Somerville was founded in 1879 as non-denominational hall for women. Since its founding almost 150 years ago, its (unofficial) goal has been to include the excluded. That ethos has made Somerville consistently be one of the most welcoming and friendly colleges at Oxford. Whatever your goals, at Somerville there’ll always be a tight-knit community supporting you.
We are lucky enough to have accommodation provided in college for all years of your undergraduate degree and are located in a great part of Oxford that’s close to the centre for easy access, but far enough away that we get peace and quiet in college. We’re right near the Maths Institute and the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities and have Jericho, laid-back, bohemian neighbourhood home to many cafés, to our north.
We have an incredible Entz team who organise a broad range of social events from BOPs (regarded as some of the best in Oxford) to Freshers’ Week to our triennial ball.
We’ve produced many famous alumni, including Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, Indian Prime Minister Indhira Gandhi, philosophers Philippa Foot and Iris Murdoch, and Nobel laureate Dorothy Hodgkin.
For more information on the college and our offerings, check out the rest of this site or visit the college website here.