The Faculty of History and the new Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities

The Faculty of History is pleased to open the doors of our new Faculty Hub, housed within the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre, a new world-class centre for the Arts and Humanities will open to the academic community on 13 October 2025 and the public cultural programme will begin in April 2026.

The Schwarzman Centre, designed by leading British architects, Hopkins Architects, is a major new cultural campus in the heart of Oxford’s Radcliffe Observatory Quarter. The centre has been developed by the University of Oxford with the support of the largest single gift in modern times made to the University from philanthropist and businessman Stephen A. Schwarzman. Thanks to additional gifts, his total support towards the project now stands at £185 million.

This hub now becomes our single home, combining the History Faculty with History of Art and the History of Science, Medicine and Technology. It comprises several seminar rooms for teaching as well as a research area for postdoctoral and graduate students. It also houses all of our professional and administrative offices.

The History of Medicine library is now located in the Bodleian Humanities Library on site, while the main history library remains in the Radcliffe Camera.

Click on the images below to take a look:

faculty of history
Inside the History Faculty Hub
External view of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, University of Oxford.
External view of the StephenA. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, University of Oxford. Photograph
View of a reading space for students,Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, University of Oxford.
View of the Great Hall, Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, University of Oxford.
View of the dome in the Great Hall, Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, University of Oxford.
View of the Bodleian Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, University of Oxford.
View of the Sohmen Concert Hall, Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, University of Oxford.

The Cultural Programme

Led by the appointment of Schwarzman Centre Cultural Fellows, the public cultural programme will bring outstanding artists, performers, writers and thinkers from around the world together with Oxford’s communities, including leading academics. With experimentation and co-creation at its heart, the cultural programme will present a fresh new experience for audiences.  

The public cultural programme will open with a free celebratory weekend (April 25 and 26, 2026) with activities throughout the building for all ages including performances by ZooNation, Scottish Ensemble and Justice in Motion.

Two major focus themes will frame special programmes in 2026: Unfinished Revolutions, exploring the legacy of the 1776 US Declaration of Independence and Utopia Now!, an invitation to be inspired by Utopian thinking and imagine bold futures.