Frequently Asked Questions

You can locate the regulation you want through searching by Regulation Name or by Topic.

To search by Regulation Name simply type part of the title in the Regulation Title box e.g. 'Mathematics' or 'History', and select from the list of regulations offered; selecting a Search Type (Undergraduate, Postgraduate (Taught) or Postgraduate (Research)) before searching will narrow the list of regulations offered. See below for further details on Student Start Dates.

To switch to searching by Topic select the relevant tab on the search page. Start typing a topic in the Topic box and select from the list of topics offered.

If you are unsure of the title of a regulation on a particular matter, try the 'Topic' search or the Contents page.

When searching it is possible to refine the search by selecting a student start date. The relevant date is that of the point at which the student first commenced studies on a course. If the year is not known or to display multiple options for a regulation ‘Any Year’ may be selected.

Examples of student start dates (assuming no periods of suspension from studies):

To view the FHS regulations for a student who, in the 2019-20 academic year, is in the second year of the Honour School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics: The student is in the third year of their course, Michaelmas term 2017-18 should be entered in the ‘Student Start Date’ field.

To view the regulations for a student who, in the 2019-20 academic year, is in the second year of the MSc by coursework in Taxation (part-time): The student is in the second year of their course, Michaelmas term 2018-19 should be entered in the ‘Student Start Date’ field.

Research degree students should look at the regulation for the current academic year.

When you search for a regulation and then choose a version to view you will be taken to the full text of that regulation. A message indicating the version being viewed is displayed at the top right-hand corner of the page e.g. ‘You are viewing: 2018/19 version’.

Click the blue button in the navigation bar on the right-hand side of the page to switch between showing and hiding citation numbering.

A link to the Version Log appears under the heading ‘Changes’ in the navigation bar on the right-hand side of the regulation page.

When viewing a regulation the navigation bar on the right-hand side of the page will display a list of links under the heading ‘Related Regulations’ simply click on any to open the page. e.g. the regulation page for the Preliminary Examination in Music gives Related Regulations links to Regulations for the Conduct of University Examinations General Regulations for the First and Second Public Examination and Honour School of Music.

Towards the bottom of the navigation bar on the right hand side of a regulation page you will find a series of links beneath the title ‘Compare To’ providing access to a view showing how the regulation has changed over time. Clicking on one of the links shows a view in which differences between the two versions are highlighted. Text which has been deleted is shown as struck through and with red highlighting; text which has been added is highlighted in green. Beneath the regulation title at the top of the page there is a description of the comparison being displayed e.g. Differences from 2016/17 to 2018/19.

Archives in PDF format for editions from 2016-17 onwards are available via the links on the ‘Archive editions’ page. Print copies of earlier editions are available on request from the Bodleian Library and may also be held in departmental or college libraries.

As a result of changes in the structure of University legislation, with effect from 1 October 2002, all former decrees concerning examinations were formally converted into regulations. In order to maintain continuity with earlier editions of the Examination Regulations the following conventions have been observed as far as is practicable:

• All former decrees governing the award of a degree, diploma, or certificate in general terms (as opposed to those decrees dealing with examinations in particular subjects leading to the award of such a qualification) are headed General Regulations.
• All former decrees relating to a particular subject course are headed Special Regulations.
• All elements of examination legislation which were regulations under the previous dispensation, and remain so under the new structure, are also to be found under the heading Special Regulations.
• In order to distinguish between the two types of Special Regulation described above, those which were formerly decrees are to be found under a sub-heading ‘A’, while those which were formerly regulations under a sub-heading ‘B’.