Located in the center of the ancient city of Cambridge, 50 miles north of London, the University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research institution that serves more than 18,000 students from all corners of the globe.
The university consists of numerous listed buildings and is divided into 31 autonomous colleges, with many of the older ones situated on the famous river Cam. Applications are made directly to the individual colleges, rather than to the university overall. You can live and are often taught within your college, receiving small group teaching sessions known as college supervisions.
Six academic schools – Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Technology – are spread across the university’s colleges, housing roughly 150 faculties and other institutions.
Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge’s 800-year history makes it the fourth-oldest university in the world and the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Cambridge students make up 20 percent of the town's population and most of the older colleges are situated near the city center. Its notable buildings give the city of Cambridge a unique character, and include King's College Chapel, the history faculty building designed by James Stirling and the Cripps Building at St John's College.
Cambridge is widely acknowledged as a vibrant place to be a student. On the academic side, the university is home to over 100 libraries, which hold more than 15 million books in total. There are also nine world-renowned arts, scientific and cultural museums such as Kettle’s Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum, which are open to the public throughout the year, as well as a botanical garden.
Extracurricular activities give you the chance to get involved with anything from the university’s renowned student drama societies, which spawned the likes of comedy group Monty Python, to music, politics and hundreds of other clubs and societies. The sports scene at Cambridge is huge too, with state-of-the-art facilities and over 80 sports on offer with teams for novices and experts alike.
With its reputation for academic excellence and traditional scholarly values, the University of Cambridge often ranks among the very top universities in the world for teaching, research, and international outlook. The university has educated eminent mathematicians, scientists, politicians, lawyers, philosophers, writers, actors and heads of state. Ninety-eight Nobel laureates and 15 British prime ministers have affiliations with Cambridge as students, faculty or alumni, including the scientists Francis Crick and Frederick Sanger.
Located in the center of the ancient city of Cambridge, 50 miles north of London, the University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research institution that serves more than 18,000 students from all corners of the globe.
The university consists of numerous listed buildings and is divided into 31 autonomous colleges, with many of the older ones situated on the famous river Cam. Applications are made directly to the individual colleges, rather than to the university overall. You can live and are often taught within your college, receiving small group teaching sessions known as college supervisions.
Six academic schools – Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Technology – are spread across the university’s colleges, housing roughly 150 faculties and other institutions.
Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge’s 800-year history makes it the fourth-oldest university in the world and the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Cambridge students make up 20 percent of the town's population and most of the older colleges are situated near the city center. Its notable buildings give the city of Cambridge a unique character, and include King's College Chapel, the history faculty building designed by James Stirling and the Cripps Building at St John's College.
Cambridge is widely acknowledged as a vibrant place to be a student. On the academic side, the university is home to over 100 libraries, which hold more than 15 million books in total. There are also nine world-renowned arts, scientific and cultural museums such as Kettle’s Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum, which are open to the public throughout the year, as well as a botanical garden.
Extracurricular activities give you the chance to get involved with anything from the university’s renowned student drama societies, which spawned the likes of comedy group Monty Python, to music, politics and hundreds of other clubs and societies. The sports scene at Cambridge is huge too, with state-of-the-art facilities and over 80 sports on offer with teams for novices and experts alike.
With its reputation for academic excellence and traditional scholarly values, the University of Cambridge often ranks among the very top universities in the world for teaching, research, and international outlook. The university has educated eminent mathematicians, scientists, politicians, lawyers, philosophers, writers, actors and heads of state. Ninety-eight Nobel laureates and 15 British prime ministers have affiliations with Cambridge as students, faculty or alumni, including the scientists Francis Crick and Frederick Sanger.
One of the important factors when considering a master's degree is the cost of study. Luckily, there are many options available to help students fund their master's programme. Download your copy of the Scholarship Guide to find out which scholarships from around the world could be available to you, and how to apply for them.
To study at Cambridge is the dream of many a 17-year-old with academic aspirations, and the scholastic setting of the medieval city is almost uniquely suited to studying. The university employs a collegiate system, so you apply to your chosen college rather than the university itself. Should you be offered a place to study, this college is where you will live, eat, sleep, socialize and take classes. Cambridge guarantees most students college-owned accommodation for the three years of their degree, which is located either on college grounds or in apartments in and around the city. This system is unlike most British universities, where students must find private accommodation after their first year.
Cambridge offers 30 undergraduate programs covering more than 65 subject areas, from chemical engineering to English, mathematics, medicine, and classics. Unusually for a UK university, undergraduate programs cover the subject area very broadly in the initial years before offering a wide range of options in which to specialize later on.
Faculties arrange lectures, seminars and practicals which students from all of the colleges attend, while colleges arrange supervisions, which provide personal tuition. Each academic year consists of three eight-week terms. The pace and volume of work is notable and there’s much emphasis on independent and self-directed study.
Competition for places at Cambridge is fierce, with an acceptance rate of 21 percent. This means you should not only research your subject area thoroughly before applying, but also think tactically when it comes to choosing your college. While some colleges may have an excellent reputation for certain subjects, they could prove more difficult to get into.
Application is done through completing a UCAS form. In addition, you will be asked to complete a supplementary application questionnaire and take a written admission assessment. Everyone with a realistic chance of being offered a place is then invited to an interview day. Don’t be surprised if you are asked to attend multiple interviews while you’re there, as the process of selecting students can often last more than one round.
When a decision is made about your application, you will either be offered a place, told your application to study was unsuccessful or be informed you’ve been added into a “pool” with other students. This means the college you applied to has no room for you, but that you have been offered to other colleges which might still have spaces. The pooling system is designed to ensure the best applicants still have a chance of gaining a place at Cambridge, even if the college they applied to was over-subscribed.
Tuition fees are currently £9,250 a year for all courses, and living costs – accommodation, food, course costs, study materials, personal expenses and transport – cost around the same annual figure. Financial aid exists in the form of student loans for UK students, and there are Cambridge bursaries that can award up to £3,500 a year.
Attracting the best minds since 1209, the University of Cambridge is home to 7,500 graduate students who are working towards a master’s or doctoral degree. Half of them come from overseas to study in the famous medieval city, and more than 40 percent are women.
All in all, there are around 330 postgraduate programs available to study at Cambridge. Students can choose from taught or research-based masters’ degrees, lasting nine to 12 months full-time in subjects ranging from adult education to zoology, with predominantly research-based PhDs lasting three to four years full-time, and up to seven years part-time.
Full-time masters’ programs are notoriously difficult, requiring students to up their game considerably from undergraduate level. In preparation for postgraduate study, applicants are advised to thoroughly research their program and ideally attend an open day, which take place on campus and include opportunities to speak with the current crop of postgraduate students.
Visiting the university may also help applicants decide on which college they want to apply for. To apply, candidates must upload academic references, university transcripts, a research proposal, GRE scores, an up-to-date resume, and, in some cases, samples of written work. All of this is submitted to Cambridge’s online portal as part of the application process. International applicants must also provide evidence of competency in English.
Tuition fees include teaching, supervision, student support and access to university and college facilities. They vary between courses, but as a rule expect to pay around £11,000 (US$15,395) for a one-year MPhil (master’s) course (certain courses that lead into professions such as corporate law, economics or the Master of Business Administration charge considerably more) and £8,100 (US$11,336) for each year of PhD study.
Overseas students are required to pay more, typically around £24,000 (US$33,588) for a one-year MPhil program, and up to £30,000 (US$41,985) for each year of PhD study.
There are many funding opportunities at Cambridge from a wide variety of sources including the Cambridge Trust, which awards approximately 500 scholarships annually, and Gates Cambridge, which awards around 100 postgraduate scholarships each year in any subject.
Applying for these funding opportunities is easy, with 80 percent of funding opportunities awarded last year simply requiring applicants to fill in the relevant section of the Cambridge application portal.
University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge, Cambridge United Kingdom
# 2QS World University Rankings
35Undergraduate programs
131Postgraduate programs
AvailableScholarship
About University of Cambridge
Located in the center of the ancient city of Cambridge, 50 miles north of London, the University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research institution that serves more than 18,000 students from all corners of the globe.
The university consists of numerous listed buildings and is divided into 31 autonomous colleges, with many of the older ones situated on the famous river Cam. Applications are made directly to the individual colleges, rather than to the university overall. You can live and are often taught within your college, receiving small group teaching sessions known as college supervisions.
Six academic schools – Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Technology – are spread across the university’s colleges, housing roughly 150 faculties and other institutions.
Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge’s 800-year history makes it the fourth-oldest university in the world and the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Cambridge students make up 20 percent of the town's population and most of the older colleges are situated near the city center. Its notable buildings give the city of Cambridge a unique character, and include King's College Chapel, the history faculty building designed by James Stirling and the Cripps Building at St John's College.
Cambridge is widely acknowledged as a vibrant place to be a student. On the academic side, the university is home to over 100 libraries, which hold more than 15 million books in total. There are also nine world-renowned arts, scientific and cultural museums such as Kettle’s Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum, which are open to the public throughout the year, as well as a botanical garden.
Extracurricular activities give you the chance to get involved with anything from the university’s renowned student drama societies, which spawned the likes of comedy group Monty Python, to music, politics and hundreds of other clubs and societies. The sports scene at Cambridge is huge too, with state-of-the-art facilities and over 80 sports on offer with teams for novices and experts alike.
With its reputation for academic excellence and traditional scholarly values, the University of Cambridge often ranks among the very top universities in the world for teaching, research, and international outlook. The university has educated eminent mathematicians, scientists, politicians, lawyers, philosophers, writers, actors and heads of state. Ninety-eight Nobel laureates and 15 British prime ministers have affiliations with Cambridge as students, faculty or alumni, including the scientists Francis Crick and Frederick Sanger.
Upcoming Events
About University of Cambridge
Located in the center of the ancient city of Cambridge, 50 miles north of London, the University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research institution that serves more than 18,000 students from all corners of the globe.
The university consists of numerous listed buildings and is divided into 31 autonomous colleges, with many of the older ones situated on the famous river Cam. Applications are made directly to the individual colleges, rather than to the university overall. You can live and are often taught within your college, receiving small group teaching sessions known as college supervisions.
Six academic schools – Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Technology – are spread across the university’s colleges, housing roughly 150 faculties and other institutions.
Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge’s 800-year history makes it the fourth-oldest university in the world and the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Cambridge students make up 20 percent of the town's population and most of the older colleges are situated near the city center. Its notable buildings give the city of Cambridge a unique character, and include King's College Chapel, the history faculty building designed by James Stirling and the Cripps Building at St John's College.
Cambridge is widely acknowledged as a vibrant place to be a student. On the academic side, the university is home to over 100 libraries, which hold more than 15 million books in total. There are also nine world-renowned arts, scientific and cultural museums such as Kettle’s Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum, which are open to the public throughout the year, as well as a botanical garden.
Extracurricular activities give you the chance to get involved with anything from the university’s renowned student drama societies, which spawned the likes of comedy group Monty Python, to music, politics and hundreds of other clubs and societies. The sports scene at Cambridge is huge too, with state-of-the-art facilities and over 80 sports on offer with teams for novices and experts alike.
With its reputation for academic excellence and traditional scholarly values, the University of Cambridge often ranks among the very top universities in the world for teaching, research, and international outlook. The university has educated eminent mathematicians, scientists, politicians, lawyers, philosophers, writers, actors and heads of state. Ninety-eight Nobel laureates and 15 British prime ministers have affiliations with Cambridge as students, faculty or alumni, including the scientists Francis Crick and Frederick Sanger.
Upcoming Events
University information
General
Bachelor
Tuition fee and scholarships
One of the important factors when considering a master's degree is the cost of study. Luckily, there are many options available to help students fund their master's programme. Download your copy of the Scholarship Guide to find out which scholarships from around the world could be available to you, and how to apply for them.
In this guide you will find:
Where to look for scholarship opportunities
How to apply to scholarships relevant to you
A list of available scholarships around the world
A scholarship application checklist
Rankings & ratings
University of Cambridge is one of the top public universities in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is ranked #2 in QS World University Rankings 2023.
QS World University Rankings
QS WUR Ranking By Subject
Graduate Employability Ranking
QS World University Rankings
Ranking criteria
Available programs
Bachelor UG
Master PG
MBA
To study at Cambridge is the dream of many a 17-year-old with academic aspirations, and the scholastic setting of the medieval city is almost uniquely suited to studying. The university employs a collegiate system, so you apply to your chosen college rather than the university itself. Should you be offered a place to study, this college is where you will live, eat, sleep, socialize and take classes. Cambridge guarantees most students college-owned accommodation for the three years of their degree, which is located either on college grounds or in apartments in and around the city. This system is unlike most British universities, where students must find private accommodation after their first year.
Cambridge offers 30 undergraduate programs covering more than 65 subject areas, from chemical engineering to English, mathematics, medicine, and classics. Unusually for a UK university, undergraduate programs cover the subject area very broadly in the initial years before offering a wide range of options in which to specialize later on.
Faculties arrange lectures, seminars and practicals which students from all of the colleges attend, while colleges arrange supervisions, which provide personal tuition. Each academic year consists of three eight-week terms. The pace and volume of work is notable and there’s much emphasis on independent and self-directed study.
Competition for places at Cambridge is fierce, with an acceptance rate of 21 percent. This means you should not only research your subject area thoroughly before applying, but also think tactically when it comes to choosing your college. While some colleges may have an excellent reputation for certain subjects, they could prove more difficult to get into.
Application is done through completing a UCAS form. In addition, you will be asked to complete a supplementary application questionnaire and take a written admission assessment. Everyone with a realistic chance of being offered a place is then invited to an interview day. Don’t be surprised if you are asked to attend multiple interviews while you’re there, as the process of selecting students can often last more than one round.
When a decision is made about your application, you will either be offered a place, told your application to study was unsuccessful or be informed you’ve been added into a “pool” with other students. This means the college you applied to has no room for you, but that you have been offered to other colleges which might still have spaces. The pooling system is designed to ensure the best applicants still have a chance of gaining a place at Cambridge, even if the college they applied to was over-subscribed.
Tuition fees are currently £9,250 a year for all courses, and living costs – accommodation, food, course costs, study materials, personal expenses and transport – cost around the same annual figure. Financial aid exists in the form of student loans for UK students, and there are Cambridge bursaries that can award up to £3,500 a year.
Arts and Humanities (5)
Archaeology
Architecture
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
BA in Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic
Classics (3 years)
Classics (4 years)
English
Geography
History
History and Modern Languages
History and Politics
History of Art
Linguistics
Modern and Medieval Languages
Music
Philosophy
Engineering and Technology (5)
Computer Science
Computer Science (MEng)
MEng Chemical Engineering (via Engineering)
MEng Chemical Engineering (via Natural Sciences)
MEng Engineering
Life Sciences and Medicine (5)
Medicine
Medicine (Graduate Course)
Natural Sciences
Psychological and Behavioural Sciences
Veterinary Medicine
Natural Sciences (5)
MMath Mathematics
MSci Natural Sciences
Mathematics
Social Sciences and Management (5)
BA Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion
Economics
Education
Human, Social, and Political Sciences
Land Economy
Law
Attracting the best minds since 1209, the University of Cambridge is home to 7,500 graduate students who are working towards a master’s or doctoral degree. Half of them come from overseas to study in the famous medieval city, and more than 40 percent are women.
All in all, there are around 330 postgraduate programs available to study at Cambridge. Students can choose from taught or research-based masters’ degrees, lasting nine to 12 months full-time in subjects ranging from adult education to zoology, with predominantly research-based PhDs lasting three to four years full-time, and up to seven years part-time.
Full-time masters’ programs are notoriously difficult, requiring students to up their game considerably from undergraduate level. In preparation for postgraduate study, applicants are advised to thoroughly research their program and ideally attend an open day, which take place on campus and include opportunities to speak with the current crop of postgraduate students.
Visiting the university may also help applicants decide on which college they want to apply for. To apply, candidates must upload academic references, university transcripts, a research proposal, GRE scores, an up-to-date resume, and, in some cases, samples of written work. All of this is submitted to Cambridge’s online portal as part of the application process. International applicants must also provide evidence of competency in English.
Tuition fees include teaching, supervision, student support and access to university and college facilities. They vary between courses, but as a rule expect to pay around £11,000 (US$15,395) for a one-year MPhil (master’s) course (certain courses that lead into professions such as corporate law, economics or the Master of Business Administration charge considerably more) and £8,100 (US$11,336) for each year of PhD study.
Overseas students are required to pay more, typically around £24,000 (US$33,588) for a one-year MPhil program, and up to £30,000 (US$41,985) for each year of PhD study.
There are many funding opportunities at Cambridge from a wide variety of sources including the Cambridge Trust, which awards approximately 500 scholarships annually, and Gates Cambridge, which awards around 100 postgraduate scholarships each year in any subject.
Applying for these funding opportunities is easy, with 80 percent of funding opportunities awarded last year simply requiring applicants to fill in the relevant section of the Cambridge application portal.
Arts and Humanities (6)
Architecture and Urban Design
Building History (Taught)
Geographical Research
MPhil in American History
MPhil in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic
MPhil in Anthropocene Studies
MPhil in Archaeological Research
MPhil in Archaeological Science
MPhil in Archaeology
MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies
MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies)
MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Classical Islamic History and Culture)
MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Hebrew and Pre-Modern Jewish History and Culture)
MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Hebrew and Semitic Studies)
MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Japanese Studies)
MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Modern Middle Eastern Studies)
MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Muslim-Jewish Relations)
MPhil in Assyriology
MPhil in Early Modern History
MPhil in Egyptology
MPhil in Heritage Studies
MPhil in History of Art and Architecture
MPhil in Holocene Climates
MPhil in Medieval History
MPhil in Modern British History
MPhil in Modern European History
MPhil in Music
MPhil in Planning, Growth and Regeneration
MPhil in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics by Advanced Study
MPhil in World History
MSt in Architecture Apprenticeship
MSt in Creative Writing
MSt in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment
Business & Management (6)
Executive MBA
Finance (Taught)
MPhil in Finance and Economics
MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture, and Management
MPhil in Innovation, Strategy and Organisation
MSt in Entrepreneurship
Management
Master of Accounting
Master of Finance (MFin)
Real Estate Finance (Taught)
Strategy, Marketing and Operations (Research)
Technology Policy (Taught)
Engineering and Technology (6)
Advanced Chemical Engineering (Taught)
MPhil in Advanced Computer Science
MPhil in Energy Technologies
MPhil in Engineering
MPhil in Nuclear Energy
MPhil in Scientific Computing
MSt in Construction Engineering
Life Sciences and Medicine (6)
Genomic Medicine (Taught)
MPhil in Basic and Translational Neuroscience
MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise
MPhil in Biotechnology
MPhil in Computational Biology
MPhil in Epidemiology
MPhil in Health, Medicine and Society
MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine
MPhil in Human Evolutionary Studies
MPhil in Primary Care Research
MPhil in Public Health
MPhil in Therapeutic Sciences
MPhil in Translational Biomedical Research
MPhil in Translational Biomedical Research
MSt in Genomic Medicine
MSt in Healthcare Data: Informatics, Innovation and Commercialization
Veterinary Science (Research)
Veterinary Science (Research)
Natural Sciences (6)
Engineering for Sustainable Development (Taught)
Environmental Policy (Taught)
MASt Materials Science (Taught)
MASt Mathematical Statistics (Taught)
MASt Pure Mathematics
MASt in Applied Mathematics (Taught)
MAst in Physics (Taught)
MPhil in Micro and Nanotechnology Enterprise
MPhil in Physics
MSt in Sustainability Leadership
Social Sciences and Management (6)
African Studies
MEd in Education (Transforming Practice) PACES entry only
MEd in Education (Transforming Practice) PGCE entry only
MPhil in Criminological Research
MPhil in Criminology
MPhil in Development Studies
MPhil in Economic Research
MPhil in Economic and Social History
MPhil in Economics
MPhil in Education (Arts, Creativity & Education)
MPhil in Education (Critical Approaches to Children's Literature)
MPhil in Education (Educational Leadership and School Improvement)
MPhil in Education (Globalisation and International Development)
MPhil in Education (Knowledge, Power and Politics)
MPhil in Education (Psychology and Education)
MPhil in Education (Research in Second Language Education)
MPhil in Film and Screen Studies by Advanced Study
MPhil in Land Economy Research
MPhil in Latin American Studies
MPhil in Latin American Studies
MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies
MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History
MPhil in Sociology (Political and Economic Sociology)
MPhil in Sociology (The Sociology of Marginality and Exclusion)
MPhil in Sociology (The Sociology of Media and Culture)
MPhil in Sociology (The Sociology of Reproduction)
MPhil in Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion
MPhil in Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion
MSt in Advanced Subject Teaching
MSt in Applied Criminology and Police Management
MSt in Applied Criminology and Police Management (Senior Leaders’ Master’s Degree Apprenticeship)
MSt in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management
MSt in International Relations
MSt in Medical Education
MSt in Social Innovation
Master of Education (Critical Approaches to Children's Literature) PGCE entry only
Master of Education (Educational Leadership and School Improvement)
Master of Education (Educational Leadership and School Improvement) PACES entry only
Master of Education (Mathematics Education) (Taught)
Master of Education (Mathematics Education) PACES entry only
Master of Education (Mathematics Education) PGCE entry only
Master of Education (Primary Education)
Master of Education (Primary Education) PACES entry only
Master of Education (Primary Education) PGCE entry only
Master of Education (Psychology and Education)
Master of Education (Research in Second Language Education) PGCE entry only
Master of Law (LLM)
Polar Studies
Public Policy (Taught)
Others (1)
Business Administration (Taught)
Executive MBA
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