Oxford University vs the University of Oxford

[ademoglu]

Hi,

I'm wondering if it is OK to say 'I study at the University of Oxford' instead of 'I study at Oxford University'?

Thanks.

 

[jutfrank]

The official name is University of Oxford.

(But many people say Oxford University.)

 

[ademoglu]

Thanks for the answers.

We cannot apply that usage to all university names, am I right? I mean, if the official name is not, for instance, 'University of Istanbul' we cannot say that but instead we have to say 'Istanbul University'.

In other words, is 'University of X' always equal to 'X University'?

Thanks.

 

[Rover_KE]

There is no catch-all rule that applies to all universities.

In casual speech either form will be understood. If you need to be more formal, google it to find the official name.

 

[GoesStation]

You can't. Some universities have such similar names that you could inadvertently refer to the wrong one. For example, my state has The Ohio State University (commonly known as "Ohio State") in Columbus and Ohio University ("OU") in Athens. We also have the very confusing Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

California has two public university systems: the top-tier University of California with eleven campuses including Berkeley (known as UC Berkeley or "Cal") and UCLA, and the California State Universities.