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‘Academic Insights’ courses enable well-motivated students from around the world to study a chosen subject in depth and at a high level, living in a university college. This unique opportunity is offered in Oxford & Cambridge, and also in London and Toronto.
Classes are taught by expert academics from top universities. Each subject follows a carefully-designed syllabus, combining a basis of theoretical knowledge with practical application, ensuring a well-rounded and stimulating programme, helping you build towards future success.
Courses for ages 13 to 15 are designed to ignite your interest and help you to better understand the subject, before pursuing it at a higher level. You are introduced to more advanced content in an understandable and approachable way. For those aged 16 to 18 we provide an invaluable insight into what it will be like to study at university level.
This summer we are introducing an Academic Insights Programme in Cambridge for those aged 18 to 30, perfect for testing the waters before a master’s, revisiting a field of studies with fresh perspective, or pushing beyond what their previous studies have covered.
Tutors have developed rich and interesting curricula to further stimulate the passion for your chosen discipline. With 40-plus hours of engaging sessions, you choose one subject to study intensively over a two-week period. Please see below the list of subjects offered.
Cambridge is situated on the River Cam in eastern England, home to its prestigious University, dating from 1209. University colleges include King’s, famed for its choir and towering Gothic chapel, Trinity, founded by Henry VIII, and St John’s, with its 16th-century ‘Great Gate’. Cambridge University is internationally renowned for academic excellence, beautiful college architecture and rich history.
You experience living in student accommodation within historic Cambridge University colleges. Those that house our students include Queens’ College, one of the oldest and largest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou; it has buildings spanning both sides of the river Cam, with the world-famous Mathematical Bridge (pictured here) connecting the two sides. We also provide housing in Gonville & Caius, Jesus, Sydney Sussex, Christ College and St. Catherine’s Colleges.
Oxford, the city of ‘Dreaming Spires’, is famous world-wide for its university and its unique place in history. Founded in the eleventh century, it’s the oldest and most prestigious university in England, home to scholars, and at times royalty, for over 800 years. A collegiate university, many colleges were founded by English monarchs.
Oxford has been a population centre since the 9th century, originally established as a crossing point for cattle on the river Thames (known as Isis, as it flows though the city) – hence the name Ox(en)ford. It soon started to attract scholars and clerics, and the first ‘Halls’, providing scholars’ accommodation, were founded in the twelfth century.
Our courses are held at Balliol College, founded in 1263 and one of Oxford’s oldest colleges, Brasenose College, located in the centre of the city at Radcliffe Square and St Edmund Hall, reputed to be ‘the oldest academical society for the education of undergraduates in any university’.
Participants in our London programme stay in one of our centrally-located residences at University College London (UCL). Located just a short walk from landmarks such as the British Museum, Russell Square and the British Library, the housing offer a taste of student life in the city. Housing, meals and extracurricular activities are all included in the programme, which provides a safe, comfortable and enriching environment.
You will learn and live in modern facilities with easy access to academic buildings and cultural venues within the city, so are thus able to take full advantage of all that this world-famous city has to offer.
The University of Toronto was founded in 1827 as King’s College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada, and still Canada’s largest university. Originally a Church of England college, it took its present name in 1850 upon becoming a secular institution. Its main campus, St. George, comprises eleven colleges, and is one of three university campuses.
Toronto is one of only two members of the Association of American Universities outside of the United States, alongside McGill University in Montreal. It has an impressive record of cutting edge scientific and medical research and innovation.
Students on the course live and study in the highest-ranked university in Canada. You are housed within one of the colleges, where all classes and activities are held. At Toronto, the following subjects are offered : Business Management, Economics, Engineering, International Relations, Law, Medicine, Psychology, Software Development & AI.
Classes are held each morning and afternoon. Small class sizes average seven students, with a maximum of ten. Course content is practical; ‘hands-on’ sessions may include dissections on the course in medicine, robotic arm building in engineering, or visiting a museum in history.
Tutors ensure that each student is making clear progress and that the material is fully understood, offering additional one-on-one academic support. This is an important feature of the courses : individual guidance from your class tutor helps to iron out any difficulties you may have and consolidates the work covered.
With your tutor’s support, you complete a project during the course. This may be an essay, a presentation or a practical project. Ongoing support before you share this with your fellow students at the end of the course helps to instil confidence.
Each student is part of a ‘mentor’ group – their peer group for the course. Mentors are typically University postgraduate students, there to help you get the most out of the course. They provide additional insights and support in your chosen subject. This helps to ensure that you leave feeling confident about your academic future.
Each week, talks by well-respected guest speakers are held. These include (for example) politicians, scientists, business leaders, literary figures and philosophers. The sessions offer the chance to learn from inspirational and influential change-makers.
The timetable includes morning and afternoon academic sessions, visits and activities, guest speakers and a formal dinner, as well as the final graduation ceremony. The following gives an example of a typical weekly timetable.
* on mobile device? Turn your screen ‘landscape’ to view term dates below
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | Arrivals | Morning Academic Session | Morning Academic Session | Morning Academic Session | Morning Academic Session | Morning Academic Session | Option 1 - Full-Day excursion: Central London Walking Tour |
| Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | |||
| PM | Arrivals | Afternoon Academic Session | Afternoon Academic Session | Afternoon Academic Session | Afternoon Academic Session | Afternoon Academic Session | Option 2: Afternoon Tea in the City |
| Tour of the City | Chauffered Punting | Zorb Football | Visit to a Museum | Free Period | |||
| Dinner in College | Dinner in College | Traditional Oxbridge Formal Dinner | Dinner in College | Dinner in College | Dinner in College | ||
| Eve | Ice-Breaker Games | Fireside Chat with Mentors | Guest Speaker | Quiz Night | Murder Mystery |
* on mobile device? Turn your screen ‘landscape’ to view term dates below
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | Full Day Excursion: Oxford/Cambridge | Morning Academic Session | Morning Academic Session | Morning Academic Session | Morning Academic Session | Morning Academic Session | Departures |
| Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | |||
| PM | Afternoon Academic Session | Afternoon Academic Session | Afternoon Academic Session | Afternoon Academic Session | Afternoon Academic Session | Departures | |
| Scavenger Hunt | British Sports Day | Self-Guided Punting | Free Period | Graduation Ceremony | |||
| Dinner in College | Dinner in College | Traditional Oxbridge Formal Dinner | Dinner in College | Gala Dinner | Free period for those attending 4-week course. | ||
| Eve | Dinner in College | Free period | Guest Speaker | Cake & Canvas | Talent Show | Final Party Night! |
Each student takes home a certificate of attendance, along with a full report card written by the Course Director and tutors. This includes an assessment of your progress and achievement, as well as suggestions for consolidation and further studies. We can send a copy of the certificate and report card to your school.
If you would like to be awarded credit for attending the courses we must liaise with your school to satisfy its criteria and arrange the credit before you arrive in the UK. We can communicate directly with your school to ensure that the subject material and delivery fit with specific requirements. If you wish to receive a credit transfer, you should consult your school guidance counsellor in the first instance, then make this clear when making your course application.
The course content and teaching approach give an excellent foretaste of college-level study, increasing confidence and helping you to adapt more successfully to the more independent and self-motivated learning style required in Higher Education. An academic summer programme taken in a prestigious university is an impressive addition to your college application, making a significant difference in the competitive selection process.
Increasing numbers of international students wish to apply to a British university. Undergraduate courses at good UK universities attract kudos world-wide and fees are competitive when compared to (for example) US colleges. Applications are centralised through the UCAS system. We can assist with making applications to universities in the UK. Please contact us if you would like further information about entrance requirement and the application process.
A popular feature of the Academic Insights course is its well-organised and lively social and activities programme, which allows you to make friends with other young students from around the world, and provides a healthy balance to the academic work.
The social programme includes two excursions, usually a guided tour around central London and a visit to Oxford or Cambridge, depending on which is the course location. In Toronto there is a visit to the Niagara Falls. Students also play on-site games, quizzes, and sports and take part in other activities most afternoons after lessons.
Course highlights include three formal meals at different colleges at each centre, giving you the opportunity to dress up and experience dining in a formal historic setting, just like an Oxbridge undergraduate!
28 June – 11 July, 12 – 25 July, 26 July – 8 August
5 – 18 July, 12 – 25 July, 19 July – 1 August, 26 July – 8 August, 2 – 15 August
12 – 25 July, 26 July – 8 August
Cost for two week course – £6,995
5 – 18 July, 19 July – 1 August, 2 – 15 August
5 – 18 July, 19 July – 1 August, 2 – 15 August
Cost for two week course – £6,995
28 June – 11 July, 12 – 25 July
Cost for two week course – £6,995
5 – 18 July, 19 July – 1 August
Cost for two week course – £5,495
Please use our Courses Hub for further details on specific courses, dates and locations.
Email us now at contact@campusoxford.com
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