The Summer School described here is offered by St Hugh's College, one of the more than forty Colleges and Permanent Private Halls that go to make up University of Oxford. Founded in 1886 by a great-niece of the poet William Wordsworth, St Hugh's College is situated on a fourteen-acre "island site" in fashionable North Oxford one mile north of the city centre. Faculty and students of St Hugh's enjoy one of the loveliest College gardens in Oxford.

Participating students live and dine "in College" exactly as University of Oxford students live and dine in their respective colleges throughout the University. They receive academic instruction from members of the University in the same ways students at the University of Oxford have done for centuries. The resulting experience is therefore very similar to that of students pursuing an undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford.

The theme of the Summer School is an exploration of the view that “Oxford is not a place – it is an idea.” All students participate in this core course but concentrate their studies in a particular, approved academic discipline (e.g. art/architecture, biology, computer science, economics, history, law, literature, medicene, music, philosophy, physics, politics, psychology, sociology).

Each student will be provided prior to the Summer School with a Programme Notebook containing essential information about the Summer School. It is expected that students will familiarize themselves with the contents of the Programme Notebook prior to the beginning of the Summer School.

Students attend lectures by members of the University of Oxford. Lecture topics include but are not limited to art/architecture, economics, history, law, literature, music, philosophy, political science and the history of science. Students will receive three weekly tutorials in the specific academic discipline they have been approved to study from members of the University of Oxford.

Academic work is reinforced by related activities, including full-day excursions to such places as for example Gloucester, Old Sarum, Salisbury and Tintern Abbey.

Upon successful completion of the programme, each student receives a Certificate of Participation. Students who demonstrate superior performance in their academic work may be invited to work toward a Certificate of Completion and recommendation from St Hugh's College for three semester hours of university credit. To earn a Certificate of Completion and recommendation for university credit, a student must demonstrate superior academic performance in both written and oral work.

While the Summer School is academically rigorous, there is ample free time to engage in a wide range of social and recreational activities.