Oxford, Cambridge, Oxbridge — where exactly is it, and what’s all the fuss about?
Updated: 17 Mar 2025The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge are the two most historic and prestigious universities in the UK, considered by most people to be the gold standard of academic excellence and educational heritage. Together they are Oxbridge, a single term used to describe a pair of institutions with a combined age of a whopping 1741 years, and campuses to match.
Widely known for their difficult admission criteria, academic rigour, archaic collegiate systems, and peaceful county town atmosphere, they occupy a particular category of their own in the world of British academia. Popularised by traditional events such as the annual boat race, while exercising significant influence as powerhouses of research, theory, and culture, they have endured centuries of change and continue to be relevant to the global academic landscape.
Generally speaking, the University of Oxford has a high standard of tuition across its entire portfolio of courses, however five areas for which it is especially known are medicine, philosophy, politics, chemistry, and economics. In fact, 20% of undergrad students at Oxford are enrolled in one of these subject areas. Languages, mathematics, history, and literature are also very highly regarded courses, and delivered by faculties which have had fundamental roles in developing the study of these subjects over history.
Oxford is a small city of around 150,000 inhabitants, easily navigable on foot or by bike, and with plenty of amenities and activities for its large student population. It’s a green city, known for its parks and outdoor spaces as well as the leisurely punt boats which drift through the historic university grounds along the River Cherwell.
The application process for the University of Oxford starts earlier than the rest of the UK, with the submission deadline typically falling at the end of the second week in October of the year prior to course starting. The university also runs its own admission tests in certain subject areas.
The University of Cambridge maintains a similarly high standard across its many courses, and has a particularly strong reputation in natural sciences, mathematics, architecture, history, engineering, computer science, and linguistics. The university tops the global league tables for subjects in several of these areas, and has one of the most well connected research and development programmes in the world.
There are 140,000 people living in Cambridge, a picturesque destination city located around an hour from London by train, offering a high density of independent shops, restaurants, pubs, and student-oriented amenities on the banks of the River Cam, which also has a long history of punting.
Like its Oxbridge counterpart, Cambridge also sets its application deadline earlier than the rest of the country, midway through October, and similarly holds its own entrance exams for subjects in certain departments.
Afraid not. You’re only allowed to put one down on your UCAS application, so think carefully about which one suits you best.
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