Exploring University of Oxford's Links to India

The University of Oxford may be some 4,200 miles from Delhi, but that has done little to hinder the world-famous institution’s relationship with the nation of India. It was, in fact, a scholar from New College, Oxford who became the first Englishman on record to visit India in 1579. The first Indian students to attend the university arrived in 1871, and the bridge between Oxford and India has grown stronger ever since.

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Our tailored summer courses for ages 9–24 include all teaching and academic content, accommodation, meals (including Friday night formal dinners), a prize-giving ceremony, all-day trips and activities, airport transfers, access to Atlas Foundations, travel and medical insurance, and a welcome pack. Apply now to secure your place on one of our comprehensive summer courses.

Today, the University of Oxford has over 80 Indian academics and 380 Indian students studying degree courses at its constituent colleges. There are also over 1,500 Indian Oxford alumni who have made and are making an impact on the global stage, including:

• Former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Indira Gandhi
• Cornelia Sorabji, India’s first female lawyer
• Actress** Soha Ali Khan**
• Cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi
• Writers Amitav Ghosh and Vikram Seth

Students on our Oxford courses have also engaged with the work of some of the greatest Indian minds, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen and philosopher and former President of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Today’s Indian Oxford academics are working on researching, innovating, and collaborating across a full spectrum of subject areas: the INDOX partnership practises** cutting-edge cancer research**; the Said Business School has run the India Business Forum for over ten years; and the Sealinks project is exploring the history and geography of the first people to sail the Indian Ocean.

As the second fastest-growing nationality in Oxford’s international student population, Indian Oxford students (or “Oxonians”) can be found contributing to every element of university life. The Oxford Majlis Society, for example, is the university’s second oldest student society (founded 1896), and the oldest Asian student society in the world.

The society has a typically strong Indian membership, and has hosted speakers such as Ravi Shankar in recent years. Indira Gandhi was a member of the Majlis Society whilst studying at Somerville College!

So, what is attracting so many Indian students to Oxford? We think the answer is simple:

• The opportunity to study what you are passionate about with world-leading experts
• A style of learning that helps you develop and defend your own unique views
• The ability to build skills to help you fulfil your goals for the future
• The most **exciting academic challenge **the world can offer!

Atlas Summer Courses in India

Atlas Summer Courses has welcomed hundreds of Indian students to Oxford since 2010. We are independent of the University of Oxford, offering tutorial-style teaching and small, focused classes in one of the world's great academic cities — and it is easy to see why students everywhere are drawn to Oxford's remarkable history and atmosphere.

In 2018, we brought a genuine academic summer experience to India, with courses in a variety of subjects from Creative Writing to Medicine, all taught by expert tutors from leading universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.

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