University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, it is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's third-oldest university in continuous operation. It was started after scholars left the University of Oxford for Cambridge following a dispute with local townspeople. The two ancient English universities are sometimes described as rivals, but they share many common features and are often called Oxbridge together.

In 1231, 22 years after it was founded, the university was recognised with a royal charter, granted by King Henry III. The university includes 31 semi-autonomous constituent colleges and more than 150 academic departments, faculties, and other institutions organised into six schools. The largest department is Cambridge University Press and Assessment, which contains the oldest university press in the world. Each college manages its own staff and policies, and every student must belong to a college within the university. Undergraduates are taught mainly through weekly small-group supervisions in their colleges, along with lectures, seminars, laboratory work, and sometimes extra supervision from the central university faculties and departments.

The university runs eight cultural and scientific museums, including the Fitzwilliam Museum and Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Cambridge's 116 libraries hold about 16 million books, and around 9 million of them are in Cambridge University Library, a legal deposit library and one of the world's largest academic libraries.

Among the university's notable alumni are reigning King Charles III, Francis Bacon, Lord Byron, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Rosalind Franklin, Rajiv Gandhi, John Harvard, Stephen Hawking, John Maynard Keynes, John Milton, Vladimir Nabokov, Jawaharlal Nehru, Isaac Newton, Salman Rushdie, Bertrand Russell, Alan Turing, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and William Wordsworth. They also include 15 British prime ministers, including the sitting prime minister Andy Burnham, and 194 Olympic medal-winning athletes. Its alumni, academics, and affiliates have won 126 Nobel Prizes.

History

See also: Timeline of Cambridge

Main article: Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency)

See also: Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the University of Cambridge

Main article: Town and gown

Further information: Away with the learning of clerks, away with it! and Silicon Fen

Further information: Nine Lessons and Carols and wooden spoon (award)

See also: Colleges of the University of Cambridge and Oxford and Cambridge Act 1571

See also: Lucasian Professor of Mathematics and Mathematical Tripos

See also: Cambridge movement (philosophy)

Cambridge was already known for scholarship before the university was founded in 1209, partly because of monks from Ely Cathedral. The university grew out of a dispute at the University of Oxford. After a local woman died, two Oxford scholars were hanged by the town's authorities. Fearing more violence, scholars left Oxford for places including Reading and Cambridge, and enough of them settled in Cambridge to form the new university. By 1225 a chancellor had been appointed, and in 1290 Cambridge was described as a studium generale by Pope Nicholas IV. The first college, Peterhouse, was founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, the Bishop of Ely. Today the university has 31 colleges. Many early colleges were founded so their members could pray for the souls of the founders. In 1536, Henry VIII ordered the university to stop teaching scholastic philosophy, so colleges began teaching classics, the Bible, and mathematics instead. Colleges such as Emmanuel were also centres of the Puritan movement, and many Puritans later left England for New England.

The university became a world leader in mathematics. Its Mathematical Tripos exam was once compulsory for many students, and the top student was known as the Senior Wrangler. Famous scientists such as James Clerk Maxwell, Lord Kelvin, and Lord Rayleigh studied there. In 1847, Prince Albert was elected chancellor and helped add natural sciences to the courses. The Cambridge University Act 1856 formalised the university's structure. The first college for women, Girton College, was founded in 1869 by Emily Davies. Women were not admitted to the university until 1948. During World War I, 2,470 members of the university were killed in action. The university has also had a close, sometimes uneasy, relationship with the city, described by the phrase town and gown. Since the late 20th century, the university has helped create the Silicon Fen business cluster. Traditions are an important part of university life. The wooden spoon was once given to the student with the lowest passing grade in the Mathematical Tripos, and the last one was awarded in 1909. Each Christmas Eve, The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast around the world. King's College was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI.

Locations and buildings

See also: A Classical Adventure: The Architectural History of Downing College, Cambridge; Cambridge Medical School building; Cambridge Observatory; Cambridge University Library; Cambridge University Real Tennis Club; Fitzwilliam Museum; Goldie Boathouse; Lady Mitchell Hall; Old Schools; Senate House, Cambridge; Scott Polar Research Institute; University of Cambridge Sports Centre; and William Gates Building, Cambridge

The university is in the centre of the city of Cambridge. Its students make up about 20 percent of the town's population, which was 145,674 in 2021, so the city has a younger age group. Most of the older colleges are near the city centre, where the River Cam flows. Students and others often punt on the river, which gives them views of the university buildings along its banks. Some well-known buildings are King's College Chapel, the history faculty building designed by James Stirling, and the New Court and Cripps Buildings at St John's College. Several colleges are known for their brickwork. Queens' College has some of the earliest patterned brickwork in England, and the walls of St John's College use English bond, Flemish bond, and Running bond.

The university is split into several sites that hold its different departments, including Addenbrooke's Hospital, the Downing Site, the New Museums Site, and the Sidgwick Site. The School of Clinical Medicine is based at Addenbrooke's Hospital, where medical students do their three-year clinical placement after earning their BA degree. Since 1990, Cambridge Judge Business School on Trumpington Street has offered management courses and is ranked among the top 20 business schools in the world by Financial Times. The sites are close together and the area is fairly flat. Students are also not allowed to hold car parking permits except in special circumstances, so the bicycle is the favourite way to travel, with about one-fifth of journeys in the city made by bike.

Organisation and administration

See also: Colleges of the University of Cambridge and Schools of the University of Cambridge

Cambridge is a collegiate university. Its colleges govern themselves and are independent, each with its own property, money, and income, and most bring together academics and students from many subjects. The university is legally an exempt charity and a common law corporation. Its college faculties give lectures, run seminars, do research, and set the syllabi for teaching, while the central administration is led by the Vice-Chancellor. The Cambridge University Library is the largest library, and the Squire Law Library is the main library for students of law. The university runs more than 150 departments, faculties, schools, and other academic bodies, and the Institute of Continuing Education is based mainly in Madingley Hall in Cambridgeshire. Chris Smith, now the Chancellor, holds a mostly ceremonial role, while Deborah Prentice is the current vice-chancellor. The university is governed mainly by Regent House, and its main executive body is the Cambridge University Council.

Colleges

Main article: Colleges of the University of Cambridge

The university has 31 colleges. Murray Edwards and Newnham admit only women, and the others are mixed. Darwin was the first college to admit both men and women. In 1972, King's and other former all-male colleges began admitting women, and in 1988 Magdalene became the last all-male college to accept them. Colleges are self-governing, and all students and most academics belong to one. Each college teaches undergraduates in small groups, while the university arranges lectures and awards degrees. Some colleges, such as Churchill and Robinson, are known for particular subjects, and three theological colleges are linked to the Cambridge Theological Federation.

Schools, faculties and departments

Main article: Schools of the University of Cambridge

The university is divided into six schools, each with an elected Council. Teaching and research are organised through faculties, and a few syndicates, including the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate and the University Press, also hold responsibility for teaching and research.

Central administration

Chancellor and vice-chancellor

See also: List of chancellors of the University of Cambridge and List of vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge

Senate and the Regent House

The university senate includes holders of the MA and higher degrees. Regent House governs the university and includes senior members of the university and colleges, along with the chancellor and the high steward.

Council and general board

The council reports to Regent House, and the general board manages the university's academic and educational policies.

Finances

The Cambridge University Endowment Fund is the university's main investment vehicle. Bill Gates of Microsoft gave US$210 million through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to set up Gates Cambridge Scholarships for students from outside the United Kingdom. In October 2021, the university suspended its collaboration with the United Arab Emirates after allegations of illegal hacking involving NSO Group's Pegasus software.

Affiliations and memberships

The university is a member of the Russell Group, the G5, the League of European Research Universities, and the International Alliance of Research Universities. It is also closely linked to the Silicon Fen business cluster and is part of Cambridge University Health Partners.

Academic profile

Getting into the University of Cambridge is very hard. In 2022, about 15% of applicants were admitted. In 2021, the university added a rule that lets it take back offers if too many students meet its entry standards. Students usually need top grades in their A-Levels, and interviews help decide who is admitted. Some strong applicants who are not chosen by their first college may be placed in the Winter Pool, where other colleges can consider them. Many people have discussed whether admissions are fair, including whether enough students from state schools are admitted. In 2021, the university also created one-year foundation courses for disadvantaged students, which can lead to a CertHE qualification and a path to degrees.

Cambridge's academic year has three terms, and students learn through lectures and small weekly sessions called supervisions. This teaching style is often linked with the University of Oxford, and William Farish developed a way of grading students' work by numbers at Cambridge in 1792. The university has many research departments and museums, and its Cambridge University Library holds more than eight million volumes. Its museums include collections linked to Charles Darwin. The university's publishing arm, Cambridge University Press & Assessment, is the oldest printer and publisher in the world. Because of its age and status, Cambridge is considered one of Britain's most prestigious universities, and in 2025 it was ranked sixth in the world by QS Rankings.

Student life

See also: Academic dress of the University of Cambridge and List of social activities at the University of Cambridge

Main page: Category:Clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge

See also: Cambridge Union and Cambridge University Moral Sciences Club

Main page: Category:Sport at the University of Cambridge

See also: Cambridge University Cricket Club, List of Cambridge University Boat Race crews, and Cambridge University Polo Club

See also: Category:Publications associated with the University of Cambridge

Main article: Cambridge Students' Union

Students can attend Formal Hall, a formal meal in their own college, which is held often during terms and every day at some colleges. Students usually wear their gowns while fellows eat separately at the High Table. The meal begins and ends with grace, said in Latin. After exams, May Week is held, when students go to May Balls, all-night parties in the colleges with food, drinks, and entertainment. The first day of May Week is a popular date for garden parties. Students can also join their college unions, the Junior Combination Room (JCR) for undergraduates and Middle Combination Room (MCR) for postgraduates, which report to Cambridge Students' Union. Many student societies bring together people with shared interests, with 751 registered in 2010. The Cambridge Union, a famous debate group and the oldest in the world, is technically independent from the university. Drama groups include the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club and the comedy club Footlights, and the Chamber Orchestra is made up only of students. Rowing is one of the most popular sports, with bumps races between colleges and the Boat Race against Oxford. Varsity matches against Oxford also take place in cricket, rugby, chess, and tiddlywinks, and athletes can earn a Blue or a Half Blue. The University of Cambridge Sports Centre opened in August 2013 with Eton and Rugby fives courts, and later added squash courts. The university also has an athletic track at Wilberforce Road, an indoor cricket school, Fenner's, and an ice hockey club. The Hawks' Club is a private club for leading sportsmen, and the Ospreys are its female equivalent.

The student newspaper Varsity, the oldest at Cambridge, was founded in 1947. Former editors include Jeremy Paxman, BBC media editor Amol Rajan, and Vogue international editor Suzy Menkes. Early writings by Zadie Smith, Robert Webb, Tristram Hunt, and Tony Wilson have also appeared in it, and its literary offshoot is The Mays, which includes work from Oxford students too. Varsity is the only weekly student publication, and its news stories have appeared in The Guardian, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, and The i Paper. Other publications include The Cambridge Student, The Tab, and Notes. The student radio station, Cam FM, is run with Anglia Ruskin University students. All students are represented by Cambridge Students' Union, formed in 2020 by merging Cambridge University Students' Union (CUSU) and the Graduate Union (GU). Its eight most important positions are held by sabbatical officers. In 2021, the Union opposed a £400m financial partnership between the university and the government of United Arab Emirates. In 2023, most students voted to discuss removing animal products from university cafes, backing vegan food, and Darwin College later served only vegan food at its May Ball. The student chapter of Plant-Based Universities supported the vote. Students also protested, with more than a thousand people, calling on the university to divest from Israel over its actions in the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. Students and staff Students and staff wrote an open letter, signed by more than 1,400 people, asking the university to end financial ties with Israel as it had with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, and to examine links to arms manufacturers, including Plasan and Caterpillar.

Notable alumni and academics

Main article: List of University of Cambridge people

See also: List of Nobel laureates by university affiliation and Alumni Cantabrigienses

See also: Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge has produced many famous alumni. As of 2020, 70 alumni have won Nobel Prizes. In science, Isaac Newton conducted many of his experiments on the grounds of Trinity College, and Charles Darwin, who developed the theory of natural selection, studied at Christ's College. Alan Turing devised the basis for modern computing, and the university is widely considered the birthplace of the computer. Stephen Hawking was the university's long-serving Lucasian Professor of Mathematics until 2009. Other alumni have shaped politics, including Oliver Cromwell and 15 British Prime Ministers. The university has also educated writers such as Christopher Marlowe, Samuel Pepys, and John Milton, as well as actors such as Emma Thompson and Stephen Fry.

Alumni and academics have also made important contributions in the humanities, music, art, and technology. Economists John Maynard Keynes and Amartya Sen taught or studied at the university, and Ralph Vaughan Williams is among its notable composers. Cambridge has also produced at least nine Poets Laureate. In technology, Demis Hassabis co-founded DeepMind, and Sophie Wilson and Steve Furber co-founded ARM. The university's academic staff today include several notable scholars, such as Mihaela van der Schaar, who is known for her research in AI-enabled personalised medicine.

In literature and popular culture

See also: List of fictional Cambridge colleges; A Disappearing Number; Cambridge Spies; Chariots of Fire; Chariots of Fire (play); High Table, Lower Orders; Category:Novels set in the University of Cambridge; Porterhouse Blue (TV series); Psmith; Rock 'n' Roll (play); The Reeve's Tale; and The Riddle of the Sphinx (Inside No. 9)

The University of Cambridge has often appeared in literature, art, television, and film. Cambridge was mentioned as early as the 14th century in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. In The Reeve's Tale, the two main characters are students at a college called Soler Halle, which is believed to refer to King's Hall, now part of Trinity College. The university is the setting for all or parts of many novels, including Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Rose Macaulay's They Were Defeated, and Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue. Xu Zhimo's best-known poem, "On Leaving Cambridge" (simplified Chinese: 再别康桥; traditional Chinese: 再別康橋), is part of China's national curriculum, and it has helped create a great deal of admiration for the university in China.

Many films and television shows also use the university as a setting. The 1981 film Chariots of Fire is partly set at Cambridge, where Harold Abrahams was a student. The 1983 film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life features Churchill College, and the 1989 film Dead Poets Society includes a teacher described as "Cambridge bound." In the 2014 film The Theory of Everything, young Stephen Hawking falls in love while both he and Jane Wilde study at the university. The 2014 film The Imitation Game features Alan Turing, who is referenced as a Cambridge alumnus and fellow at King's College. The 2015 film The Man Who Knew Infinity, about Srinivasa Ramanujan, was filmed at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a fellow. The television series Frasier features Niles Crane, who studied as a graduate student at Cambridge, and The Big Bang Theory features characters who studied there as well. The 2023 film Oppenheimer shows King's College, but J. Robert Oppenheimer actually studied at Christ's College.