The Oxford Pastorate: A Brief History
Introduction to the work of the Oxford Pastorate:
Perhaps the biggest demographic shift Oxford University has witnessed in the last thirty years has been the growth in the postgraduate population. As recently as the 1980s, there were only 2,500 graduate students, comprising less than a quarter of the total student body. By 2010, the figure had more than doubled to in excess of 7,000 graduate students, comprising more than a third of the total student body and more than one half of all students being matriculated each year. The graduate community is now one of the most vibrant, variegated and dynamic groups in Oxford. Since 2008, the Pastorate has sought to serve the graduate community in particular.
In addition to working in partnership with a number of city centre churches, college chapels and Christian charities, the Pastorate Chaplains are involved with these programmes for graduate students:
Graduate Christian Union (GCU)
Developing a Christian Mind (DaCM)