St. Catherine's College was founded in 1962 by Alan Bullock (Lord Bullock), although it has its origins in a non-collegiate Society which was established in 1868 as a means for the less well-off to study at Oxford. The College's motto - Nova et Vetera (the new and the old), sums up its unique quality among Oxford colleges.
While taking much from the best traditions of Oxford it succeeds in having a much less formal and more relaxed and friendly atmosphere than many other colleges. Designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen, the College has a traditional layout in quadrangle style with gardens. Its situation and architecture give a feeling of space and light and peace; it backs onto Merton's playing fields and the University Parks.
As well as the usual College facilities, St. Catherine's has three lecture theatres (two of which can also be used for drama and film), seminar rooms, a music house, two student computer rooms, a gym, squash and tennis courts, a punt house and among the most spacious common rooms in Oxford.
The high academic goals which St. Catherine's shares with the rest of the University are pursued here in a distinctively friendly environment, which partly derives from the College's origins as a non-collegiate Society for, in many cases, relatively poor students, who came from a great variety of backgrounds. This tradition of accessibility is continued to the present. St. Catherine's, now one of the largest Oxford colleges, attracts undergraduates and graduates - and both men and women - with every kind of previous experience.
The academic community of St. Catherine's is a thriving one, with fifty Fellows who are engaged in research at the highest level in their subjects, most of whom teach undergraduates. You can read nearly every subject offered by the University at St. Catherine's, the exceptions being theology, classics and non-medical physiological sciences. We are one of the few colleges which take those who wish to read music or fine art; we are unusual in admitting roughly equal numbers of students in the arts and the sciences.
These areas of study are recommended for study abroad students:
Art, Classical Studies, Economics, History, Language Studies, Law, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Theology
Accommodation consists of bed-sitting rooms grouped on staircases in the traditional Oxford manner, each staircase having its own mini-kitchens and bathrooms. All rooms have large windows, overlooking the lawns and garden of the College, the river Cherwell or playing fields.
Please speak with a MAP coordinator for more details.
