Faiz Siddiqui is suing the University of Oxford for £1 million, claiming that inadequate teaching led to him getting a less than satisfactory final grade.
The 39-year-old is blaming the staff being absent on sabbatical as a reason for only getting a 2:1 in his degree.
Oxford denies Siddiqui's claims and contends says the case is "massively" outside the legal time limit.
Counsel for the claimant Roger Mallalieu spoke of Siddiqui's dreams of attaining post graduate place at an Ivy League university, which were affected by Siddiqui's 2:1 degree:
Whilst a 2:1 degree from Oxford might rightly seem like a tremendous achievement to most, it fell significantly short of Mr Siddiqui's expectations and was, to him, a huge disappointment.
Mr Siddiqui also said his clinical depression and insomnia have been significantly worsened as a result of his "inexplicable failure".
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A representative of Oxford, Julian Milford, explained to the court that Mr Siddiqui did complain about insufficient resources, but had only described the teaching as "a little bit dull".
The seven-day hearing is concerned only with determining liability - with damages to be evaluated if Mr Siddiqui succeeds with his case.
