Which Oxford university did J.R.R. Tolkien attend as a student?

J.R.R. Tolkien attended the University of Oxford as a student.

Tolkien entered Exeter College, Oxford, in 1911. He initially studied Classics, but later changed to the English Language and Literature course. His academic interests in philology, historical languages, and medieval texts became central to both his scholarly career and his creative writing.

He graduated in 1915 and later returned to Oxford as a teacher and professor. Tolkien held posts at several Oxford colleges and eventually became Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, followed by Merton Professor of English Language and Literature.

The university is sometimes confused with Exeter College itself. Exeter is one of Oxford’s colleges, while the University of Oxford is the institution. Tolkien’s education was also interrupted by military service during the First World War, but his academic work continued to shape his linguistic and literary interests.