St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the

constituent colleges A collegiate university is a university where functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the Col ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 undergraduate students, 385 graduate students and 37 visiting students as of December 2020, making it one of the largest colleges in either Oxford or

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Designed by Danish architect

Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects, Hon. FAIA (; 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to functionalism (architec ...

, the college was built in an egalitarian architectural style that maximises the number of rooms for academically qualified students who lack the financial resources to study at Oxford. In September 2023, access to areas of the college was restricted due to safety concerns around the use of

reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) also referred to as autoclaved cellular concrete (ACC) or simply autoclaved concrete is a lightweight, Prefabrication, prefabricated concrete building material. Developed in the mid-1920s, it is an alternat ...

(RAAC). The college developed out of the university's St Catherine's Society; it was granted full status as a college in 1962 by the historian

Alan Bullock Alan Louis Charles Bullock, Baron Bullock (13 December 1914 – 2 February 2004) was a British historian. He is best known for his book ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'' (1952), the first comprehensive biography of Adolf Hitler, which influenced m ...

, who became the first master of the college, and later vice-chancellor of the university.

History

St Catherine's College, Oxford traces its origins to 1868. In its first iteration, it was established as a delegacy for ('Scholars enrolled in no college or hall'), by university statute on 11 June 1868. This delegacy, informally known as the "Delegacy for Unattached Students", was created in response to the recommendation of a

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

in 1850, that the university be open to a "larger and poorer" sector of the population. The delegacy, by allowing students to enrol without belonging to a college, would enable less affluent men to gain an Oxford education without the costs of college membership. The delegacy appointed two of its

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

iaries, George Kitchin and George S. Ward, to be known as "Censors", to oversee the education and welfare of the students. Nineteen students matriculated in October 1868 as and were joined throughout the year by another forty, bringing the total number in the first year to 59. Growing quickly, by 1872 the delegacy had admitted 330 students. By 1914, more than 4,000 men had matriculated as non-collegiate students. In 1884, the delegacy was renamed the "Delegacy for Non-Collegiate Students". In its first days, a room in the university's Old Clarendon Building was allocated for the operations of the delegacy, and with gifts of books from several donors, a library for the unattached students was installed there. These accommodations soon proved inadequate and in 1888, the delegacy was moved to a building in High Street next to the

Examination Schools The Examination Schools of the University of Oxford are located at 75–81 High Street, Oxford, High Street, Oxford, England. The building was designed by Thomas Graham Jackson, Sir Thomas Jackson (1835–1924), who also designed several other U ...

. Here the non-collegiate students, as they were known after 1884, had a library in its own dedicated space and two lecture halls. There was an administration office and rooms for the Censors and tutors. Designed by T. G. Jackson, this building is now the

Ruskin School of Art The Ruskin School of Art is the Department of Fine Art at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin School of Art grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later ...

. In 1936, the delegacy moved again, from its outgrown High Street premises to the limestone buildings on St Aldates, south of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

which are now part of the Oxford University's Faculty of Music. By 1956, the society had developed many of the characteristics of an Oxford college and the delegates decided to formalise this change in status by obtaining approval to turn it into a fully residential college within the University of Oxford. After acquiring from

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

on part of Holywell Great Meadow for £57,690, monies were sought from the University Grants Committee who also agreed to supply £250,000 towards the building, and additional funds up to £400,000 for all facilities. By 1960, Alan Bullock raised a further £1,000,000 with assistance from two industrialists, Alan Wilson (whom he met by chance on the ) and Sir

Hugh Beaver Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver, KBE (4 May 1890 – 16 January 1967) was an English-South African civil engineer, industrialist and bureaucrat, who founded the ''Guinness World Records'' (then known as Guinness Book of Records). He was Dire ...

. After a total expenditure of £2.5 million, the college opened in 1962. In 1974, St Catherine's was one of the first men's colleges to admit women as full members, the others being Brasenose, Jesus College,

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

and Wadham. In keeping with its complete history, including its earliest incarnation, the college celebrated its 150th anniversary in the academic year 2018–2019, coinciding with the 2018 Ball 'Continuum'. The 50th anniversary of the establishment of the College itself, as a ''college'', was celebrated in 2012.

College name

In 1931, the delegacy officially acquired the name, "St Catherine's Society", with the current spelling. Variations of ''St Catharine'' having been used by the students for their sporting teams and various clubs since the 1870s, the name was already strongly associated with the delegacy. First forming a social club in April 1869, the students called it the "Clarendon University Club", taking that name from the Old Clarendon Building where the delegacy had been allocated a room. The students soon expanded their organised activities. By 1874 they began a more comprehensive association, which they called the St Club, after its headquarters, the hall where they dined and held meetings. St Catharine's Hall had long been associated with the saint, having been built as a chapel, popularly called St Catherine's Chapel, (though officially "Chapel of Our Lady at Smith Gate"). Although deconsecrated, the 16th-century appellation of "St Catharine's" remained attached to the site throughout its later history. The building's address at the time of the Club's tenancy was 29 Broad Street; it fronted, though, onto

Catte Street Catte Street is a historic street in central Oxford, England. Location Catte Street runs north–south, continuing as Parks Road to the north (beyond a junction with Broad Street and Holywell Street). The street passes along the eastern si ...

, also known as Catherine Street from some point in the late 19th century until 1930—and first recorded as Kattestreete , ''Catte'' in 1402, ''Cate'' or ''Kate'' in the 17th century, and ''Cat'' or ''Catte'' again in the 1800s, the street's name enhancing the association with ''Catherine''. In this way, the college became indirectly associated with the saint,

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...

. Despite the initially accidental relationship, St Catherine is celebrated as the college's patron saint "with a special Catz Night dinner... at the end of which a giant Catherine wheel is lit in the quad". Other elements of this can be seen in the college

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

, which depicts four Catherine wheels, one of St Catherine's attributes. While religious iconography can also be seen today in some of the college's symbols, the college's origins were largely secular.

Buildings

Original buildings

The college is located to the east of central Oxford, on the banks of the

River Cherwell A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

. Its buildings in glass, brick, and concrete, by the Danish architect

, marry modern materials with a traditional Oxford college layout centred on a quadrangle. Jacobsen designed everything, including the furniture, cutlery, lampshades, and the college gardens, down to the choice of fish species for the pond. The original St Catherine's buildings are recognised as one of the world's most distinguished examples of modernist design, described by architectural historian

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

as "a perfect piece of architecture", and said to have been the architect's personal favourite among his own works. Jacobsen's designs for the college have been the subject of various art and design exhibitions. The original college buildings received a Grade I listing in 1993. In 2020, the college gardens, also designed by Jacobsen, were upgraded to the highest level of protection by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

for historical and design interest. Jacobsen's plans for the college did not include a chapel, which is unusual among Oxford colleges: St Cross Church on the corner of Manor Road and

Longwall Street View north along Longwall Street Longwall Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It runs for about 300 metres along the western flank of Magdalen College. A high, imposing 15th century stone wall separates the college from the street a ...

served this purpose before its decommission in 2008. The St Catherine's Christmas carol concert is now held in

Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College (HMC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of the un ...

's chapel. The college has a bell tower, particularly visible since no college building is more than three storeys high. An extra floor was reputedly planned for most accommodation blocks, but due to regulations concerning safe building on marshland, this was removed from the final design. The entrance to the college by the water garden was remodelled by Sir Philip Howell in 1968. St Catherine's has a number of lecture theatres and seminar rooms, a music house, two student computer rooms, a small gym, squash courts, a punt house, a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

bike shed and among the most spacious common rooms in Oxford. There are also additional purpose-built conference facilities with lecture theatres, meeting rooms and bar, music room, and car parking available for non-students. The dining hall, which seats 350 diners, has the largest capacity of any Oxford college. St Catherine's also has a library with over 55,000 volumes, which is used mainly by undergraduates in all the disciplines taught at the college, as well as 14 computer terminals. Law students have additional resources located in the college law library, which is in the Bernard Sunley building. Most tutorials are carried out in college, though some undergraduates may be sent to other colleges. For additional resources, the college is next to the

Social Science Library, Oxford The Bodleian Social Science Library, Oxford (SSL) is the main teaching social sciences lending library at the University of Oxford, England. The library supports taught programmes for both undergraduates and postgraduates, and houses a dedicated ...

and

Faculty of Law, University of Oxford The University of Oxford Faculty of Law is the law school of the University of Oxford. It has a history of over 800 years in the teaching and learning of law. Along with its counterpart at Cambridge, it is unique in its use of personalised Tut ...

, which matriculated students are free to use. The majority of St Catherine's buildings are in the form of staircases that open directly onto the quad(s) outside; these are filled with student rooms and office space. There is little indoor space in the college and St Catherine's favours a minimalist, rather austere environment, though still comfortable. Student rooms are light and spacious, notable for their curtain wall glazing. The Built Environment Trust, and its public face

The Building Centre The Building Centre is a building in central London for venue hire, used to promote innovation in the built environment. It is run by the Built Environment Trust, a charitable body which was formed in 2015 to replace an earlier charity, the Build ...

, in 2021 named the college's buildings as among the 90 most influential UK buildings or public spaces from the last 90 years.

RAAC concrete

In September 2023 following

reviews A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indic ...

of the college site for

(RAAC) it was discovered a number of buildings contained RAAC. This has prompted the temporary closure of many of the communal spaces such as the JCR, Hall, kitchens and library.

Extensions

The college was first expanded in 1983 by

Knud Holscher Knud Helmuth Holscher (born 6 May 1930 in Rødby, Denmark) is a Danish architect and industrial designer. For many years he was a partner in KHR Architects with Svend Axelsson and designed many of their works together. Biography Holscher studie ...

, Jacobsen's assistant. It was also extended by

Stephen Hodder Stephen Hodder (born 1956) is an English architect who won the RIBA's Stirling Prize in 1996. He is also a partner at his own practice Hodder Associates which was founded in 1992 in Manchester. In 2012, Hodder was elected for a two-year term ...

in two phases, the first from 1994 to 1995 and the second from 2002 to 2005. The first phase included 54 student rooms and the second phase included 132 student rooms, a new porters' lodge and four seminar rooms. These new buildings form a second quad called 'New Quad' (in comparison to the Jacobsen-designed 'Old Quad'), which is largely used as second-year student accommodation.

Graduate building

In 2017, Purcell Architects gained planning permission for a further extension at the college. The facilities aimed to resemble Jacobsen's original designs and was built on the college's last available development space. Purcell consulted with

, who constructed the additional buildings on site during the 1994 and 2004 extensions, when designing the centre. The Ainsworth Graduate Centre is named in honor of Roger Ainsworth, the previous Master of the college. Construction started in July 2018, and was completed in 2019. The centre opened in March 2020 and includes seminar rooms and space for academic works. It also expanded graduate accommodation by creating three new staircases, which contain 78 single rooms with en-suite facilities and a new common room. This is in addition to 42 single rooms, with shared bathroom and cooking facilities, in St Catherine's House, which is off-site on Bath Street.

Student life

St Catherine's has one of the largest undergraduate and graduate intakes among Oxford colleges, admitting 215 graduate students in the 2018–2019 academic year. There is a college bar, as well as a Junior Common Room (JCR) and a Middle Common Room (MCR), which was relocated to the Ainsworth Graduate Centre in 2020 (it was previously located in the Bernard Sunley building). The JCR is run by a committee of 25 undergraduate students, led by the President and elected by the rest of the student body through 'hustings', or a general Q&A (question and answer) session. The committee fulfills a wide range of duties, aimed at organising events, such as

Freshers' week Student orientation or new student orientation (often encapsulated into an orientation week, o-week, frosh week, welcome week or freshers' week) is a period before the start of an academic year at a university or tertiary education, tertiary ins ...

, and providing support to the students. Open meetings are held fortnightly, during which people discuss how to improve the JCR. All undergraduate members are automatically members of the JCR, unless they expressly state that they wish not to be. Honorary membership is also rarely extended to others, with one awarded every five years: honorary members include

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

and

Bradley Walsh Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, television presenter, comedian, singer, and former professional footballer. Walsh's acting roles on television include Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004 ...

. The Catz JCR is financially independent from the College, following a financial committee meeting. Similarly, the MCR is composed of graduate students, visiting postgraduate students, fourth-year undergraduate students and mature (over the age of 21) full-time undergraduate students, who also have JCR membership. It is run by a committee led by two co-presidents, which organises several events such as an annual garden party. The MCR also has benefits, such as a separate kitchen and the exclusive use of an enclosed garden. The college celebrates its patron saint each year with a special Catz Night dinner, attended by junior and senior members of the college. Every three years the college also holds a ball, usually off-site due to the problem of securing the college's perimeter sufficiently for insurance purposes. St Catherine's is also known for its more modern approaches, such as by not usually requiring students to wear gowns for dinners and voting to end the tradition of standing when the Master enters the hall at formal dinner, although most students still continue in this practice out of respect. The College also holds fortnightly social events called 'Entz', which are usually themed and hosted in the JCR and bar, and an annual Catz Artz Week which showcases creative talents. The college also has several sport, music and other facilities available on the college site, including squash courts, pool tables, a free gymnasium, a punt house, and theatres. The music house on site is equipped with a grand piano and harpsichord. There are also several clubs and societies available, such as the music society, orchestras, choirs, and subject societies. The dramatic society often performs plays and musicals, including recent adaptations of

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. St Catz has a friendly

college rivalry Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a university or college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry, whic ...

with Magdalen, expressed in sports and in a joke JCR 'declaration of war' in 2013.

Accommodation

The college is able to offer three-year accommodation for students, with all first years on site. Most first and third years live in the Jacobsen-designed 'Old Quad', the original buildings, while the second years live in the 'New Quad', built during the 1995–2005 extensions. There is a kitchen in every corridor, generally shared between eight to ten people. Bathrooms containing four showers and two toilets are shared between groups of ten people in the Old Quad, while every bedroom in the New Quad is en-suite. Rooms are allocated randomly for first year students, while groups of four to six students in second- and third-year ballot together for rooms. All rooms cost the same in rent.

Academic reputation

In 2019, the college ranked 2nd in the

Norrington Table The Norrington Table was an annual ranking of the colleges of the University of Oxford based on a score computed from the proportions of undergraduate students earning each of the various degree classifications based on that year's final examinat ...

, with a score of 77.93% and with 68 out of 145 total Finalists achieving

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

. In 2018, the college ranked 3rd with a score of 78.15% and with around 50% of Finalists achieving first-class honors, climbing from 26th place in 2017 when it had a score of 68.68%.

Scholarships, awards and outreach

The College offers several college prizes and research grants. All College scholarships and prizes are awarded based on academic, social and/or cultural contributions. For instance, the Hart Prize is awarded for the best essay for a historical subject, the Thomas Jefferson Prize is awarded to the North American student who has contributed most to the College, and the Smith Award is awarded for services to drama or music. The College also awards the Wallace Watson Scholarship each year, one of the most prestigious and generous research and travel scholarships at the University of Oxford. The Wallace Watson Scholarship enables undergraduate and graduate students to undertake research fieldwork or remote travel during their time at Oxford. Additionally, the college offers the Emilie Harris Award for those aiming to help or work with the under-privileged communities, the Antony Edwards Bursary for Spanish cultural or language studies, and the Patricia Knapp Travel Award for travel with a medical purpose. The College is also involved in many fully-funded outreach programmes, such as the Catalyst Programme, which is a sustained contact model during which schools may visit the college and outreach staff may provide workshops on applications, picking A-Levels and exploring careers. The purpose of the programme is to increase the success rate of applicants. The College also has ties with Northern Ireland through the Northern Ireland Residential Summer School, which allow Northern Irish students to visit the college and experience life as an Oxford students, while teachers may have a Q&A session with tutors. The College also has partnerships with several other schemes and charities, such as Target Oxbridge, UNIQ and the Pathways Programme.

Rowing

St Catherine's College Boat Club is the rowing club of the college. British Olympic gold medallists Sir

Matthew Pinsent Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent, (; born 10 October 1970) is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals. Since retiring, he has worked as a sports b ...

and

Andrew Triggs Hodge Andrew Triggs Hodge (born 3 March 1979) is a British former rower - a three time Olympic champion and four time world champion. In the British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2023. Education Born in Hal ...

, and silver medallist Colin Smith all rowed for the college.

In popular culture

St Catherine's College has served as a filming location for several films and television series. It featured as 'Lovelace College' in Season 4 of the British crime series '' Endeavour''. The British spy drama ''Chokepoint'' was filmed in locations around the College, such as the SCR and the Bernard Sunley Building. Director SG Smith said it was a good location as the college was "a good fit with the overall aesthetic of the show". In Season 4, episode 6 of ''The Crown'', the Hall at St Catherine's serves as the venue of a state reception in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, Tasmania, attended by Prince Charles and Princess Diana in their 1983 tour of Australia.

Notable alumni

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J. Paul Getty Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was the son of pion ...

, Petrol-industrialist, founder of the Getty Oil Company File:Hans-Paul_Buerkner_-_World_Economic_Forum_Annual_Meeting_2012.jpg,

Hans-Paul Bürkner Hans-Paul Bürkner (born 1952) is a German management consultant, and a managing director, senior partner, and global chair emeritus of the Boston Consulting Group. Bürkner was President & CEO from 2004 to 2012, and was the firm's first European ...

, Chairman Emeritus of the

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Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

, former

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

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John Cornforth Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an AustralianBritish chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme- catalysed reactions, becoming the only Nobel l ...

, awarded the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

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, awarded the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

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, awarded the

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Farooq Leghari Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari (; 29 May 194020 October 2010) was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He was the first Baloch to be elected as President. ...

, former

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, Governor of the

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Paul Wilmott Paul Wilmott (born 8 November 1959) is an English people, English researcher, consultant and lecturer in quantitative finance.Michael Billington, British author and arts critic

Censors, masters and fellows

List of censors

A list of the censors of the Delegacy for Unattached Students, the Delegacy for Non-Collegiate Students and St Catherine's Society. * 1868–1883: George Kitchin * 1868–1881: George Sturton Ward * 1883–1887: William Jackson * 1888–1919: Richard William Massy Pope * 1919–1930: James Bernard Baker * 1930–1952: Victor John Knight Brook * 1952–1962:

List of masters

* 1962–1981:

; first master * 1981–1988: Patrick Nairne * 1988–1994: Brian Smith * 1994–2000:

Raymond Plant, Baron Plant of Highfield Raymond Plant, Baron Plant of Highfield, (born 19 March 1945), is a British Labour peer and academic. Lord Plant was educated at Havelock School in Grimsby, King's College London (BA Philosophy, 1966), and the University of Hull (PhD). He is ...

* 2000–2002: Sir Peter Williams * 2002–2019: Roger Ainsworth * 2019–2020: Peter Battle (pro-master) * 2020–2024:

Kersti Börjars Professor Kersti Börjars (born 1960) is a linguist who was Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford until 2024. Education Börjars was educated in Sweden at Uppsala University (''Filosofie Kandidat''), and then in the Netherlands at the Univers ...

* 2025-:

Jude Kelly Judith "Jude" Pamela Kelly, (born March 1954), is a British theatre director and producer. She is a director of the WOW Foundation, which organises the annual Women of the World Festival, founded in 2010 by Kelly. From 2006 to 2018, she was ...

Notable fellows

List of Christensen Fellows

Christensen Fellowships are awarded to distinguished academic visitors who are members of their national academy – equivalent to the Royal Society and the British Academy in the UK – or likely to attain that standard if at an earlier stage in their academic career. * Söhnke M. Bartram *

Christoph Bode Christoph Bode (born May 13, 1952, in Siegen/North Rhine-Westphalia) is a literary scholar. His fields are British and American literature, comparative literature, literary theory, poetics, and travel writing, but he is mainly known as a romantic ...

* MacDonald P. Jackson * John F. Helliwell * Vijay Mishra *

Gjertrud Schnackenberg Gjertrud Schnackenberg (; born August 27, 1953, in Tacoma, Washington) is an American poet. Life Schnackenberg graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1975. She lectured at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Washington University in St. ...

K. G. Subramanyan Kalpathi Ganpathi "K.G." Subramanyan (5 February 1924 29 June 2016) was an Indian artist. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2012. Life Subramanyan was born in Tamil Brahmin family on 5th February, 1924 in Kuthuparamba in Kerala, India ...

* Reza S. Abhari

List of Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professors

The Chair of Contemporary Theatre, founded through a grant from the Mackintosh Foundation at St Catherine's College in 1990, aims to promote interest in, and the study and practice of, contemporary theatre. The Visiting Professorship is awarded to a new chair on an annual basis. Throughout their tenure, the holder of this chair usually delivers two public lectures, and one, or sometimes more, smaller more intimate student workshops, which are usually conducted at the College. * 2025:

Es Devlin Esmeralda Devlin (; born 24 September 1971) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms. She has received several accolades including a Tony Award ...

* 2023:

Gregory Doran Sir Gregory Doran (born 24 November 1958) is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. ''The Sunday Times'' called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'. Doran was artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...

* 2021:

Adjoa Andoh Adjoa Aiboom Helen Andoh MBE (; born 14 January 1963) is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Lady Danbury in the Netflix Regency romance series ''Bridgerton'', since 2020. Other roles on television include appearances in two s ...

* 2019:

Deborah Warner Deborah Warner (born 12 May 1959) is a British director of theatre and opera, known for her interpretations of the works of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Benjamin Britten, and Henrik Ibsen, and for her collaborations with Irish actress Fiona ...

* 2017: Sir

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

* 2016:

Claude-Michel Schönberg Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 6 July 1944, in Vannes) is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil. Major works include '' La Révolution Fr ...

* 2014:

Simon Russell Beale Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He has been described by ''The Independent'' as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". He has received various accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, three Olivier Awar ...

CBE * 2013: Sir

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

* 2012: Sir Michael Boyd * 2011:

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is an English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and by portraying Sanjeev's grandmoth ...

MBE * 2010: Sir

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has dir ...

CBE * 2009:

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce ''Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen (play), Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy (play), Democracy''. Frayn's novel ...

* 2008:

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. Known for Kevin Spacey on screen and stage, his work on stage and screen, he List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Spacey, has received numerous accolades, including two ...

* 2006: Sir

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

OBE * 2005:

Phyllida Lloyd Phyllida Christian Lloyd, (born 17 June 1957) is an English film and theatre director and producer. Her theatre work includes directing productions at the Royal Court Theatre and Royal National Theatre, and opera director for Opera North and ...

CBE * 2004:

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benjam ...

* 2003: Sir

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...

* 2002:

Stephen Daldry Stephen David Daldry Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway theatre, Broadway and an Olivie ...

CBE * 2001:

John Napier John Napier of Merchiston ( ; Latinisation of names, Latinized as Ioannes Neper; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8 ...

* 2000: Sir

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner ( ; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', '' ...

* 1999: Dame

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Tracy Bond, Teresa di ...

DBE * 1998:

Thelma Holt Thelma Holt (born 4 January 1932) is a British theatre producer and former actress. After a successful career as an actress, in partnership with Charles Marowitz, Holt founded the Open Space Theatre in Tottenham Court Road, London, which bec ...

CBE * 1997: Sir

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Eyre has received numerous accolades including three Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nominations for six BAFTA Awards and two ...

CBE * 1996:

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...

(Lord Attenborough) CBE * 1995:

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

* 1994: Sir

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for the plays '' Equus'' and '' Amadeus'', the latter of which was adapted for the screen by Miloš Forman, with an ...

CBE * 1993:

Michael Codron Sir Michael Victor Codron (born 8 June 1930) is a British theatre producer, known for his productions of the early work of Harold Pinter, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Simon Gray and Tom Stoppard. He has been honoured with a Laurence Olivie ...

CBE * 1992: Sir

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. As of 2025, he has written and produced 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen ...

CBE * 1991: Sir

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

CH CBE * 1990: Stephen Sondheim

Gallery

File:Catzmoonlight2.JPG, A view of the Quadrangle (architecture), quad at night. File:Catz Moat.jpg, A view of the water garden along the west side of the site, toward the small bridge that was part of the original entrance sequence. File:Stcatz East Outside Quad.JPG, A view of the west-side accommodation and water garden. File:St Catherine's College, Oxford - geograph.org.uk - 1289366.jpg, View of west-side accommodation from far-end of college, facing in the direction of the Porter's Lodge. File:A frosty morning at St Catherine's College - geograph.org.uk - 1262421.jpg, View of west-side accommodation in winter, facing the 'Achaean'. File:Statz Statue.jpg, The statue outside the old porter's lodge in snow, "Achaean" by Barbara Hepworth. File:Hepworth Achaean.jpg, Barbara Hepworth's "Achaean" at St Catherine's College, Oxford. File:St Catherine's College, Oxford-3414531247.jpg, Dining Hall of St Catherine's College, Oxford File:Arne jacobsen, st. catherine's college, oxford 10 (5023104207).jpg, Architectural detail showing portion of the Bell Tower and Old Quad accommodation. File:St Catherine's College Music House.JPG, St Catherine's College Music House. File:St Catherine's College bike store.JPG, St Catherine's College Bicycle Store, The college's Grade I listed bike shed File:Oxford StCrossChurch Southwest.jpg, View of St Cross Church at entrance of St Catherine's College.

Notes

References

External links

Homepage

Virtual tour of Oxford. Produced by the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College, Oxford, Arne Jacobsen buildings Educational institutions established in 1868 Universities and colleges established in 1962 Colleges of the University of Oxford Grade I listed buildings in Oxford Grade I listed educational buildings Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford Modernist architecture in England 1868 establishments in England 1962 establishments in England

History

College name

Buildings

Original buildings

RAAC concrete

Extensions

Graduate building

Student life

Accommodation

Academic reputation

Scholarships, awards and outreach

Rowing

In popular culture

Notable alumni

Censors, masters and fellows

List of censors

List of masters

Notable fellows

List of Christensen Fellows

List of Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professors

Gallery

Notes

References

Further reading

External links