University of Oxford UNIQ Summer Schools Archaeology and Anthropology Residential Course

You arrive on Monday, leave on Friday and spend four nights in an Oxford college, with the teaching on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. An Oxford faculty runs those days, and for this subject that means lectures, interactive workshops and museum visits on human behavior, how societies function, how cultures interact and what the past can teach us about the present. The material is pitched at a first-year Oxford undergraduate, with teaching staff and student ambassadors on hand to help.

Evenings are for optional social activities with your college group, exploring Oxford and other colleges, or relaxing in the common room with your ambassadors. At the end of the week, a mini conference brings together everyone on your week for more information and guidance. Oxford describes UNIQ as very intensive, so it's worth finishing any school project due around then before you go.

Meeting the basic rules only gets you into the pool, because Oxford then chooses using your grades and your background. It normally expects at least six GCSEs with one or more at grade 7 or A, or six National 5s with at least one A in Scotland, and says its grade bar may be lower than you'd expect.

Background carries real weight. Care experience is strongly prioritized, and Oxford also looks at current or past free school meals eligibility and any extenuating circumstances you explain on the form, and may check your home postcode against the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Places aren't first come first served, so an application sent on the last day is read the same as one sent in December. If both your course choices are full, you may be offered a spot on a reserve list. If you don't get a place, Oxford says it won't affect any later application you make to the university.

• Which year counts

  Year 12 in England or Wales, Year 13 in Northern Ireland, S5 in Scotland, or the first year of the IB Diploma.

• Age

  You must be under 18 at the residential, with exceptions for some Northern Ireland students and for students in an offset year because of extenuating circumstances.

• Home-educated students

  They can apply, naming someone such as a former teacher or exams officer as a referee for their GCSEs.

• Who's ruled out

  Anyone who has already been on UNIQ, students with more than one completed A level, and students at private or independent schools, even on a bursary.

You pay nothing, and neither does your school. Oxford covers your travel, your college room, your meals, and all the teaching and staffing.

There are a few catches. The travel cover depends on you sending information back on time, so a student who misses UNIQ's deadlines or loses a ticket may have to buy their own, and fuel for a car journey isn't reimbursed. Snacks, souvenirs and anything you forget to pack are yours to pay for. UNIQ asks families who are worried about any cost on the visit to get in touch.

Current Oxford undergraduates, called ambassadors, take you to lectures and seminars and live in your college with you, and each college is run by a Site Manager, a senior ambassador who organizes drop-ins, tours and evening activities. Ambassadors wear UNIQ t-shirts, so they're easy to find.

You get your own lockable bedroom. Shared bathrooms are common in the older buildings and sit on gender-segregated corridors, while students with ensuite rooms may be on mixed corridors.

Every college serves a vegetarian option, but halal, kosher and other religious diets can't be guaranteed because each college runs its own catering. Tell UNIQ about your needs as soon as you're offered a place, and if your college has nothing suitable, UNIQ says it will make other arrangements with you. Students with a disability don't need to declare it when applying and are asked about adjustments after an offer.

You should come away with a much clearer idea of whether Oxford's archaeology and anthropology degree suits you, and from August to December UNIQ follows up with online support for an Oxford application, covering UCAS (the UK's university application service), admissions tests and interviews.

Applications go only through the UNIQ website. If the form won't load, which happens more often on Apple devices and school laptops, Oxford suggests switching off cross-site tracking blocking for the portal, trying a freshly installed browser or using another device, such as your phone.

1. 1

   Applications open on 15 December 2026, when you fill in an online form covering your grades, your background and any extenuating circumstances, and nominate a teacher at your school.

2. 2

   Choose a first and second course, picking only subjects whose residential week you can attend, because you can't switch subject once places are given out.

3. 3

   Submit the fully completed form by 13:00 on 19 January 2027, since unfinished applications are never considered. No confirmation email follows, so look for the "application submitted" screen.

4. 4

   Watch your email for a decision by early March 2027 and accept an offer within one week of receiving it.

5. 5

   If you get a place, join a regional launch event in the spring and an online preparation meeting in May or June before your week in Oxford.