University Collections
William Laud (1573-1645), the Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of the University, presented a stone image of Ganesha to the University in c.1640. This small image and other gifts, including an album of Mughal paintings, were most likely the first examples of Indian visual and material culture to reach Oxford.
Humanities
Incorporating the figure of an Indian elephant, this weathervane sits atop the dome of the Indian Institute building in Oxford. Founded in 1883 by the eminent Sanskritist Sir Monier Monier-Williams, the Indian Institute was the first in the world dedicated to the study of Indian history, culture, and industry from ancient to modern times. The Institute's library remains one of the world's most important repositories of manuscripts and published works from and about South Asia, and its collection of art and artefacts are to be found in Oxford's Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers museums. Faculty and students in the Humanities at Oxford are the trustees of this tradition and its rich holdings. They include scholars working in fields ranging from art, archaeology and languages to theology and philosophy as well as literature and history.
Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences
The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope near Pune is an interferometric array of 30 antennas which observes the sky at metre wavelengths. It was indigenously built and accorded the prestigious IEEE Milestone status. Astronomers from all over the world, including Oxford, use it to advance our understanding of the physical Universe.
Medical Sciences
The Medical Sciences Division is an internationally recognised centre of excellence for biomedical and clinical research and teaching and is the largest of the four academic divisions within the University. The MSD is actively engaged in health research in India and with many opportunities for students and for bilateral academic research collaborations.
Social Sciences
With over 1,000 researchers and over 5,000 students, the Social Sciences Division represents one of the largest groupings of social scientists in the world. We are committed to engaging with major social, economic and political issues in India, such as the environmental crisis, childhood poverty, gender inequality, digital media and politics, policing, business innovation, work in the platform economy and many others. The image is drawn from the “Young Lives” study, which has influenced the Indian government’s approach to tackling child marriage. Research and teaching on India takes place in all our departments, faculties and schools.
Students
Oxford has longstanding connections with the Indian subcontinent, dating back to 1579. The first student from the region arrived in Oxford in 1871. In recent years, we have had nearly 600 students each year from South Asia.
Alumni
There are almost 2,000 Oxford alumni based in India, represented by a network of four groups in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Pune.
Everything India & Indian subcontinent at Oxford
IndOx celebrates everything India and Indian subcontinent at the University of Oxford. We aim to capture the breadth and depth of India and subcontinent related activities at the University and share with the world at large.
Join the IndOx Network
We are building a network of researchers both in the Indian subcontinent and at the University of Oxford, collaborating within their own disciplines and across them. We also run a wide-range of events, and provide other networking opportunities, helping to create connections across the University and beyond.
Support IndOx
Want to support our work, to enrich and promote research on and collaboration with India at the University of Oxford?
Oxford as a destination for undergraduates and graduates from the Indian subcontinent
The University of Oxford has longstanding connections with India, dating to 1579, when Father Thomas Stephens, from New College, was the first recorded Englishman to visit India. Ties have strengthened through time, with the creation of the Boden Chair in Sanskrit in 1832 and the arrival of Oxford’s first Indian students in 1871. The Indian branch of Oxford University Press, established in 1912, has a proud tradition of publishing its own distinguished scholarly list.
IndOx Funded Projects
Since 2019, with the support of Oxford's Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Oxford Martin School, IndOx has funded a number of projects, research trips, visiting academics and cultural collaborations focussing on India and the subcontinent.
Anwesha Roy
Departmental Lecturer in Indian History and Culture
Samantha Vanderslott
Associate Professor working on topics at the intersection of health and society
Radhika Khosla
Research Director, Somerville College India Centre for Sustainable Development
Mallica Kumbera Landrus
Keeper of Eastern Art and Curator of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Associate Professor
Ankhi Mukherjee
Professor of English and World Literatures and Tutorial Fellow
Arjune Sen
Associate Professor, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
Andrew Brown
Senior International Officer, Pro Vice-Chancellor's Office
