Oxford is a world-leading centre of learning, teaching and research and the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

It is is a collegiate university, consisting of the central University and colleges. The central University is composed of academic departments and research centres, administrative departments, libraries and museums. The 38 colleges are self-governing and financially independent institutions, which are related to the central University in a federal system. There are also six permanent private halls, which were founded by different Christian denominations and which still retain their Christian character.

The University of Oxford was awarded the top ranking in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF). The REF is a peer-review process to assess the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. Oxford’s submission comprised 8,414 research outputs from 2,409 members of staff across 31 subjects. 48% of their research and impact was rated 4*, which means theywe have the largest volume of world-leading (4*) research in the country.

Oxford is home to a BBSRC and EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Synthetic Biology, in partnership with the universities of Bristol and Warwick.

The CDT has been enhanced by £1M capital funding, including a dedicated synthetic biology laboratory in Oxford accessible to all students throughout their PhD, and specialist facilities in Warwick and Bristol. This increases the breadth and depth of Synthetic Biology training by exposing students to a wide range of cutting-edge capabilities.