Radcliffe Camera (Oxford)

A young student, who I believe is an American, recently asked a question on one of my Facebook groups:

Anyone from Oxford University- what is it like? I have heard that there are no general education classes, and that you work strictly on your major. Is that true?

When I responded saying that I could give him some comparisons between Oxford and a US liberal arts degree, since I have been an undergraduate at both Oxford (BA in Theology) and in the US (BFA in Drama/Psychology at NYU), he wrote back, saying:

Thanks, I would like the comparison chart. I would also imagine your knowledge is much-more in-depth with a BA from Oxford than with one from America.

So, for Ian, and for any readers and seekers on the Internet who come across this page, here is my comparison chart between reading for a BA at Oxford versus studying for a liberal arts degree in the US. (For “reading” vs. “studying”, and other Oxford vs. U.S. terminology, see the glossary at the end of the post.) All opinions are my own, based on my own experience doing a humanities degree, and I’m happy to incorporate comments/suggestions/corrections into this post, especially from students who can comment on science degrees.

I can’t compare the experiences within the same subject, since my US degree was in a completely different field than my UK degree, but I would say a BA from Oxford, in Theology at least, is more equivalent to a US MA in Theology than to a US BA. The primary difference is Oxford is focused more on teaching you how to think and how to communicate, using the subject as the battlefield upon which you’re learning intellectual sword-work. A US liberal arts degree might have this same ideal, but in practice the large lectures and frequent examinations mean you really spend your time cramming for exams and being constantly evaluated by multiple-choice, computer-scored questions, rather than by soaking in the subject, doing extensive reading, and being evaluated through the more demanding essay format. However, you may have more facts drilled into you in an American program, and you will also have more freedom to explore different subjects as part of your degree. While I think the Oxford tutorial should be (re-?)introduced into American higher education, the choice of overall program really depends on each individual student’s needs, capabilities, and desires.

Here’s a short piece on my experience that I wrote for my senior subject tutor at my Oxford college (with bonus contribution from my good friend and fellow C.S. Lewis expert Ryan Pemberton):

American Theology Students at Harris Manchester

Structure-wise, here’s a brief comparison chart between the typical US undergrad degree and an Oxford one:

US:
Years 1-2: Completion of liberal arts core requirements in the humanities and sciences (often with a required general essay-writing/composition course); choice of major and beginning on introductory classes within that major by end of 2nd year

Year 3-4: Completion of major requirements, w/ some electives related and/or unrelated to the major (often adding a second major or a minor)

Instruction is primarily in large (~200 person) lectures at beginning of degree, with some seminars/recitations. Later in degree, instruction is primarily in seminars/smaller classes (~20-30 people or fewer).

Evaluation is generally through regular quizzes and exams (midterm and final), which are often multiple-choice with some essay questions. Many classes also assign 1-2 term papers a semester, along with regular weekly problem sets/reading responses (1-2 pages each). GPA is calculated every semester, and the final outcome of your degree (GPA) is the average of all semester GPAs.

Oxford:
Year 1: Completion of required preliminary papers in your course. These examinations (“prelims” or “honour mods” [for "honour moderations"]) must be passed in order to move on to the “Final Honours School” (FHS), i.e., the last two years of the degree. Written examination on these papers at the end of the second or third term. (Oxbridge has three 8-week terms in an academic year.) 

(There are no “general education” requirements at Oxford. When you apply to Oxford, you apply both for a specific course and to a specific college. Your application may be “pooled”, or transferred, to another college, depending on fit and the number of openings, but you will generally be accepted – or not – for that course. You may also be accepted onto a Single Honours School [like a single major] instead of a Joint Honours School [like a double major] if you have applied to a Joint School but the college believes you will be a better fit for the Single School. For example, I applied for Philosophy and Theology, but was accepted only for Theology, which ended up being a good decision. See this post for more about my experience applying to Oxford and choosing a college. Applying for a certain course at a certain college means that there is no way to apply “to Oxford”, and then decide what to major in later. You know your major going in, and apply to colleges which offer that subject [or make an "open application", in which you apply for a certain subject, but let an algorithm place you with a college, which does not affect your overall chances of admission]. See here for a list of which Oxford colleges offer which undergraduate subjects.) 

Years 2-3 (+ 3rd term of Year 1 for courses that give prelims at the end of the 2nd term of Year 1): Completion of required FHS papers, plus completion of elective papers within subject. (For example, in Theology I had four required core FHS papers, and then my choice of a history paper, a theologian paper, an elective paper, and either a second elective or an extended essay, for four total papers beyond the core papers.) Examination on these FHS papers at the end of the third year. During final exams, students will sit 1-2 exams a day, each of which is 2-3 hours long, over a 1-2 week period, for a total of about 6-10 exams (depending on their course). (We also take exams in full academic dress – dark suit, white bow tie, and academic gown, often with a carnation in the lapel indicating progress: white for first exam, pink for middle exams, and red for final exam.)

That means there are NO examinations during the second year. However, students generally take “collections” at the beginning of every term. Collections are practice exams – usually copies of past exam papers – that are given under exam conditions to test you on the material you learned last term. They are scored, but the scores don’t “count” (i.e., they don’t apply to your degree) – they’re just to give you an idea of how you would have scored if this was your final exam, and to help you with revision.

Instruction is primarily in 1-2 person tutorials with a tutor. The tutor assigns you a reading list for each week (with about a dozen books and articles on it), along with a related essay question. You do the reading, and then write an essay to answer the question (usually about 2,000-3,000 words, or about 6-10 pages). Next week, you bring in the essay to your hour-long tutorial (or you send it to your tutor the day before). Then, you read the essay aloud (or skip this, if your tutor has already received and read it), and spend the rest of the time discussing the ideas in your essay. Your tutor will generally present objections to your argument, which you will have to answer, or ask you questions to encourage you to think more deeply. At the end, he’ll give you a new reading list and essay question, and the process begins again.

There are also departmental lectures every week, and at the beginning of term your tutor will generally recommend a few which you should attend. These are not technically required, and there is no attendance taken. However, since the faculty members who write the exams are aware of the content of these lectures, they may write exam questions based on them, so it’s in your best interest to attend at least the listed core lectures. There may be some instruction given in seminars/classes (especially language instruction) – your senior tutor will let you know if you need to take these, and how to sign up for them.

Examination is by written examination at or near the end of the first year (prelims/mods), and at the end of the third year (finals). Exams are in the form of essay questions, with some gobbets (i.e., written commentary on a written passage), translations, and/or problem sets included, depending on the course and the paper. There is also the option of a thesis for some subjects (and a few papers are examined by written coursework [i.e., a lengthy essay like a term paper], as well as exam). If there are questions about your written exam, or if the examiners feel they need more information in order to assess your ability, you may be asked to undergo a viva voce, or oral exam. (These exams are standard for postgraduate degrees.)

The result of your final degree is not cumulative. Your final result depends entirely on your final examinations at the end of your degree (including a written thesis/coursework if applicable). Exams are marked on a scale of 0-100, and results are roughly equivalent to the following marks (which may differ depending on the degree course):

70-100: First-Class
60-69: Upper Second (2:1)
50-59: Lower Second (2:2)
40-49: Third
30-39: Pass (w/o Honours)
Below 30: Fail

Your final result is based on the average of your marks on your final papers, with a couple qualifying criteria: You will generally have to have an average of a certain mark or above, plus at least 2-3 marks over a certain number, as well as no mark below a certain number. So, for example, in Theology, in order to get a 2:1 as your final result, you need to have:

An average of 59 or above
At least two marks of 60 or above
No mark below 40

Whereas to get a First, you need to have:

(i) Average of 68.5 or above
At least two marks of 70 or above
No mark below 50
OR
(ii) Average of 65 or above
At least three marks of 75 or above
No mark below 50

In Theology at least, and I think in the humanities generally, about 10% of students receive a First, roughly 65-75% receive a 2:1, and about 15-25% receive a 2:2. It is uncommon for a person to receive a Third or below, though it happens. You need a high 2:1 (avg 66+) or above to be accepted into graduate study generally, and some employers will also require a 2:1 or above. (Though for graduate study at Oxbridge – Oxford or Cambridge – you should aim for a First.)

Glossary

Oxford “paper” = US “course”/”class”
(Oxford “paper” also means an examination, so “sitting a paper” means taking an exam. “Classes”, meaning instruction on a certain topic being given to a small group of students who attend weekly and receive regular homework, are rare at Oxford, since most instruction is delivered in other formats. Instead of saying, for example, that you’re taking a class on the Old Testament, you’d say that you’re doing the Old Testament paper, or, if you’re taking the exam, that you’re sitting the Old Testament paper. However, some papers at Oxford are given through a class, such as the special theologian papers within the Theology degree – although my class was 3 people, so it’s not the same thing as an American 20-30 student class. It’s more like a large tutorial.)

Oxford “course” = US “degree program”
(e.g., my course, i.e., my course of studies, was the Theology BA)

Oxford “subject” = US “major”
(e.g., “My subject is Theology” = “My major is Theology”)

Oxford “to read” = US “to major in” or ”to study”)
(e.g., ”I’m reading Theology” = “I’m majoring in Theology” or “I’m studying Theology”. A person who is reading Theology is a theologian, just as a person who is reading for a science degree is a scientist – no need to wait for the PhD to apply the appellation relevant to your field! One benefit of Oxford is that you’re treated as a colleague-in-training.)

Oxford “essay” = US “paper”
(instead of saying “I’m writing a paper on irony in the Gospel of John”, you’d say, “My essay this week is on irony in the Gospel of John”)

Oxford “revision” = US “studying”
(i.e., “I’m revising for my exams” instead of “I’m studying for my exams”)

Oxford “tutor” = US “professor”
(In the US, we generally tend to call all our faculty instructors “professors”, e.g., “my Intro Psych professor” to refer to the newly-minted PhD who’s working as an adjunct. At Oxford, a professor is a specific title for someone who has been awarded a chair in a faculty – so, for example, the Chair of Old Testament can be called Prof Bloggs, whereas another faculty member, who may have lectured and taught for 20 years as a member of the faculty but who is not a chair, is only Dr Bloggs. It is a faux pas to called a professor “Dr”, or a non-professor faculty member “Prof”. Oxford faculty members have other titles, such as “Lecturer” – which means that the person gives lectures in the department – or “Tutor” – which means that the person teaches tutorials, *not* that the person gives extra help to struggling students [though they may do that, too, out of the kindness of their hearts - Oxford tutors generally care a lot about the progress of their students]. However, you wouldn’t address someone as Lecturer Bloggs or Tutor Bloggs.)

Oxford “finalist” = US “senior”
(A finalist is a student who is about to sit finals, i.e., a student in the last year of his course. [During your last term, you no longer attend tutorials or receive essay assignments, as you are expected to spend all your time revising and attending revision classes.] Therefore, “finalist” is roughly equivalent to the U.S. term “senior”. English universities do not use the terms freshman/sophomore/junior/senior, not least because undergraduate degrees are often three years, not four. They do, however, use the term “fresher” for a new first-year student.)

Oxford “postgraduate” = US “graduate”
(Postgrad:undergrad as graduate student:undergraduate student)

And there you are! Feel free to write me if you have any questions about Oxford or study in the UK (or study in the US, if you are not American). Feel free also to share this document with others – I ask only that you don’t modify it without permission, and do credit me and link back to this blog.

Radcliffe Quadrangle (Harvard)

Dominus Illuminatio Mea!

Cole Matson

BA (Hons) – Theology – University of Oxford, 2011

BFA (w/ Honors) – Drama/Psychology – New York University, 2006

PhD candidate – Divinity – University of St Andrews, 2011-present

This blog will be going on hiatus for a while. As you can see, most of my recent posting has been at Transpositions, where I am now a regular contributor. I’m also now attempting to work 40 hours/week on my PhD, am producing two shows and acting in a third, and am still doing other writing/editing work, as well as attending a monthly vocations discernment group.

If you’d like to continue to follow my writing on theology and the arts, please follow Transpositions.

I will also be continuing my Theatre R&D research tour, which I only got to complete half of, sometime in the next year. When I do, I will post more information. I will also post notes from the sections I have completed when I have time, probably starting over Christmas break. Don’t worry, all my donors will still receive a trip report (and you can still donate towards the completion of the trip by clicking the PayPal button on the top-right of my homepage, or here)!

Thanks for reading!

‘He Who Loses His Life will Find It’: How Narrative Gives Life

‘Drinking the Kool-Aid’: Does Narrative Kill? [Part One]

(Posted from the family ranch in Gove, KS – I went on my first cattle round-up today!)

As a response to that podcast, I thought I would share with you some of the fruits of my recent contemplation. A few months ago, I went on a silent retreat at an Ignatian retreat centre in England, shortly after having finished my BA module on Christian Spirituality at Oxford. One of the mottoes of the Dominican Order is Contemplare et Contemplata aliis Tradere – ‘to contemplate and to share with others the fruits of contemplation’. In that spirit, here are two of the fruits of my Ignatian contemplation, which I share with you as I listen to Maurice Duruflé’s ‘Ubi Caritas‘, one of the most beautiful choral pieces I have ever heard.

***

‘For John of the Cross’

Lord, let me love You
with the flame of ten thousand fires.

Let me love You
with a flame that dries and crackles,

burns and blackens the crust of my soul,
hides deep down in the heart of things,

to warm and beat,
flickering forth with tongues of fire

to burst through the shell of my cindered soul,
and leap to dance as love again.

Lord, make me all flame.

***

‘For Lady Julian’

Lord, teach me to love my weaknesses
as Lady Julian loved hers,
seeing that the soiled, torn stain of our sins
blackening the white cloth of our humanity
was such a little nothing
because that cloth was worn by Christ,
who picked us up out of the Pit
and sat us next to Him at table,
with His Father and His Spirit,
all of us dazzling white,
with the wounds we ripped into our flesh
shining scars praising God’s glory,
His merciful meaning: ‘Love’.

(Also, at the time this blog is set to publish, I will be sitting in a movie theatre in Oxford with my friends, hopefully in costume, about to watch the opening credits roll on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 2. Talk about a hidden encounter with Christ!)

***

The Unicorn Triumphant is a reference to the final tapestry of the seven Unicorn Tapestries at the Cloisters, the medieval branch of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, a set of tapestries also known as The Hunt of the Unicorn.

The Unicorn in Captivity

The Wikipedia entry on the Tapestries is here.
The museum’s online tour through the Tapestries is here.

The seven tapestries depict the hunting of a unicorn, who is killed by a spear in the side. In the final tapestry, the unicorn is alive again. This tapestry, called The Unicorn in Captivity, is the tapestry I think of as The Unicorn Triumphant. One symbolic interpretation of the tapestries, and the one I mean to reference, is that they portray the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ, whom the unicorn symbolizes. The final tapestry thus portrays Christ’s Resurrection.

The Unicorn Triumphant, to me, means that Christ, the pure and sinless Son of the Father, is alive again. We are an Easter people, because Christ is triumphant over death and all evil.

In addition, the Unicorn Tapestries are my favourite visual artwork, and when I studied at NYU my favourite place to rest and recollect was sitting in the Unicorn Room at the Cloisters, gazing at the images of the unicorn in the Tapestries. Referencing them reminds me of that time, and also expresses my love of the Middle Ages and of fantasy stories.

Finally, The Hunt of the Unicorn shows how art can lead us to a hidden encounter with Christ.

Aug 14: Depart Chicago to NYC

Aug 15: Arrive NYC

Aug 16: NYC – Mtg w/ Fr Jim Martin SJ of the LAByrinth Theater Company; 7pm: Jerusalem [I HAVE AN EXTRA TICKET - TAKEN!]

Aug 17: NYC – 8pm: War Horse with friend

Aug 18-19: NYC – Mtg w/ Keith Bunin (playwright, including my favourite play The World Over at Playwrights Horizons), Fr Bill Cain SJ (playwright, most recently Equivocation at Manhattan Theatre Club), Steven and/or Chris Cragin Day of Firebone Theatre, Fr George Drance SJ of Magis Theatre (& Jesuit Artist-in-Residence at Fordham), George Hunka of theatre minima, & Rob Weinert-Kendt of American Theatre magazine

Aug 20: NYC to Toronto

Aug 21-22: Toronto & Kitchener, Ontario: Mtg w/ John Franklin of Imago magazine & Alan Sapp and/or Kathleen Sheehy of Lost & Found Theatre

Aug 23: Toronto to Boston

Aug 24-25: Boston: Mtg w/ Fr Robert VerEecke SJ (Jesuit Artist-in-Residence at Boston College)

Aug 25-26: Boston to Chapel Hill, NC (via Baltimore)

Aug 27-28: Chapel Hill: Friend’s wedding

Aug 29: Chapel Hill to Asheville, NC

Aug 30: Asheville: Mtg w/ Scott Walters of CRADLEarts

Aug 31: Asheville to D.C.

Sept 1: D.C.: Mtg w/ Fr Peter John Cameron OP (playwright & founder of Blackfriars Repertory Theatre) & Fr Rick Curry SJ (founder of the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped)

Sept 2-4: D.C. to Gove, KS

Sept 4-5: Gove: Visiting 91-year-old grandfather at family farm

Sept 6-15: I’m not quite sure yet how I’m going to do this, but here are the spots I planned to visit during this time:

Austin, TX: Mtg w/ Travis Bedard of Cambiare Productions

Irvine & Los Angeles: Mtg w/ actors of Cornerstone Theater Company, actor Chad Glazener & friends, Fr Radmar Jao SJ (actor), Peter Senkbeil (professor of theatre, Concordia University; doctoral dissertation title: “Faith in Theatre: Professional Theatres Run by Christians in the United States and Canada and Their Strategies for Faith-Art Integration”), & Gabriel Voss (actor)

Vancouver: Mtg w/ Cheimanus Theatre Festival, Lois Dawson (stage manager), Ron Reed of Pacific Theatre

Chicago: Mtg w/ Dan Roche of the Bird & Baby Theatre Company, & returning my car to my sister.

Now I can’t drive and visit all of these places within the time allowed. I previously had an extended itinerary that went until almost the end of September, but I recently learned that I have to be at St Andrews by Sept 17 for orientation. So, I’ll either have to skip one or more of these stops and pick them up next time, or put in some flight time (if I can find some inexpensive deals on small budget airlines).

This itinerary is still rough; the only dates set in stone are the ones whose explanatory text is bolded. I’m still working on setting up dates with some of the above people. There are also some people I’m hoping to meet whom I haven’t yet contacted.

May I ask for your help in two areas?

1) Trip logistics: I’ll be making most, if not all, of the trip in my trusty little Toyota hatchback. Gas is expensive. If you could make a donation toward the cost of the trip by using the PayPal donation button on the right, I would appreciate it. Also, if I’m going to be in or passing through your area, and you’re willing to let me crash on your couch for the night, I would appreciate that, too. And hey, if you’d like to donate a plane ticket to one of the major metropolitan areas on the trip (especially one of the three I’ll have trouble visiting – Austin, Los Angeles, and Vancouver), you’d have my undying gratitude! Everyone who helps out in any way will receive a copy of the report I plan to compile about the trip, as well as an invitation to crash on my own couch at St Andrews. Which brings me to…

2) Interview questions: Most of these meetings are going to be somewhere between a casual chat and a formal interview. I have my own list of questions which I’ll be compiling, but if there is anything you’d like me to ask these folks, here’s your chance. Leave questions in the comments, or e-mail them to me. I’m speaking with three rough groupings of folks: members of religious orders involved in professional theatre, professional theatres informed by a Christian vision, and secular professional theatres which excel at building community. My plan is to record and compile these interviews into a single document covering the entire trip, which I will make available for free on this blog (and will send individual copies of to donors and interview subjects, including hard copies upon request).

Thanks for all your help and support, and thanks especially to the people who have agreed to meet with me during this trip. I’m looking forward to it!

***

On a slightly-related note, I spoke with Liz Maxwell and Betsy McCall of the Art Monastery this week, to discuss setting up a chapter of ArtMonks at St Andrews. If you’re going to be within travelling distance of St Andrews over the next year and are interested in a monthly discussion group about art and monasticism, please contact me. If there’s enough interest, I plan to set up a preliminary meeting in September or October, to discuss the form the  group and its activities should take, including whether or not it should be an official ArtMonk chapter, an independent but allied organization, or something else altogether.

‘The World Over: Touching the Live Wire of Love’

***

Our new poster!

Also, here are a few recent podcasts for which I and the other The Fellows Hip: Rise of the Gamers cast members and creative team have been interviewed recently:

A Casual Stroll to Mordor: The Fellows Hip Interview (cast + director, interview at beginning)

LOTRO Reporter: Interview with Opening Act Productions (director & producers, interview at 30:42) & The Fellows Hip Redux (cast, interview at 34:00)

Chris and Bill at LOTRO Reporter and Merric and Goldenstar at A Casual Stroll to Mordor were all friendly, welcoming, and all-around awesome, so if you’re a Lord of the Rings Online fan, I highly recommend listening to their podcasts.

ETA: Here’s a new full-length print interview with the producers at Massively!: The Road to Mordor: A talk with the crew of The Fellows Hip: Rise of the Gamers

If you’re interested in learning more about The Fellows Hip, here are a few links:

The Fellows Hip Movie Trailer

The Fellows Hip Facebook Fan page

The Fellows Hip DVD Pre-Orders

We also got a mention on TheOneRing.net!