University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209 and, like Oxford, is collegiate: the university sets and examines the degree while the colleges provide accommodation, pastoral support and the small-group teaching Cambridge calls supervisions.

Its scientific reputation is exceptional and long-standing, across mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science and the biomedical sciences, with the humanities equally well established. The surrounding technology and biotechnology cluster grew up around the university and remains closely connected to it.

Undergraduate degrees are organised into subject groupings known as Triposes, several of which allow a student to change direction between years within a broad field — a flexibility that is easy to miss when reading the course list from outside.

Admission is competitive and follows its own calendar.

• An early UCAS deadline in October for undergraduate entry, plus a supplementary questionnaire.
• Outstanding results in the relevant subjects, and the specific prerequisites for the Tripos applied for.
• Written admissions assessments for most subjects, some sat before interview and some at interview.
• Interviews in December, academic in nature and typically involving problem-solving rather than rehearsed answers.
• For graduate entry: a strong first degree, references, a statement of interest and — for research degrees — a proposal and, in many departments, a prospective supervisor.

Cambridge has the same two-part structure as Oxford — a university fee and, for many graduate students, a college fee.

• A university composition fee, set per course, with international rates differing substantially from home rates.
• A college fee for many graduate courses, in addition to the university fee.
• Fees vary by subject group, with laboratory and clinical subjects charged above arts and humanities.
• A published maintenance requirement that graduate applicants must show they can meet, separate from fees.
• Course-specific costs on some programmes — fieldwork, materials or specialist equipment.

Oxford and Cambridge are the two UK universities where a college fee sits on top of the university fee for many graduate students. It is a real additional cost and it is easy to miss when comparing against other UK institutions. Work from Cambridge's course directory entry for your specific programme for your specific programme and year of entry — it is the only figure that will be correct for you, and it is republished every year. We will confirm the current cost and what it includes before you commit to an application.

Cambridge operates the same three-way structure as Oxford — university, department and college — and much of its graduate funding is considered automatically from the admission application. Its most substantial international postgraduate awards are administered by a dedicated trust and decided on academic record together with a demonstrated commitment to contributing beyond your own career.

• Central graduate funding — considered from the admission application by the published funding deadline.
• Trust-administered international awards — highly competitive, weighing purpose and contribution alongside academic record.
• College awards — decided by each college on its own criteria.
• Departmental studentships — attached to specific research areas.

Cambridge's funding deadline sits ahead of its course deadline, and it is not extended. Work backwards from the funding date.

Collegiate like Oxford, and similarly organised around the college rather than a campus — with a small city and a strong tradition of student-run activity.

• Your college provides accommodation, dining and a library, and is where most social life starts.
• Supervisions — teaching in pairs or very small groups — alongside departmental lectures and practicals.
• Eight-week terms, demanding and fast, with substantial reading expected in the vacations.
• A very active society scene, including some of the oldest student organisations in the world, plus college-level sport at every level of seriousness.
• College accommodation for most students including many graduates, which is a significant practical advantage.
• A compact city where almost everything is reachable by bicycle, which is how most people get about.

Cambridge is small, and that cuts both ways: everything is close and the community is tight, but it is not a big city and students who want anonymity or nightlife on a large scale find it limited.