Дистанційний урок для 10-Д класу. Culturestudy. 20.02.2021
Topic: Cambridge and Oxford
Read the text and mark sentences True or False
Oxford and
Cambridge:
the similarities and differences
The
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have a great deal in common, including
their collegiate structure, personalised teaching methods and wealth of
resources available to students. There are some differences between the
two institutions which we’ll explain below.
Both institutions are involved in a range of outreach activities
including the regional Oxford and Cambridge Student Conferences, which provide a great deal of
information about both Universities.
Colleges
Both Oxford and Cambridge are collegiate,
meaning they’re made up of a number of
individual colleges, as well as academic departments.
Every student is a member of the
University, their department and their college. It’s the Universities (through
the academic departments) that are responsible for course content, core
teaching (lectures, seminars, practicals, projects), examinations and awarding
degrees. This means that students are studying for the same degree, whichever
college they go to.
A college will be a student's home while
they’re studying – colleges provide a range of facilities, academic and
pastoral support, and organise small-group tuition (which may be with a
tutor/supervisor from another college).
The college system offers the benefits of
being part of a large, diverse University, and also a member of a smaller,
interdisciplinary college community, which usually includes both undergraduate
and graduate students. Students will have access to their college's facilities,
such as extensive library and IT provision, as well as the resources of the
wider University.
The colleges are responsible for
admitting undergraduate students, and students can indicate if they have a
preference college in their UCAS application. If they don’t have a college
preference, they can instead select an ‘open’ application and their application
will be allocated to a college which has relatively fewer applications for
their course in that year.
Both Universities work hard to ensure
that the best students are successful in gaining a place, whichever college
they've applied to or been allocated to (in the case of open applications).
This means that applicants may be interviewed by more than one college and
students may receive an offer from a different college to the one to which they
applied or were allocated.
Teaching
Teaching methods are very similar at both
Universities, as students attend lectures, classes and laboratory work as
appropriate for their course. Unlike at many other universities, students at
Oxford and Cambridge also benefit from highly personalised teaching time with
experts in their field. The only difference is in the name: Oxford refers to
these sessions as ‘tutorials’ while Cambridge calls them ‘supervisions’.
Students are required to prepare an essay
or other piece of work in advance for these sessions. Usually,
tutorials/supervisions take place weekly, with students meeting their
tutor/supervisor to discuss the work in small groups (most often of up to three
students, though the group size varies between courses and years). These
sessions aren't formally assessed so they don't contribute to the final degree
classification, but they're used to review progress and ensure students receive
regular feedback.
Assessment
Students at both Oxford and Cambridge are
assessed informally throughout their course by producing work for their
tutorials/supervisions, which help to ensure students are on track. Formal
assessment is almost entirely based on written examinations, although some
courses (where relevant) may include some practical assessment and in the final
year of many courses one exam paper can be replaced with a dissertation.
At Oxford, most courses are formally
assessed at the end of the first and final years, with the final degree
classification result usually based on the exams taken at the end of the final
year.
Most Cambridge students are assessed at
the end of each year and their final degree classification is determined by
their performance in exams in more than one year of their course
How to apply
Students must apply online through UCAS
by 6pm (UK time) on 15 October.
At Cambridge, some students
are also required to complete the Cambridge Online Preliminary Application
(COPA) in addition to the UCAS application; and other deadlines may apply for
some applicants. See the Applying page for
information.
Cambridge also asks all
applicants to complete an online Supplementary Application
Questionnaire (SAQ) after submission of their UCAS
application to ensure consistent information about all applicants.
Oxford does not require students to
complete any extra forms.
Applicants typically need to take a
written test/assessment as part of their application and may be asked to submit
some written work. If a student’s application is shortlisted, they'll be
invited to the relevant University for interview.
Interviews
The purpose and structure of these
interviews is very similar at both Universities. They’re a lot like a mini
tutorial or supervision, where students may be given a small passage to read or
perhaps set a small problem which they’ll discuss in the interview.
The main focus of interviews is to get a
sense of how the student applies their existing knowledge and skills to
unfamiliar problems, and how they process the information available. It's not a
matter of how quickly – or even whether – the student arrives at a particular
answer. There often aren’t right or wrong answers, and it’s the process of
reaching their answer that’s generally of most significance (rather than the
answer itself). The interviewers just want to get an insight into how the
student thinks.
It’s important for students to understand
that their performance at interview alone doesn’t determine the outcome of
their application – admissions decisions are made holistically, taking all
available information into account.
Both Universities are aware of private
companies and individuals who offer, at a charge, information and advice on our
admissions process, tests/assessments and interviews. We DO NOT support or
encourage any of these commercial enterprises. We’re unable to verify the
accuracy of the information these companies/individuals may provide.
2. The colledge system doesn't offer the benefits of being part of a large, diverse university.
3. Teaching methods are very similar at both universities.
4. Students must apply online through UCAS by 8 pm on 15 October.
5. Both universities are avare of private companies.
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