Scholars' Semester in Oxford

GlobalEd (formerly BestSemester) proudly offers several off-campus and study abroad programs around the world through the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). The CCCU is a higher education association of 179 intentionally Christ-centered institutions around the world.

The Scholars’ Semester in Oxford (SSO) is specifically designed for students seeking an academically rigorous and robust experience.

Program Overview

As official "Registered Visiting Students" of Oxford University, students study within Oxford’s acclaimed tutorial pedagogy to receive weekly, one-on-one instruction from a faculty comprised of widely-published authors, historians, former international ambassadors and other celebrated scholars.

Students choose from hundreds of subjects within disciplines such as:

• Classics
• English language and literature
• History
• History of art
• Modern languages (French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Russian)
• Musicology
• Philosophy
• Psychology
• Theology

Students also earn access to Oxford’s 119 libraries, featuring 11 million books and outstanding electronic resources. Scholar's Semester in Oxford (SSO) students enroll in a primary and secondary tutorial, an independent undergraduate research seminar and a British core course featuring frequent travel around the British Isles.

SSO also offers 18 thematic or integrative concentrations including gender studies, film studies, philosophy of science, and more. If choosing to return for a second term, students write a substantial thesis on a topic of their choice. Applicants are generally honors students and must have at minimum a 3.7 GPA to be considered for the programme. SSO students may complete two semesters of the programme.

Students who apply to attend the Scholars Semester in Oxford must complete a Biola application for review by Study Abroad. In addition to the Biola Study Abroad application, students must also complete an application with the program provider,GlobalEd. Students must be accepted by both Biola Study Abroad and the program provider in order to participate in the program.

2024–25 Program Cost (Before Financial Aid)

IMPORTANT:
Students in the Oxford Semester Programme have the option of participating as Associate Member (AM) or Registered Visiting Student (RVS). More information about the difference between these two options can be found here: SCIO AM vs RVS Comparison Chart.

When applying, you will be required to select which student status you'd like to register as.

Students selecting the RVS status will be charged an additional $4,000 (the price difference Oxford charges Biola).

Airfare, meals, passport, travel visa, textbooks, and local transportation are not included in the program cost. Students will live in shared apartments for the semester. Students accepted to participate in the program will be billed the Program Cost as seen above. This cost is before financial aid. For a study abroad financial aid review, please contact The Office of Financial Aid.

Program Dates

Fall 2024: September 6 - December 16
Spring 2025: Dates coming soon

Course Equivalencies

Students will take one (1) selected topics in British Culture course, one (1) Undergraduate Research Seminar course, and two (2) Tutorials from the same or different subjects.

• Selected Topics in British Culture Course Equivalents
• Undergraduate Research Seminar Course Equivalents

• Tutorials
  • Classics Tutorials
  • English Language & Literature Tutorials
  • History Tutorials
  • History of Art Tutorials
  • Modern Languages Tutorials
  • Musicology Tutorials
  • Philosophy Tutorials
  • Psychology Tutorials
  • Theology Tutorials

Students looking to take one of the following tutorials will need to meet with a Study Abroad advisor for next steps:

• Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Earth Sciences
• Engineering
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Physics