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{{short description|Universities of Oxford and Cambridge}}
{{other uses|Oxbridge (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Uxbridge}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
[[File:Arms of Oxbridge.svg|thumb|Arms of the [[University of Cambridge]] (left) and the [[University of Oxford]] (right)]]
'''Oxbridge''' is a [[portmanteau]] of the [[University of Oxford|universities of Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the [[United Kingdom]]. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to describe characteristics reminiscent of them, often with implications of superior social or intellectual status or [[elitism]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Oxbridge|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/135559 | website=oed.com|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|quote=Originally: a fictional university, esp. regarded as a composite of Oxford and Cambridge. Subsequently also (now esp.): the universities of Oxford and Cambridge regarded together, esp. in contrast to other British universities. ''adj'' Of, relating to, characteristic of, or reminiscent of Oxbridge (freq. with implication of superior social or intellectual status |edition = 3rd |year=2005}}</ref>

==Origins==
Although both universities were founded more than eight centuries ago, the term ''Oxbridge'' is relatively recent. In [[William Makepeace Thackeray]]'s novel ''[[Pendennis]]'', published in 1850, the main character attends the fictional [[List of fictional Oxbridge colleges|Boniface College, Oxbridge]]. According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the first recorded use of the word was by [[Virginia Woolf]], who, citing [[William Makepeace Thackeray]], referenced it in her 1929 extended essay ''[[A Room of One's Own]]''.  The term was used in the ''[[Times Educational Supplement]]'' in 1957,<ref>{{cite news |author=G.D. Worswick |title=The anatomy of Oxbridge |work=[[Times Educational Supplement]] |date=3 May 1957}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=G.D. Worswick |title=Men's Awards at Oxbridge |work=Times Educational Supplement |date=6 June 1958}}</ref> and the following year in ''Universities Quarterly''.<ref>{{cite journal |title=British Universities and Intellectual Life |author=[[A. H. Halsey]] |page=144 |journal=Universities Quarterly |year=1958 |volume=12 |issue=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3cuAAAAIAAJ&q=Oxbridge |access-date=22 March 2009 |publisher=Turnstile Press}}</ref>

When expanded, the universities are almost always referred to as "Oxford and Cambridge", the order in which they were founded. A notable exception is Tokyo's ''Cambridge and Oxford Society''; this probably arises from the fact that the Cambridge Club was founded there first, and also had more members than its Oxford counterpart when they amalgamated in 1905.<ref>{{cite web |author=Giro Koike |title=Why The "Cambridge & Oxford Society"? |url=http://www.camford.org/Whycamford.htm |date=5 April 1995 |access-date=8 September 2008}}</ref>

==Meaning==
[[File:Percentage of state-school students at Oxford and Cambridge.png|thumb|Percentage of [[state school]] students at [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00616/SN00616.pdf |title=Oxbridge 'Elitism' |date=9 June 2014|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200203/ldhansrd/vo030605/text/30605w03.htm#30605w03_sbhd2|title=Acceptances to Oxford and Cambridge Universities by previous educational establishment|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom|access-date=7 September 2017|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220081811/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200203/ldhansrd/vo030605/text/30605w03.htm#30605w03_sbhd2|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
[[File:Club_house_flags.JPG|thumb|[[Oxford and Cambridge Club]]]]
In addition to being a collective term, ''Oxbridge'' is often used as shorthand for characteristics the two institutions share:

*They are the two [[List of oldest universities in continuous operation|oldest universities in continuous operation]] in the UK. Both were founded more than 800 years ago,<ref name=oxfordhistory>{{cite web|title=A brief history of the University |url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/introducing_oxford/a_brief_history_of_the_university/index.html |access-date=2008-03-29 |website=ox.ac.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411014607/http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/introducing_oxford/a_brief_history_of_the_university/index.html |archive-date=11 April 2008}}</ref><ref name=cambridgehistory>{{cite web | title=A Brief History&nbsp;– Early Records | url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/history/records.html | access-date =2008-06-27|website=cam.ac.uk}}</ref> and remained England's only universities until the 19th century. This duopoly was actively protected, with both universities until the 1820s requiring their graduates to swear not to teach at any other universities in England, and lobbying royalty to close down establishments at [[University of Northampton (13th century)|Northampton]], [[University of Stamford|Stamford]] and [[New College, Durham (17th century)|Durham]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/medieval-university-monopoly|title=The Medieval University Monopoly|first=William|last=Whyte|authorlink=William Whyte (historian)|work=History Today|date=7 March 2018}}</ref> Between them, they have educated a large number of Britain's most prominent scientists, writers, and politicians, as well as noted figures in many other fields.<ref name="guardian_20080316_1">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/mar/16/highereducation.news |title=Education: It's the clever way to power&nbsp;– Part 1 |last=Cadwalladr |first=Carole |author-link=Carole Cadwalladr |work=The Guardian |date=16 March 2008 |access-date=2009-03-22 |location=London}}</ref><ref name="guardian_20080316_2">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/mar/16/highereducation.careers |title=Education: It's the clever way to power&nbsp;– Part 2 |last=Cadwalladr |first=Carole |author-link=Carole Cadwalladr |work=The Guardian|date=16 March 2008 |access-date=2009-03-22 | location=London}}</ref>
*Each has a similar [[collegiate university|collegiate structure]], whereby the university is a cooperative of its constituent colleges, which are responsible for [[Tutorial system|supervisions/tutorials]] (the principal undergraduate teaching method, unique to Oxbridge), accommodation and pastoral care.
*{{Multiple image
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}}They have established similar institutions and facilities such as leading publishing houses ([[Oxford University Press]] and [[Cambridge University Press]]), botanical gardens ([[University of Oxford Botanic Garden]] and [[Cambridge University Botanic Garden]]), museums (the [[Ashmolean Museum|Ashmolean]] and the [[Fitzwilliam Museum|Fitzwilliam]]), [[national library|legal deposit libraries]] (the [[Bodleian Library|Bodleian]] and the [[Cambridge University Library]]), [[debate|debating]] societies (the [[Oxford Union]] and the [[Cambridge Union]]), and notable comedy groups ([[The Oxford Revue]] and [[Footlights|The Cambridge Footlights]]). {{Multiple images
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*[[Oxford–Cambridge rivalry|Rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge]] also has a long history, dating back to around 1209, when Cambridge was founded by scholars taking refuge from hostile Oxford townsmen,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/history/records.html |title=A Brief History: Early records |website=[[University of Cambridge]] |access-date=2009-03-22}}</ref> and celebrated to this day in [[List of British and Irish varsity matches|varsity match]]es such as [[The Boat Race]].
*They are usually the top-scoring institutions in cross-subject UK university rankings,<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622120258/http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 June 2008 |title=University Rankings League Table 2009 |access-date=2009-02-04 |work=Good University Guide |publisher= Times Online | location=London | first=Roland | last=Watson}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://extras.timesonline.co.uk/stug/universityguide.php |title=University Rankings League Table |access-date=2009-02-04 |work=The Sunday Times University Guide |publisher=Times Online |location=London |archive-date=31 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131201408/http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/stug/universityguide.php |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6524 |title=League table of UK universities |access-date=2009-02-04 |work=The Complete University Guide |author=Bernard Kingston |date=28 April 2008 }}</ref> so they are targeted by ambitious pupils, parents and schools. Entrance is extremely competitive and some schools promote themselves based on the achievement Oxbridge offers. Combined, the two universities award over one-sixth of all English full-time research doctorates.<ref>{{cite web |title = Research degree qualification rates |date= July 2010 |url = http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2010/10_21/#exec |publisher = [[Higher Education Funding Council for England]] }}</ref>
*Oxford and Cambridge have common approaches to [[University and college admissions#Undergraduate entry 2|undergraduate admissions]]. Until the mid-1980s, entry was typically by sitting special entrance [[exams]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ms8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA202 |page=202 |title=Life in Public Schools |last=Walford |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-416-37180-2 |access-date=2009-02-02 |first=Geoffrey}}</ref> Applications must be made at least three months earlier than to other UK universities (the deadline for applications to Oxbridge is mid-October whereas the deadline for all other universities, apart from applicants for medicine, is in January).<ref>{{cite web|title=UCAS Students: Important dates for your diary |quote=15 October 2008 Last date for receipt of applications to Oxford University, University of Cambridge and courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science or veterinary medicine. |url=http://www.ucas.com/students/importantdates |access-date=2009-02-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201114118/http://ucas.com/students/importantdates |archive-date=1 February 2009 }}</ref> Additionally, candidates may not apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year,<ref>{{cite web|title=UCAS Students FAQs: Oxford or Cambridge |quote=Is it possible to apply to both Oxford University and the University of Cambridge? |url=http://www.ucas.com/students/applying/faqs/eligibility/faq1 |access-date=2009-11-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001013817/http://www.ucas.com/students/applying/faqs/eligibility/faq1 |archive-date=1 October 2009 }}</ref> apart from a few exceptions (e.g. organ scholars).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.music.ox.ac.uk/assets/files/Chor_Org_Downloads/OrgAwards2009.pdf |quote=It is possible for a candidate to enter the comparable competition at Cambridge which is scheduled at the same time of year. |title=Organ Awards Information for Prospective Candidates |publisher=Faculty of Music, [[University of Oxford]] |access-date=2009-03-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822114305/http://www.music.ox.ac.uk/assets/files/Chor_Org_Downloads/OrgAwards2009.pdf |archive-date=22 August 2012 }}</ref> Most candidates achieve, or are predicted to achieve, outstanding results in their final school exams, and consequently interviews are usually used to check whether the course is well suited to the applicant's interests and aptitudes,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/publications/interviews.pdf |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827071639/http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/publications/interviews.pdf |archive-date=2010-08-27 |title=Cambridge Interviews: the facts |publisher=University of Cambridge |access-date=2025-09-18}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and to look for evidence of self-motivation, independent thinking, academic potential and ability to learn through the tutorial system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/how_to_apply/interviews/index.html |title=Interviews at Oxford |publisher=University of Oxford |access-date=2009-02-02 |archive-date=28 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128115705/http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/how_to_apply/interviews/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Membership of the [[Oxford and Cambridge Club]] is largely restricted to those who are members of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

==Criticism==
[[File:Eton_College.jpg|thumb|[[Eton College]] is one of a number of schools that send a disproportionately large percentage of students to Oxbridge.<ref>{{cite web|date=2018-12-07|title=Eton and Westminster among eight schools dominating Oxbridge|url=http://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/dec/07/eton-and-westminster-among-eight-schools-dominating-oxbridge|access-date=2021-12-15|website=The Guardian}}</ref>]]
The word ''Oxbridge'' may also be used pejoratively: as a descriptor of [[social class]] (referring to the professional classes who dominated the intake of both universities at the beginning of the twentieth century),<ref>{{cite book |author=Robert David Anderson |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-820660-6 |title=European universities from the Enlightenment to 1914 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sf6NeT3045IC&pg=PA135 |page=135 |access-date=2009-03-22}}</ref> as shorthand for an [[Elite#Educational elite|elite]] that "continues to dominate Britain's political and cultural establishment"<ref name="guardian_20080316_1" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Oxbridge Blues|newspaper=The Guardian|url=http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/carole_cadwalladr/2008/03/oxbridge_blues.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318144010/http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/carole_cadwalladr/2008/03/oxbridge_blues.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 March 2008|last=Cadwalladr |first=Carole |author-link=Carole Cadwalladr|date=16 March 2008}}</ref> and a parental attitude that "continues to see UK higher education through an Oxbridge prism",<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2004/jan/20/oxbridgeandelitism.schools |title=Down but not out |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |author=Eric Thomas |author-link=Eric Thomas (academic) |date=20 January 2004 |access-date=2009-08-28 | location=London}}</ref> or to describe a "pressure-cooker" culture that attracts and then fails to support overachievers "who are vulnerable to a kind of self-inflicted stress that can all too often become unbearable"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/elizabeth-davies-the-overpressured-hothouse-that-is-oxbridge-437155.html |work=[[The Independent]] |title=The over-pressured hothouse that is Oxbridge |quote=Two recent deaths have brought the issue of Oxbridge students' mental health back to the surface |date=21 February 2007 |access-date=2009-02-02 |author=Elizabeth Davies |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207064542/http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/elizabeth-davies-the-overpressured-hothouse-that-is-oxbridge-437155.html |archive-date=7 February 2009}}</ref> and high-flying state school students who find "coping with the workload very difficult in terms of balancing work and life" and "feel socially out of [their] depth".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_/ai_n17191156 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207084117/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200612/ai_n17191156/pg_1 |archive-date=7 February 2009 |magazine=[[The Spectator]] |date=2 December 2006 |author=Charlie Boss |title=Why so many state school pupils drop out of Oxbridge |access-date=2024-01-20 |via=[[BNET|Bnet Business Network]] }}{{void|Fabrickator|comment|this is best available version on wayback, at least the link to the second portion of the article works}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The [[Sutton Trust]] maintains that the [[University of Oxford]] and the [[University of Cambridge]] "recruit" disproportionately from eight schools ([[Westminster School]], [[Eton College]], [[Hills Road Sixth Form College]], [[St Paul's School, London|St Paul's School]], [[Peter Symonds College]], [[St Paul's Girls' School]], [[King's College School]], and [[Magdalen College School, Oxford|Magdalen College School]]).<ref>{{cite news|date=2018-12-07|title=Oxbridge 'over-recruits from eight schools'|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46470838|access-date=2020-10-24}}</ref> They examined published admissions data from 2015 to 2017 and found that, out of the 19,851 places during the three years, the eight schools accounted for 1,310, whereas 2,900 other schools with historically few admissions to Oxbridge accounted for 1,220.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46470838|title=Oxbridge 'over-recruits from eight schools'|publisher=[[BBC News]]|first=Sean |last=Coughlan|year=2018 |access-date=1 March 2009}}</ref>

==Related terms <span class="anchor" id="Camford"></span>==
Other portmanteaus have been coined that extend the term ''Oxbridge'', with different degrees of recognition:

The term ''Loxbridge''<ref name=talkscam>{{cite web|author=Anon|year=2018|url=http://talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/98671|website=talks.cam.ac.uk|title=The Loxbridge Triangle: Integrating the East-West Arch into the London Mega-region|publisher=University of Cambridge}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/OC340952|publisher=[[Companies House]]|location=London|website=companieshouse.gov.uk|title=Loxbridge Limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Loxbridge tutoring|website=loxbridge.com|url=http://www.loxbridge.com|access-date=21 January 2021|archive-date=10 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810081110/http://www.loxbridge.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=loxbridge>{{cite journal | author=Morgan, K. J. | title= The research assessment exercise in English universities, 2001 | journal=Higher Education | volume=48 | pages=461&ndash;482 | year=2004 | doi= 10.1023/B:HIGH.0000046717.11717.06 | issue=4|jstor= 4151567| s2cid= 145505001}}</ref> is also used referring to the [[Golden triangle (universities)|golden triangle]] of London, Oxford, and Cambridge. It was also adopted as the name of the [[Ancient history|Ancient History]] conference now known as ''AMPAH''.<ref name="AMPAH">{{cite web | title=AMPAH 2003: Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient History (formerly also known as LOxBridge) | url=http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/classics/postgraduate/ampah/ | access-date=2008-04-13 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711222341/http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/classics/postgraduate/ampah/ | archive-date=11 July 2007 }}</ref>

[[Doxbridge]] is another example of this, referring to [[Durham University|Durham]], Oxford and Cambridge.<ref name="doxbridge3">{{cite web|title=Doxbridge: a chip on our collective shoulders?|url=https://www.palatinate.org.uk/doxbridge-a-chip-on-our-collective-shoulders/|work=Palatinate|date=6 November 2014|access-date=2017-03-10}}</ref><ref name="doxbridge4">{{cite web|title=Debate: Rather be at Oxbridge than Doxbridge?|url=http://thetab.com/uk/cambridge/2012/01/16/rather-be-at-oxbridge-than-doxbridge-3428|publisher=[[The Tab]]|website=thetab.com|date=16 January 2016|access-date=2017-03-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thetab.com/uk/durham/2015/10/16/doxbridge-thing-asked-oxbridge-students-20761|title=Is Doxbridge a thing? We asked Oxbridge students|date=2015-10-16|work=The Tab|access-date=2018-09-19|language=en-GB}}</ref> ''Doxbridge'' was also used for an annual inter-collegiate sports tournament between some of the colleges of Durham, Oxford, Cambridge and [[University of York|York]].<ref name="doxbridge">{{cite web|title=The University Sports Tour for Easter 2008 |url=http://www.doxbridge.co.uk/index.html |access-date=2008-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402051845/http://www.doxbridge.co.uk/index.html |archive-date=2 April 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Woxbridge'' is the name of the annual conference between the business schools of [[University of Warwick|Warwick]], Oxford and Cambridge.<ref>{{cite web|title=Woxbridge 2011|url=http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/conf/woxbridge2011/|work=Conference Website}}</ref>

When the [[University of St Andrews]] topped the 2023 UK universities ranking in ''[[The Guardian]]'', the top three institutions were labelled ''Stoxbridge'' to reflect the new order.<ref name="stoxbridge">{{cite web|title=Forget Oxbridge: St Andrews knocks top universities off perch|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/sep/24/stoxbridge-st-andrews-overtakes-oxford-cambridge-guardian-university-guide|work=The Guardian|access-date=2022-12-09|date=2022-09-24}}</ref>

Thackeray's ''[[Pendennis]]'', which introduced the term ''Oxbridge'', also introduced ''Camford'' as another combination of the university names &ndash; "he was a Camford man and very nearly got the English Prize Poem" &ndash; but this term has never achieved the same degree of usage as ''Oxbridge''. Camford is, however, used as the name of a fictional university city in the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story ''[[The Adventure of the Creeping Man]]'' (1923).

== See also ==
* [[Armorial of British universities]]
* [[Golden triangle (universities)|Golden triangle]], sometimes referred to as Loxbridge: an unofficial grouping of Oxford, Cambridge and certain elite universities in London
* [[Ivy League]], a grouping of eight elite universities in the United States
* [[Oxford–Cambridge rivalry]]
* [[Russell Group]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{wiktionary|Oxbridge}}
{{University associations and groupings in the United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Oxbridge| ]]
[[Category:Academic culture]]
[[Category:Colloquial terms for groups of universities and colleges]]
[[Category:Culture of England]]
[[Category:Terminology of the University of Cambridge]]
[[Category:Terminology of the University of Oxford]]