# Oxbridge

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For other uses, see [Oxbridge (disambiguation)](/source/Oxbridge_(disambiguation)).

Not to be confused with [Uxbridge](/source/Uxbridge).

**Oxbridge** is a [portmanteau](/source/Portmanteau) of the universities of [Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford) and [Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge), the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities of the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom). The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to describe characteristics reminiscent of them, often with implications of superior social or intellectual status or [elitism](/source/Elitism).[1]

## Origins

Although both universities were founded more than eight centuries ago, the term *Oxbridge* is relatively recent. In [William Makepeace Thackeray](/source/William_Makepeace_Thackeray)'s novel *[Pendennis](/source/Pendennis)*, published in 1850, the main character attends the fictional [Boniface College, Oxbridge](/source/List_of_fictional_Oxbridge_colleges). According to the *[Oxford English Dictionary](/source/Oxford_English_Dictionary)*, the first recorded use of the word was by [Virginia Woolf](/source/Virginia_Woolf), who, citing Thackeray, referenced it in her 1929 extended essay *[A Room of One's Own](/source/A_Room_of_One's_Own)*. The term was used in the *[Times Educational Supplement](/source/Times_Educational_Supplement)* in 1957,[2][3] and the following year in *Universities Quarterly*.[4]

When expanded, the universities are almost always referred to as "Oxford and Cambridge", the order in which they were founded. A notable exception is Tokyo's *Cambridge and Oxford Society*; this probably arises from the fact that the Cambridge Club was founded there first, and also had more members than its Oxford counterpart when they amalgamated in 1905.[5]

## Meaning

In addition to being a collective term, *Oxbridge* is often used as shorthand for characteristics the two institutions share:

- They are the two [oldest universities in continuous operation](/source/List_of_oldest_universities_in_continuous_operation) in the UK. Both were founded more than 800 years ago,[6][7] and remained England's only universities until the 19th century. This duopoly was actively protected, with both universities until the 1820s requiring their graduates to swear not to teach at any other universities in England, and lobbying royalty to close down establishments at [Northampton](/source/University_of_Northampton_(13th_century)), [Stamford](/source/University_of_Stamford) and [Durham](/source/New_College,_Durham_(17th_century)).[8] Between them, they have educated a large number of Britain's most prominent scientists, writers, and politicians, as well as noted figures in many other fields.[9][10]
- Each has a similar [collegiate structure](/source/Collegiate_university), whereby the university is a cooperative of its constituent colleges, which are responsible for [supervisions/tutorials](/source/Tutorial_system) (the main undergraduate teaching method, unique to Oxbridge), accommodation and pastoral care.
- They have established similar institutions and facilities such as publishing houses ([Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press) and [Cambridge University Press](/source/Cambridge_University_Press)), botanical gardens ([University of Oxford Botanic Garden](/source/University_of_Oxford_Botanic_Garden) and [Cambridge University Botanic Garden](/source/Cambridge_University_Botanic_Garden)), museums (the [Ashmolean Museum](/source/Ashmolean_Museum) and the [Fitzwilliam Museum](/source/Fitzwilliam_Museum)), research libraries (the [Bodleian Library](/source/Bodleian_Library) and the [Cambridge University Library](/source/Cambridge_University_Library)), students' unions ([Oxford University Student Union](/source/Oxford_University_Student_Union) and the [Cambridge Students' Union](/source/Cambridge_Students'_Union)), debating societies (the [Oxford Union](/source/Oxford_Union) and the [Cambridge Union](/source/Cambridge_Union)), and comedy groups ([The Oxford Revue](/source/The_Oxford_Revue) and [The Cambridge Footlights](/source/Footlights)).
- [Rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge](/source/Oxford%E2%80%93Cambridge_rivalry) also has a long history, dating back to around 1209, when Cambridge was founded by scholars taking refuge from hostile Oxford townsmen,[11] and celebrated to this day in [varsity matches](/source/List_of_British_and_Irish_varsity_matches) such as [The Boat Race](/source/The_Boat_Race).
- They are usually the top-scoring institutions in cross-subject UK university rankings,[12][13][14] so they are targeted by ambitious pupils, parents and schools. Entrance is extremely competitive and some schools promote themselves based on the achievement Oxbridge offers. Combined, the two universities award over one-sixth of all English full-time research doctorates.[15]
- Oxford and Cambridge have common approaches to [undergraduate admissions](/source/University_and_college_admissions#Undergraduate_entry_2). Until the mid-1980s, entry was typically by sitting special entrance [exams](/source/Exams).[16] Applications must be made at least three months earlier than to other UK universities (the deadline for applications to Oxbridge is mid-October whereas the deadline for all other universities, apart from applicants for medicine, is in January).[17] Additionally, candidates may not apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year,[18] apart from a few exceptions (e.g. organ scholars).[19] Most candidates achieve, or are predicted to achieve, outstanding results in their final school exams, and consequently interviews are usually used to check whether the course is well suited to the applicant's interests and aptitudes,[20] and to look for evidence of self-motivation, independent thinking, academic potential and ability to learn through the tutorial system.[21]
- Membership of the [Oxford and Cambridge Club](/source/Oxford_and_Cambridge_Club) is largely restricted to those who are members of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

## Criticism

The word *Oxbridge* may also be used pejoratively: as a descriptor of [social classes](/source/Social_class) (referring to the professional classes who dominated the intake of both universities at the beginning of the twentieth century),[22] as shorthand for an [elite](/source/Elite#Educational_elite) that "continues to dominate Britain's political and cultural establishment"[9][23] and a parental attitude that "continues to see UK higher education through an Oxbridge prism",[24] or to describe a "pressure-cooker" culture that attracts and then fails to support overachievers "who are vulnerable to a kind of self-inflicted stress that can all too often become unbearable"[25] and high-flying state school students who find "coping with the workload very difficult in terms of balancing work and life" and "feel socially out of [their] depth".[26]

The [Sutton Trust](/source/Sutton_Trust) maintains that the [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford) and the [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge) "recruit" disproportionately from eight schools ([Westminster School](/source/Westminster_School), [Eton College](/source/Eton_College), [Hills Road Sixth Form College](/source/Hills_Road_Sixth_Form_College), [St Paul's School](/source/St_Paul's_School,_London), [Peter Symonds College](/source/Peter_Symonds_College), [St Paul's Girls' School](/source/St_Paul's_Girls'_School), [King's College School](/source/King's_College_School), and [Magdalen College School](/source/Magdalen_College_School,_Oxford)).[27] They examined published admissions data from 2015 to 2017 and found that, out of the 19,851 places during the three years, the eight schools accounted for 1,310, whereas 2,900 other schools with historically few admissions to Oxbridge accounted for 1,220.[28]

## Related terms

Other portmanteaus have been coined that extend the term *Oxbridge*, with different degrees of recognition:

The *Loxbridge*[29][30][31][32] term is also used referring to the [golden triangle](/source/Golden_triangle_(universities)) of London, Oxford, and Cambridge. It was also adopted as the name of the [Ancient History](/source/Ancient_history) conference now known as *AMPAH*.[33]

[Doxbridge](/source/Doxbridge) is another example of this, referring to [Durham](/source/Durham_University), Oxford and Cambridge.[34][35][36] *Doxbridge* was also used for an annual inter-collegiate sports tournament between some of the colleges of Durham, Oxford, Cambridge and [York](/source/University_of_York).[37]

*Woxbridge* is the name of the annual conference between the business schools of [Warwick](/source/University_of_Warwick), Oxford and Cambridge.[38]

When the [University of St Andrews](/source/University_of_St_Andrews) topped the 2023 UK universities ranking in *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*, the top three institutions were labelled *Stoxbridge* to reflect the new order.[39]

Thackeray's *[Pendennis](/source/Pendennis)*, which introduced the term *Oxbridge*, also introduced *Camford* as another combination of the university names – "he was a Camford man and very nearly got the English Prize Poem" – but this term has never achieved the same degree of usage as *Oxbridge*. Camford is, however, used as the name of a fictional university city in the [Sherlock Holmes](/source/Sherlock_Holmes) story *[The Adventure of the Creeping Man](/source/The_Adventure_of_the_Creeping_Man)* (1923).

## See also

- [Armorial of British universities](/source/Armorial_of_British_universities)
- [Golden triangle](/source/Golden_triangle_(universities)), sometimes referred to as Loxbridge: an unofficial grouping of Oxford, Cambridge and certain elite universities in London
- [Ivy League](/source/Ivy_League), a grouping of eight elite universities in the United States
- [Oxford–Cambridge rivalry](/source/Oxford%E2%80%93Cambridge_rivalry)
- [Russell Group](/source/Russell_Group), a grouping of twenty four elite universities in the United Kingdom

## References

1. ["Oxbridge"](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/135559). *oed.com*. 3rd ed. [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). 2005. Originally: a fictional university, esp. regarded as a composite of Oxford and Cambridge. Subsequently also (now esp.): the universities of Oxford and Cambridge regarded together, esp. in contrast to other British universities. *adj* Of, relating to, characteristic of, or reminiscent of Oxbridge (freq. with implication of superior social or intellectual status

1. G.D. Worswick (3 May 1957). "The anatomy of Oxbridge". *[Times Educational Supplement](/source/Times_Educational_Supplement)* The oldest, wealthiest and most elitist Universities in the UK

1. G.D. Worswick (6 June 1958). "Men's Awards at Oxbridge". *Times Educational Supplement*

1. [A. H. Halsey](/source/A._H._Halsey) (1958). ["British Universities and Intellectual Life"](https://books.google.com/books?id=c3cuAAAAIAAJ&q=Oxbridge). *Universities Quarterly*. **12** (2): 144. Turnstile Press. Retrieved 22 March 2009.

1. Giro Koike (5 April 1995). ["Why The "Cambridge & Oxford Society"?"](http://www.camford.org/Whycamford.htm). Retrieved 8 September 2008.

1. ["A brief history of the University"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080411014607/http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/introducing_oxford/a_brief_history_of_the_university/index.html). *ox.ac.uk*. Archived from [the original](http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/introducing_oxford/a_brief_history_of_the_university/index.html) on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-29.

1. ["A Brief History – Early Records"](https://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/history/records.html). *cam.ac.uk*. Retrieved 2008-06-27.

1. Whyte, William (7 March 2018). ["The Medieval University Monopoly"](https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/medieval-university-monopoly). *History Today*

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1. Cadwalladr, Carole (16 March 2008). ["Education: It's the clever way to power – Part 2"](https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/mar/16/highereducation.careers). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 2009-03-22.

1. ["A Brief History: Early records"](https://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/history/records.html). *[University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge)*. Retrieved 2009-03-22.

1. Watson, Roland. ["University Rankings League Table 2009"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080622120258/http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php). *Good University Guide*. London: Times Online. Archived from [the original](http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php) on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-04.

1. ["University Rankings League Table"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090131201408/http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/stug/universityguide.php). *The Sunday Times University Guide*. London: Times Online. Archived from [the original](https://extras.timesonline.co.uk/stug/universityguide.php) on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-04.

1. Bernard Kingston (28 April 2008). ["League table of UK universities"](https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6524). *The Complete University Guide*. Retrieved 2009-02-04.

1. ["Research degree qualification rates"](http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2010/10_21/#exec). [Higher Education Funding Council for England](/source/Higher_Education_Funding_Council_for_England). July 2010.

1. Walford, Geoffrey (1986). [*Life in Public Schools*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Ms8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA202). Taylor & Francis. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-416-37180-2. Retrieved 2009-02-02.

1. ["UCAS Students: Important dates for your diary"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090201114118/http://ucas.com/students/importantdates). Archived from [the original](https://www.ucas.com/students/importantdates) on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-02. 15 October 2008 Last date for receipt of applications to Oxford University, University of Cambridge and courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science or veterinary medicine.

1. ["UCAS Students FAQs: Oxford or Cambridge"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091001013817/http://www.ucas.com/students/applying/faqs/eligibility/faq1). Archived from [the original](http://www.ucas.com/students/applying/faqs/eligibility/faq1) on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-23. Is it possible to apply to both Oxford University and the University of Cambridge?

1. ["Organ Awards Information for Prospective Candidates"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120822114305/http://www.music.ox.ac.uk/assets/files/Chor_Org_Downloads/OrgAwards2009.pdf). Faculty of Music, [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford). Archived from [the original](http://www.music.ox.ac.uk/assets/files/Chor_Org_Downloads/OrgAwards2009.pdf) on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 2009-03-22. It is possible for a candidate to enter the comparable competition at Cambridge which is scheduled at the same time of year.

1. ["Cambridge Interviews: the facts"](http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/publications/interviews.pdf). University of Cambridge. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100827071639/http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/publications/interviews.pdf) 2010-08-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-18.

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1. Robert David Anderson (2004). [*European universities from the Enlightenment to 1914*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Sf6NeT3045IC&pg=PA135). [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). p. 135. ISBN 978-0-19-820660-6. Retrieved 2009-03-22.

1. Cadwalladr, Carole (16 March 2008). ["Oxbridge Blues"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080318144010/http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/carole_cadwalladr/2008/03/oxbridge_blues.html). *The Guardian*. Archived from [the original](http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/carole_cadwalladr/2008/03/oxbridge_blues.html) on 18 March 2008.

1. Eric Thomas (20 January 2004). ["Down but not out"](https://www.theguardian.com/education/2004/jan/20/oxbridgeandelitism.schools). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*. Retrieved 2009-08-28.

1. Elizabeth Davies (21 February 2007). ["The over-pressured hothouse that is Oxbridge"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090207064542/http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/elizabeth-davies-the-overpressured-hothouse-that-is-oxbridge-437155.html). *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*. Archived from [the original](https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/elizabeth-davies-the-overpressured-hothouse-that-is-oxbridge-437155.html) on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-02. Two recent deaths have brought the issue of Oxbridge students' mental health back to the surface

1. Charlie Boss (2 December 2006). ["Why so many state school pupils drop out of Oxbridge"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090207084117/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200612/ai_n17191156/pg_1). *[The Spectator](/source/The_Spectator)*. Archived from [the original](https://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_/ai_n17191156) on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 2024-01-20. – via [Bnet Business Network](/source/BNET)

1. ["Oxbridge 'over-recruits from eight schools'"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46470838). BBC News. 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2020-10-24.

1. Coughlan, Sean (2018). ["Oxbridge 'over-recruits from eight schools'"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46470838). [BBC News](/source/BBC_News). Retrieved 1 March 2009.

1. Anon (2018). ["The Loxbridge Triangle: Integrating the East-West Arch into the London Mega-region"](http://talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/98671). *talks.cam.ac.uk*. University of Cambridge.

1. ["Loxbridge Limited"](https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/OC340952). *companieshouse.gov.uk*. London: [Companies House](/source/Companies_House)

1. ["Loxbridge tutoring"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200810081110/http://www.loxbridge.com/). *loxbridge.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.loxbridge.com) on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.

1. Morgan, K. J. (2004). "The research assessment exercise in English universities, 2001". *Higher Education*. **48** (4): 461–482. [doi:10.1023/B:HIGH.0000046717.11717.06](https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HIGH.0000046717.11717.06). [JSTOR 4151567](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4151567). [S2CID 145505001](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145505001)

1. ["AMPAH 2003: Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient History (formerly also known as LOxBridge)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070711222341/http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/classics/postgraduate/ampah/). Archived from [the original](http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/classics/postgraduate/ampah/) on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-13.

1. ["Doxbridge: a chip on our collective shoulders?"](https://www.palatinate.org.uk/doxbridge-a-chip-on-our-collective-shoulders/). *Palatinate*. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 2017-03-10.

1. ["Debate: Rather be at Oxbridge than Doxbridge?"](https://thetab.com/uk/cambridge/2012/01/16/rather-be-at-oxbridge-than-doxbridge-3428). *thetab.com*. [The Tab](/source/The_Tab). 16 January 2016. Retrieved 2017-03-10.

1. ["Is Doxbridge a thing? We asked Oxbridge students"](https://thetab.com/uk/durham/2015/10/16/doxbridge-thing-asked-oxbridge-students-20761). *The Tab*. 2015-10-16. Retrieved 2018-09-19.

1. ["The University Sports Tour for Easter 2008"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080402051845/http://www.doxbridge.co.uk/index.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.doxbridge.co.uk/index.html) on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-13.

1. ["Woxbridge 2011"](https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/conf/woxbridge2011/). *Conference Website*

1. ["Forget Oxbridge: St Andrews knocks top universities off perch"](https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/sep/24/stoxbridge-st-andrews-overtakes-oxford-cambridge-guardian-university-guide). *The Guardian*. 2022-09-24. Retrieved 2022-12-09.

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