Academic Support

Academic Dress

Academic dress is required for matriculation, examinations (if applicable) and graduation, and occasionally other formal University occasions. 

For matriculation and exams, there are three parts to academic dress at Oxford:

  1. the graduate gown;
  2. the headwear;
  3. sub fusc.

Gown: The advanced student’s (graduate’s) gown is worn for matriculation and examinations. At matriculation, students who have graduate degrees from another university may wear the gown belonging to that university, but will in due course be required to wear the Oxford graduate gown.

Headwear: most students wear a mortar board, but a soft cap is also permitted.

Sub-fusc: this refers to the clothing worn underneath the gown. There are five elements to sub-fusc:

(Note that women and men are welcome to wear any one of these combinations.)

  1. One of:
    • Dark suit with dark socks
    • Dark skirt with black tights or stockings
    • Dark trousers with dark socks
  2. Dark coat (only if the weather is cold)
  3. Black, low heeled shoes – NOT high heeled shoes
  4. Plain white collared shirt or blouse
  5. One of:
    • White bow tie
    • Black bow tie
    • Black full-length tie
    • Black ribbon (called a string tie)

Candidates serving in H.M. Forces are permitted to wear uniform together with a gown.

Hood: Students only wear a hood at matriculation if they already have a degree from Oxford.

Enrolment certificates and status letters

Students can print their own enrolment certificate through the University’s Student Self Service using their Single Sign On details (e.g. sant1234 and password) to log in. The Academic Office Team can sign and stamp the certificate.

The Academic Office can also produce other letters on College letterhead such as confirmation of fees and enrolment period for an external funding body; or reference letter for a private landlord.

On- course transcript

On-course students can request copies of their transcript at a cost of £12 each. This will include academic achievements to date but no final classification.  An on-course transcript will reflect the information seen on the Assessments page in Student Self Service, only available once a student is entered for an assessment. 

The enrolment certificate available through Student Self Service will act as a certification of attendance.

Please see Academic transcripts for information about ordering and collecting an on-course transcript.

Lost, damaged or stolen University Card

If a University (‘Bod’) card is lost, damaged or stolen, please inform the Academic Office as soon as possible. If the card has been lost, a £15 replacement fee must be paid online before a new card is issued. The fee is £15. There is no fee for replacing stolen or damaged cards, but a crime number from the local police is required for stolen cards. Replacement cards are usually issued within 2-3 days and notification will be sent by the Academic Office when it is available to collect.

University of Oxford – all you need to know

All students should bookmark the university’s Oxford students pages. This website is an invaluable University resource with information relevant to all points of student life at Oxford, from term dates to information about academic matters, regulations and policies as well as the University’s counselling and disability provision.

Residence requirements

All students are required to live in Oxford (within 25 miles of Carfax Tower) unless they have applied for and been granted permission to live outside that area. Students must be in residence for at least six weeks of every term for which they are paying University and College fees.

Dispensation will only be granted for exceptional reasons: please contact the Head of Academic Office for more information.

Fieldwork

Note that DPhil students going on fieldwork do not need to apply for permission to live outside the prescribed area as fieldwork forms an integral part of doctoral research. However, such students must inform the Academic Office of the dates they will be away from Oxford and their contact details for the period.

Students must also put suitable insurance arrangements in place, and plan any vaccinations that may be needed well in advance. See Travel Insurance for details.

Graduate progression (GSO) form

DPhil students in particular will become well acquainted with the graduate progression forms that mark academic progress through the various research degree milestones. Forms available include transfer of status, confirmation of status and examination of research degrees.

The forms are accessible on the University’s Graduate Forms page.

The Academic Office Team will review and approve these milestone forms, which must be completed and signed by both student and supervisor before they are emailed, brought to the Academic Office or left in the Academic Office’s pigeonhole.

Suspension of status

Students considering suspending status should speak to their College Advisor or the Senior Tutor, or contact the Academic Office first for advice. 

University guidance on suspension is available on the University’s Changes in student status page.

Students unable to work for a particular reason (e.g. illness, family circumstances, financial hardship) can apply for suspension of status for not less than one and not more than three terms at any one time. Overall, student status cannot be suspended for any more than six terms. See Examination Regulations.  

Suspension of status within the University ‘stops the clock’ for all elements of a degree, including residence, fees, and terms for which a particular status may be held.

Students funded by a research council or charity may need to make a separate application to the funding body in parallel to that being made within the University. A funding body’s regulations for suspension of status may not be the same as those of the University, and advice on this can be given by a student’s supervisor, Director of Graduate Studies, or Graduate Studies Assistant. 

Withdrawing from your course

Students considering withdrawing from their course should speak to the Senior Tutor or their College Advisor as soon as possible for advice e.g. about whether a temporary suspension would be advisable in the first instance, and/or whether the College can offer any additional support.

Note that it is not possible to withdraw from examinations after the conclusion of the last paper or by the time a dissertation/other written material is due, whichever is later.

Please see the University’s Changes in student status page for further guidance.

University Student Handbook

The University Student Handbook can be found on the University website and is an important guide covering topics such as welfare, examinations, and disciplinary and complaints procedures.  It includes links to relevant parts of the University website, e.g. Examination Regulations.

Examination and assessment

Most of the information in this section is taken from the University’s Self Service with links provided to the original source.

Entering for examination

Students are automatically entered for compulsory units, but must complete an online examination entry form for any optional units taken. Notification about this will be sent by departments.

Students who submit their options after the deadline will be subject to a late exam entry fee of £60. This fee is also applied if any options are changed after the form is submitted. See Examination entry for guidance.

Examination Regulations

Students must read the regulations for their course before sitting exams. See the University website and Examination Regulations for guidance.

Alternative examination arrangements

Students will be asked before their arrival at College whether they will need any alternative examination arrangements, e.g. extra writing time, use of word processor, ergonomic or other seating arrangements. We expect students to respond to the follow up email send by the Deputy Head of Academic Office and either register with the Disability Advisory Service (DAS) if appropriate, or provide medical certificates as evidence for the alternative exam arrangements. If requirements alter during the year, students should contact the Deputy Head of Academic Office as soon as possible as it can take time to request alternative arrangements. See Examination Adjustments for guidance.

Illness/Special circumstances before or during examination

There is a procedure under which the examiners can be informed of any special circumstances (e.g. ill-health) which may have affected academic performance before or during an examination. 

A statement from the student, usually accompanied by a medical certificate from the College Doctor, needs to be sent by email to the Academic Office as soon as possible after the affected paper(s) in order to initiate this process.

The Academic Office will provide advice on making a ‘Mitigating Circumstances’ request, and submit the application for consideration by the Chair of Examiners.

Applications must be submitted before the examination is marked and it is a student’s responsibility to ensure that all materials reach the Academic Office in good time.

Submitting formal assessments

See the Submitting your assessments for guidance. 

Timetables and results

Provisional examination timetables are available on the University website well in advance, with final timetables published no later than five weeks before exams.

Email notifications are sent once results are released, and students will be able to log in to Student Self Service to see their assessment results and result for the year (if applicable). See Results for guidance.

Research degree exams

See Research examinations for guidance.

College Advisors

All students are assigned a College Advisor, who is either a Governing Body Fellow or a Senior Common Room member of the College.

College Advisors can:

The College Advisor is not expected to perform the role of a department or faculty supervisor(s) and does not direct academic work or give detailed academic guidance. College Advisors will be a member of a different department/faculty to that of their advisees.

Students should expect to receive an email invitation for a termly lunch meeting from their College Advisor. Students are encouraged to contact their College Advisor as and when they need advice or help. They should also feel free to consult other College officers as necessary, including the Senior Tutor, Dean and the Head of Academic Office.

Students who have any problems liaising with their College Advisor should notify the Academic Office in the first instance.

Warden’s Graduate Consultations

In addition to working with their College Advisor, all students are expected to meet with the Warden once a year to discuss progress and raise any issues. These meetings are called the Warden’s Graduate Consultations and are compulsory for all students.

Students will receive an email invitation from the Warden’s Personal Assistant with information about their time slot.

College seminars, lectures and events

The College regularly puts on seminars, lectures and other events. These are often organised by the College Centres (see section 5.3) but there are a number of cross-Centre initiatives and events in which the College community is encouraged to participate. Please check the Events page on the  College website .

Welfare @ St Antony’s College

The Welfare team at St Antony’s College organises each term a programme around Wellbeing specifically for our students. Events include cultural celebrations as well as informative talks and events around the subject of wellbeing.  The programme will be emailed to all students in the termly Welfare Bulletin. All students are welcome to suggest ideas for future events in college around cultural celebrations as well as wellbeing events.

University Careers Service

St Antony’s students are encouraged to make the most of the University Careers Service, a fantastic resource close to the College offering a wide range of services including individual and group advice sessions, publications, networks, talks and workshops, and events specifically for graduate students and other groups (e.g. women, international students, disabled students).

The University Careers Service also runs an Internship Programme providing access to hundreds of summer internship opportunities.  A letter of support can be issued by the Academic Office.

University Language Centre

Oxford University Language Centre supports members of the University who need foreign languages (including English as a foreign language) for study and research.
It offers courses in 12 different languages as well as library resources in 180 languages. Spouses of students may also enrol on a language course.

Students who need to study a language at the Language Centre as part of their course can make a priority application through the LASR programme. Priority Registration Forms can be signed by the Head of Academic Office.

Please note that the College is unable to fund registration fees for these courses, and charges will be passed to battels accounts. Students should consult with their department as they may be willing to pay the fee if the language instruction is essential for the course of study.

Student feedback

St Antony’s welcomes feedback on its  support and services to students. New students are asked to complete a short survey at the end of their first term, reflecting back on their admission, preparation and arrival in College. All students are surveyed regularly during their time at the College. The GCR also asks for student input on various matters, for example on food and accommodation.