University of Oxford UNIQ Summer Schools Theology and Religion Residential Course

You arrive on Monday, spend Tuesday to Thursday in the Faculty of Theology and Religion's academic program, and leave on Friday after a closing mini conference with everyone else on your UNIQ week. The daytime sessions mix lectures and classes built around the tutors' own areas of expertise, and in past years students have investigated witchcraft, written Hebrew, debated personhood and explored theology in art. Alongside them you'll do some guided independent study to produce a short piece of writing, which becomes the basis for a tutorial discussion.

Evenings are for optional social activities with your college group, exploring Oxford and other colleges, or relaxing in the common room with the student ambassadors. UNIQ describes the week as very intensive, so if a school project is due around then, it's worth finishing it before you go. There are also no facilities for practicing music or training for sport.

You need to meet all four of UNIQ's minimum criteria on school year, school type, residency and age, and after that places go first to students with good grades from backgrounds underrepresented at Oxford and other universities. The Theology and Religion course adds no subject requirement of its own. Applying early doesn't help, because UNIQ considers every application submitted before the deadline equally.

Places on this course are limited. In 2026 the faculty ran two Theology and Religion schools of around 30 Year 12 students each, so about 60 places in all.

• School year

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

• School

  A UK or Islands state school or college, with grammar schools included, or home education. Independent and private school students can't apply, even if a bursary or scholarship pays their fees.

• Residency

  Settled UK or Islands residence, or an expectation of home fee status when you apply to university, which now covers the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. Overseas residents can't apply.

• Age

  Under 18 at the time of the residential and normally 16 or 17, with exceptions for some Northern Ireland students and for those whose education was set back by extenuating circumstances.

• Grades

  UNIQ normally expects at least six GCSEs with one at grade 7 or A, or six National 5s with at least one A. You can't already hold more than one completed A level or have attended UNIQ before.

• Background

  Care experience is strongly prioritized, and UNIQ also weighs past or present Free School Meals eligibility and socioeconomic factors such as your home postcode.

UNIQ charges nothing to you or your school, and it pays for your travel, college room, meals and teaching. Travel is covered only if you send back the information UNIQ asks for on time, though, and students who miss its deadlines or lose their ticket may have to buy their own. Fuel for a car journey isn't reimbursed, and snacks, souvenirs and anything you forget to pack are on you. UNIQ asks families who are worried about paying for anything during the visit to get in touch.

You get your own lockable bedroom in student accommodation owned by an Oxford college, and you won't find out which college until you arrive. Many college buildings are historic, so you may share a bathroom with a few other participants on a gender-segregated corridor, while ensuite rooms can be on mixed-gender corridors.

Each college is run for the week by a Site Manager, a senior student ambassador who organizes drop-in sessions, tours and evening activities. The other ambassadors are current Oxford undergraduates who stay in college with you and take you to lectures and seminars.

Every college offers a vegetarian option, but halal, kosher and other religious diets can't be guaranteed because colleges do their own catering, so tell UNIQ your needs as soon as you're offered a place. If nothing suitable is available, UNIQ makes other arrangements with you. If you'll be fasting, let UNIQ know in advance, although it will ask a student whose health starts to suffer to break the fast or go home. For prayer, tell your ambassadors on arrival how strict you are about timings, and a limited number of prayer mats are available to borrow. Disability and access needs are raised once you have a place, and UNIQ makes reasonable adjustments to meet them.

From August to December after the residential, UNIQ offers online support for applying to Oxford, covering the UCAS application (the UK's central university application system), admissions tests and interviews. You also leave with the short written piece you worked on and the experience of discussing it in a tutorial. UNIQ doesn't mention a certificate or any credit for taking part.

Applications are made online only, through the UNIQ website.

1. 1

   Applications for UNIQ 2027 open on 15 December 2026, which is also when UNIQ plans to confirm which week each subject runs. You choose a first and second course, both in weeks you can attend, and if your first choice is full you may be offered your second.

2. 2

   Submit the completed form by 13:00 on 19 January 2027. Applications that are started but never submitted aren't considered, and late ones are refused.

3. 3

   You'll see an "application submitted" screen rather than a confirmation email. If you spot a mistake, email UNIQ quickly, since changes are possible for only about three days after applications close.

4. 4

   Decisions arrive by email by early March 2027, and you have one week to accept an offer.

5. 5

   If Theology and Religion runs in more than one week, UNIQ randomly assigns you one and tries to swap you if needed, but you can't switch subjects once you're selected.