Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is a collegiate
public research institution. Its 800-year history makes it the fourth-oldest
surviving university in the world and the second-oldest university in the
English-speaking world.
Cambridge serves more than 18,000
students from all cultures and corners of the world. Nearly 4,000 of its
students are international and hail from over 120 different countries. In
addition, the university’s International Summer Schools offer 150 courses to
students from more than 50 countries.
The university is split into 31
autonomous colleges where students receive small group teaching sessions known
as college supervisions.
Six schools are spread across the
university’s colleges, housing roughly 150 faculties and other institutions.
The six schools are: Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Clinical
Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology.
The campus is located in the centre of
the city of Cambridge, with its numerous listed buildings and many of the older
colleges situated on or near the river Cam.
The university is home to over 100
libraries, which, between them, hold more than 15 million books in total. In
the main Cambridge University library alone, which is a legal depository, there
are eight million holdings. The university also owns nine arts, scientific and
cultural museums that are open to the public throughout the year, as well as a
botanical garden.
Cambridge University Press is a
non-school institution and operates as the university’s publishing business.
With over 50 offices worldwide, its publishing list is made up of 45,000 titles
spanning academic research, professional development, research journals,
education and bible publishing.
In total, 92 affiliates of the university
have been awarded Nobel Prizes, covering every category. The university’s
endowment is valued at nearly £6 billion.
Admissions Procedure
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 1980s
candidates for all subjects were required to sit special entrance examinations,
since replaced by additional tests for some subjects, such as the Thinking
Skills Assessment and the Cambridge Law Test. The University is considering
reintroducing an admissions exam for all subjects with effect from 2016. The
acceptance rate for students in the 2014–2015 cycle was 21.0%.
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. The A* A-level grade
(introduced in 2010) now plays a part in the acceptance of applications, with
the university's standard offer for most courses being set at A*AA, with A*A*A
for sciences courses. Due to a very high proportion of applicants receiving the
highest school grades, the interview process is crucial 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. For exceptional candidates, a Matriculation
Offer is sometimes offered, requiring only two A-levels at grade E or
above. In 2006, 5,228 students who were rejected went on to get 3 A levels or
more at grade A, representing about 63% of all applicants rejected.
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. This effectively guarantees
admission to a college—though not necessarily the applicant's preferred choice.
Teaching
Results for the
Cambridge Mathematical Tripos are read
out inside Senate House and then tossed
from the balcony. The academic year is
divided into three academic terms, determined by the Statutes of the
University. Michaelmas
term lasts from October to December; Lent
term from January to March; and Easter
term from April to June.
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. Undergraduates are also
expected to prepare heavily in the three holidays (known as the Christmas,
Easter and Long Vacations).
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. This pedagogical system is often cited as being unique to
Oxford (where "supervisions" are known as "tutorials") and Cambridge. A tutor named William Farish developed the concept of grading students' work
quantitatively at the University of Cambridge in 1792.
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