Intellectual challenge and curricular flexibility are among the features that set the Williams-Exeter Programme apart from other study abroad options available to Williams juniors. Students are encouraged to pursue a course of study during their year at Oxford that reflects the strength of the University’s offerings. As they select areas of focus for tutorial work, students have the opportunity to explore a variety of fields for which Oxford is particularly noted such as English literature, history, philosophy, mathematics, sciences, politics, classics, and theology. Over the course of three terms, students are required to enroll in five or six full tutorial courses. Course work consists of individual or small group meetings, occasional lectures, extensive readings, the regular writing and defense of essays, and the completion of term exams.
The tutorials taken at Oxford replace the regular eight courses and one Winter Study course of a normal academic year at Williams, and, further separating Williams-Exeter from other study away programs, are incorporated into the calculation of a student’s grade-point average. Tutorials can also be used to fulfill distribution and major requirements. The resident director of the Programme, a member of the Williams faculty who resides at the WEPO campus and serves as academic and personal advisor to students, can offer assistance in course selection and help with individual considerations.
Apart from the normal course of study that includes tutorials and occasional lectures, students also have the opportunity to supplement their course of study with many resources that only Oxford can offer: guest lectures by academics who are world-renowned experts in their fields, talks at the Oxford Union by everyone from famous comedians to presidents and prime ministers, and much more.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Office of Global Education and Study Away, the current WEPO director, or alumni of the program. Please, however, do not contact or approach Oxford faculty or graduate students.
WEPO Tutorial Information for 2024-2025 – information about the programme, the tutorial system, grades and credit.
For more information on choosing tutorials:
How to Make Preliminary Tutorial Choices for WEPO for 2024-2025
Thinking About Tutorials and Making Wise Tutorial Decisions for 2024-2025
SAMPLE TUTORIALS
- Archaeology: Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England c. 600-750
- Art History: English Architecture 1660-1720
- Biology: Cancer Immunology
- Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
- Classics: Ovid
- Computer Science: Computational Linguistics
- Economics: Development of the World Economy since 1800
- Economics: Game Theory
- English: 20th Century Novel
- English: English Literature 1832-1900
- English: History, Theory, and Use of the English Language
- English: Shakespeare
- Geography: Geopolitics in the Margins
- History: The Crusades
- History: History of Global Capitalism
- History: War and Society in Britain and Europe 1650-1815
- Internet Studies: Social Media and Network Analysis
- Law: International Public Law
- Law: Medical Law and Ethics
- Mathematics: Galois Theory
- Mathematics: Number Theory
- Mathematics: Philosophy of Maths
- Music: Twentieth Century English Opera
- Philosophy: Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Criticism
- Philosophy: Frege, Russell and Wittgenstein
- Politics: International Relations in the Era of the Cold War
- Politics: Modern British Politics
- Psychology: Social Psychology
- Theology: Christian Moral Reasoning