Which university did J.R.R. Tolkien attend as a student and later serve as a professor?

J.R.R. Tolkien attended and later taught at the University of Oxford.

Tolkien studied at Exeter College, Oxford, beginning in 1911. He initially focused on Classics before changing to the study of English language and literature. He completed his degree after serving in the First World War and later built an academic career centered on medieval languages and texts.

At Oxford, Tolkien held several important posts. He became Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1925, and later Merton Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College. He remained associated with the university for much of his professional life.

Oxford shaped both sides of Tolkien’s career. It was the setting for his scholarship on Old and Middle English, and it was also where he developed friendships with writers such as C.S. Lewis. The university’s academic culture helped sustain his invented languages and mythology, while his teaching influenced generations of students.