The Summit Oxford program runs during three terms: Michaelmas (September-December), Hilary (January-April), and the shorter Summer (June-August) Term. Studying with Summit Oxford provides you with opportunities to bolster your academic abilities and credentials. The program is comprised of two coordinated elements: a worldview course and Oxford tutorials.

Worldview Course

The worldview course is a rich combination of reading, seminar discussions, lectures, and investigative outreach. Students discover, assess, synthesize, and communicate their findings in oral and written forms, in larger groups and in one-on-one conversations. The bulk of the course runs before or after the Oxford term.

In conjunction with cultural information and advice provided by the Oxford Study Abroad Program (or OSAP, a long-standing Oxford study abroad organization with whom Summit Oxford has partnered), Summit Oxford provides introductions and insights about the religious life of Oxford in particular, and England and Europe more widely.

The worldview course provides discussions of the interpretation of the Bible and other important texts, a variety of worldviews with notable presence in the West (including discussions of origins, texts, populations, etc.), a series of challenging readings (in theology, politics, economics, history, science, culture, etc.), conversations with guest speakers and conference calls with accomplished scholars and authors.

Among other objectives, students will gain, develop, and cultivate:

• abilities to investigate and discover the origins, sources (e.g. documents), and significant convictions of worldviews commonly encounterd in western civilization (e.g. Islam, pseudo-Christian religions);
• knowledge of how these worldviews (or their constituent elements) impact the personal convictions and practices of their adherents, as well as features of culture, such as relationships, philosophy, laws and politics;
• abilities to appreciate how adherents of various worldviews gain and hold their convictions vis-à-vis the Bible and other sources of religious authority (e.g., Qur’an);
• enhanced abilities to interpret texts and assess alternative readings (hermeneutics);
• increased abilities to perceive, investigate and understand worldview convictions of others, and this with a missional perspective and posture;
• increased abilities to convey one’s own worldview convictions with clarity in speech and writing, and that with attention to how these communications (verbal and otherwise) may be perceived by others;
• development of a self-reflective attitude and a willingness to reconsider the content and form of one’s own worldview convictions, especially in conversation with other Christians with somewhat differing convictions.

Studying in Oxford, England, provides students with opportunities for cross-cultural experiences in a context related to their native language. It presents ample occasions to worship with, to encourage, and to be edified by the body of Christ in another country. As a multicultural center, most Oxford churches host internationals (both Christians and non-Christians), providing a trusting and friendly atmosphere for building and cultivating relationships.

Oxford Tutorials

Students enjoy at least two Oxford tutorials—one primary and the other secondary (Summer Term students take a truncated primary tutorial). The primary tutorial occurs weekly, the secondary tutorial fortnightly.

While optional lectures may be attended, the Oxford tutorial is personalized, intensive, and highly instructive. The tutorial requires students to practice scholarship themselves. Tutorial meetings are at least one hour in length, usually focused on an essay the student has produced. Students discuss their investigations at length with their tutors. Tutors may introduce new material, recommend avenues of investigation, challenge students’ perceptions or ambiguities. As developing scholars, students are expected to have informed opinions: to explain, perhaps modify, and certainly defend them. Then students are tasked with another essay and provided with an initial bibliography.

The Oxford essay ranges between five and fifteen pages, depending on the tutor’s demands, the subject at hand, and the aggressiveness of the student. By the end of the term, students have produced ten or twelve such essays, resulting in a significant body of written work and untold pages of research. In short, the Oxford tutorial system is unsurpassed in providing students the chance to discover, engage, and cultivate the habits of scholarship.

Credits and Credit Transfer

It is important to get approval from the study abroad office and/or academic department of your home campus to ensure the credits you earn while studying with Summit Oxford will transfer toward the degree from your home university.  And while the number of credits you earn is entirely at the discretion of your home university, most students receive upwards of 18 American credit hours for Michalemas and Hilary Terms, and 9 credits for the Summer Term.

Upon completion of the Summit Oxford programme, students will be issued a transcript from OSAP detailing completed tutorials and associated grades. This, in combination with a tutorial report (prepared by your Oxford tutor) is, in the vast majority of cases, sufficient evidence for your home university to award credit. To date, OSAP has relationships with over 600 U.S. universities in this regard.

If your home university requires a transcript from an accredited North American institution of higher education, this is available through the University of the Pacific (CA), with whom OSAP has worked closely for many years. OSAP is able to enroll Summit Oxford students as overseas students of the University of the Pacific and grant successful students an accredited U.S. transcript which will normally be accepted for credit transfer by other U.S. universities. Students must apply to the University of the Pacific before they come to Oxford by letting Summit Oxford know that they would like this U.S. transcript.