Studying at Mansfield

The tutorial system is one of the things for which Oxford University is justly famous. It is a unique learning experience, and at Mansfield we are very proud of the close attention we give to the academic progress of our students. You meet with your tutor, an expert in the area you are studying, to discuss work which you have researched beforehand, such as an essay or solutions to set problems. Typically, students have one or two one-hour tutorials a week, usually in a pair with another student. The aim is to deepen your individual understanding of material you have covered in lectures and in your own independent reading. 

In tutorials you get a lot of individual attention from your tutor, and you soon learn that you need to be well prepared. There is no hiding at the back of the class when only you and the tutor are there! Many of your tutorials will be with your College tutors, but others will be in other colleges and departments, so that you have the benefit of working with a wide range of experts in your chosen subject.

The tutorial is just one of a range of teaching methods you experience as a student at Mansfield. Every department and faculty provides lectures and classes centrally, and these are attended by students from all colleges. For science subjects lectures and practicals form the core of the week’s work.

The University has outstanding library, laboratory and computing facilities, and Mansfield supplements these resources with its own facilities on site. The College library is a beautiful, wood-panelled room, which provides you with a good selection of books, and students are encouraged to make recommendations for book purchases. Law, PPE and Theology have their own separate specialist libraries in College. There are designated computers in the library for essay writing, and a computer room next to the library with free internet access. The Mansfield libraries are open twenty-four hours a day.