The collegiate system arose because Oxford University came into existence through the gradual agglomeration of numerous independent institutions. Over the centuries several different types of college have emerged and disappeared.
Monastic halls The first academic houses were monastic halls. Of the dozens established during the 12th–15th centuries, none survived the
Reformation. The modern
Dominican permanent private hall of
Blackfriars (1921) is a descendant of the original (1221), and is sometimes described as heir to the oldest tradition of teaching in Oxford.
Academic halls As the university took shape, friction between the hundreds of students living where and how they pleased led to a decree that all undergraduates would have to reside in approved halls. What eventually put an end to the medieval halls was the emergence of colleges. Often generously endowed and with permanent teaching staff, the colleges were originally the preserve of graduate students. However, once they began accepting fee-paying undergraduates in the 14th century, the halls' days were numbered. Of the hundreds of
Aularian houses (from the Latin for "hall") that sprang up, only
St Edmund Hall (c. 1225) remains.
Colleges The oldest colleges are
University College,
Balliol, and
Merton, established between 1249 and 1264, although there is some dispute over the exact order and precisely when each began taking students. The fourth oldest college is
Exeter, founded in 1314, and the fifth is
Oriel, founded in 1326.
Women's colleges Women entered the university in 1879, with the opening of
Lady Margaret Hall and
Somerville College, becoming members of the University (and thus eligible to receive degrees) in 1920. Other women's colleges before integration were
St Anne's,
St Hilda's and
St Hugh's. In 1974 the first men's colleges to admit women were
Brasenose,
Hertford,
Jesus,
St Catherine's and
Wadham. By 2008 all colleges had become mixed, although one of the Permanent Private Halls,
St Benet's Hall, did not start to admit postgraduate women until
Michaelmas term 2014 and women undergraduates until Michaelmas 2016.
Postgraduate and mature colleges Some colleges, such as
Kellogg,
Linacre,
Nuffield,
St Antony's,
St Cross and
Wolfson only admit postgraduate students.
All Souls admits only fellows.
Harris Manchester is intended for "mature students" with a minimum age of 21. The newest college of the University,
Reuben College, was established in 2019 as graduate-only, enrolling its first students in 2021 using the premises of the
Radcliffe Science Library.
Societies Kellogg,
Reuben and
St Cross are the only Oxford colleges without a
royal charter. They are officially societies of the university rather than independent colleges and are considered departments of the university for accounting purposes.
Private halls The
Oxford University Act 1854 and the university statute
De aulis privatis (On private Halls) of 1855, allowed any
Master of Arts aged at least 28 years to open a private hall after obtaining a licence to do so. One such was
Charsley's Hall.
Permanent private halls The
Universities Tests Act 1871 opened all university degrees and positions to men who were not members of the
Church of England (subject to safeguards for religious instruction and worship), which made it possible for Catholics and Non-conformists to open private halls. The first Catholic private halls were Clarke's Hall (now
Campion Hall), opened by the
Jesuit Order in 1896 and Hunter Blair's Hall (later
St Benet's Hall) opened by the
Benedictine Order in 1899. In 1918 the university passed a statute to allow private halls which were not run for profit to become permanent private halls and the two halls took their current names. ==Map==