Short courses and events
Study with Oxford online or in person
Start or continue your learning journey with Oxford Lifelong Learning at any time of life!
You’ll join a highly diverse learning community: students of all ages, from all backgrounds and from all over the world. Learn more about the different types of open-access short courses we offer below.
- Day and weekend events run in person or online, with some offered in both formats. Explore a topic in depth over one or two days with multiple speakers, hone your skills in small workshops and hands-on practical sessions, or explore the city of Oxford with a walking tour.
- Lecture series are a series of weekly lectures on a given topic, providing a comprehensive introduction to your chosen subject. All can be watched online, with many taking place in a hybrid format – so you can choose to attend online or in person.
- Weekly learning programmes include courses that meet weekly in Oxford, online courses with live sessions, and flexible online courses.
- Professional development short courses are designed with academic experts from across the University and beyond, allowing professional learners from across the globe the opportunity to benefit from Oxford University's excellence in research and teaching.
- Summer schools: Join us in Oxford for personal enrichment, academic progression or professional development. Many summer schools can be taken for credit; others require no coursework and are non-assessed.
Upcoming courses
Online - live • Short courses
The course focuses on analysing original passages from some of the greatest ancient Greek authors, tackling some challenging grammatical and syntactical phenomena and learning about ancient Greek culture and thought.
- Mon 12 Jan 2026 – 23 Mar 2026
- 10 meetings
- 4:30 – 5:30pm
Online - flexible • Short courses
Why do animals behave the way they do? In this course we will look at the full range of behaviours found in the animal kingdom, from simple escape behaviours to complex tool use and their evolution.
- Mon 12 Jan 2026 – 27 Mar 2026
Online - flexible • Short courses
This course examines the rise and fall of the British Empire and its manifold legacies in Britain and beyond.
- Mon 12 Jan 2026 – 27 Mar 2026
Online - live • Short courses
Based on Harvard's famed introductory course in computer science, CS50 is now available at Oxford. This course teaches you how to solve problems, both with and without code, with an emphasis on correctness, design, and style.
- Mon 12 Jan 2026 – 08 Jun 2026
- 21 meetings
- 7:00 – 8:00pm
Online - flexible • Short courses
This course explores the riches of northern European art from c.1480 - 1580; artists including Dürer, Bosch, Holbein and Bruegel will be studied.
- Mon 12 Jan 2026 – 27 Mar 2026
Short intensive • Short courses • Professional development
Master financial investment fundamentals. This interactive course covers markets, strategies, portfolio construction, and risk management. Ideal for beginners and those seeking a refresher, it provides real-world insights to improve investment decisions.
- Mon 12 Jan 2026 – 22 Jan 2026
- 4 meetings
- 19:00 - 20:30 (UK time)
