University of Oxford UNIQ Summer Schools Biology Residential Course

Biology teaching runs during the day from Tuesday to Thursday. Monday is for arriving and settling into your college, and the week ends with a mini conference for everyone on your week before you leave on Friday. Evenings have no teaching. You can join optional social activities with your college group, explore Oxford and other colleges, or ask the student ambassadors questions in the common room.

• Lectures on topics typically found in the degree

• Hands-on work on the natural world, such as animal, ecological and conservation research

• Workshops with partners such as the Botanic Gardens and Natural History Museum

• Lab practicals on the molecular side of biology

• A tutorial with a dedicated tutor in a college

• Talks on the course structure and field trips, admissions, careers in biology and Oxford interviews

The Department of Biology gives each teaching day a theme drawn from the options on its degree, and the material is pitched at first-year undergraduate level. UNIQ says you can expect:

On top of UNIQ's general rules, Biology has a subject requirement. You must be studying Biology and either Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics at A level, Advanced Higher, IB Higher Level or an equivalent, and UNIQ won't consider you for a course whose subjects you aren't taking.

Applications aren't first come, first served, so everything submitted before the deadline is considered equally. UNIQ says it works with over a thousand students a year across all its courses.

• Grades

  UNIQ normally expects at least six GCSEs with one or more at grade 7 or A (in Scotland, six National 5s with at least one A). It reads grades in context, and the form has an extenuating circumstances section.

• Background

  Priority goes to students with good grades from backgrounds underrepresented at Oxford. Anyone who has been in care is strongly prioritized, and UNIQ also considers Free School Meals eligibility and how deprived your home postcode is.

• Residency

  You need to be a settled UK or Islands resident or expect home fee status when you apply to university. Overseas residents can't apply.

• Once only

  You can attend UNIQ once, in the right school year, and students with more than one completed A level aren't eligible.

• Home-educated students

  You can apply if you give a referee for your GCSEs or equivalent qualifications.

No. UNIQ is free for you and your school, and it pays for your travel, college room, meals and teaching. You'll only pay for extra snacks, souvenirs and anything you forget, plus fuel if your family drives you, since UNIQ doesn't reimburse it. Travel cover depends on sending information back on time, and students who miss UNIQ's deadlines or lose their ticket may have to buy their own.

Each college is run by a Site Manager, a senior student ambassador who organizes drop-ins, tours and evening activities. UNIQ ambassadors, who are current Oxford undergraduates wearing identifying T-shirts, take you to lectures and stay with you in college. You get your own lockable bedroom. Many college buildings are historic, though, so you'll probably share a bathroom with a few other participants on a gender-segregated corridor, while ensuite rooms may be on mixed corridors. You won't know your college until you arrive, although UNIQ tries to place you in one that teaches your subject.

Every college offers a vegetarian option, but halal, kosher and other religious diets can't be guaranteed because each college runs its own catering, so tell UNIQ your needs as soon as you accept. Students who plan to fast should get in touch beforehand, and UNIQ will ask a student whose health deteriorates to break the fast or go home. After an offer, UNIQ asks about any disability or access needs so it can make adjustments.

Mostly a firsthand sense of whether biology at Oxford, and its tutorial-style teaching, suits you, plus support that continues after the week ends. From August to December, UNIQ offers online guidance for each stage of an Oxford application, from the UCAS form to admissions tests and interviews. UNIQ doesn't mention a certificate or any academic credit for the week.

1. 1

   Check the 2027 Biology week when UNIQ publishes it, in time for applications opening on 15 December 2026, and make sure you can attend from Monday to Friday.

2. 2

   Submit a fully completed online application by 13:00 on 19 January 2027, because unfinished applications aren't considered and UNIQ sends no confirmation email, only an application submitted screen.

3. 3

   If you spot a mistake after submitting, email uniq@admin.ox.ac.uk quickly, since there's only about three days after the deadline to make changes.

4. 4

   Watch your email for a decision by early March 2027, and accept any offer within one week.

5. 5

   Attend your spring regional event and the online preparation meeting in May or June before the residential.