Oxford University Says Number of EU Students Dropped Due to Brexit

Oxford University said that the number of students from the European Union admitted to the university has dropped due to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

The annual admissions report for Oxford University has revealed that the number of EU students admitted to the university has halved, dropping from eight percent of students to four percent this year.

Differently, the number of students coming from the UK has moderately increased to 82 percent compared with an average of 73 percent as indicated by the Russell Group, the Oxford Mail reports.

According to the report, the Vice-chancellor, Professor Louise Richardson, said that the drop has happened as a result of the change in fees due to Brexit.

Over the past five years, applications to Oxford have increased by 22 percent; however, some groups remain under-represented in the university’s community.

Oxford’s undergraduate admissions statistics show that between 2017 and 2021, the number of students identifying as Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) increased from 18 percent to nearly 25 percent, while the number of those from disadvantaged groups increased from 10.6 percent to 17 percent.

It further reveals that the percentage of students declaring a disability increased from 7.8 percent to 11.6 percent.

Data also indicate that during that period, the percentage from state schools increased from 58.2 percent to 68.2 percent, while the number of women increased from 50 percent to 55.2 percent.

Publishing the fifth Annual Admissions Statistical Report, Oxford officials said that they are committed to building a more inclusive institution and being representative of wider groups.

“We remain committed to ensuring that every talented, academically driven pupil, wherever they come from, sees Oxford as a place for them and has a fair chance of securing a place on a course,” the university notes.

Under the Opportunity Oxford program, Oxford University aims to help the talented UK offer holders from underrepresented groups in their successful student careers. Offers at the program have increased from 116 in 2020 to 231 offers in 2022.

This year, the university is launching the Astrophoria Foundation Year, a foundation course designed for UK state school students who show high academic potential but have experienced personal disadvantage or their education has been interrupted.

As a result of Brexit, the number of students from the UK in some European countries has also decreased. In the Netherlands, the number of UK students during the 2021/22 academic year dropped by almost a quarter compared to 2020/21.

Nuffic figures show that the number of UK students at universities across the Netherlands fell by about 25 percent in 2021/22.