What was the name of Tolkien’s Oxford college as a student?

J.R.R. Tolkien studied at Exeter College, Oxford.

He entered Exeter College in 1911 to study Classics, but later changed his course toward English Language and Literature. That shift allowed him to pursue the linguistic and literary interests that became central to his scholarly career and creative work. He graduated from Oxford in 1915.

Tolkien’s Oxford life included intensive study of historical languages and literature. During the First World War he served in the British Army, and after the war he returned to academic work. He eventually became one of Oxford’s best-known professors, but his student college was Exeter rather than the colleges where he later held teaching positions.

The distinction matters because Tolkien’s academic appointments were associated with other Oxford colleges. He taught at Leeds before returning to Oxford, and he held the Merton Professorship of English Language and Literature from 1945 until his retirement in 1959. Exeter College therefore identifies his student years, not his final Oxford professorship.