The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, often referred to together as ‘Oxbridge,’ are two of the most prestigious universities in the world and the two oldest universities in England. Together, Oxford and Cambridge universities have birthed 193 Nobel Laureates. While they share a similar reputation as world-class educational institutions, there are many other similarities and differences among them:

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Similarities

1. The Collegiate System

Christ Church College, Oxford

Both universities use the collegiate system, where larger universities consist of individual colleges. When applying to Oxford or Cambridge, an undergraduate applicant applies to a college rather than the university. The scholar is accepted by the college before being eligible to enrol at the larger university. This is a traditional system, owed to the origins of the two universities being comprised of smaller colleges. Oxford and Cambridge’s colleges are independent, and self-governing institutions. University of Oxford is currently composed of 45 colleges, while University of Cambridge has 31 colleges.

This explains that while students belong to the wider university, they are also part of smaller academic colleges. Students benefit from this system, as they are eligible to use resources from both their academic colleges and the larger university as a whole.

2. Student Life

Oxford Summer Courses students punting on the River Cam

Oxford and Cambridge are both similar-sized cities (Oxford’s population in 2020 was around 158,000, Cambridge’s population in 2020 was around 120,000), and therefore student experience tends to be fairly similar. In addition to student life, each city boasts fantastic restaurants, historical attractions, and outdoor activities in the English countryside.

One common summer past-time in both Oxford and Cambridge is punting. A punt refers to a special type of boat with a flat bottom and a square-cut bow. A punt is ideal for small rivers or shallow water, making it suitable for both River Cam and River Cherwell in Cambridge and Oxford respectively.

3. World-Class Institutions

Oxford Summer Courses students touring the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge

Despite being smaller cities, both Cambridge and Oxford are homes to world-class museums (the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge), debating societies (the Oxford Union and the Cambridge Union), botanical gardens (Oxford Botanic Garden and Cambridge Botanic Garden) and publishing houses (Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press). These prestigious institutions add to the quality of life in each city as a whole, and add to the Oxbridge student experience.

4. Academic achievements

Cambridge University is home to 121 Nobel Prize Winners

It is worth highlighting: when comparing Oxford and Cambridge, academic achievements should be taken into consideration. Both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge have stellar academic reputations, spanning over the past 800 years.

As of 2022, the University of Oxford has claimed 73 Nobel Prize winners among its alumni. The University of Cambridge has had 121 Nobel Prize winners among its alumni as of 2022. In addition to these recognitions, both the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge consistently rank among the top 10 institutions in the world for their undergraduate programmes.

In addition to these achievements, both universities are known for their political alumni, with many of UK's Prime-Ministers hailing from the either Universities. As of 2023, 57 UK Prime-Ministers, 14 were educated at the University of Cambridge and 30 were educated at the University of Oxford.

5. Formal halls

A formal hall dinner at Christ Church, Oxford

At both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, students often take part in formal hall dinners within their colleges. A formal dinner is a meal held in the college dining hall, where students are often required to wear academic attire.

Traditionally, the formal hall begins with students taking their seats before Grace is spoken (at times, it is even said in Latin). The prayer is followed by a set meal, often including salad and dessert. Many of the more traditional colleges at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have the customary high table at dinner: a long table slightly raised above floor level where guests of the college, or those from the senior dining room, would sit.

6. Keep off the grass!

Worcester College, University of Oxford

When comparing Cambridge vs. Oxford, one interesting tradition that remains for both institutions is the prohibition of walking on grass in certain areas of the universities. When visiting Oxford or Cambridge colleges, you will notice the pristine condition of the lawns at each college. This is no coincidence: the lawns are so pristine because it is forbidden to walk on them in either city.

In Cambridge, some colleges reserve the right to walk on the grass as an exclusive benefit for Fellows of the college. In Oxford, walking on the grass is traditionally reserved for college professors.

7. Filming Locations

The staircase at Christ Church, Oxford, was also used as a filming location in Harry Potter

You may feel a bit of déjà vu when walking down the cobblestone streets of Oxford and Cambridge. It may come as no surprise that the picturesque buildings and streets in these two cities have served as a backdrop for dozens of films.

In Cambridge, you may find yourself on the former set of Chariots of Fire, The Theory of Everything, or the History Boys. We have even rounded up our top 5 favourite films set in Cambridge for our students – recommended viewing for anyone preparing to visit the city!

With so many novels set in Oxford, it is no wonder that it is a popular film setting as well. With its dreaming spires and incredible architecture, Oxford has been the filming location for various Harry Potter films, Brideshead Revisited (2008), Tolkien (2019), and the His Dark Materials series on BBC (2019), among many others.

8. Teaching methods

Oxford Summer Courses uses the traditional Oxbridge tutorial method for students aged 16+

The University of Oxford and University of Cambridge use a similar method of teaching. Known for their rigorous academic teaching, both Oxford and Cambridge students benefit from individualised attention from their tutor, in one-on-one or two-on-one sessions. This style of teaching is supplemented by full class, or seminar, teaching, and gives the student a chance to discuss the subject matter with an expert while the tutor challenges their preconceptions. The only difference here is what each university has named these sessions. In Cambridge, students refers to these sessions as supervisions, while Oxford refers to the sessions as tutorials.

9. Academic Interviews

The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

“Talk about a lightbulb.” This is one example of an interview question asked during a challenging Oxbridge admissions interview. After applications are initially screened, those candidates which are short-listed are invited to a series of interviews and tests with university academics. Oxford and Cambridge interview questions have a reputation for being extremely challenging, meant to intellectually challenge an interviewee. Past interview questions have also included questions such as, “Do you think you are clever?”. Many of these questions have no correct answer, but are meant to put the student in an academic dilemma – which is considered crucial to student success under the tutorial/supervision system.

10. A blossoming start-up scene

Business and Entrepreneurship class at Oxford Summer Courses

Both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge offer critical support to start-ups from their student body, contributing to the blossoming start-up scenes in both cities.

Cambridge is a powerhouse in the tech start-up scene in the UK, bringing to life some of the nation’s most brilliant ideas in science and tech. The booming tech start-up scene has been given the nickname, “Silicon Fen”, comparing it to Silicon Valley near Stanford. In Oxford, promising startups in AI, fintech, and more contribute to its booming entrepreneurial scene.

Differences

1. Courses

Oxford Summer Courses students walking at the University of Oxford

When comparing the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, prospective students should consider the course they would like to study at each institution. Both Oxford and Cambridge offer many traditional subjects, including History, Mathematics, Medicine, English Literature, Classics, Law, and more. However, there are some courses offered which are specific to one of the two universities. For example, only the University Oxford will offer an Art and Design degree, while the University of Cambridge uniquely offers an Architecture degree.

2. Origins

Summer school students punting down the River Cam in Cambridge

Did you know that the University of Cambridge was founded by a group of scholars from the University of Oxford? The Cambridge vs. Oxford rivalry may have originally began with the founding of Cambridge University by a group of Oxford University students.

The University of Oxford is 924 years old, founded in 1096. Following a conflict between the townspeople and Oxford students, a group of scholars left Oxford to lay foundation of a new university in the city of Cambridge in 1209.

3. The Subfusc

Academic robes worn by Cambridge summer school staff

Both Cambridge and Oxford hold the traditions of academic dress for its students and scholars, to be worn at events such as Matriculation, where students officially become a member of the university, or at formal dinners. However, Oxford also has an additional tradition of wearing a type of academic dress known as the subfusc, to be worn while sitting examinations. Every undergraduate and graduate student must wear a specific gown, cap and tie to these events, which makes up their Subfusc, which translates to “of a dark hue”. In 2015, Oxford University students voted whether or not to keep the archaic ubfusc, and opted to continue wearing it to formal occasions and examinations.

4. Setting

An Oxford Summer Courses student taking a photo from the River Cam, the central river in Cambridge

When comparing Oxford vs. Cambridge, it’s easy to see many similarities between the two settings in the UK. Both are located about 50-55 miles from central London, in small cities surrounded by the British countryside. Cambridge is surrounded by the marshy area known as the Fens, a flat, coastal plain in eastern England. Oxford is located in southwest England, bordering on the picturesque Cotswolds.

However, the small cities also have their differences. Oxford is larger in size, with a population about 30% larger than that of Cambridge. And while both cities are located near rivers, the sole river in Cambridge, the river Cam, flows through the city centre. Oxford, on the other hand, has two rivers (Thames and Cherwell) which flow around the city centre.

5. Weather

Cambridge summer school

Yes, even the weather is different! This is in part due to their different settings in the UK. Cambridge is located in an area of the Fens which is roughly only 6m above sea level, while Oxford is nearly 72m about sea level. One thing that you will immediately notice about the Fens when visiting Cambridge is how flat they are. Because of this, Cambridge is known to have more fog, as well as stronger winds, compared to Oxford.

6. May Day

Oxford students gathering near Magdalen College on May Morning

Crowds gather every May Day morning to view a tradition unique to Oxford. The celebrations begin the night before, where students typically party throughout the night, ending just before six in the morning. At daybreak, as the sun rises, viewers congregate together underneath the tower of Magdalen College for what is a special occasion each year in Oxford.

As the sun rises, the choir of Magdalen College begin to sing the Hymnus Eucharisticus from the top of the tower, something that has happened there on May Morning for five hundred years. Next, there is a prayer for the City and University. Though banned, the festivities commonly end with one or two students jumping from Magdalen Bridge into the canal below.

Then the wider festivities begin, from brass bands to Morris Dancing troops – traditional entertainment to welcome in spring in Oxford.

7. Ascension Day

A window reflection from a college building at the University of Oxford

On Ascension Day, a Christian feast day celebrated 30 days after Easter a tradition unique to Oxford takes place at several of the colleges. At around 11am, after a short service, a large group of school children, no older than eleven or twelve, emerge from the different churches clutching long wooden sticks.

The group proceed to walk from the Church to different points in the city, through shops and Colleges alike, to do something known as ‘Beating the Bounds’. What they are doing is marking out the boundaries of the church parish, a practice which made much more sense in a time before maps.

This is done in a peculiar way – drawing a marking on the wall (or the floor) at different points in chalk, normally a cross, with the initials of the Church and the year in each quadrant. The children then take the wooden canes and hit the marker, to encouraging shouts of “Mark! Mark! Mark!” At each point, the marking is often followed by the singing of a Hymn. This is typically followed by a reception at the colleges.

8. Admission of women

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford

The history women being accepted to the universities also differs between Cambridge vs. Oxford. For both universities, only men were permitted to enrol as students for most of their histories. It was only in the late 19th century that both universities established residential colleges exclusively for women: Girtion College in Cambridge (1869), and Somerville and Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford (1879).

While Cambridge was the first to welcome female students, women could not become full members of the university until the 1940s. In Oxford, on the other hand, women were welcomed to become full members in 1920. Today, there are still three colleges at Cambridge which are exclusive to women, while all Oxford colleges have been made coeducational.

9. Assessments and testing

Students walking while taking part in Cambridge summer courses

While both universities offer very challenging examinations, the assessment process differs greatly between the two universities for students. At the University of Oxford, students are assessed at the end of their first and final years of study, with the final result usually based on the examinations that they take at the end of their final year. At the University of Cambridge, students are assessed at the end of each year, and their final result is determined by their examination performance across multiple years of their course.

10. A-level exam scores

An Oxford Summer Courses student studies outside

During the application process, the University of Cambridge Cambridge routinely will ask student who take A-Level exams to report their exact scores. This is done to distinguish between high A-grades and grades closer to the A/B borderline. The University of Oxford instead asks for exact scores on a voluntary basis when applying.

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About the author

Rhys Mackenzie is the Website Marketing Manager at Oxford Summer Courses. With extensive experience in SEO and digital content management, they are passionate about showcasing the best that Oxford has to offer. Their previous role at Experience Oxfordshire gave them a deep appreciation for the city's unique cultural and academic offerings. Learn more about Rhys here.