Tutorial Choice Overview
Choosing Your Oxford Tutorial
Some important considerations to take away from the tutorial structure is that you should try to choose a course that:
- You are significantly interested in, such that you would be motivated to work for 20 hours a week alone on.
- You feel confident speaking about at length, or growing your knowledge and confidence to speak about.
For some students, the tutorial is a good opportunity to test the waters and learn whether a field of study will be suitable for graduate work, or would be an area the student should concentrate in as a major or minor. Tutorials allow Stanford students to experience how a given subject is taught at Oxford. They should be approached not as self-designed but rather as pre-existing courses, which are, however, taught in an individualized manner.
Navigating Oxford's Tutorials
Now that you know these basic considerations, you might be ready to fill in your tutorial request. Read on to see how to develop details for your tutorial request form.
All of Oxford’s Undergraduate teaching is divided into four divisions in which the various departments are held. It can be helpful to identify which division your tutorial is likely taking place in:
The reason for this is that the types of courses available and tutorial conventions vary by division and department. These pages are also divided by division and then department with special suggestions and notes for each department’s tutorial course offering. You can see on the site that if a tutorial has been recently taken by a Stanford student, the title will link to the recent syllabus(es) to help you get a better picture of the tutorial.
Tutorial Allocation
After you submit the form, your request will be reviewed by BOSP academic staff. To ensure the best learning experience, you may be asked to revise your request if it is too niche and cannot be placed effectively within the University of Oxford’s tutorial system. This is particularly relevant to interdepartmental/interdivisional requests. After your request is approved, you will be allocated a tutor who is a scholar in the respective field. Please, note that it is impossible to change your tutorial request at this stage. Therefore, you must approach your initial choice as carefully and thoughtfully as possible.