Academic Journey of Stephen Hawking at University College, Oxford

Hawking began his university education at University College, Oxford, in October 1959 at the age of 17. For the first eighteen months, he was bored and lonely, finding the academic work 'ridiculously easy'. His physics tutor, Robert Berman, later said, 'It was only necessary for him to know that something could be done, and he could do it without looking to see how other people did it.' A change occurred during his second and third years when, according to Berman, Hawking made more of an effort 'to be one of the boys'. He developed into a popular, lively and witty college member, interested in classical music and science fiction. Part of the transformation resulted from his decision to join the college boat club, the University College Boat Club, where he coxed a rowing crew. The rowing coach at the time noted that Hawking cultivated a daredevil image, steering his crew on risky courses that led to damaged boats. Hawking estimated that he studied about 1,000 hours during his three years at Oxford. These unimpressive study habits made sitting his finals a challenge, and he decided to answer only theoretical physics questions rather than those requiring factual knowledge. A first-class degree was a condition of acceptance for his planned graduate study in cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Anxious, he slept poorly the night before the examinations, and the result was on the borderline between first- and second-class honours, making a viva (oral examination) with the Oxford examiners necessary. Hawking was concerned that he was viewed as a lazy and difficult student. So, when asked at the viva to describe his plans, he said, 'If you award me a First, I will go to Cambridge. If I receive a Second, I shall stay in Oxford, so I expect you will give me a First.' He was held in higher regard than he believed; as Berman commented, the examiners 'were intelligent enough to realise they were talking to someone far cleverer than most of themselves'. After receiving a first-class BA degree in physics and completing a trip to Iran with a friend, he began his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in October 1962.