Somerville College

Somerville College Somerville was founded in 1879 to give women, at that time excluded from membership of the University, the chance to benefit from an Oxford education.

Come to Somerville and learn to change the world 🌍 Breaking down barriers to learning since 1879 đŸ‘©â€đŸŽ“ One of the first University Colleges of Sanctuary 🧡 Home to the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development. Today the College is home to around 400 undergraduates and 100 graduate students, both male and female. It is a friendly, vibrant, diverse community that fosters a pioneering spirit.

Many happy returns to Bletchley Park codebreaker Patricia Owtram (1951, BLitt English) who turns 103 today! Pat's CV is ...
19/06/2026

Many happy returns to Bletchley Park codebreaker Patricia Owtram (1951, BLitt English) who turns 103 today! Pat's CV is quite extraordinary: she received the LĂ©gion d'Honneur for her work manning covert listening stations on the South Coast during World War Two, helped devise the format of 'University Challenge' and 'The Sky at Night', and recently won a 7 decade-long battle to have the authorship of her plagiarised BLitt thesis recognised. She is also, by her own estimation, "the only respectable old lady in Chiswick who knows how to use a Sten gun." Happy birthday, Pat! https://issuu.com/somervillecollege/docs/somerville_magazine_2023_-_issuu/12

For Refugee Week, we thought we'd reshare the Behind the Lines episode recorded at Somerville in March. Two of our Sanct...
17/06/2026

For Refugee Week, we thought we'd reshare the Behind the Lines episode recorded at Somerville in March. Two of our Sanctuary Scholars, Hadeel Abdelseid and Nikita Vorobiov, alongside Rhodes scholar Sonita Alizadeh, were in conversation with Arthur Snell, discussing resistance, refuge, and human rights. The episode includes Nikita discussing the limited options available for people living in an authoritarian state, Hadeel describing the determination of young children supporting each other in Sudan, and Sonita encouraging us all to speak up for those who have had their voices taken from them. Listen here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ZPmKTZ2qQ19Fx9DWzWT9L

Somerville has previously marked Refugee Week with celebrations, lectures and film screenings. This year, something new ...
15/06/2026

Somerville has previously marked Refugee Week with celebrations, lectures and film screenings. This year, something new is joining the mix, as a Somervillian artist Julia Hall (1992, Modern History), debuts a new piece celebrating refugee women at the Ashmolean Museum. The piece, titled, ‘No One Has an Umbrella Above Their Head’, shares the story of Nuha Abdo, a sociologist from Syria, who arrived in Oxford in 2016, and set up the social enterprise Damascus Rose Kitchen. Read more: https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/news/somervillian-artist-installs-new-work-at-ashmolean-for-refugee-week/

The memorial service for our Honorary Fellow and alumna, Professor Dame Averil Cameron (1940–2026) takes place today at ...
12/06/2026

The memorial service for our Honorary Fellow and alumna, Professor Dame Averil Cameron (1940–2026) takes place today at Keble College. To mark this occasion, we thought we'd share the Last Word episode which celebrates her life and work. We recommend giving it a listen, to find out more about how Dame Averil re-shaped our understanding of the Byzantine empire, and to hear the tribute from her friend, Professor Mary Beard.
https://buff.ly/GQ0td3S

📣 Calling all New York alumni! 📣Somerville principal Catherine Royle (1982, PPE) and Development Director Sara Kalim (19...
09/06/2026

📣 Calling all New York alumni! 📣

Somerville principal Catherine Royle (1982, PPE) and Development Director Sara Kalim (1990, Lit. Hum.) will be in your city later this month and holding an informal alumni drinks on Wednesday 24th June, 6.00-8.30 pm.

If you would like to attend, please email [email protected]. We very much hope you can join us!

Somerville College Boat Club did fantastically at this year’s Summer VIIIs, getting the most bumps cumulatively of any c...
09/06/2026

Somerville College Boat Club did fantastically at this year’s Summer VIIIs, getting the most bumps cumulatively of any college! Whilst unfortunately W1’s race on the final day was klaxoned, foiling their blades campaign, we still managed an incredible 17 bumps across the five Somerville teams competing.

Photo credits to Roger Close at Oxford Clarion - many thanks! Plus a final photo from Somerville’s own Jackie Yip. You can see more of the Clarion's Summer VIIIs photos here: https://oxfordclarion.uk/summer-eights/

We’re very proud that Somerville Skills Hub has been shortlisted for the Support for Students Award in this year’s Vice-...
04/06/2026

We’re very proud that Somerville Skills Hub has been shortlisted for the Support for Students Award in this year’s Vice-Chancellor’s Awards. Dr Claire Cockcroft, along with Dr Fergus Cooper (left) and Dr Ulrik Lyngs (right), attended the Awards Showcase at the Schwarzman Centre on Tuesday, to present the work that Skills Hub does to connect students with academically enriching opportunities, alumni and internships, develop skills, and make informed decisions about their careers.

Our SRF Prof. Patricia Kingori has been shortlisted for the Making a Difference Globally Award, with her project After the End, a multi-site long-term research project exploring the ‘ends’ of global health crises and interventions for the populations affected by them. We wish both teams the best of luck at today's awards ceremony.

You need something pretty special to persuade Somervillians of every generation from the 1970s to the present day to mee...
03/06/2026

You need something pretty special to persuade Somervillians of every generation from the 1970s to the present day to meet up on a sweltering summer night in central London. Fortunately, the new Lightroom London show ‘David Bowie: You’re Not Alone’ had magic to spare. We are deeply grateful to Tommy Wide (2003, Classics and Oriental Studies) and everyone at Lightroom London for their generosity in hosting us at this amazing immersive journey through Bowie’s mind and some of his deepest cuts!

We are proud to announce the winners of this year’s Pat Harris Spirit of Somerville Award: Reuben Smith (2023, Chemistry...
21/05/2026

We are proud to announce the winners of this year’s Pat Harris Spirit of Somerville Award: Reuben Smith (2023, Chemistry) and Ishani Mookherjee (2022, Law). This award was established in memory of our long-serving lodge porter, Pat Harris, to recognise current students who embody the spirit of Somerville. The award was first set up in 2018 by Aaron Maniam (1998, PPE), who was an undergraduate during Pat’s time at the College. Read more about this year’s winners: https://buff.ly/Tm7VSBI

Somerville is delighted to announce that the Grammy-award winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre will be our Music...
19/05/2026

Somerville is delighted to announce that the Grammy-award winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre will be our Musician in Residence next academic year. The accompanying event programme will begin in October 2026, with a special performance of Eric’s work Eternity in an Hour, performed by The Choir of Somerville College, Oxford and conducted by Eric himself. The residency will also include a series of workshops and talks, as well as a special Choral Contemplation on Sunday 17th January. Find out more: https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/news/grammy-award-winning-composer-eric-whitacre-to-be-somerville-musician-in-residence/

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