HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...
by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most prestigious, currently ranked second-best in the world and the best in Europe by '' QS World University Rankings''. Among the university's most notable alumni are 11 Fields Medalists, seven Turing Award winners, 47
heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
, 14 British prime ministers, 194
Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...
-winning athletes,All Known Cambridge Olympians
. ''Hawks Club''. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
and some of world history's most transformational and iconic figures across disciplines, including Francis Bacon, Lord Byron, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, John Maynard Keynes, John Milton,
Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...
, Jawaharlal Nehru, Isaac Newton, Bertrand Russell, Manmohan Singh, Alan Turing,
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is con ...
, and others. Cambridge alumni and faculty have won 121 Nobel Prizes, the most of any university in the world, according to the university. The University of Cambridge's 13th-century founding was largely inspired by an association of scholars then who fled the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
for Cambridge following the ''suspendium clericorium'' (hanging of the scholars) in a dispute with local townspeople. The two
ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...
English universities, though sometimes described as rivals, share many common features and are often jointly referred to as '' Oxbridge''. The university was founded from a variety of institutions, including 31 semi-autonomous constituent colleges and over 150 academic departments, faculties, and other institutions organised into six schools. All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, managing their own personnel and policies, and all students are required to have a college affiliation within the university. The university does not have a main campus, and its colleges and central facilities are scattered throughout the city. Undergraduate teaching at Cambridge centres on weekly group supervisions in the colleges in small groups of typically one to four students. This intensive method of teaching is widely considered the jewel in the crown of an Oxbridge undergraduate education. Lectures, seminars, laboratory work, and occasionally further supervisions are provided by the central university faculties and departments, and Postgraduate education is also predominantly provided centrally; degrees, however, are conferred by the university, not the colleges. By both endowment size and material consolidated assets, Cambridge is the wealthiest university in Europe and among the wealthiest in the world. In the 2019 fiscal year, the central university, excluding colleges, had total income of £2.192 billion, £592.4 million of which was from research grants and contracts. The central university and colleges together possessed a combined endowment of over £7.1 billion and overall consolidated net assets, excluding immaterial historical assets, of over £12.5 billion. Cambridge University Press & Assessment combines
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...
, the world's oldest university press, with one of the world's leading examining bodies; their publications reach in excess of eight million learners globally each year and some fifty million learners, teachers, and researchers monthly. The university operates eight cultural and scientific museums, including the Fitzwilliam Museum and
Cambridge University Botanic Garden The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies between Trumpington Road to the west, Bateman Street to ...
. Cambridge's 116 libraries hold a total of around 16 million books, around nine million of which are in
Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...
, a legal deposit library and one of the world's largest academic libraries.
Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debati ...
, the world's oldest debating society founded in 1815, inspired the emergence of university debating societies globally, including at Oxford. The university is closely linked to the high technology business cluster known as
Silicon Fen Silicon Fen (also known as the Cambridge Cluster) is the name given to the region around Cambridge, England, which is home to a large business cluster, cluster of high-tech businesses focusing on software, electronics and biotechnology, s ...
, Europe's largest technology cluster. The university is also the central member of
Cambridge University Health Partners Cambridge University Health Partners is an academic health science centre that brings together the University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridgeshire and Pe ...
, an academic health science centre based around the
Cambridge Biomedical Campus The Cambridge Biomedical Campus is the largest centre of medical research and health science in Europe. The site is located at the southern end of Hills Road in Cambridge, England. Over 20,000 people work at the site, which is home to Cambridge ...
, which is Europe's largest medical and science centre.


History


Founding

Prior to the founding of the University of Cambridge in 1209, Cambridge and the area surrounding it already had developed a scholarly and ecclesiastical reputation, due largely to the intellectual reputation and contribution of monks from the nearby bishopric church of Ely. The founding of the University of Cambridge, however, was inspired largely by an incident at Oxford during which three Oxford scholars, as an administration of justice in the death of a local woman, were hanged by town authorities without first consulting ecclesiastical authorities, who traditionally would be inclined to pardon scholars in such cases. But during this time, Oxford's town authorities were in conflict with King John. Fearing more violence from Oxford townsfolk, University of Oxford scholars consequently began leaving Oxford for other more hospitable cities, including
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, Reading, and Cambridge. Enough scholars ultimately took residence in Cambridge to form the nucleus for the formation of a new university. In order to lay controversial claim to being England's oldest university, Cambridge often traces its founding to Henry III's 1231 charter, which granted the University of Cambridge the right to discipline its own members (''ius non-trahi extra'') and an exemption from some taxes. Pope Gregory IX' s
bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...
gave Cambridge graduates the right to teach everywhere in Christendom. After Cambridge was described as a ''
studium generale is the old customary name for a medieval university in medieval Europe. Overview There is no official definition for the term . The term ' first appeared at the beginning of the 13th century out of customary usage, and meant a place where stud ...
'' in a letter from
Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV ( la, Nicolaus IV; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be ele ...
in 1290, and confirmed as such Pope John XXII's 1318 papal bull, it became common for researchers from other European medieval universities to visit Cambridge to study or to give lecture courses.


Foundation of the colleges

The colleges at the University of Cambridge were originally an incidental feature of the university; no college is as old as the university itself. The colleges were endowed fellowships of scholars. There were also institutions without endowments, called hostels, which were gradually absorbed by the colleges over the centuries, and they have left some traces, such as the name Garret Hostel Lane. Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely, founded
Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...
, Cambridge's first college, in 1284. Multiple additional colleges were founded during the 14th and 15th centuries, but colleges continued being established through modern times, though there was a 204-year gap between the founding of Sidney Sussex in 1596 and that of Downing in 1800. The most recent college to be established is
Robinson Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 1960 ...
, which was built in the late 1970s. However, Homerton College only achieved full university college status in March 2010, making it technically the newest full college. In medieval times, many colleges were founded so that their members could
pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...
for the
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
s of the founders. University of Cambridge colleges often were associated with chapels or abbeys. The colleges' focus began to shift in 1536, however, with the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Henry VIII ordered the university to disband its Faculty of canon law and to stop teaching scholastic philosophy. In response, colleges changed their curricula away from canon law, and towards the classics, the Bible, and mathematics. Nearly a century later, the university found itself at the centre of a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
schism. Many nobles, intellectuals, and even commoners saw the Church of England as too similar to the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and felt that it was being used by The Crown to usurp the counties' rightful powers. East Anglia emerged as the centre of what ultimately became the Puritan movement. In Cambridge, the Puritan movement was particularly strong at Emmanuel, St Catharine's Hall, Sidney Sussex, and Christ's College. These colleges produced many non-conformist graduates who greatly influenced, by social position or preaching, some 20,000 Puritans who ultimately left England for New England and especially the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Great Migration decade of the 1630s, becoming America's first settlers. Oliver Cromwell, Parliamentary commander during the English Civil War and head of the English Commonwealth from 1649 to 1660, attended Sidney Sussex.


Mathematics and mathematical physics

The university quickly established itself as a global leader in the study of mathematics. Examination in mathematics was initially compulsory for all undergraduates studying for the
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree, the most common degree first offered at Cambridge. From the time of Isaac Newton in the late 17th century until the mid-19th century, the university maintained an especially strong emphasis on
applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...
, particularly mathematical physics. The university established a mathematics exam known as a Tripos. Students awarded
first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
after completing the mathematics Tripos exam are called wranglers, and the top student among them is known as the
Senior Wrangler The Senior Frog Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." Specifically, it is the person who a ...
, a position that has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." The Cambridge Mathematical Tripos is highly competitive and has helped produce some of the most famous names in British science, including
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and li ...
,
Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he did important ...
, and
Lord Rayleigh John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, (; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919) was an English mathematician and physicist who made extensive contributions to science. He spent all of his academic career at the University of Cambridge. Am ...
. However, some famous students, such as G. H. Hardy, disliked the Tripos system, feeling that students were becoming too interested in accumulating high exam marks and less interested in the subject itself. Pure mathematics at Cambridge in the 19th century achieved great things, but also missed out on substantial developments in French and German mathematics. Pure mathematical research at Cambridge finally reached the highest international standard in the early 20th century, thanks largely to G. H. Hardy and his collaborators, J. E. Littlewood and Srinivasa Ramanujan. W. V. D. Hodge established Cambridge as a global leader in geometry in the 1930s. Although diversified in its research and teaching interests, Cambridge today maintains its traditional strength as a world leader in the teaching of mathematics. Cambridge alumni have won six Fields Medals and one Abel Prize for mathematics, and individuals representing Cambridge have won four additional Fields Medals.


Modern period

The Cambridge University Act 1856 formalised the university's organisational structure and introduced the study of many new subjects, including theology, history and
Modern language A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such a ...
s. Resources necessary for new courses in the arts, architecture, and archaeology were donated by
Viscount Fitzwilliam Viscount FitzWilliam, of Merrion in the County of Dublin, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1629 for Thomas FitzWilliam, along with the subsidiary title Baron FitzWilliam, of Thorncastle in the County of Dublin, also in th ...
of Trinity College, who also founded the Fitzwilliam Museum. In 1847, Prince Albert was elected the university's chancellor in a close contest with the
Earl of Powis Earl of Powis (Powys) is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 in favour of William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis, a descendant of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c. 1501–15 ...
. As chancellor, Albert reformed university curricula beyond its initial focus on mathematics and classics, adding modern history and the natural sciences. Between 1896 and 1902,
Downing College Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...
sold part of its land to permit the construction of
Downing Site The Downing Site is a major site of the University of Cambridge, located in the centre of the city of Cambridge, England, on Downing Street and Tennis Court Road, adjacent to Downing College. The Downing Site is the larger and newer of two ci ...
, the university's new grouping of scientific laboratories for the study of anatomy,
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
, and
Earth sciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
. During this period, the
New Museums Site The New Museums Site is a major site of the University of Cambridge, located on Pembroke Street and Free School Lane, sandwiched between Corpus Christi College, Pembroke College and Lion Yard. Its postcode is CB2 3QH. The smaller and older of ...
was erected, including the Cavendish Laboratory, which has since moved to West Cambridge, and other departments for chemistry and medicine. The University of Cambridge began to award PhD degrees in the first third of the 20th century; the first Cambridge PhD in mathematics was awarded in 1924. The university contributed significantly to the Allies' forces in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
with 13,878 members of the university serving and 2,470 being killed in the war. Teaching, and the fees it earned, nearly came to a stop during World War I, and severe financial difficulties followed. As a result, the university received its first systematic state support in 1919, and a Royal commission was appointed in 1920 to recommend that the university (but not its colleges) begin receiving an annual grant. Following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the university experienced a rapid expansion in applications and enrollment, partly due to the success and popularity gained by many Cambridge scientists.


Parliamentary representation

Cambridge was one of only two universities to hold parliamentary seats in the Parliament of England and was later one of only eight represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created by a
Royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...
of 1603 and returned two members of parliament until 1950 when it was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948. The constituency was not a geographical area; rather, its electorate consisted of university graduates. Before 1918, the franchise was restricted to male graduates with a
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
or MA degree.


Women's education

For the first several centuries of its existence, as was the case broadly in England and the world, the University of Cambridge was only open to male students. The first colleges established for women were
Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...
(founded by
Emily Davies Sarah Emily Davies (22 April 1830 – 13 July 1921) was an English feminist and suffragist, and a pioneering campaigner for women's rights to university access. She is remembered above all as a co-founder and an early Mistress of Girton Coll ...
in 1869) and
Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millice ...
(founded by Anne Clough and
Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (; 31 May 1838 – 28 August 1900) was an English utilitarian In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected i ...
in 1872) followed by Hughes Hall (founded in 1885 by Elizabeth Phillips Hughes as the Cambridge Teaching College for Women), Murray Edwards College (founded in 1954 by Rosemary Murray as New Hall), and
Lucy Cavendish College Lucy Cavendish College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college is named in honour of Lucy Cavendish (1841–1925), who campaigned for the reform of women's education. History The college was founded in 1965 by ...
in 1965. Prior to ultimately being permitted admission to the university, female students had been granted the right to take University of Cambridge exams beginning in the late 19th century. In 1948, the university officially permitted them entry to the university. Women were allowed to study courses, take examinations, and have prior exam results recorded retroactively, dating back to 1881; for a brief period after the turn of the 20th century, this allowed the
steamboat ladies "Steamboat ladies" was a nickname given to a number of female students at the women's colleges of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge who were awarded ''ad eundem'' University of Dublin degrees at Trinity College Dublin, between 1904 and 19 ...
to receive '' ad eundem'' degrees from the University of Dublin. Beginning in 1921, women were awarded diplomas that conferred the title associated with the Bachelor of Arts degree. But since women were not yet admitted to the Bachelor of Arts degree program, women were excluded from the university's governance structure. Since students must belong to a college, and since established colleges remained closed to women, women found admissions restricted to few university colleges that had been established only for them. Darwin College, the first graduate college of the university, matriculated both male and female students from its inception in 1964 and elected a mixed fellowship. Among undergraduate colleges, starting with Churchill, Clare, and King's Colleges, the former male-only colleges began to admit women between 1972 and 1988. Among female-only colleges, Girton began admitting male students in 1979, and Lucy Cavendish began admitting men in 2021. But the other female-only colleges have remained female-only colleges. As a result of St Hilda's College, Oxford ending its ban on male students in 2008, Cambridge is now the only remaining university in the United Kingdom with female-only colleges ( Newnham and Murray Edwards). As of the 2019–2020 academic year, the university's male to female enrollment, including post-graduates, was nearly balanced with its total student population being 53% male and 47% female.


Town and gown

The relationship between the university and the city has sometimes been uneasy. The phrase town and gown is employed to distinguish between Cambridge residents and University of Cambridge students, who historically wore academical dress. There are many stories of ferocious rivalry between Cambridge's residents and university students. During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, strong clashes led to attacks and looting of university properties while locals contested the privileges granted by the government to the academic staff. Residents burned university property in Market Square to the famed rallying cry " Away with the learning of clerks, away with it!". Following these events, the University of Cambridge's Chancellor was given special powers allowing him to prosecute criminals and reestablish order in the city. Attempts at reconciliation between the city's residents and students followed. In the 16th century, agreements were signed to improve the quality of streets and student accommodation around the city. However, this was followed by new confrontations when the plague reached Cambridge in 1630 and colleges refused to assist those affected by the disease by locking their sites. Such conflicts between Cambridge's residents and university students have largely disappeared. The university is a source of enormous employment and expanded wealth in Cambridge and the region. The university also has proven a source of enormous growth in
high tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...
and biotech start-ups and established companies and associated providers of services to these companies. The economic growth associated with the university's high tech and biotech growth has been labeled the Cambridge Phenomenon, and has included the addition of 1,500 new companies and as many as 40,000 new jobs added between 1960 and 2010.


Myths, legends and traditions

Partly because of the University of Cambridge's extensive eight century history, the university has developed a large number of traditions, myths, and legends. Some are true, some are not, and some were true but have been discontinued but have been propagated nonetheless by generations of students and tour guides. One such discontinued tradition is that of the
wooden spoon Wooden Spoon may refer to: * Wooden spoon, implement * Wooden spoon (award) A wooden spoon is an award that is given to an individual or team that has come last in a competition. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous e ...
, the prize awarded to the student with the lowest passing honours grade in the final examinations of the Mathematical Tripos. The last of these spoons was awarded in 1909 to Cuthbert Lempriere Holthouse, an oarsman of the Lady Margaret Boat Club of St John's College. It was over one metre in length and had an oar blade for a handle. It can now be seen outside the Senior Combination Room of St John's. Since 1908, examination results have been published alphabetically within class rather than in strict order of merit, which made it difficult to ascertain the student with the lowest passing grade deserving of the spoon, leading to discontinuation of the tradition. Each Christmas Eve, The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols sung by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge are broadcast globally on BBC World Service television and radio and syndicated to hundreds of additional radio stations in the U.S. and elsewhere. The radio broadcast has been a national Christmas Eve tradition since 1928, though the festival has existed since 1918. The first television broadcast of the festival was in 1954.


Locations and buildings


Buildings

The university occupies a central location within the city of Cambridge with the students taking up a roughly 20 percent of the town's population, and contributing on whole to a lower age demographic in the city. Most of the university's older colleges are situated nearby the city centre, through which flows River Cam, which students and others traditionally punt to appreciate the university buildings and surroundings viewable from the river. Other notable buildings include King's College Chapel, the history faculty building designed by James Stirling, and the Cripps Building at St John's College. The
brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by si ...
of several colleges is notable: Queens' College has "some of the earliest patterned brickwork in the country" and the brick walls of St John's College provide examples of
English bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by siz ...
,
Flemish bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by siz ...
, and
Running bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by siz ...
.


Sites

The university is divided into several sites where departments are located. These include: *
Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Camp ...
*
Downing Site The Downing Site is a major site of the University of Cambridge, located in the centre of the city of Cambridge, England, on Downing Street and Tennis Court Road, adjacent to Downing College. The Downing Site is the larger and newer of two ci ...
* Madingley/Gorton *
New Museums Site The New Museums Site is a major site of the University of Cambridge, located on Pembroke Street and Free School Lane, sandwiched between Corpus Christi College, Pembroke College and Lion Yard. Its postcode is CB2 3QH. The smaller and older of ...
*
North West Cambridge Development The North West Cambridge Development is a University of Cambridge site to the north west of Cambridge city centre in England. The development is meant to alleviate overcrowding and rising land prices in Cambridge. The first phase resulted from ...
*
Old Addenbrooke's Site The Old Addenbrooke's Site is a site owned by the University of Cambridge in the south of central Cambridge, England. It is located on the block formed by Fitzwilliam Street to the north, Tennis Court Road to the east, Lensfield Road to th ...
* Old Schools *
Silver Street ''Silver Street'' is a radio soap opera broadcast on the BBC Asian Network from 24 May 2004 to 26 March 2010. It was the first soap to be aimed at the British South Asian community, Broadcast history It was introduced in 2004 as part of the S ...
/ Mill Lane *
Sidgwick Site The Sidgwick Site is one of the largest sites within the University of Cambridge, England. Overview and history The Sidgwick Site is located on the western side of Cambridge city centre, near the Backs. The site is north of Sidgwick Avenue an ...
* West Cambridge The university's School of Clinical Medicine is based in
Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Camp ...
, where medical students undergo their three-year clinical placement period after obtaining their BA degree. The West Cambridge site is undergoing a major expansion and will host new buildings and fields for university sports. Since 1990, Cambridge Judge Business School, on Trumpington Street, provides management education courses and is consistently ranked within the top 20 business schools globally by ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
''. Given that the sites are in relative proximity and the area around Cambridge is reasonably flat, one of the favourite modes of transport for students is the bicycle; an estimated fifth of journeys in the city are made by bike, a figure enhanced by the fact that students are not permitted to hold car park permits except under special circumstances.


Notable locations

The University of Cambridge and its constituency campuses include many notable locations, some iconic, of historical, academic, religious, and cultural significance, including: * Bridge of Sighs, Cambridge *
Cambridge University Botanic Garden The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies between Trumpington Road to the west, Bateman Street to ...
* Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge *
Downing Site The Downing Site is a major site of the University of Cambridge, located in the centre of the city of Cambridge, England, on Downing Street and Tennis Court Road, adjacent to Downing College. The Downing Site is the larger and newer of two ci ...
*
Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchard ...
* Goldie Boathouse * King's College Chapel, Cambridge * Lady Mitchell Hall * Mathematical Bridge *
Nevile's Court, Trinity College, Cambridge Nevile's Court is a court in Trinity College, Cambridge, England, created by a bequest by the college's master, Thomas Nevile.Stourton, E. 2011, Trinity: A Portrait . Third Millennium Press Limited. Available Online a/ref> The east side is dom ...
*
Sidgwick Site The Sidgwick Site is one of the largest sites within the University of Cambridge, England. Overview and history The Sidgwick Site is located on the western side of Cambridge city centre, near the Backs. The site is north of Sidgwick Avenue an ...
*
St Bene't's Church St Bene't's Church is a Church of England parish church in central Cambridge, England. Parts of the church, most notably the tower, are Anglo-Saxon, and it is the oldest church in Cambridgeshire as well as the oldest building in Cambridge. Th ...
* The Backs * Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge * West Cambridge


Organisation and administration

Cambridge is defined as a
collegiate university A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the C ...
, meaning that it is made up of self-governing and independent colleges, each with its own property and income. Most colleges bring together academics and students from a broad range of disciplines. Within each faculty, school, or department within the university, are academics from many differing colleges. The faculties are responsible for ensuring that lectures are given, arranging seminars, performing research and determining the syllabi for teaching, all of which is overseen by the university's general board. Together with the central administration headed by the Vice-Chancellor, they make up the University of Cambridge. Facilities such as libraries are provided on all these levels by the university (the
Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...
), by the faculties (including faculty libraries such as the Squire Law Library), and by individual colleges, all of which maintain a multi-discipline library generally designed for each college's respective undergraduates. Legally, the university is an
exempt charity An exempt charity is an institution established in England and Wales for charitable purposes which is exempt from registration with, and oversight by, the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Exempt charities are largely institutions of furth ...
and a common law corporation with the corporate title The Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.


Colleges

The colleges are self-governing institutions with their own endowments and property, each founded as components of the university. All students and most academics are attached to a college. The colleges' importance lies in the housing, welfare, social functions, and undergraduate teaching they provide. All faculties, departments, research centres, and laboratories belong to the university, which arranges lectures and awards degrees but undergraduates receive their overall academic supervision through small group teaching sessions often with just one student within the colleges (though in many cases students go to other colleges for supervision if the teaching fellows at their college do not specialise in a student's particular area of focus). Each college appoints its own teaching staff and fellows, both of whom are members of a university department. The colleges also decide which undergraduates to admit to the university, in accordance with university regulations. Cambridge has 31 colleges, two of which, Murray Edwards and Newnham, admit women only. The other colleges are mixed. Darwin was the first college to admit both men and women while, beginning in 1972, Churchill, Clare, and King's were the first previously all-male colleges to admit female undergraduates. In 1988, Magdalene became the last all-male college to accept women. Clare Hall and Darwin admit only postgraduates, and Hughes Hall, St Edmund's, and Wolfson admit only mature (i.e., 21 years or older on date of
matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
) students, encompassing both undergraduate and graduate students). Lucy Cavendish, which was previously a women-only mature college, began admitting both men and women in 2021. All other colleges admit both undergraduate and postgraduate students with no age restrictions. Colleges are not required to admit students in all subjects; some colleges choose not to offer subjects such as architecture, art history, or theology, but most offer close to the complete range of academic specialties and related courses. Some colleges maintain a relative strength and associated reputation for expertise in certain academic disciplines. For example, Churchill has a reputation for its expertise and focus on the sciences and engineering, while others such as St Catharine's aim for a balanced intake. Other colleges have more informal academic focus and even demonstrated ideological focus, such as King's, which is known for its left-wing political orientation, and
Robinson Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 1960 ...
and Churchill, both of which have a reputation in sustainability and environmentalism. Costs to students for room and board vary considerably from college to college. Similarly, the investment in student education by each college at the university varies widely between the colleges. There are several theological colleges, including Westcott House, Westminster College, and Ridley Hall Theological College, that are members of the Cambridge Theological Federation and only informally associated with the university. The University of Cambridge's 31 colleges include: # Christ's # Churchill # Clare # Clare Hall # Corpus Christi # Darwin # Downing # Emmanuel # Fitzwilliam # Girton # Gonville & Caius # Homerton # Hughes Hall # Jesus # King's # Lucy Cavendish # Magdalene # Murray Edwards # Newnham # Pembroke #
Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...
# Queens' #
Robinson Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 1960 ...
# Selwyn # Sidney Sussex # St Catharine's # St Edmund's # St John's # Trinity # Trinity Hall # Wolfson


Schools, faculties and departments

In addition to the 31 colleges, the university is made up of over 150 departments, faculties, schools, syndicates, and other institutions. Members of these are usually members of one of the colleges with responsibility for the entire academic programme of the university divided among them. The university has a department dedicated to providing continuing education, the
Institute of Continuing Education The University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) is a department of the University of Cambridge dedicated to providing continuing education programmes which allow students to obtain University of Cambridge qualifications at un ...
, which is based primarily in Madingley Hall, a 16th-century manor house in Cambridgeshire. Its award-bearing programmes range from undergraduate certificates through part-time master's degrees. A school in the University of Cambridge is a broad administrative grouping of related faculties and other units. Each has an elected supervisory body known as a Council, composed of representatives of the various constituent bodies. The University of Cambridge maintains six schools: * Arts and Humanities * Biological Sciences * Clinical Medicine * Humanities and Social Sciences * Physical Sciences * Technology Teaching and research at the university is organised by faculties. The faculties have different organisational substructures that partly reflect their history and partly the university's operational needs, which may include a number of departments and other institutions. A small number of bodies called Syndicates hold responsibility for teaching and research, including for the
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) is a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge, which operates under the brand name Cambridge Assessment, and is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment. It provi ...
, the
University Press A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. Most are nonprofit organizations and an integral component of a large research university. They publish work that has been reviewed by schola ...
, and the University Library.


Central administration


Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor

The Chancellor of the university is limitless term position that is mainly ceremonial and is held currently by David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville, who succeeded the Duke of Edinburgh following his retirement on his 90th birthday in June 2011. Lord Sainsbury was nominated by the nomination board. The election took place on 14 and 15 October 2011 with Sainsbury taking 2,893 of the 5,888 votes cast, and winning on the election's first count. The current Acting Vice-Chancellor is Anthony Freeling. While the Chancellor's office is ceremonial, the Vice-Chancellor is the university's ''de facto'' principal administrative officer. The university's internal governance is carried out almost entirely by Regent House augmented by some external representation from the Audit Committee and four external members of the University's Council.


Senate and the Regent House

The university Senate consists of all holders of the MA degree or higher degrees and is responsible for electing the Chancellor, the High Steward, and two members of the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
(until the Cambridge University constituency was abolished in 1950). Prior to 1926, the university Senate was the university's governing body, fulfilling the functions that Regent House provides today. Regent House is the university's governing body, a direct democracy comprising all resident senior members of the university and the colleges, together with the Chancellor, the High Steward, the Deputy High Steward, and the Commissary. Public representatives of the Regent House are the two Proctors, elected to serve for one year upon nomination by the Colleges.


Council and General Board

Although the University Council is the university's principal executive and policy-making body, the Council reports to, and is held accountable by, Regent House through a variety of checks and balances. The council is obliged to advise Regent House on matters of general concern to the university. It does this by publishing notices to the ''
Cambridge University Reporter The ''Cambridge University Reporter'', founded in 1870, is the official journal of record of the University of Cambridge, England. Overview The ''Cambridge University Reporter'' appears within the University and online every Wednesday during ...
'', the university's official journal. Since January 2005, the council's membership has included two external members. In March 2008, Regent House voted to increase from two to four the number of external members on the council. and this was approved by Her Majesty the Queen in July 2008. The General Board of the Faculties is responsible for the university's academic and educational policies and is accountable to the council for its management of these affairs. Faculty Boards are accountable to the General Board; other Boards and Syndicates are accountable either to the General Board or to the council. Under this organizational structure, the university's various arms are kept under the supervision of both the central administration and Regent House.


Finances


Benefactions and fundraising

In the fiscal year ending 31 July 2019, the central university, excluding colleges, reported total income of £2.192 billion, of which £592.4 million was from research grants and contracts. In the decade prior to 2019, the University of Cambridge reported an average of £271m a year in philanthropic donations. The Stormzy Scholarship for Black UK Students covers tuition costs for two students and maintenance grants for up to four years. In 2000, Bill Gates of Microsoft donated US$210 million through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to endow Gates Scholarships for students from outside the UK pursuing post-graduate study at Cambridge. In October 2021, the university suspended its £400m collaboration with the United Arab Emirates, citing allegation that the UAE was involved in illegal hacking using the NSO Group's Pegasus software. UAE also was behind the leak of over 50,000 phone numbers, including hundreds belonging to British citizens. The university's outgoing Vice-Chancellor,
Stephen Toope Stephen John Toope (born February 14, 1958) is a Canadian legal scholar, academic administrator and a scholar specializing in human rights, public international law and international relations. In April 2013 he announced he was stepping down ...
said the decision to suspend its collaboration with UAE also was a result of additional revelations about UAE's Pegasus software hacking.


Bonds

The University of Cambridge borrowed £350 million by issuing a 40-year security bond in October 2012.Cambridge university issues its first £350m bond
L. Tidy, The Cambridge Student, News, 11 October 2012
Its interest rate is about 0.6 percent higher than a British government 40-year bond. Vice-Chancellor
Leszek Borysiewicz Sir Leszek Krzysztof Borysiewicz (born 13 April 1951) is a British professor, immunologist and scientific administrator. He served as the 345th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, his term of office (a maximum of seven years) sta ...
praised the bond issuance. In a 2010 report, the Russell Group of 20 leading universities concluded that higher education could be financed by bond issuance.


Affiliations and memberships

The University of Cambridge is a member of the Russell Group of research-led British universities, the G5, the League of European Research Universities, and the
International Alliance of Research Universities The International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) was launched on 14 January 2006 as a co-operative network of 10 leading, international research-intensive universities who share similar visions for higher education, in particular the edu ...
, and forms part of the so-called golden triangle of research intensive and southern English universities. It is also closely linked with the development of the high-tech business cluster known as
Silicon Fen Silicon Fen (also known as the Cambridge Cluster) is the name given to the region around Cambridge, England, which is home to a large business cluster, cluster of high-tech businesses focusing on software, electronics and biotechnology, s ...
and is part of
Cambridge University Health Partners Cambridge University Health Partners is an academic health science centre that brings together the University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridgeshire and Pe ...
, Europe's largest academic health science centre.


Academic profile


Admissions


Process

Admission to the University of Cambridge is competitive: in 2018–2019, 18.8% of applicants were admitted. In 2021, Cambridge introduced an over-subscription clause to its offers, which allows the university to withdraw acceptances if too many students meet its selective entrance criteria. The clause can be invoked in the event of circumstances outside the reasonable control of the university. The clause was introduced following a record number of A-level pupils obtaining the highest grades from teacher assessment, which was introduced due to the cancellation of A-level examinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The university's standard offer for most courses is set at A*AA, with A*A*A for sciences courses (or equivalent in other examination systems, e.g. 7,6,6 or 7,7,6 in IB). Due to a high proportion of applicants receiving the highest school grades, an interview process was introduced as a component of consideration for admission. Interviews are performed by College Fellows, who evaluate candidates on unexamined factors including potential for original thinking and creativity. For exceptional candidates, a matriculation offer is sometimes offered, requiring only two A-levels at grade E or above.
Sutton Trust The Sutton Trust is an educational charity in the United Kingdom which aims to improve social mobility and address educational disadvantage. The charity was set up by educational philanthropist, Sir Peter Lampl in 1997. Since then, it has unde ...
maintains that Oxford University and the University of Cambridge recruit disproportionately from eight schools which accounted for 1,310 Oxbridge places over three years contrasted with 1,220 from 2,900 other schools. Strong applicants who are not successful in being admitted to their chosen college at the university may be placed in the Winter Pool, where they can be considered for admission to other university colleges, which maintains consistency throughout the colleges, some of which receive more applicants than others. Undergraduate applications are processed through UCAS, and the deadline for their submission currently is mid-October in the year before beginning. Until the 1980s, candidates for all subjects were required to take special entrance examinations, which have since been replaced by additional tests for some subjects, such as the Thinking Skills Assessment and Cambridge Law Test. The university has at times considered reintroducing an admissions exam for all subjects. Graduate admission is first decided by the faculty or department responsible for the applicant's respective academic subject. An offer of acceptance effectively guarantees admission to a college, though not necessarily the applicant's preferred choice.


Winter pool

The Winter Pool or inter-College Pool is an important part of the undergraduate application process intended to ensure that the best applicants are offered places. Approximately 20–25% of undergraduate places are awarded through the Pool. Each college can place applicants in the winter pool. These applicants' applications are then considered by Admissions Tutors and/or Directors of Studies of all colleges during the pool, which takes place over three days in January prior to admissions decisions being released by the university. For each subject, each college will create an ordered list of the pooled applicants they want, and take turns choosing applicants. Colleges with specific student requirements (i.e. the mature colleges and the women-only colleges) are given priority over applicants eligible for their colleges. Some applicants will be fished (selected from the pool) by the college that originally pooled them. Once all the colleges have fished as many applicants as they need, the pool ends. Some fished applicants will then be re-interviewed by their fishing college before final admissions decisions are made. Colleges can pool any candidate, either because the college has no space but believes the applicant is strong enough to get a place, or because the college wants to compare that applicant to other pooled applicants. Most applicants in the pool are pooled at their original college's discretion, but some candidates meet the compulsory pooling criteria. For applicants applying for 2022 entry, compulsory pooling has been suspended for all subjects with pre-interview assessments as well as maths. There were, as of the 2020/21 admissions cycle, only two grounds for compulsory pooling. For post-qualified applicants, their achieved grades at A level or equivalent (listed below) and, for applicants with overseas interviews, an interview score of at least 8 in all interviews. The second criterion does not apply to medicine applicants. Previously, AS-Level UMS have been used as pooling criteria, but after A-levels became linear this was discontinued. As of 2012, there is only one specifically identified category for pooled applicants, which is S — in special need of reassessment. This is for candidates whose initial interview scores are of questionable accuracy, for example if a candidate received very different scores from different interviewers, experienced technical issues (in the case of interviews conducted over the internet) or was affected by significant extenuating circumstances (for example illness or the loss of a family member). Pooled applicants who are "fished" by a college may be offered a place immediately or they may be invited for interview. In 2020 just 89 applicants were invited to re-interview, 34 of whom received offers. Each year about 3,500 applicants receive offers from their preference college and a further 1,000–1,100 applicants are made an offer by another college through the Pool. On average one in five applicants is pooled and around one in four pooled applicants receives an offer of a place. Statistics released by the University show that some colleges regularly receive particularly high numbers of applicants, and these colleges tend to take fewer applicants from the Pool. Other colleges regularly draw a greater proportion of their undergraduate intake from the Pool.


Access

Public debate in the United Kingdom continues over whether admissions processes at Oxford and Cambridge are entirely merit-based and fair, whether enough students from
state schools State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
are encouraged to apply to Cambridge, and whether these students are offered sufficient admission. In 2020–21, 71% of all successful applicants were from
state schools State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
(about 93% of all students in the UK attend state schools, and 82% of post-16 students). Critics have argued that the relative lower percent of state school applicants with the required grades for admission to Cambridge and Oxford has had a negative impact on Oxford and Cambridge's collective reputation, though both universities have encouraged pupils from state schools to apply for Cambridge to help redress the perceived imbalance. Others counter that government pressure to increase state school admissions constitutes inappropriate social engineering. The proportion of undergraduates drawn from independent schools has dropped over the years, constituting, as of 2020, a minority (26%) of total admissions among the university's 3,436 applicants from independent schools compared to 23% of the 9,237 applications from state schools. Cambridge, together with Oxford and
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
, is among those universities that have adopted formulae that issues a rating to the GCSE performance of every school in the country to weigh the scores of university applicants. With the release of admissions figures, a 2013 article in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported that ethnic minority candidates had lower success rates in individual subjects even when they had the same grades as white applicants. The university was criticised for what was seen as institutional discrimination against ethnic minority applicants in favour of white applicants. The university denied the claims of institutional discrimination, stating the figures did not take into account other variables. A subsequent article reported that, in the years 2010–2012, ethnic minority applicants to medicine with 3 A* grades or higher were 20% less likely to gain admission than white applicants with similar grades. The university refused to provide figures for a wider range of subjects, claiming such reporting would prove excessively costly. There are a number of educational consultancies that offer support with the application process to the University of Cambridge. Some make claims of improving chances for admission, though these claims have never been independently verified. None of these companies are affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Cambridge. The university informs applicants that all necessary information regarding the application process is publicly available through the university and none of these services is providing any insight not already publicly available to applicants. The University of Cambridge has been criticised for admitting a lower percentage of Black students, though many apply. Of the 31 colleges at Cambridge, six of them admitted fewer than 10 Black or mixed race students between 2012 and 2016. Similar criticism exists over a relatively lower admission rate for white working class applicants; in 2019, only 2% of admitted students were white working class. In January 2021, Cambridge created foundation courses for disadvantaged students. While the usual entry requirements are A*AA in A-Levels, the one-year foundation course has 50 places for students who achieve BBB. If successful on the course, students receive a recognised CertHE qualification and can progress to degrees in the arts, humanities, and social sciences at the university. Candidates include those who have been in care, who are estranged from their families, who have missed significant periods of learning because of health issues, those from low-income backgrounds and those from schools that send few students to university.


Teaching

The academic year is divided into three academic terms, determined by the statutes of the university.
Michaelmas term Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St Micha ...
lasts from October to December; the Lent term last from January to March; and the Easter term last from April to June. Within these terms, undergraduate teaching takes place within eight-week periods called
Full Term Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...
s. According to university statutes, it is a requirement during these periods that all students should live within three miles of the Church of St Mary the Great; this is defined as keeping term. Students eligible for graduation must fulfill this condition for nine terms (three years) while pursuing a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
or twelve terms (four years) when studying for a
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
, engineering, or mathematics degree. These terms are shorter than those of many other British universities. Undergraduates are also expected to prepare heavily in the three holidays (known as the Christmas, Easter, and Long Vacation holiday periods), which is they are referred to by the university as vacations rather than holidays; students vacate the premises but are still expected to be pursuing studies and assignments. The Tripos exam involves a mixture of lectures (organised by the university departments) and supervisions (organised by the colleges). Science subjects involve laboratory sessions organised by the departments. The relative importance of these methods of teaching varies according to the needs of the subject. Supervisions are typically weekly hour-long sessions in which small groups of students (usually between one and three) meet with a member of the teaching staff or with a doctoral student. Students are normally required to complete an assignment in advance of this supervision, which they then discuss with the supervisor during the session. The assignment is often an essay on a subject assigned by the supervisor, or a problem sheet set by the lecturer. Depending on the subject and college, students sometimes receive between one and four supervisions per week. This pedagogical system is often cited as being unique to Oxford (where supervisions are known as
tutorial A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete ...
s) and Cambridge and is sometimes credited with the exceptional nature generally associated with the education at these two world-renowned universities. A tutor named
William Farish William Farish may refer to: Senin varyoxunu... Dalbayov Gicdıllaq * William Farish (chemist) (1759–1837), tutor at the University of Cambridge * William Stamps Farish I (1843–1899) * William Stamps Farish II (1881–1942), Standard Oil preside ...
developed the concept of grading students' work quantitatively at the University of Cambridge in 1792.


Research

The University of Cambridge has research departments and teaching faculties in nearly every academic discipline, and ll research and lectures are conducted by university departments. The colleges are charged with giving or arranging most supervisions, student accommodation, and funding most extracurricular activities. During the 1990s, the University of Cambridge added a substantial number of new specialist research laboratories on several sites around the city, and major expansion continues on a number of sites. The University of Cambridge also maintains a research partnership with
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
in the United States, known as the
Cambridge–MIT Institute The Cambridge–MIT Institute, or CMI, was a partnership between the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2008 CMI issued a "final report" describing it ...
.


Graduation tradition and ceremony

Each graduation is a separate act of the university's governing body, Regent House, and must be voted on as with any other act. A formal meeting of Regent House, known as a congregation, is held for this purpose. This is typically the final act during which all university procedures for undergraduate and graduate students and other degrees are finalized. After degrees are approved, candidates must request their respective Colleges to present them during commencement congregation. Graduates receiving an undergraduate degree wear the academic dress to which they are entitled prior to graduating; for example, most students becoming
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
graduates wear undergraduate gowns and not BA gowns. Graduates receiving a post-graduate degree (e.g. PhD or Master's) wear the academic dress that they were entitled to before graduating if their first degree was also from the University of Cambridge; if their first degree was from another university, they wear the academic dress of the degree that they are about to receive. The BA gown without the strings is worn if the graduate is 24 years old or younger, and the MA gown without strings is worn if the graduate is 24 years old or over. Graduates are presented their degrees in Senate House by each respective college in order of foundation or recognition by the university, except for the university's royal colleges. During the congregation, graduands are brought forth by the Praelector of their respective college, who takes them by the right hand and presents them to the vice-chancellor to receive the degree they have earned. The Praelector presents graduands with the following
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
statement (the following forms were used when the vice-chancellor was female), substituting "____" with the name of the degree: The new graduate then rises, bows and leaves the Senate House through the Doctor's door in
Senate House Passage A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the eld ...
, where they receive their degree certificate. For the Cambridge Master of Arts, the degree is not awarded by merit of study, but by right following six years and one term after matriculation.


Libraries and museums

The university has 116 libraries.
Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...
is the central research library, and holds over eight million volumes. It is a
legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposi ...
library, which entitles it to request a free copy of every book published in the UK and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. In addition to the University Library and its dependents, almost every faculty or department has a specialised library; for example, the History Faculty's Seeley Historical Library houses in excess of 100,000 books. Every college also maintains a library, partly for the purpose of undergraduate teaching; older colleges often possess many early books and manuscripts in a separate library. For example, Trinity College's Wren Library houses over 200,000 books printed before 1800 and Corpus Christi College's Parker Library has one of the greatest collections of medieval manuscripts in the world with over 600 manuscripts.
Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...
on the campus of Churchill College houses the official papers of former British prime ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Cambridge University operates eight arts, cultural, and scientific museums, and a botanic garden. Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum;
Kettle's Yard Kettle's Yard is an art gallery and house in Cambridge, England. The director of the art gallery is Andrew Nairne. Both the house and gallery reopened in February 2018 after an expansion of the facilities. Kettle's Yard galleries, shop and caf ...
is a contemporary art gallery; the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology houses the university's collections of local antiquities along with archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from around the world;
Cambridge University Museum of Zoology The University Museum of Zoology is a museum of the University of Cambridge and part of the research community of the Department of Zoology. The public is welcome and admission is free (2018). The Museum of Zoology is in the David Attenborough ...
houses a wide range of
zoological Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and dis ...
specimens from around the world and is known for its iconic finback whale skeleton that hangs outside. Cambridge University Museum of Zoology also holds specimens collected by Charles Darwin, an 1831 University of Cambridge alumnus. Other museums include the Museum of Classical Archaeology,
Whipple Museum of the History of Science Whipple may refer to: People * Whipple (surname) (including a list of people with the surname) * Whip Jones (1909–2001), American ski industry pioneer, founder, developer and original operator of the Aspen Highlands ski area in Aspen, Colorado * ...
,
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, is the geology museum of the University of Cambridge. It is part of the Department of Earth Sciences and is located on the university's Downing Site in Downing Street, central Cambridge, England. The Sedgw ...
, the university's geology museum, and Polar Museum, part of the Scott Polar Research Institute, which is dedicated to
Captain Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...
and his men and focuses on the exploration of the
Polar Regions The polar regions, also called the frigid zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by floa ...
. The
Cambridge University Botanic Garden The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies between Trumpington Road to the west, Bateman Street to ...
, created in 1831, is the university's botanic garden.


Publishing and assessments

The university's publishing arm, the Cambridge University Press & Assessment, is the oldest printer and publisher in the world and the second largest university press in the world. The university established its Local Examination Syndicate in 1858. The syndicate is now known as Cambridge University Press & Assessment having merged with Cambridge University Press (see above) and is Europe's largest assessment agency. Cambridge University Press & Assessment plays a leading role in researching, developing, and delivering assessments across the globe.


Awards

The University of Cambridge issues a considerable number of prestigious awards and prizes annually to accomplished University of Cambridge faculty and students. It also issues some awards to those of varying global academic accomplishment regardless of whether their recipient is affiliated with the University of Cambridge. Some of these awards and prizes rank among the world's most estimable academic and intellectual accomplishments. Among the most prominent of these are: * Adam Smith Prize, awarded annually to the university's top-performing student in economics *
Adams Prize The Adams Prize is one of the most prestigious prizes awarded by the University of Cambridge. It is awarded each year by the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and St John's College to a UK-based mathematician for distinguis ...
, awarded annually by University of Cambridge mathematics faculty to a UK resident in recognition of distinguished research in mathematics * Browne Medal, awarded annually to students who win the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
poetry competition *
Carus Greek Testament Prizes The Carus Greek Testament Prizes are two annual prizes (one for undergraduates, one for graduate students) awarded at Cambridge University in England. Candidates are given a passage in Greek from the New Testament and asked to both translate and in ...
, a prize issued to winners of an annual competition of the university's undergraduate and graduate in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
translation of
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
passeges *
Chancellor's Gold Medal The Chancellor's Gold Medal is a prestigious annual award at Cambridge University for poetry, paralleling Oxford University's Newdigate Prize. It was first presented by Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh during his time as ...
, a prize issued to winners of the university's annual poetry competition * Porson Prize, a prize for students who develop the best Greek composition * Raymond Horton-Smith Prize, awarded annually to the University of Cambridge Medical School student for the best medical school thesis * Seatonian Prize, awarded annually for the best English language poem on a sacred subject *
Senior Wrangler The Senior Frog Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." Specifically, it is the person who a ...
, awarded annually to the university's top performing student on the Mathematical Tripos described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." * Thirlwall Prize, awarded every other year for the best essay about British literature or history * Thomas Bond Sprague Prize, awarded to the student with the best performing score on Part III of the Mathematical Tripos * Tyson Medal, awarded annually to the top astronomy student


Reputation and rankings

The University of Cambridge is routinely ranked among the world's top five universities, and has sometimes been ranked as the world's best. As of 2023, the University of Cambridge is ranked the second-best university in the world behind the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
(MIT) by QS Rankings. As of 2023, ARWU ranked Cambridge the best university in Europe and third best in the world behind Harvard and Stanford. '' Times Higher Education'' ranks Cambridge the third best university in the world (tied with Stanford) in its 2023 rankings. In April 2022, the QS Rankings ranked Cambridge's programmes among the world's best. Cambridge's Arts and Humanities program is ranked second-best in the world. The University of Cambridge's Engineering and Technology program is ranked second-best in the world. Its Life Sciences and Medicine program is ranked fourth best in the world. Its Natural Sciences program is ranked third best in the world. Its Social Sciences and Management program is ranked fourth best in the world. In 2011, '' Times Higher Education'' recognised the University of Cambridge as one of the world's six super brands on its "World Reputation Rankings" along with Berkeley, Harvard,
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
, Oxford, and Stanford. Cambridge has been highly ranked by most
international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
and UK league tables. It ranked first in the world in the ''QS World University Rankings'', for instance, from 2010–11 to 2011–12. A 2006 '' Newsweek'' overall ranking, which combined elements of the THES-QS and ARWU rankings with other factors that purportedly evaluated an institution's global "openness and diversity", suggested Cambridge was sixth around the globe. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', in 2012, ranked the University of Cambridge above Oxford in philosophy, law, politics, theology, mathematics, classics, anthropology, and modern languages. In the 2009 ''Times Good University Guide Subject Rankings'', the University of Cambridge ranked first or tied for first in the world in 34 of the 42 academic disciplines offered at the university. The University of Cambridge is ranked the best university in the UK by '' Times Ranking'' and the UK's second-best university by The Complete University Guide. In the 2016 Complete University Guide, the University of Cambridge is ranked first among all UK's universities; this ranking is based on a broad range of criteria, including admissions standards, student satisfaction, quality of teaching in specific subjects, and job prospects for graduates. The university is ranked second-best in the UK for the quality of graduates according to recruiters from UK's major companies. In the 2001 and 2008 government
Research Assessment Exercise The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) was an exercise undertaken approximately every five years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils (HEFCE, SHEFC, HEFCW, DELNI) to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British hig ...
s, the University of Cambridge ranked first in the UK. In 2005, the University of Cambridge produced more
PhDs A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
annually than any other British university (over 30% more than second placed Oxford). In 2006, a
Thomson Scientific Thomson Scientific was one of the six (later five) strategic business units of The Thomson Corporation, beginning in 2007, after being separated from Thomson Scientific & Healthcare. Following the merger of Thomson with Reuters Group to form Thom ...
study showed that the University of Cambridge had the highest research paper output of any British university and ranked first in research production as assessed by total paper citation count in ten of 21 major British research fields. An evidence-based study published the same year showed that the University of Cambridge won a larger proportion (6.6%) of total British research grants and contracts than any other university, ranking first in three out of four major measured discipline fields. The University of Cambridge is also closely linked with the development of the high tech business cluster in and around Cambridge, known as
Silicon Fen Silicon Fen (also known as the Cambridge Cluster) is the name given to the region around Cambridge, England, which is home to a large business cluster, cluster of high-tech businesses focusing on software, electronics and biotechnology, s ...
and sometimes referred to as the Cambridge Phenomenon. As of 2004, Silicon Fen was the second largest venture capital market in the world after
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
. Estimates in February 2006 reported that approximately 250 active
startup companies A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...
directly linked with the University of Cambridge worth around US$6 billion were based in Silicon Fen.


Student life


Formal halls and May balls

One privilege of student life at Cambridge is the opportunity to attend formal dinners at a student's respective college, known as Formal Hall and occurring regularly during terms and daily at some of the university's colleges. During Formal Hall, students sit down for a meal in their gowns (at most colleges) while fellows and sometimes guests eat separately at a so-called High Table. The beginning and end of the function is usually marked with grace said in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. Special Formal Halls are organised for Christmas and the Commemoration of Benefactors. After the exam period, May Week is held during which it is customary to celebrate by attending May Balls, which are all-night lavish parties held in the colleges where food and drinks and entertainment are provided. So-called Suicide Sunday, the first day of May Week, is a popular date for garden parties.


JCR and MCR

In addition to university-wide representation, students can participate in their own college student unions, which are known as JCR ( Junior Combination Room) for undergraduates and MCR (Middle Combination Room) for post-graduates. These serve as a link between college staff and members and include officers elected annually between the fellow students; individual JCR and MCRs also report to CUSU, which offers training courses for some of the positions within the body.


Societies

Numerous student-run societies exist at the University of Cambridge in order to encourage students who share common passions or interests to periodically meet or discuss these interests. , there were 751 registered societies at the university. In addition to these, individual colleges often promote their own societies and sports teams. Although technically independent from the university,
Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debati ...
, a globally-renowned debate organization and the oldest debate organization in the world, offers students high-level debate and public speaking experience. Drama societies include the Amateur Dramatic Club (ADC) and the comedy club
Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...
, which are known for producing well-known show business personalities. The Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra offers a range of orchestra programs, including symphonies; the orchestra's membership is composed entirely of university students.


Sports

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
is one of the most popular sports at the University of Cambridge, and there are competitions between colleges, notably the bumps races. The University of Cambridge's rowing competition against Oxford is known as Boat Race.
Varsity match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayf ...
es against Oxford also exist in other sports, including cricket, rugby, chess, and tiddlywinks. Athletes representing the university in certain sports are entitled to apply for a Cambridge Blue at the discretion of the Blues Committee, which includes captains of the thirteen most prestigious university sports teams. University organizations also include the self-described unashamedly elite
Hawks' Club The Hawks' Club is a members-only social club for sportsmen at the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1872, the club represents the best sportsmen in the University of Cambridge. Membership is by election only, and the usual criterion is that th ...
, open to men only and usually restricted to Cambridge Full Blues and Half Blues. The Ospreys are the equivalent female club. The
University of Cambridge Sports Centre The University of Cambridge Sports Centre is the University of Cambridge's main sporting facility. History The University of Cambridge Sports Centre opened in West Cambridge in August 2013. The Physical Education Department moved its offices fro ...
opened in August 2013. Phase 1 included a 37x34m Sports Hall, a fitness suite, a strength and conditioning Room, a multi-purpose room and Eton and
Rugby Fives Rugby Fives is a handball game, similar to squash, played in an enclosed court. It has similarities with Winchester Fives (a form of Wessex Fives) and Eton Fives. It is played mainly in the United Kingdom. It is most commonly believed to be ...
courts. Phase 1b included five glass-backed
squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
courts and a team training room. Future phases include indoor and outdoor tennis courts and a swimming pool. The university also has an
athletic track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...
at Wilberforce Road, an indoor cricket school, and
Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchard ...
cricket ground.


Student newspapers and radio

Cambridge's oldest student newspaper is '' Varsity''. Established in 1947, notable figures to have edited the newspaper include
Jeremy Paxman Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate new ...
,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
media editor Amol Rajan, and '' Vogue'' international editor
Suzy Menkes Suzy Peta Menkes (born 24 December 1943) is a British journalist and fashion critic. Formerly the fashion editor for the International Herald Tribune, Menkes also served as editor, Vogue International, for 25 international editions of ''Vogue'' ...
. The student newspaper also has featured the early writings of Zadie Smith (who appeared in ''Varsity'' literary anthology offshoot '' The Mays''),
Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is one half of the double act Mitchell and Webb, alongside David Mitchell. Webb and Mitchell both starred in the Channel 4 sitco ...
,
Tristram Hunt Tristram Julian William Hunt, (born 31 May 1974) is a British historian, broadcast journalist and former politician who has been Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum since 2017. He served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Sto ...
, and Tony Wilson. ''Varsity'' has a circulation of 9,000 and is the only student publication published weekly. News stories from ''Varsity'' have appeared in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'', '' The Sunday Times'', ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'', ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', and '' i''. Other student publications include ''
The Cambridge Student ''The Cambridge Student'', commonly known as TCS, is one of Cambridge University's student newspapers ('' Varsity'' and ''The Tab'' are the others). The now online only newspaper is owned and published by the Cambridge University Students' Unio ...
'', which is funded by Cambridge Students' Union and is published fortnightly, and ''
The Tab ''The Tab'' is a tabloid-style youth news site, published by Tab Media Ltd. It was launched at the University of Cambridge and has since expanded to over 80 universities in the United Kingdom and United States. The name originates from both an ...
''. Founded by two Cambridge students in 2009, ''The Tab'' is an online media outlet featuring light-hearted features content. '' The Mays'' is a literary anthology including student prose, poetry, and visual art from both University of Cambridge and Oxford students. Founded in 1992 by three Cambridge students, the anthology publishes once a year and is overseen by Varsity Publications Ltd., the same body responsible for ''Varsity''. Another literary journal, ''Notes'', is published roughly twice per term. Many colleges also have their own publications run by students. The student radio station,
Cam FM Cam FM (formerly known as Cambridge University Radio and later CUR1350) is a student-run radio station at the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University. The station broadcasts on an FM frequency of 97.2 MHz and online. It curre ...
, is run jointly by University of Cambridge and
Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...
students. One of few student radio stations to have an FM licence (frequency 97.2 MHz), the station hosts a mixture of music, talk, and sports shows.


Student Unions

All students at the University of Cambridge are represented by Cambridge Students' Union, which was founded in 2020 as a merger of two existing Student Unions in Cambridge: CUSU (the Cambridge University Students' Union) and the GU (the Graduate Union). CUSU previously represented all University students, and the GU solely represented graduate students. The eight most important positions in the SU are occupied by sabbatical officers. In 2020, the sabbatical officers were elected with a turnout of 20.88% of the whole student body. In 2021, Cambridge Students' Union launched a petition opposing the financial collaboration between the university and the government of United Arab Emirates that was worth £400m. The Union cited the "values gap" and threat to "academic freedom and institutional autonomy" reviewed following the release of internal UAE documents. Citing UAE's history of violating international human rights laws, Cambridge UCU warned that university staff were vulnerable to repression by gender, sexuality, or freedom of expression.


Controversies

In recent years, Cambridge has come under increased criticism and legal challenges resulting from alleged sexual harassment. In 2019, for example, former student Danielle Bradford, represented by sexual harassment lawyer Ann Olivarius, sued the university for its handling of her sexual misconduct complaint. "I was told that I should think about it very carefully because making a complaint could affect my place in my department," Bradford alleged in 2019. In 2020, hundreds of current and former students accused the university in a letter, citing "a complete failure" to deal with sexual misconduct complaints.


Notable alumni and academics

Over the course of a history now exceeding 800 years, a number of University of Cambridge alumni and faculty have emerged as trailblazing thought leaders, innovators, and historical icons in their respective fields. As of 2020, 121 affiliates of the University of Cambridge have won 122 Nobel Prizes (more than any university or college in the world)) with 70 alumni winning the prize. As of 2019, Cambridge alumni, faculty members, and researchers have won 11 Fields Medals and seven Turing Awards. Highly notable University of Cambridge alumni by specialty include:


Education

Notable alumni in academia include the founders and early professors of
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, including John Harvard himself;
Emily Davies Sarah Emily Davies (22 April 1830 – 13 July 1921) was an English feminist and suffragist, and a pioneering campaigner for women's rights to university access. She is remembered above all as a co-founder and an early Mistress of Girton Coll ...
, founder of
Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...
at Cambridge, the first residential higher education institution for women, and John Haden Badley, founder of the first mixed-sex public school (i.e. not public) in England; Anil Kumar Gain, 20th century mathematician and founder of the Vidyasagar University in Bengal, Siram Govindarajulu Naidu, founder and vice chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University; and
Menachem Ben-Sasson Menahem Ben-Sasson ( he, מנחם בן-ששון, born 7 July 1951) is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset for Kadima. Between 2009 and 2017 he was the president of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, succeeding Menachem Magidor ...
, president of Hebrew University of Jerusalem in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.


Humanities, music, and art

In the humanities, Greek studies were inaugurated at the University of Cambridge in the early sixteenth century by Desiderius Erasmus; contributions to the field were made by Richard Bentley and Richard Porson. John Chadwick was associated with Michael Ventris in the decipherment of Linear B. The Latinist A. E. Housman taught at the university but is more widely known for his contributions as a poet. Simon Ockley made a significant contribution to Arabic Studies. University of Cambridge academics include economists such as John Maynard Keynes, Thomas Malthus, Alfred Marshall, Milton Friedman, Joan Robinson, Piero Sraffa, Ha-Joon Chang, and Amartya Sen. Notable philosophers include Francis Bacon, Bertrand Russell,
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is con ...
, Leo Strauss,
George Santayana Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known in English as George Santayana (; December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952), was a Spanish and US-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Born in Spain, Santayana was raised ...
, G. E. M. Anscombe, Karl Popper, Bernard Williams, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, and
G. E. Moore George Edward Moore (4 November 1873 – 24 October 1958) was an English philosopher, who with Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein and earlier Gottlob Frege was among the founders of analytic philosophy. He and Russell led the turn from ideal ...
. Notable alumni historians include Thomas Babington Macaulay, Frederic William Maitland,
Lord Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...
, Joseph Needham, E. H. Carr,
Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Roper was a polemicist and essayist on a range of ...
,
Rhoda Dorsey Rhoda M. Dorsey (September 9, 1927 – May 10, 2014) was an American historian and college president. Dorsey was the longest serving president of Goucher College and the first woman to hold the position. Early life and education Rhoda Dorsey w ...
, E. P. Thompson, Eric Hobsbawm, Quentin Skinner,
Niall Ferguson Niall Campbell Ferguson FRSE (; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson
, Howard Markel, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Karl Schweizer. Notable alumni in religion include
Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...
, the former Archbishop of Canterbury and his predecessors;
William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execu ...
, the biblical translator; Thomas Cranmer,
Hugh Latimer Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the ...
, and Nicholas Ridley, known as the Oxford martyrs from the place of their execution; Benjamin Whichcote and the
Cambridge Platonists The Cambridge Platonists were an influential group of Platonist philosophers and Christian theologians at the University of Cambridge that existed during the 17th century. The leading figures were Ralph Cudworth and Henry More. Group and its na ...
; William Paley, the Christian philosopher known primarily for formulating the teleological argument for the existence of God; William Wilberforce and
Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...
, largely responsible for the abolition of the slave trade; Evangelical churchman
Charles Simeon Charles Simeon (24 September 1759 – 13 November 1836) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric. Life and career He was born at Reading, Berkshire, in 1759 and baptised at St Laurence's parish church on 24 October of that year. He was the ...
; John William Colenso, the bishop of Natal who interpreted Scripture and its relations with native peoples that seemed dangerously radical at the time;
John Bainbridge Webster John Bainbridge Webster (1955–2016) was an Anglican priest and theologian writing in the area of systematic, historical, and moral theology. Born in Mansfield, England, on 20 June 1955, he was educated at the independent Bradford Grammar Sch ...
and David F. Ford, theologians; and six winners of the Templeton Prize, the highest accolade in the world associated with the study of religion. Notable University of Cambridge alumni in the field of musical composition include Ralph Vaughan Williams,
Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the ...
,
William Sterndale Bennett Sir William Sterndale Bennett (13 April 18161 February 1875) was an English composer, pianist, conductor and music educator. At the age of ten Bennett was admitted to the London Royal Academy of Music (RAM), where he remained for ten years. B ...
, Orlando Gibbons and, more recently, Alexander Goehr,
Thomas Adès Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), '' ...
,
John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...
,
Julian Anderson Julian Anderson (born 6 April 1967) is a British composer and teacher of composition. Biography Anderson was born in London. He studied at Westminster School, then with John Lambert at the Royal College of Music, with Alexander Goehr at Cambri ...
,
Judith Weir Judith Weir (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. Appointed in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office. Biography Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish paren ...
, and
Maury Yeston Maury Yeston (born October 23, 1945) is an American composer, lyricist and music theorist. He is known as the initiator of new Broadway musicals and writing their music and lyrics, as well as a classical orchestral and ballet composer, Yale Uni ...
. The university has also produced world-renowned instrumentalists and conductors, including Colin Davis,
John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...
, Roger Norrington,
Trevor Pinnock Trevor David Pinnock (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and direct ...
, Andrew Manze,
Richard Egarr Richard Egarr (born 7 August 1963) is a British conductor and keyboard player. Biography Born in Lincoln, Egarr received his early musical training as a choirboy at York Minster and at Chetham's School of Music. He was an organ scholar at Clar ...
, Mark Elder,
Richard Hickox Richard Sidney Hickox (5 March 1948 – 23 November 2008) was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music. Early life Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family. After attending the Royal Gram ...
, Christopher Hogwood, Andrew Marriner,
David Munrow David John Munrow (12 August 194215 May 1976) was a British musician and early music historian. Early life and education Munrow was born in Birmingham where both his parents taught at the University of Birmingham. His mother, Hilda Ivy (né ...
,
Simon Standage Simon Andrew Thomas Standage (born 8 November 1941 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) is an English violinist and conductor best known for playing and conducting music of the baroque and classical eras on original instruments. Biography and ...
, Endellion Quartet, and
Fitzwilliam Quartet The Fitzwilliam Quartet (FSQ) is a British string quartet. The group was founded in 1968 by four Cambridge undergraduates. There have been a number of changes in personnel over the years, but Alan George from the original quartet is still a membe ...
. Although the university in music predominantly for its contributions to
choral music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...
, university alumni in popular music include members of contemporary bands such as Radiohead, Hot Chip,
Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for ...
, Clean Bandit, Sports Team songwriter and entertainer
Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...
,
Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...
, and the singer-songwriter Nick Drake. Artists Quentin Blake, Roger Fry, Rose Ferraby, and
Julian Trevelyan Julian Otto Trevelyan (20 February 1910 – 12 July 1988) was an English artist and poet. Early life Trevelyan was the only child to survive to adulthood of Robert Calverley Trevelyan and his wife Elizabeth van der Hoeven. His grandfather wa ...
, sculptors Antony Gormley, Marc Quinn, and
Anthony Caro Sir Anthony Alfred Caro (8 March 192423 October 2013) was an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using ' found' industrial objects. His style was of the modernist school, having worked with Henry Moor ...
, and photographers Antony Armstrong-Jones,
Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the t ...
, and Mick Rock are each University of Cambridge alumni.


Literature

Writers to have studied at the university include the Elizabethan dramatist Christopher Marlowe, his fellow
University Wits The University Wits is a phrase used to name a group of late 16th-century English playwrights and pamphleteers who were educated at the universities ( Oxford or Cambridge) and who became popular secular writers. Prominent members of this group were ...
,
Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' ...
, and Robert Greene, arguably the first professional authors in England, and John Fletcher who collaborated with Shakespeare on '' The Two Noble Kinsmen'', '' Henry VIII'', and the lost ''
Cardenio ''The History of Cardenio'', often referred to as simply ''Cardenio'', is a lost play, known to have been performed by the King's Men, a London theatre company, in 1613. The play is attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher in a Stati ...
'' and succeeded him as house playwright for
The King's Men The King's Men is the acting company to which William Shakespeare (1564–1616) belonged for most of his career. Formerly known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, they became the King's Men in 1603 when King Ja ...
. Samuel Pepys matriculated in 1650, known for his
diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
, the original manuscripts of which are now housed in the Pepys Library at Magdalene College. Lawrence Sterne, whose novel ''
Tristram Shandy Tristram may refer to: Literature * the title character of ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', a novel by Laurence Sterne * the title character of '' Tristram of Lyonesse'', an epic poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne *"Tristr ...
'' is judged to have inspired many modern narrative devices and styles. In the following century, the novelists W. M. Thackeray, author of '' Vanity Fair'', Charles Kingsley, author of ''
Westward Ho! Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford, and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Sau ...
'' and '' Water Babies'', and Samuel Butler, remembered for '' The Way of All Flesh'' and ''
Erewhon ''Erewhon: or, Over the Range'' () is a novel by English writer Samuel Butler, first published anonymously in 1872, set in a fictional country discovered and explored by the protagonist. The book is a satire on Victorian society. The fir ...
'', are all University of Cambridge alumni. Ghost story writer
M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...
served as provost of King's College from 1905 to 1918. Novelist Amy Levy was the first Jewish woman to attend the university. Modernist writers to have attended the university include
E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
, Rosamond Lehmann,
Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...
, Christopher Isherwood, and Malcolm Lowry. Playwright
J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...
, physicist and novelist
C. P. Snow Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow, (15 October 1905 – 1 July 1980) was an English novelist and physical chemist who also served in several important positions in the British Civil Service and briefly in the UK government.''The Columbia Encyclope ...
, and children's writer
A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
are each early 20th century alumni of the university. They were followed by postmodernists Patrick White,
J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass med ...
, and early postcolonial writer E. R. Braithwaite. More recently, alumni include comedy writers
Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...
,
Tom Sharpe Thomas Ridley Sharpe (30 March 1928 – 6 June 2013) was an English satirical novelist, best known for his '' Wilt'' series, as well as ''Porterhouse Blue'' and ''Blott on the Landscape,'' all three of which were adapted for television. Life ...
and
Howard Jacobson Howard Eric Jacobson (born 25 August 1942) is a British novelist and journalist. He is known for writing comic novels that often revolve around the dilemmas of British Jewish characters.Ragi, K. R., "Howard Jacobson's ''The Finkler Question'' as ...
, the popular novelists A. S. Byatt, Salman Rushdie, Nick Hornby, Zadie Smith, Louise Dean, Robert Harris, and Sebastian Faulks, action writers Michael Crichton, David Gibbins, and Jin Yong, and contemporary playwrights and screenwriters, including Julian Fellowes, Stephen Poliakoff,
Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce '' Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the M ...
, and
Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...
. Within poetry, University of Cambridge alumni include the poets Edmund Spenser, author of ''
The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
'', metaphysical poets John Donne, who wrote '' For Whom the Bell Tolls'',
George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...
and
Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...
, and John Milton, who is renowned for '' Paradise Lost'', Restoration poet and playwright John Dryden, pre-romantic poet Thomas Gray best known his '' Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'', William Wordsworth, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, whose joint work ''
Lyrical Ballads ''Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems'' is a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798 and generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literatu ...
'' is often cited as marking the beginning of the Romantic movement, later Romantics including Lord Byron and the post-romantic
Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
, authors of the best known carpe diem poems, including Robert Herrick known for " To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" with the first line "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may", and
Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...
, who authored " To His Coy Mistress", classical scholar and lyric poet A. E. Housman, war poets Siegfried Sassoon and Rupert Brooke, modernist T. E. Hulme, confessional poets Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, and John Berryman, and, more recently, Cecil Day-Lewis, Joseph Brodsky, Kathleen Raine, and Geoffrey Hill. At least nine Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poets Laureate graduated from the University of Cambridge. University alumni have also made notable contributions to literary criticism, having produced, among others, F. R. Leavis, I. A. Richards, C. K. Ogden, and William Empson, often collectively known as the Cambridge Critics, the Marxists Raymond Williams, sometimes regarded as the founding father of cultural studies, and Terry Eagleton, author of ''Literary Theory: An Introduction'', the most successful academic book ever published, the aesthetician Harold Bloom, new historicist Stephen Greenblatt, and biographical writers including Lytton Strachey, a central figure in the Bloomsbury Group, Peter Ackroyd, and Claire Tomalin. Actors and directors who attended the University of Cambridge include Ian McKellen, Eleanor Bron, Miriam Margolyes, Derek Jacobi, Michael Redgrave, James Mason, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, John Cleese, John Oliver, Freddie Highmore, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie, Simon Russell Beale, Tilda Swinton, Thandie Newton, Georgie Henley, Rachel Weisz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Tom Hiddleston, Sara Mohr-Pietsch, Eddie Redmayne, Dan Stevens, Jamie Bamber, Lily Cole, David Mitchell (comedian), David Mitchell,
Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is one half of the double act Mitchell and Webb, alongside David Mitchell. Webb and Mitchell both starred in the Channel 4 sitco ...
, Richard Ayoade, Mel Giedroyc, and Sue Perkins. Directors Mike Newell (director), Mike Newell, Sam Mendes, Stephen Frears, Paul Greengrass, Chris Weitz, and John Madden (director), John Madden each are alumni of the university.


Mathematics and sciences

Isaac Newton, who conducted many of his experiments on the grounds of Trinity College, ranks among the most famed University of Cambridge alumni. Other alumni of the university include Francis Bacon, who developed the scientific method of inquiry, mathematicians John Dee and Brook Taylor, pure mathematics, pure mathematicians G. H. Hardy, John Edensor Littlewood, Mary Cartwright, and Augustus De Morgan; Michael Atiyah, a geometry specialist; William Oughtred, inventor of the logarithmic scale; John Wallis, first to explain the law of acceleration; Srinivasa Ramanujan, a genius who made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions; and
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and li ...
, who brought about the second great unification of physics (the first being accredited to Newton) with his classical theory of electromagnetic radiation. In 1890, mathematician Philippa Fawcett, a University of Cambridge student, registered the highest score in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos exams but as a woman was then ineligible to claim the title
Senior Wrangler The Senior Frog Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." Specifically, it is the person who a ...
. In biology, University of Cambridge alumni include Charles Darwin, famous for developing the theory of natural selection and explaining evolution, is an alumnus of Christ's College. Biologists Francis Crick and James D. Watson, James Watson developed the model explaining the three-dimensional structure of DNA while working at the Cavendish Laboratory; University of Cambridge graduates Maurice Wilkins and especially Rosalind Franklin produced key X-ray crystallography data, which was shared with Watson by Wilkins. Wilkins went on to verify the proposed structure and win the Nobel Prize with Watson and Crick. More recently, Ian Wilmut was part of the team responsible for the first cloning of a mammal (Dolly the Sheep in 1996), naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough, ethologist Jane Goodall, expert on chimpanzees was a PhD student at the university, anthropologist Alison Richard, Dame Alison Richard, former vice-chancellor of the university, and Frederick Sanger, a biochemist known for developing Sanger sequencing and receiving two Nobel prizes. Despite the university's delay in admitting women to its full degree programs, women associated with the University of Cambridge have been at the heart of scientific research throughout the 20th century. Notable female scientists include biochemist Marjory Stephenson, plant physiologist Gabrielle Howard, social anthropologist Audrey Richards, psychoanalyst Alix Strachey, who with her husband translated the works of Sigmund Freud, Kavli Prize-winner Brenda Milner, respnsible for co-discovering specialised brain networks for memory and cognition. Veterinary epidemiologist Sarah Cleaveland has contributed to advances in eliminating rabies in the Serengeti. The university is widely considered the birthplace of the computer; mathematician and father of the computer Charles Babbage designed the world's first computing system as early as the mid-1800s. Cambridge alumnus Alan Turing devised the basis for modern computing, and Maurice Wilkes later created the first programmable computer. The webcam was also invented at the University of Cambridge, showing the Trojan Room coffee pot in the university's computer laboratories. In physics, Ernest Rutherford, regarded as the father of nuclear physics, spent much of his life at the university, where he worked closely with Evan James Williams, E. J. Williams and Niels Bohr, a major contributor to the understanding of the atom, J. J. Thomson, discoverer of the electron, James Chadwick, discoverer of the neutron, and John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton, responsible for first splitting the atom. J. Robert Oppenheimer, leader of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb, also studied under Rutherford and Thomson. Joan Curran devised the Chaff (countermeasure), 'chaff' technique used during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
to disrupt radar on Axis powers' planes. University of Cambridge alumni in astronomy include John Herschel, Arthur Eddington, and Paul Dirac, discoverer of antimatter and one of the pioneers of quantum mechanics; Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist and the university's long-serving Lucasian Professor of Mathematics until 2009; and Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, Martin Rees, the current Astronomer Royal and former Master of Trinity College. John Polkinghorne, a mathematician before his ordination to the Anglican Minister (Christianity), ministry, received the Templeton Prize for his work reconciling science and religion. Other significant university alumni in science include Henry Cavendish, who discovered hydrogen; Frank Whittle, co-inventor of the jet engine; William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), who formulated the original Laws of Thermodynamics; William Fox Talbot, who invented the camera, Alfred North Whitehead, Einstein's major opponent; Jagadish Chandra Bose, one of the fathers of radio science;
Lord Rayleigh John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, (; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919) was an English mathematician and physicist who made extensive contributions to science. He spent all of his academic career at the University of Cambridge. Am ...
, who made extensive contributions to both theoretical and experimental physics in the 20th century; and Georges Lemaître, who first proposed the Big Bang theory.


Politics

The University of Cambridge has a strong reputation in the field of politics, having educated: * 14 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, British Prime Ministers, including Robert Walpole, who is widely regarded as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain * At least 30 foreign heads of state or government, including presidents of India, Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, South Korea, and Zambia; along with prime ministers of Australia, Burma, France, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Malta, Thailand, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand * At least nine monarchs, including Kings Edward VII, George VI, and (current King) Charles III of the United Kingdom, King Peter II of Yugoslavia, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and Queen Sofía of Spain. The university had also educated a large number of royals, including Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex * Three signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence, Thomas Lynch Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Thomas Nelson Jr. * Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England (1653–58)


Sports

, athletes who are university graduates or attendees had won 194 Olympic medals, including 88 gold medals. Alumni of the university include legendary Chinese six-time world table tennis champion Deng Yaping; sprinter and athletics hero Harold Abrahams; inventors of the modern game of football, H. de Winton and J. C. Thring; and George Mallory, the famed mountaineer. Indian cricketer Colonel H. H. Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji, Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II and Jam Saheb of Nawanagar (often known as Ranji), widely regarded as one of the best batsmen of all time, are alumni of the university.


Technology

University of Cambridge alumni are responsible some of the world's greatest advances in technology, and several have gone on to found or co-found leading technology companies, including: * Sam Chaudhary, co-founder of ClassDojo, a San Francisco-based EdTech company connecting teachers with their students and families * Demis Hassabis, co-founder and chief executive officer of DeepMind, a British artificial intelligence subsidiary of Alphabet Inc responsible for the AlphaGo and AlphaFold breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, AI * Philip Kwok, co-founder of EasyA, one of the world's largest Web3 apps for students * Herman Narula and Rob Whitehead, co-founders of Improbable (company), Improbable, a British multinational company developing video game simulation software * Rahul Vohra, founder of Superhuman, an email messaging app that reduces the time people need to spend on emails * Sophie Wilson and Steve Furber, co-founders of Arm Ltd., ARM, a British semiconductor and software design company still based in Cambridge


In literature and popular culture

Throughout its history, the University of Cambridge has frequently been featured in literature and artistic works by various authors. As of 2020, IMDb lists 71 films or television shows that feature Cambridge as a filming location. Cambridge was mentioned as early as the 14th century in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales''. In ''The Reeve's Tale'', the two main fictional characters are students at a Cambridge college called Soler Halle. It is believed that this refers to King's Hall, Cambridge, King's Hall, which is now part of Trinity College. The university has been the setting for all or parts of numerous novels, including
Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...
' ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'', Rose Macaulay's ''They Were Defeated'', and
Tom Sharpe Thomas Ridley Sharpe (30 March 1928 – 6 June 2013) was an English satirical novelist, best known for his '' Wilt'' series, as well as ''Porterhouse Blue'' and ''Blott on the Landscape,'' all three of which were adapted for television. Life ...
's ''Porterhouse Blue''. Other notable examples of the University of Cambridge in popular culture include: * Xu Zhimo's best-known poem (1928) is ''Zaibie Kangqiao'' (Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 再别康桥; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 再別康橋;.: 'again (or once more) leave Cambridge'), variously translated into English as "On Leaving Cambridge", "Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again", "Goodbye Again, Cambridge", etc. The poem is part of China's national curriculum taught to all schoolchildren and has generated a tremendous amount of adoration of Cambridge in China. * In the ''Psmith'' series (1908–1923 collection of novels) by P. G. Wodehouse, both the Rupert Psmith, title character and Michael "Mike" Jackson, Mike, his closest friend, study at the University of Cambridge. * ''Chariots of Fire'' (1981 film) by Hugh Hudson is partly set at Cambridge between 1919 and 1924, when protagonist Harold Abrahams (played by Ben Cross) was a student there. * ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983) features Churchill College, Cambridge, Churchill College in the film's church scene. Many members of Monty Python are University of Cambridge alumni. * ''True Blue (1996 film), True Blue'' (1996) is a film about the mutiny at the time of the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race of 1987. * In ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007-2019), Raj Koothrappali, portrayed by Kunal Nayyar, studied astrophysics at Cambridge, and List of The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon characters, Priya Koothrappali, portrayed by Aarti Mann, studied law at Cambridge. * ''The History Boys (film), The History Boys'' (2008) is a film about a group of boys applying to do history at Oxford and Cambridge. * In Guy Richie's 2011 film ''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'', Sherlock Holmes is shown meeting his nemesis, Professor Moriarty, in Moriarty's office with a brief stock shot establishing this as King's College, Cambridge, King's College, where Moriarty is a professor. * In James Marsh (director), James Marsh's 2014 biographical film ''The Theory of Everything (2014 film), The Theory of Everything'', young Stephen Hawking falls in love with literature student Jane Wilde at the University of Cambridge, where both of them study. * ''The Imitation Game'' is a 2014 historical drama that features Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch). Several lines in the film's dialogue make reference to Turing being a Cambridge alumnus and fellow of King's College, Cambridge, King's College of Cambridge. * The 2015 film ''The Man Who Knew Infinity'' about mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan was filmed at Trinity College, Cambridge, where Ramanujan was a fellow.


Gallery

File:Cmglee Cambridge Trinity College Great Court.jpg, Great Court, Trinity College File:Corpus Christi College New Court, Cambridge, UK - Diliff.jpg, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College New Court File:Cambridge Gonville and Caius College.jpg, Gatehouse, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College File:Pembroke College graduation.jpg, First Court, Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College File:Selwyn College Gatehouse Tower, Cambridge, UK - Diliff.jpg, Gatehouse, Selwyn College, Cambridge, Selwyn College File:St Catharine's College Catz University of Cambridge Cambridge England Britain UK United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (40307549695).jpg, Main Court, St Catharine's College, Cambridge, St Catharine's College File:Hughes Hall and Fenners in February (geograph 4824048).jpg, Hughes Hall and
Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchard ...
File:Bredon house.png, Bredon House of Wolfson College, Cambridge, Wolfson College File:St Edmund's Aerial.jpg, St Edmund's College, Cambridge, St Edmund's College File:Flowers (233225591).jpeg, West Lodge Garden,
Downing College Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...
File:Graduation day, Queens' College, Cambridge.JPG, Queens' College, Cambridge, Queen's College Old Gatehouse File:Magdalene College Dining Hall, Cambridge, UK - Diliff - sans lens flares.jpg, Dining Hall of Magdalene College, Cambridge, Magdalene College File:JesusCollegeChapelCourt.jpg, Chapel Court, Jesus College, Cambridge, Jesus College File:St John's College Second Court, Cambridge, UK - Diliff.jpg, Second Court, St John's College File:Cambridge 13 Trinity Hall 01a Exterior.jpg, Trinity Hall File:The Cavendish Building, Cambridge (Homerton College) 2012.jpg, The Cavendish Building, Homerton College File:Darwin College Granary Store, Cambridge, England.jpg, Darwin College File:Sidney Sussex Chapel.jpg, The chapel, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Sidney Sussex College File:Cambridge University Judge Business School interior.jpg, Cambridge Judge Business School, Judge Business School interior File:Fitzwilliam college grove summer.jpg, The Grove at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam College File:Cambridge - Girton College Main Gate - June 2018.jpg, Gatehouse,
Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...


See also

* Armorial of British universities * Cambridge University Constabulary * Cambridge University primates * Coat of arms of the University of Cambridge * List of medieval universities * List of Nobel laureates by university affiliation, List of Nobel laureates affiliated with the University of Cambridge * List of organisations and institutions associated with the University of Cambridge * List of organisations with a British royal charter * List of professorships at the University of Cambridge * List of universities in the United Kingdom


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

*


Bibliography

* * Brooke, Christopher N. L. (1988–2004). ''A History of the University of Cambridge''. Cambridge University Press, 4 vols., , , , * * Garrett, Martin (2004). ''Cambridge: A Cultural and Literary History'', Signal Books. * Koyama, Noboru; Ruxton, Ian, transl. , This book includes information about the wooden spoon and the university in the 19th century as well as the Japanese students. * * Lee, John S. and Christian Steer, eds
''Commemoration in Medieval Cambridge''
History of the University of Cambridge, Boydell, 2018. * * * * * *


External links

*
Cambridge University Students' Union

Cambridge University Graduate Union

Interactive map
��a zoomable map linking to all the university departments and colleges
ACAD—A Cambridge Alumni Database
covering the period of approximately 1200 to 1900 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge, University Of University of Cambridge, 1209 establishments in England Culture in Cambridge Educational institutions established in the 13th century Exempt charities History of Cambridge Organisations based in Cambridge with royal patronage Oxbridge Russell Group Tourist attractions in Cambridge Universities UK