Oxbridge Honors Program

More demanding than a traditional college major, all six Oxbridge majors provide rigorous training in sophisticated interpretation, analytical thinking, critical evaluation, and strong writing and oral presentation. The Ivy League-status program with a reading-writing intensive approach combines the best of British higher education—intense and deep study, with great independence—with the American—broad background and close mentorship.

The Oxbridge Student

The Oxbridge Honors program is highly selective, enrolling a limited number of students each fall following an interview with faculty. Students typically have a mean ACT score of 30 (composite), 33 (reading) and 33 (science, for Oxbridge molecular biology majors), and rank in the top 10% of their high school class.

You might be an ideal Oxbridge candidate if you are an:

• Academic Achiever: You write well and read difficult materials with understanding, take criticism well and use it to improve performance.
• Intellectual Activist: You love learning. You are a curious, vigorous learner and thinker, interested in ideas and active in discussion. You really enjoy studying, and don’t see it primarily as a responsibility to be carried out in order to earn good grades.
• Independent Worker: You take initiative to ask questions, research ideas, and raise issues. You do not need constant reminders and external pressures to accomplish goals. You take responsibility for your assignments and deadlines.

Choose from 6 Majors

You do not need to declare your Oxbridge major until the end of your first year.

• Oxbridge History: focused on American and European history, and methods of the study of history
• Oxbridge History of Ideas: the study of ethics and values through classic texts, preparing you for a career wherever strong analytical and critical skills are called for, including academics, law, public policy, journalism, ministry and much more
• Oxbridge Institutions and Policy: an interdisciplinary study of political science, economics and ethics. It is an excellent preparation for a career path in law, business, public policy or government.
• Oxbridge Literature and Theory: the study of great texts from British, American, and world literary traditions, as well as classical and contemporary theoretical perspectives and methodologies
• Oxbridge Molecular Biology: the in-depth study of biology at the molecular and genetic level, with a strong emphasis on research throughout all four years of study
• Oxbridge Music: focused in the study of music theory and history, music literature and analysis, with private lessons and public recitals

View the core course requirements and course descriptions for each major:

A Full year at Oxford

You will spend your junior year studying in Oxford at the finest educational institutions in the world while taking part in university life and English and European culture. During your first two years at Jewell, you will study under the tutorial system. Created on the educational model found in Oxford and Cambridge Universities, the Oxbridge Honors Program features tutorial (rather than classroom) instruction. Classes in your Oxbridge major will be taken in one-on-one or small group settings, with a master teacher or tutor coordinating intensive reading and writing assignments.