Costs to students accommodation and food prices vary considerably from college to college. There are also several theological colleges in Cambridge, separate from Cambridge University, including Westcott House , Westminster College and Ridley Hall Theological College , that are, to a lesser degree, affiliated to the university and are members of the Cambridge Theological Federation. The 31 colleges are: [70]. Main article. In addition to the 31 colleges, the university is made up of over departments, faculties, schools, syndicates and other institutions.
The university also has a centre for part-time study, the Institute of Continuing Education , which is housed in Madingley Hall , a 16th-century manor house in Cambridgeshire.
A "School" in the University of Cambridge is a broad administrative grouping of related faculties and other units. Each has an elected supervisory body—the "Council" of the school—comprising representatives of the constituent bodies. There are six schools: [72]. Teaching and research in Cambridge is organised by faculties.
The faculties have different organisational sub-structures which partly reflect their history and partly their operational needs, which may include a number of departments and other institutions. In addition, a small number of bodies called 'Syndicates' have responsibilities for teaching and research, e.
The office of Chancellor of the university, for which there are no term limits, is mainly ceremonial and is held by David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville , following the retirement of the Duke of Edinburgh on his 90th birthday in June Lord Sainsbury was nominated by the official Nomination Board to succeed him, [73] and Abdul Arain, owner of a local grocery store, Brian Blessed and Michael Mansfield were also nominated.
The current Vice-Chancellor is Stephen Toope. The university's internal governance is carried out almost entirely by its own members, [78] with very little external representation on its governing body, the Regent House though there is external representation on the Audit Committee, and there are four external members on the University's Council , who are the only external members of the Regent House. The Senate consists of all holders of the MA degree or higher degrees. It elects the Chancellor and the High Steward, and elected two members of the House of Commons until the Cambridge University constituency was abolished in Prior to , it was the university's governing body, fulfilling the functions that the Regent House fulfils today.
Although the University Council is the principal executive and policy-making body of the university, it must report and be accountable to the Regent House through a variety of checks and balances. It has the right of reporting to the university, and is obliged to advise the Regent House on matters of general concern to the university. It does both of these by causing notices to be published by authority in the Cambridge University Reporter , the official journal of the university.
Since January , the membership of the Council has included two external members, [82] and the Regent House voted for an increase from two to four in the number of external members in March , [83] [84] and this was approved by Her Majesty the Queen in July The General Board of the Faculties is responsible for the academic and educational policy of the university, [86] and is accountable to the Council for its management of these affairs.
Faculty Boards are responsible to the General Board; other Boards and Syndicates are responsible either to the General Board if primarily for academic purposes or to the Council. In this way, the various arms of the university are kept under the supervision of the central administration, and thus the Regent House.
Vice-Chancellor Leszek Borysiewicz hailed the success of the issue. 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 , and forms part of the " golden triangle " of research intensive and southern English universities. Undergraduate applications to Cambridge must be made through UCAS in time for the early deadline, currently mid-October in the year before starting.
Until the s candidates for all subjects were required to sit special entrance examinations, [97] since replaced by additional tests for some subjects, such as the Thinking Skills Assessment and the Cambridge Law Test.
Most applicants who are called for interview will have been predicted at least three A-grade A-level qualifications relevant to their chosen undergraduate course, or the equivalent in other qualifications, such as getting at least 7,7,6 for higher-level subjects at IB. Due to a high proportion of applicants receiving the highest school grades, the interview process is needed for distinguishing between the most able candidates.
The interview is performed by College Fellows, who evaluate candidates on unexamined factors such as potential for original thinking and creativity. Strong applicants who are not successful at their chosen college may be placed in the Winter Pool , where they can be offered places by other colleges. This is in order to maintain consistency throughout the colleges, some of which receive more applicants than others.
Graduate admission is first decided by the faculty or department relating to the applicant's subject. When an offer is made, this effectively guarantees admission to a college—though not necessarily the applicant's preferred choice. 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 are encouraged to apply to Cambridge; and whether these students succeed in gaining entry. Critics have argued that the lack of state school applicants with the required grades applying to Cambridge and Oxford has had a negative impact on Oxbridge 's reputation for many years, and the university has encouraged pupils from state schools to apply for Cambridge to help redress the imbalance.
With the release of admissions figures, a article in The Guardian 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 hence 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 by stating the figures did not take into account "other variables". The University refused to provide figures for a wider range of subjects claiming it would be too costly.
There are a number of educational consultancies that offer support with the applications process. Some make claims of improved chances of admission but these claims are not independently verified. None of these companies are affiliated to or endorsed by the University of Cambridge. The university informs applicants that all important information regarding the application process is public knowledge and none of these services is providing any inside information.
Cambridge University has been criticised because many colleges admit a low proportion of black students though many apply. Of the 31 colleges at Cambridge 6 admitted fewer than 10 black or mixed race students from to The academic year is divided into three academic terms, determined by the Statutes of the University. Within these terms undergraduate teaching takes place within eight-week periods called Full Terms. According to the university statutes, it is a requirement that during this period all students should live within 3 miles of the Church of St Mary the Great ; this is defined as Keeping term.
Students can graduate only if they fulfill this condition for nine terms three years when obtaining a Bachelor of Arts or twelve terms four years when studying for a Master of Science, Engineering or Mathematics.
These terms are shorter than those of many other British universities. Triposes involve a mixture of lectures organised by the university departments , and supervisions organised by the colleges. Science subjects also 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 the supervision, which they will discuss with the supervisor during the session, along with any concerns or difficulties they have had with the material presented in that week's lectures. The assignment is often an essay on a subject set by the supervisor, or a problem sheet set by the lecturer.
Depending on the subject and college, students might receive between one and four supervisions per week. A tutor named William Farish developed the concept of grading students' work quantitatively at the University of Cambridge in The University of Cambridge has research departments and teaching faculties in most academic disciplines.
All research and lectures are conducted by university departments. The colleges are in charge of giving or arranging most supervisions, student accommodation, and funding most extracurricular activities. During the s 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.
Unlike in most universities, the Cambridge Master of Arts is not awarded by merit of study, but by right, four years after being awarded the BA. At the University of Cambridge, each graduation is a separate act of the university's governing body, the Regent House , and must be voted on as with any other act. A formal meeting of the Regent House, known as a Congregation , is held for this purpose. After degrees are approved, to have them conferred candidates must ask their Colleges to be presented during a Congregation. Graduates receiving an undergraduate degree wear the academic dress that they were entitled to before graduating: for example, most students becoming Bachelors of Arts wear undergraduate gowns and not BA gowns.
Graduates receiving a postgraduate degree e. PhD or Master's wear the academic dress that they were entitled to before graduating, only if their first degree was also from the University of Cambridge; if their first degree is from another university, they wear the academic dress of the degree that they are about to receive, the BA gown without the strings if they are under 24 years of age, or the MA gown without strings if they are 24 and over.
During the congregation, graduands are brought forth by the Praelector of their college, who takes them by the right hand, and presents them to the vice-chancellor for the degree they are about to take. After presentation, the graduand is called by name and kneels before the vice-chancellor and proffers their hands to the vice-chancellor, who clasps them and then confers the degree through the following Latin statement—the Trinitarian formula in nomine Patris The now-graduate then rises, bows and leaves the Senate House through the Doctor's door, where he or she receives his or her certificate, into Senate House Passage.
The university has libraries. It is a legal deposit library, therefore it is entitled to request a free copy of every book published in the UK and Ireland. Furthermore, every college has a library as well, partially for the purposes of undergraduate teaching, and the older colleges often possess many early books and manuscripts in a separate library.
For example, Trinity College's Wren Library has more than , books printed before , while Corpus Christi College's Parker Library possesses one of the greatest collections of medieval manuscripts in the world, with over manuscripts. Cambridge University operates eight arts, cultural, and scientific museums, and a botanic garden.
This Museum also has specimens collected by Charles Darwin. The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is the botanic garden of the university, created in The university's publishing arm, the Cambridge University Press , is the oldest printer and publisher in the world, and it is the second largest university press in the world.
The university set up its Local Examination Syndicate in Today, the syndicate, which is known as Cambridge Assessment , is Europe's largest assessment agency and it plays a leading role in researching, developing and delivering assessments across the globe. According to the Complete University Guide, the University of Cambridge is ranked first amongst the UK's universities; this ranking is based on a broad raft of criteria from entry standards and student satisfaction to quality of teaching in specific subjects and job prospects for graduates.