London University

London University was established in 1836 by union of two colleges. Later many other colleges, schools and institutes were added. Now it is the largest University in Britain.

Its function is to give the highest type of education and training to its students, to make them able to carry out scientific work. A University graduate leaves with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, etc. Later he may continue to take the Master's Degree by thesis or research and if he becomes a good specialist in the subject, the Degree of Doctor is open to him. London University provides instructions mainly by means of lectures while the students of extra-mural department come to London only to sit for their examina­tions.

The University gives people not studying at the University the opportunity of taking the degree examinations. The University doesn't provide any tuition for such students, they study for the examinations on their own, or take correspondence courses, or have private lessons.

It is a federation of colleges, each largely independent. There is a large department of Extra-Mural Studies, four faculties of Theology, thirteen of Arts, thirty-one of Medicine, ten of Science. There are ten "Institutes" of which the Institute of Education is one of the biggest. The Institute of Education itself is a complex organization. University building and hostels are scattered the length and breadth of London. Such names as A. E. Housman, a philologist and poet, A.L. Whitehead, a mathematician, Michael Faraday, a physicist, I. Alex Fleming, a famous bacteriologist, are associated with the University of London.

Oxford University

University College was founded in 1249. The tutorial system is one of the ways in which Oxford University differs from all the other English Universities. Every student has a tutor and as soon as you come to Oxford one of the first thing you have to do is to go and see your tutor. He, more or less, plans your work, gives you a list of books to read and gives work for you to do (for example an essay to write). Each week you go to see him, may be with two or three other students and he discusses with you the work that you did last week, criticizes in detail your essays and gives you the next week's work.

As the colleges of Oxford are residential (i.e. the students have to live in one of the University hostels or in a private room) they are smaller than most of the colleges of other Universities. The students wear black gowns and caps. Without a gown a student is not allowed to come to his tutor to have dinner in the college dining-hall or attend a lecture. When they are taking examinations they have to wear a black suit and a white bow-tie.

The majority of the student body are sons of rich parents as the tuition fee is very high. A person who has taken the lowest degree, a Degree of Bachelor, is called a graduate, while any graduate that continues his studies or research to receive a Degree of Master or Doctor is called a post-graduate. A degree costs a lot at Oxford.