Oxford vs UCL, KCL, LSE (History and Politics/IR)

Hello! I’m wondering what the differences are between KCL and LSE for History and International Relations BA, Oxford for History and Politics, and UCL for History BA

Are there different teaching methods across these schools? How are schedules usually structured (how many tutorials vs lectures vs self-study per week)?

Additionally, I understand that tutorials at Oxford are different than the other London Unis mentioned above. Other than having less students, what are other key differences between Oxford tutorials compared with KCL/UCL/LSE? Are Oxford tutorials mainly to get feedback from your essays while tutorials at other Russell Group unis are to go over material from the lectures?

Thank you!

Reply 1

Stiffy Byng

Oxford humanities subjects proceed by directed self-instruction. Lectures are less important than library time. Some humanities students attend no lectures at all (they are optional). Reading is the main thing. Oxford undergraduates usually write two to four essays a fortnight. The Oxford tutorial is distinctly different from the teaching methods used at most other UK universities. The tutorial is a discussion between the tutor and one or two students about the essay/s written by the student/s. My own tutor once described the tutorial as "intellectual single combat". A good tutorial is challenging, and fun. There are usually one or two tutorials each week.