TheUniversity of Oxford(informallyOxford Universityor simplyOxford) is acollegiateresearch universitylocated inOxford, England, United Kingdom. While having no known date of foundation, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096,making it the oldest university in theEnglish-speaking worldand theworld's second-oldest university in continuous operation.It grew rapidly from 1167 whenHenry IIbanned English students from attending theUniversity of Paris.After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled northeast toCambridgewhere they established what became theUniversity of Cambridge.The two "ancient universities" are frequently jointly referred to as "Oxbridge".

The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including38 constituent collegesand a full range of academic departments which are organised into four divisions.All the colleges are self-governing institutions as part of the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities.^[11]Being a city university, it does not have a main campus; instead, all the buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city centre. Mostundergraduate teachingat Oxford is organised around weeklytutorialsat the self-governing colleges and halls, supported by classes, lectures and laboratory work provided by university faculties and departments.

Oxford is the home of theRhodes Scholarship, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious scholarships, which has brought graduate students to study at the university for more than a century.The university operates the world's oldestuniversity museum, as well as the largestuniversity pressin the worldand the largest academic library system in Britain.Oxford has educated many notable alumni, including28 Nobel laureates, 27Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, and many foreign heads of state.