One of the top universities in UK and the world, Cambridge University has a very old and interesting history which also includes periods of rivalry with the other ‘ancient’ UK university – Oxford University.
Cambridge University was started in 1231when it was granted the ‘right’ to discipline its members by King Henry III of England. Most of the Cambridge colleges were founded in the 14th and 15th centuries. Robinson College established in 1970 and Homerton College which was granted full university status in 2010 are considered the most recently established Cambridge colleges.
Cambridge University is a collegiate university consisting of independent colleges. Currently it consists of 31 colleges which include Christ’s College, Clare College, Downing College, Emmanuel College, Fitzwilliam College, Hughes Hall, King’s College, Magdalene College, Peterhouse, Queen’s College, Trinity College, Trinity Hall etc. Murray Edwards College, Newnham College and Lady Cavendish College admit only women candidates. Clare Hall and Darwin College offer only post graduation courses.
Cambridge University in addition has more than 150 departments in its fold. Faculties and staff are managed by the Vice Chancellor of the University. There are six schools under University of Cambridge in the fields of – Arts and humanities, Humanities and social science, Biological sciences, clinical medicine, physical sciences and technology.
Cambridge University is credited with many of the advancement in science such as Newton’s laws of motion, J.J Thomson’s discovery of electron, Henry Cavendish’s discovery of hydrogen, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, James Watson and Francis Crick’s DNA structure discovery etc.
An academic year at Cambridge University consists of three terms – Michaelmas term which lasts from October to December, Lent term which lasts from January to March and finally the Easter Term which lasts from April to June. Three holiday terms for undergraduates include – the Christmas vacation, Easter vacation and the Long vacations. These holiday terms however require students to prepare heavily towards their course requirements.
Notable alumni of Cambridge University include – Sir Issac Newton, Sir Francis Bacon, Charles Darwin, Srinivasa Ramanujan, James Clerk Maxwell, Charles Babbage, Stephen Hawking, Sir James Chadwick, Francis Crick and James Watson, Ernest Rutherford, Frederick Sanger- winner of two Nobel prizes etc. Fifteen British PMs and twenty five heads of government in different nations including the current Prime Ministers of India, Singapore and Jordan were all educated at Cambridge University.
In order to apply at Cambridge University, a student should first choose a course and select a college of study (optional at this stage), then submit the UCAS online application along with the filled questionnaire. Selection process depends upon the student’s essay or test results depending upon the course requirements as well as the student’s interview performance.
To get more information about Cambridge University visit http://www.cam.ac.uk
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