigning successful applicants to seminar groups the admissions panel will pay particular attention to applicants' personal statements.

Gathered field deadlines will be announced in January 2024.

Notification of the admission panel's decision

Applicants will normally be notified of the panel's decision by email from historysummer@conted.ox.ac.uk within 14 days of the relevant gathered field deadline.

Applicants who are offered a place on the summer school must respond in writing within 14 days to accept or decline the offer. In accepting an offer of a place applicants are committing to paying their programme fees in full by the due date.

Late applicants will be notified within 7 days of their materials having been received, and successful applicants will then have 7 days in which to accept or decline the offer of a place.

Enrolment

Students will be formally enrolled on the summer school once they have accepted their offer of a place.

The enrolment process includes the issuing of invoices, which will be emailed to students together with full instructions for payment (see "Payment", above).

Any queries?

Please contact the Programme Administrator by email at historysummer@conted.ox.ac.uk

Level and demands

Participants are expected to

  • undertake preparatory reading in advance of the programme;
  • attend all seminar sessions and lectures;
  • be actively engaged with their seminar topics;
  • submit an assignment of 2,500 words in length for each seminar taken; and
  • undertake approximately 96 hours of private study during the programme (elements of private study will include: reading and other preparation between seminar meetings, work in libraries, writing papers, etc).

Important information regarding immigration and visa requirements

OUDCE welcomes international students on all its courses. However, it is the responsibility of successful applicants to ensure that they conform to UK immigration law.

If you are not a UK or Irish national, you might need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa to study in the UK. We strongly recommend that you establish whether you will require a visa before submitting your application.

Information regarding visiting the UK to study is available on the UK Government’s website as well as Oxford University’s Student Immigration website.

If you will require a visa, you should ensure your summer school application is submitted as early as possible to allow yourself sufficient time to complete the visa application process (see current visa processing times).

The Programme Administrator will provide all non-UK/Irish nationals enrolled on the summer school with a standard format pdf letter by email confirming enrolment and course details once their fees have been paid in full.

For legal reasons the Programme Administrator is not permitted to provide any visa advice to applicants; any queries should be addressed to student.immigration@admin.ox.ac.uk.

The University takes no responsibility for a visa being denied at any point before or during a course.

Please note that the standard cancellation policy applies in all cases. (See "Cancellations", above.

Support for students with disabilities

OUDCE welcomes applications from students with disabilities or learning difficulties. Individual student needs are taken into account, and adaptations and assistance provided within the resources available. We ask that students advise us in advance where any special provision might be needed. Further information is available at www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/students-with-disabilities.

Selection criteria

This is an intensive programme of study taught to an informed international audience. Applicants should be confident that they are academically and linguistically prepared for such a programme.

Academic requirements

Applications are welcomed from:

  • graduates with a subject-appropriate academic background;

  • teachers of history, politics, political or social science, economics or law in schools and colleges; and

  • senior undergraduates who have completed at least two years of a full-time university degree programme in a relevant academic discipline - ie history, politics, political or social science (eg government, international development, international relations, social policy or sociology), economics or law.

English language requirements

As students are expected to participate fully in seminar discussions and are required to produce written work it is important that applicants can demonstrate an appropriate level of proficiency in the four language skills - listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Applicants for whom English is not their first language must provide evidence of their proficiency in the form of an original certificate or a certified copy that is not more than two years old on the date the summer school starts. These applicants must satisfy one of the following requirements:

  • IELTS Academic - minimum overall score of 7.5, with not less than 7.0 in each of the four components

  • TOEFL iBT - minimum overall score of 110, with not less than 22 for listening, 24 for reading, 25 for speaking and 24 for writing

  • C1 Advanced (formerly known as Cambridge English: Advanced or CAE) - minimum overall score of 191, with not less 185 in each of the four components.

For further information on English language qualifications:

The requirement to provide English language test scores may be waived in either of the following circumstances:

  • If you have completed a full-time degree-level programme at a recognised institution where teaching and assessment throughout the course was undertaken entirely in English, and the programme was completed with a gap of no more than two academic years to the course to which you are applying. If you studied this course in a country that is not majority English speaking, you will need to provide evidence that the course was taught in English. This can either take the form of a link to the appropriate page of the institution’s website or a statement from the institution confirming this.
  • If you have worked for a minimum of two years in a majority English speaking country where the main language for the role was English, and your role involved daily professional use of each of the four language components (reading, writing, listening and speaking).

Accommodation

Location

Founded in 1314, Exeter College is one of Oxford University's oldest colleges and is situated in a prime city centre location.

Bedrooms and meals

Students who choose to attend the summer school on a residential basis will have a single study bedroom.

Bedrooms are located up the four to nine floors of a staircase; bath and/or shower and toilet facilities on each staircase are shared. A limited number of rooms have private bathroom facilities (shower and toilet) and these are available for a higher fee. Early application for these rooms is essential.

Students cannot be accommodated at Exeter College either prior to or beyond their programme dates. Family members and/or friends who are not enrolled on this summer school cannot be accommodated in college.

Residential students will take meals in the college's dining hall. All meals are self-service with a range of options available. The only exceptions are the summer school's opening and closing dinners, which are formal served set menu meals. Should applicants have any dietary requirements (eg vegetarian, gluten-free) they are required to complete the relevant section on the application form.

Please be aware that accommodation at Exeter College is limited and may not be available for those who submit their applications towards the end of the admissions period.

Non-residential students

Students who choose to attend the summer school on a non-residential basis are responsible for finding their own accommodation. Information on accommodation in Oxford is available at:

Lunch is provided for non-residential students Monday-Friday, and the summer school's opening and closing dinners are also included in the non-residential programme fee.

IT requirements

Although it is not required, most students bring a laptop to Oxford to assist them with their studies.

For residential students, wireless internet access is available in all bedrooms; for all students, wireless access is available in communal spaces of the college.

All students will be eligible to use the computers and printer in Exeter College's computer room.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support