University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

Motto	Hinc lucem et pocula sacra Literal translation: “From here, light and sacred draughts”. Non-literal: “From the University, we receive enlightenment and precious knowledge”.
Established	1209
Type	Public
Chancellor	HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Alison Richard
Students	18,933 (total; 2004–05)
Postgraduates	6,649 (2004–05)
Location	Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom
University surroundings	Historic landmark
Affiliations	Russell Group, Coimbra Group, EUA, LERU, IARU
Website	http://www.cam.ac.uk

The University of Cambridge (often called Cambridge University, or just Cambridge), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world.

Early records indicate that the university grew out of an association of scholars in the city of Cambridge, probably formed in 1209 by scholars escaping from Oxford after a fight with local townsmen.

The universities of Cambridge and Oxford are jointly referred to by the portmanteau term Oxbridge. In addition to cultural and practical associations as a historic part of British society, the two universities also have a long history of rivalry with each other.

Cambridge is a member of the Russell Group, a network of large, research-led British universities; the Coimbra Group, an association of leading European universities; the LERU (League of European Research Universities), and the IARU (International Alliance of Research Universities).

General information

Left to Right: The Senate House, Gonville & Caius College and the University Church (Great St Mary's) from King’s Parade

Cambridge is a collegiate university, with its main functions divided between the central departments of the university and a number of colleges. In general, the departments perform research and provide centralised lectures to students, while the colleges are responsible for the domestic arrangements and welfare of undergraduate students, graduate students, some of the postdocs and some University staff. The colleges also provide most of the small group teaching for undergraduates, referred to as supervisions. The thirty-one colleges are technically institutions independent of the university itself and enjoy considerable autonomy. For example, colleges decide which students they are to admit, and appoint their own fellows (senior members). (In Cambridge, “the university” often means the University as opposed to the Colleges.)

The current Chancellor of the university is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The current Vice-Chancellor is Professor Alison Richard. The office of Chancellor, who holds office for life, is mainly symbolic, while the Vice-Chancellor (as is usual at British universities) is the real executive chief. The University is governed entirely by its own members, with no outside representation in its governing bodies. Ultimate authority lies with the Regent House, of which all current Cambridge academic staff are members, but most business is carried out by the Council. The Senate consists of all holders of the M.A. degree or higher degrees. It elects the Chancellor; until their abolition in 1950, it elected Members to the House of Commons for Cambridge University, but otherwise has not had a major role since 1926.

Reputation

According to UCAS, Cambridge and Oxford are the most academically selective universities in the United Kingdom - there is a special national admissions process which sets Oxbridge apart from other UK universities.

The university has often topped league tables ranking British universities - for instance, Cambridge was ranked first in the Sunday Times league table every year between 1997 and 2005. In the most recent UK government Research Assessment Exercise in 2001[1], Cambridge was ranked first in the country. In 2005, it was reported that Cambridge produces substantially more PhDs per year than any other UK university (over 30% more than second placed Oxford)[2]. In 2006, a Thomson Scientific study showed that Cambridge has the highest research paper output of any UK university, and is also the top research producer (as assessed by total paper citation count) in 10 out of 21 major UK research fields analyzed[3].

International league tables produced in 2005 by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranked Cambridge third ³ and second ⁴ in the world respectively. The THES also ranked Cambridge first in science, second in biomedicine, third in the arts & humanities, sixth in technology, and eighth in social sciences. Note that all university rankings are subject to controversy about their methodology, and that the THES and Jiao Tong tables are the only international rankings available.

Historically, the two universities have produced a significant proportion of Britain’s prominent scientists, writers and politicians. Affiliates of Cambridge University have won a total of 81 Nobel Prizes ¹, more than any other university in the world ². Seventy of these awardees also attended Cambridge as undergraduate or graduate students.

In addition to a long distinguished tradition in the humanities and the arts, the University of Cambridge is especially known for producing prominent scientists and mathematicians. This distinguished list includes Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, William Harvey, Paul Dirac, J. J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, James Clerk Maxwell, Francis Crick, Alan Turing, Stephen Hawking, and Fred Sanger.

The university is also closely linked with the development of the high-tech business cluster in and around Cambridge, which forms the area known as Silicon Fen or sometimes the “Cambridge Phenomenon”. In 2004, it was reported that Silicon Fen was the second largest venture capital market in the world, after Silicon Valley. Estimates reported in February 2006 suggest that there were about 250 active startup companies directly linked with the university, worth around US$6 billion.

Endowment

Cambridge’s endowment (including the colleges) was estimated at £3.1 billion in late 2005[4] and is arguably the highest in Europe. Oxford (including its colleges) was possibly ranked second in 2005 with estimates ranging from £2.4bn to £2.9bn [5], and the Central European University in Budapest third with an estimated €400 million in 2005). The share of Cambridge’s endowment directly tied to the university itself exceeds £1 billion. However, Cambridge still relies largely on funding by the UK government. In comparison with US universities, the upper range of the endowment estimates places Cambridge at 6th or 7th (depending on whether one includes the University of Texas System - which incorporates 9 full scale universities and 6 health institutions[6]).

History

Early history

Roger of Wendover wrote that Cambridge University could trace its origins to a crime committed in 1209. Although not always a reliable source, the detail given in his contemporaneous writings lends them credence. Two Oxford scholars were convicted of the murder or manslaughter of a woman and were hanged by the town authorities with the assent of the King. In protest at the hanging, the University of Oxford went into voluntary suspension, and scholars migrated to a number of other locations, including the pre-existing school at Cambridge (Cambridge had been recorded as a “school” rather than University when John Grim held the office of Master there in 1201). These post-graduate researchers from Oxford started Cambridge’s life as a University in 1209. Cambridge’s status as a University is further confirmed by a decree in 1233 from Pope Gregory IX which awarded the ius non trahi extra (a form of legal protection) to the chancellor and universitas of scholars at Cambridge. After Cambridge was recognised by papal bull as a studium generale by Pope Nicholas IV in 1290, it became common for researchers from other European medieval universities to come and visit Cambridge to study or to give lecture courses.

The Colleges

Cambridge’s colleges were originally an incidental feature of the system. No college is as old as the university itself. The colleges were endowed fellowships of scholars. There were also institutions without endowments, called Hostels.

Hugh Balsham, Bishop of Ely, founded Peterhouse in 1284, Cambridge’s first college. Many colleges were founded during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but colleges continued to be established throughout the centuries to modern times. The most recent college established is Robinson, built in the late 1970s. A list of the college is available by clicking the link above.

In medieval times, colleges were founded so that their students would pray for the souls of the founders. For that reason they were often associated with chapels or abbeys. A change in the colleges’ focus occurred in 1536 with the dissolution of the monasteries. King Henry VIII ordered the university to disband its Faculty of Canon Law and to stop teaching “scholastic philosophy”. In response, colleges changed their curricula away from canon law and towards the classics, the Bible, and mathematics.

Clare College (left) and King’s College Chapel (centre), seen from The Backs

Mathematics

From the time of Isaac Newton in the later 17th century until the mid-19th century, the university maintained a strong emphasis on mathematics. Study of this subject was compulsory for graduation, and students were required to take an exam for the Bachelor of Arts degree, the main first degree at Cambridge in both arts and science subjects. This exam is known as a Tripos. Students awarded first-class honours after completing the mathematics Tripos were named wranglers. The Cambridge Mathematical Tripos was competitive and helped produce some of the most famous names in British science, including James Clerk Maxwell, Lord Kelvin, and Lord Rayleigh. However, some famous students, such as G. H. Hardy, disliked the system, feeling that people were too interested in accumulating marks in exams and not interested in the subject itself.

Although diversified in its research and teaching interests, Cambridge today maintains its strength in mathematics. The Isaac Newton Institute, part of the university, is widely regarded as the UK’s national research institute for mathematics and theoretical physics. Cambridge alumni have won eight Fields Medals and one Abel Prize for mathematics. The University also runs a special Certificate of Advanced Studies in Mathematics course.

Women’s education

Originally all students were male. The first colleges for women were Girton College (founded by Emily Davies) in 1869 and Newnham College in 1872. The first women students were examined in 1882 but attempts to make women full members of the university did not succeed until 1947. While Cambridge did not give degrees to women until this date, this fact is misleading. From the nineteenth century women were allowed to study courses, sit examinations, and have the result recorded. Other institutions treated this as a degree. In the twentieth century women could be given a “titular degree”. The difference was that without a full degree women were excluded from the governing of the university. This effectively denied woman a role in governance but not in recognized qualifications. Since students must belong to a college, and since established colleges remained closed to women, women found admissions restricted to colleges established only for women. All of the men’s colleges integrated genders between 1960 and 1988. One women’s college, Girton, also integrated genders, but the other women’s colleges took the view that until the gender ratio problem was completely solved, they should not reduce the number of women’s places available by admitting men to their colleges. In the academic year 2004-5, the university’s student gender ratio, including post-graduates, was male 52%: female 48% (Source: Cambridge University Reporter, [7]).

Research and teaching

Cambridge University has research departments and teaching faculties in most academic disciplines. Cambridge tends to have a slight bias towards scientific subjects, but it also has a number of strong humanities and social science faculties. Academic staff (and often graduate students for the larger subjects) teach the undergraduates in both lectures and personal “supervisions” where a teacher-student ratio of between one-to-one and one-to-three is maintained. This pedagogical system is often cited as being unique to the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford (where “supervisions” are known as “tutorials”) — similar practices can be found elsewhere, though not on the Oxbridge scale.

All research and lectures are conducted by University Departments. The colleges are in charge of giving or arranging most supervision, student accommodations, and most extra-curricula activities. During the 1990s Cambridge added a substantial number of new specialist research laboratories on several University sites around the city, and major expansion continues on a number of sites[8].

See also Category:Departments of the University of Cambridge and Departments in the University of Cambridge

Admission

Historically, undergraduate admission to Cambridge colleges depended on knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek, subjects taught principally in the United Kingdom at fee-paying schools, called public schools. This resulted in a student body predominantly drawn from members of the British social elite.

The admission process changed in the 1960s. Successful applicants are expected to be predicted at least 3 A-grade A-level qualifications relevant to their chosen undergraduate course, or equivalent overseas qualifications. College Fellows also evaluate candidates on unexamined factors such as potential for original thinking and creativity as expressed in extra-curricular activities and at interview [9]. In a few cases, candidates may be offered an unconditional place.

In recent years, admissions tutors in certain subjects have required applicants to sit the more difficult STEP papers in addition to achieving top grades in their A-levels or International Baccalaureate diplomas. For example, Peterhouse requires 1 and 2 or better in STEP as well as A grades at A-levels including A-level Mathematics and Further Mathematics in order to be considered for entry for the Mathematical Tripos. Between one-half and two-thirds of those who apply with the correct grades are given offers of a place.

Public debate in the United Kingdom continues over whether admissions processes at Oxford and Cambridge are entirely merit based and fair, whether enough students from state schools are encouraged to apply to Cambridge, and whether these students succeed in gaining entry. Almost half of all successful applicants come from public schools. However, the average qualifications for successful applicants from state schools are poorer than the average qualification of successful applicants from private schools. The lack of state school applicants to Cambridge and Oxford has had a negative impact on Oxbridge’s reputation for many years, and the University has encouraged pupils from state schools to apply for Cambridge to help redress the imbalance. Critics counter that excessive government pressure to increase state school admissions constitute inappropriate social engineering [10] [11].

Graduate admission is first decided by the faculty or department relating to the applicant’s subject. This effectively guarantees admission to a college (probably but not necessarily the applicant’s preferred choice).

Sports and other extracurricular activities

Cambridge maintains a long tradition of student participation in sports and recreation. Rowing is a particularly popular sport at Cambridge, and there are competitions between colleges (notably the bumps races) and against Oxford (the Boat Race). There are also Varsity matches against Oxford in many other sports, ranging from rugby and cricket, to chess and tiddlywinks. Athletes representing the university in certain sports entitle them to apply for a Cambridge Blue at the discretion of the Blues Committee, consisting of the captains of the thirteen most prestigious sports. There are also the self-described “unashamedly elite” Hawks’ Club, whose membership is usually restricted to Cambridge Full Blues and Half Blues.

The Cambridge Union serves as a focus for debating. Drama societies notably include the Amateur Dramatic Club (ADC) and the comedy club Footlights, which are known for producing well-known showbusiness personalities. Student newspapers include the long-established Varsity and its younger rival, The Cambridge Student. The student-run radio station, CUR1350, promotes broadcast journalism.

Myths, legends and traditions

The Mathematical Bridge over the river Cam (at Queens’ College)

There are a number of popular myths associated with Cambridge University and its history.

One famous myth relates to Queens’ College’s so-called Mathematical Bridge (pictured right). Supposedly constructed by Sir Isaac Newton, it reportedly held itself together without any bolts or screws. Legend has it inquisitive students took it apart and were then unable to reassemble it without bolts. However, the bridge was erected 22 years after Newton’s death. This myth may have arisen from the fact that earlier versions of the bridge used iron pins and screws at the joints, whereas the current bridge uses more visible nuts and bolts.

Another famous myth involves the Clare Bridge of Clare College. Spherical stone ornaments adorn this bridge. One of these has a quarter sphere wedge removed from the back. This is a feature pointed out on almost all tours over the bridge. Legend has it that the bridge’s builder was not paid in full due to the college’s dissatisfaction with its construction. The builder thus took revenge and committed a small act of petty vandalism. Though lacking evidence, this legend is commonly accepted.

A discontinued tradition is that of the wooden spoon, the ‘prize’ awarded to the student with the lowest passing grade in the final examinations of the Mathematical Tripos. The last of these spoons was awarded in 1909 to Cuthbert Lempriere Holthouse, an oarsman of the Lady Margaret Boat Club of St John’s College. It was over one metre in length and had an oar blade for a handle. Since 1909, results were published alphabetically within class rather than score order. This made it harder to ascertain who the winner of the spoon was (unless there was only one person in the third class), and so the practice was abandoned.

On the other hand, the legend of the Austin Seven delivery van that ended up on the apex of the Senate House is no myth at all. The Caius College website recounts in detail how this vehicle “went up in the world”. [12]

Miscellaneous

St Johns College New Court and Chapel seen from The Backs

Building on its reputation for enterprise, science and technology, Cambridge has a partnership with MIT in the United States, the Cambridge-MIT Institute.

In 2000, Bill Gates of Microsoft donated US$210 million through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to endow the Gates Scholarships for students from outside the UK seeking postgraduate study at Cambridge. The University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, which taught the world’s first computing course in 1953, is housed in a building partly funded by Gates and named after his grandfather, William Gates.

After the founding in 1636 of the first institute of higher education in the Americas, Harvard College in Newtowne, Massachusetts, the town adopted the new name of “Cambridge” in 1638 to promote its reputation as an academic centre. The first president (Henry Dunster), the first benefactor (John Harvard), and the first schoolmaster (Nathaniel Eaton) of Harvard were all Cambridge University alumni, as was the then ruling (and first) governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop. In 1629, Winthrop had led the signing of the founding document of the city of Boston which was known as the Cambridge Agreement, after the university [13].

In the Meiji Era (1868-1912), several Japanese students studied at the university.[14].

In Japan, there is a Cambridge and Oxford Society[15], a rare example of the name Cambridge coming before Oxford when the two universities are referred to together — traditionally, the order used when referring to both universities is “Oxford and Cambridge”, the order in which they were founded. The probable reason for this inversion is that the Cambridge Club was founded first in Japan, and it also had more members than its Oxford counterpart when they amalgamated in 1905.

The University’s publishing arm, the Cambridge University Press, is the oldest printer and publisher in the world.

Each Christmas Eve, BBC television and radio broadcasts The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols by the Choir of King’s College Chapel. This has been a national Christmas tradition since it was first transmitted in 1928.

Colleges

View over Trinity College, Gonville and Caius, Trinity Hall and Clare College towards King’s College Chapel, seen from St John’s College chapel. On the left, just in front of Kings College chapel, is the University Senate House

The University of Cambridge currently has 31 colleges, of which three admit only women (New Hall, Newnham and Lucy Cavendish). The remaining 28 are mixed, Magdalene being the last all-male college to admit women in 1988. Two colleges admit only postgraduates (Clare Hall and Darwin), and four more admit mainly mature students or graduate students (Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St Edmund’s and Wolfson). The other 25 colleges admit mainly undergraduate students, but also postgraduates following courses of study or research. Although various colleges are traditionally strong in a particular subject, for example Churchill has a formalized bias towards the sciences and engineering, the colleges all admit students from just about the whole range of subjects, although some colleges do not take students for a handful of subjects such as architecture or history of art. It is noteworthy that costs to students (accommodation and food prices) vary considerably from college to college. This may be of increasing significance to potential applicants as Government grants decline in the next few years.

There are several historical colleges which no longer exist, such as King’s Hall (founded in 1317) and Michaelhouse which were combined together by King Henry VIII to establish Trinity in 1546. Also, Gonville Hall was founded in 1348 and then re-founded in 1557 as Gonville & Caius.

There are also several theological colleges in Cambridge, (for example Westminster College and Ridley Hall Theological College) that are loosely affiliated with the university through the Cambridge Theological Federation.

See also the list of Fictional Cambridge Colleges

Selected notable members

See also List of University of Cambridge members (extensive list), Alumni of the University of Cambridge (college lists) and Academics of the University of Cambridge (lists of academics).

Douglas Adams (St John’s) Charles Babbage (Trinity, Peterhouse) Sir Francis Bacon (Trinity) Sir William Lawrence Bragg (Trinity) Subhash Chandra Bose (Fitzwilliam) Lord Byron (Trinity) James Chadwick (Gonville & Caius) Charles, Prince of Wales (Trinity) John Cleese (Downing) Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Jesus) Francis Crick (Gonville & Caius) Oliver Cromwell (Sidney Sussex) Charles Darwin (Christ’s) Paul Dirac (St John’s) Desiderius Erasmus (Queens’) Rosalind Franklin (Newnham) Germaine Greer (Newnham) William Harvey (Gonville & Caius) Stephen Hawking (Trinity Hall, Gonville & Caius) Ted Hughes (Pembroke) Allama Mohammad Iqbal (Trinity) Jinyong (Louis Cha) (St John’s) Lord Kelvin (Peterhouse) John Maynard Keynes (King’s) Kim Dae-Jung (Clare Hall) C. S. Lewis (Magdalene)

Christopher Marlowe (Corpus Christi) James Clerk Maxwell (Peterhouse, Trinity) Ian McKellen (St Catharine’s) A. A. Milne (Trinity) John Milton (Christ’s) Vladimir Nabokov (Trinity) Jawaharlal Nehru (Trinity) Isaac Newton (Trinity) Sylvia Plath (Newnham) Salman Rushdie (King’s) Bertrand Russell (Trinity) Ernest Rutherford (Trinity) Fred Sanger (St John’s) Siegfried Sassoon (Clare) Simon Schama (Christ’s) Amartya Sen (Trinity) Manmohan Singh (St. John’s) Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Trinity) J.J. Thomson (Trinity) Emma Thompson (Newnham) Alan Turing (King’s) James D. Watson (Clare) William Wilberforce (St John’s) Maurice Wilkins (St John’s) Ludwig Wittgenstein (Trinity) William Wordsworth (St John’s) Lee Kuan Yew (Fitzwilliam)

Cambridge University in literature and popular culture

Fiction

• Chaucer’s The Reeve’s Tale takes place at Soler Halle – another name for King’s Hall, which later became part of Trinity College, Cambridge.
• The Glittering Prizes by Frederic Raphael.
• The Longest Journey and Maurice by E.M. Forster
• Chariots of Fire, 1981 film
• The Masters and The Affair by C.P. Snow (features an unnamed fictional college, partly based on his own college, Christ’s)
• Porterhouse Blue and its sequel Grantchester Grind feature Porterhouse, a fictional Cambridge College.
• Doctor Who episode Shada written by Douglas Adams
• Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
• Darkness at Pemberley by T. H. White
• All Sorts and Conditions of Men by Sir Walter Besant
• For the sake of Elena by Elizabeth George
• The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter, (where the Cambridge star player for the Varsity match disappears and must be located by Sherlock Holmes) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• High Table, Lower Orders BBC Radio comedy serial broadcast in 2005 and 2006 set in a college with some resemblance to Magdalene
• The medieval murder mysteries of Susanna Gregory
• Avenging Angel, a murder mystery by the philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah
• Eskimo Day is a 1996 BBC TV drama, written by Jack Rosenthal, and starring Maureen Lipman, Tom Wilkinson, and Alec Guinness, about the relationship between parents and teenagers during an admissions interview day at Queens’ College. There was also a 1997 sequel, Cold Enough for Snow.
• The final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, (All Good Things…) features the android character Data as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in his Cambridge college rooms, in a hypothetical future created by the omnipotent alien Q. An establishing location shot shows a futuristic version of the Cambridge University skyline around the year 2395.
• The film version of James Bond claims he was an Oriental Studies graduate from Cambridge, and fluent in Japanese in You Only Live Twice
• Will Bailey, a White House staffer on The West Wing, a US television drama series, is a “former president of the Cambridge Union on a Marshall Scholarship”.
• Civilization (computer game) - a classic turn-based strategy video game by Sid Meier features “Isaac Newton’s College” as a Wonder of the World - this could be a reference to Cambridge University as a whole or to Trinity College, Cambridge specifically.

Non-fiction

• A concise history of the University of Cambridge, by Elisabeth Leedham-Green, Cambridge University Press, 1996, ISBN 0521439787, ISBN 9780521439787
• A history of the University of Cambridge, by Christopher N.L. Brooke, Cambridge University Press, 4 volumes, 1988-2004, ISBN 0521328829, ISBN 052135059X, ISBN 0521350603, ISBN 052134350X
• Bedders, bulldogs and bedells: a Cambridge glossary, by Frank Stubbings, Cambridge 1995 ISBN 0521479789
• Japanese Students at Cambridge University in the Meiji Era, 1868-1912: Pioneers for the Modernization of Japan [16], by Noboru Koyama, translated by Ian Ruxton [17], Lulu Press, September 2004, ISBN 1411612566. This book includes information about the wooden spoon and the university in the 19th century as well as the Japanese students.
• Teaching and Learning in 19th century Cambridge, by J. Smith and C. Stray (ed.), Boydell Press, 2001 ISBN 0851157831
• The Architectural History of the University of Cambridge and of the Colleges of Cambridge and Eton, Robert Willis, Edited by John Willis Clark, 1988. Three volume set, Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521358515
• The Cambridge Apostles: A History of Cambridge University’s Elite Intellectual Secret Society, by Richard Deacon, Cassell, 1985, ISBN 0947728139

University activities

History and traditions

• Cambridge University Professorships, Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors
• Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency)
• Registrary
• List of Oxbridge sister colleges
• Oxbridge scarf colours
• Academic dress of the University of Cambridge

File:Punting cam gown.jpg

The gown and hood worn for BA graduation

As is natural in the second oldest university in the United Kingdom, the University of Cambridge has a long tradition of academic dress.

When academic dress is worn

Academic dress is still worn quite often in Cambridge on formal occasions. Many undergraduates in their first week at Cambridge buy (or borrow) a gown for the purpose of enrolment in the University (known as matriculation). It is more common to buy a gown, especially at the more traditional colleges, as the number of occasions on which it is worn quickly repays the investment; gowns are often recycled between 'generations', as new graduate students in turn need to upgrade their gowns at the start of the year. It is usually sufficient for students to buy their gowns in the first few weeks after arrival at the University.

In some colleges, gowns are worn to Formal Hall (formal dinner, held almost every night in some colleges, once a term in others) and to Chapel. Various College events also demand academic dress; for example, in the Trinity College statutes, it specifies that certain senior members of College (such as the Dean) prefer students to wear academic dress when addressing them in their official capacity (often when having been "deaned" for breaking the College Rules). The extent to which these rules apply vary greatly from college to college, some dispensing with them even for formal hall.

Gowns are also worn, with a hood, to graduation ceremonies. There are strict rules regarding which gown and hood a graduating student should wear.

Components of Cambridge academic dress

When wearing academic dress, a person wears both the gown and the hood of the highest degree he or she has already received from the University of Cambridge.

Anyone who does not hold a Cambridge degree (such as an undergraduate, or a graduate of another university) wears a gown according to his or her status in Cambridge ie undergraduate, BA status or MA status (If you hold a Cambridge BA, you may proceed to the MA not less than six years from the end of your first term of residence, providing that you have held your BA degree for at least two years ). In addition, he or she wears the hood of the degree, or the higher of the degrees, which he or she is to receive.

Thus for example an undergraduate graduating to a BA degree wears an undergraduate gown, and a BA hood. A holder of a BA from Cambridge graduating to a PhD wears both a BA hood and gown, whereas a graduate of another university graduating to a PhD wears a BA or MA gown and PhD hood.

Degrees are ranked as follows (highest to lowest):

PhD, MA, MPhil, MEng, MSci, MB, BChir, VetMB, BA.

Academic dress worn for a graduation ceremony

Gowns

The gowns in use in Cambridge, like those generally used throughout the UK but not the U.S., are open-fronted. The main types are the undergraduate gown, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) gown, Master of Arts (M.A.) gown and doctoral gown.

Hoods

Hoods are worn on the back as an indicator of academic status. The colours for some commonly seen degrees are listed below, in order of precedence.

Doctor of Philosophy	black and red silk
Master of Arts	black and white silk
Master of Philosophy	black and dark blue silk
Master of Law	black and light cherry silk
Master of Engineering	black cloth lined with bronze silk
Master of Natural Science	black silk lined with iridescent pink and light blue silk
Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine	mid cherry silk and more fur
Bachelor of Music	dark cherry satin and white fur
Bachelor of Arts	black cloth and white fur
Bachelor of Education	black cloth, blue silk and white fur
Bachelor of Theology for Ministry	black cloth, black silk and white fur

Academic caps

A form of a black cap known as a mortarboard (or square) may be worn or carried. Properly, it is worn outdoors and carried indoors, except by people acting in an official capacity who may continue to wear it indoors. In practice, few people wear (or even carry) a cap nowadays; caps ceased to be compulsory for undergraduates in the 1950s after a shortage but are nominally still required for graduates.

With their festal gowns, Doctors wear Tudor bonnets, which are round and made of velvet, with gold string and tassels, except that Doctors of Divinity wear a black velvet cap.

Sub-fusc

Sub-fusc means "of a dark/dusky colour", and refers to the clothes worn with full academic dress in Cambridge. Generally, this involves a dark suit and white shirt, collar, bands and bow tie for men, and a dark suit and white blouse for women. The rules for dress on graduation for women also specify that women's attire must have long sleeves and, if a skirt is worn, it must be knee-length or longer and worn with tights.

In place of sub-fusc, members of Her Majesty's Forces have worn their service uniform, persons in holy orders their clerical dress, and national dress has been worn, together with the appropriate gown and hood. (Military and national dress are not formally permitted, but have been allowed up to 2005, however there are current moves to prevent this.)

The Cambridge form of sub-fusc is usually not as strict as that at Oxford, and gowns are often worn with less formal attire (particularly by undergraduates who are required to wear gowns to hall). However, the rules are enforced strictly at formal graduation ceremonies, and persons who are incorrectly dressed may be prevented from graduating in person and their Praelector or Presenter may be fined.

Student dress

Undergraduates

All undergraduate gowns resemble knee-length versions of the B.A. gown, but many colleges at Cambridge have gowns that differ slightly from the main pattern. The standard gown is black, and most colleges' gowns include minor variations such as sleeve decoration. The most distinct differences are the blue colour of the undergraduate gowns of Trinity and Caius and the blue facings of Selwyn.

B.A. and M.A.

The two most common graduate gowns in Cambridge are the B.A. gown and the M.A. gown. Unlike in most other universities, except the University of Oxford, all undergraduates at Cambridge traditionally graduated with a B.A. degree after 3 years, although, these days, many graduates also obtain a master's degree, such as an M.Eng or M.Sci., after a further year of study, and graduate from both degrees at once.

As in Oxford, B.A.s are automatically entitled to proceed to the degree of Master of Arts after a period of time. In Cambridge, this is 6 years from the end of the first term after matriculation provided this is at least two years from obtaining their BA [18] — BAs are thus eligible for the MA at the first graduation ceremony in the 7th calendar year after matriculation.

The B.A. gown is a long black stuff (cloth) gown with long bell-shaped sleeves to the wrists. The gown is gathered at the back in a yoke, and falls down to between the knees and the ankles. The B.A. hood is of black cloth, bound and half-lined in white rabbit fur.

The M.A. gown is similar to the B.A. gown, except that the sleeves are long, rectangular and closed at the ends, with a crescent cut out of each sleeve-end, and a horizontal arm-slit just above the elbow. The M.A. hood is of black cloth bound and lined in white silk. Other Masters' gowns vary from subject to subject at Cambridge; for example, the Master of Engineering (MEng) gown is the standard M.A. gown but has an embroidered wheel on each sleeve, and a corresponding hood is worn.

Persons without a Cambridge degree (including those with a degree from another university) wear a "B.A. status" or "M.A. status" gown, which is identical to a B.A. or M.A. gown but with the "strings" (black ribbons attached inside the shoulder) removed. The B.A. status gown is for those aged under twenty-four while the MA gown is for those aged twenty-four or over. (The rationale is that Cambridge students would usually join the university at 18, obtain their B.A. after 3 years, at 21, and their M.A. after a further 3 years, at 24.)

Doctors

Doctors in Cambridge have two forms of academic dress: undress and full dress (or scarlet). Scarlet is worn on formal college and university occasions, and so-called Scarlet Days (mostly Church of England festivals such as Easter and Christmas).

The undress gown is similar to an M.A. gown (for Ph.D, Litt.D, Sc.D and in practice D.D.) or is a 'lay-type' gown similar to that worn by Queen's Counsel (LL.D., M.D., Mus.D.). Different doctorates are distinguished by different arrangements of lace on the sleeves, facings or flap collar. The gown may be worn with a doctor's hood. The Ph.D. hood, the one most commonly seen, is made of black silk lined with scarlet cloth; the hoods of higher doctors are made of red cloth and lined with silk in the faculty colour (scarlet for letters, pink shot light blue for science, light cherry for laws, mid cherry for silk, dove grey for divinity). The Mus.D. hood is of cream damask lined with dark cherry satin.

The full dress or scarlet gown differs for each doctorate, but uses the same material and colours as the hood. For Ph.D.s, the scarlet gown is the same as the M.A. gown, with the addition of a broad red cloth stripe down each side at the front; a common but unauthorised variation uses detachable facings on an undress Ph.D. gown, which is distinguished from the M.A. gown by doctors' lace on the sleeves that is not found on the proper festal Ph.D. gown. For the higher doctorates, such as LL.D. or Sc.D., the scarlet gown is a more impressive affair, being brightly coloured and voluminous, with open bell-shaped sleeves and gathered at the yoke. The linings of the sleeves and the facings are in silk of the faculty colour.

University officials

University officials dressed for a degree (graduation) ceremony

The Chancellor

The Chancellor of the University wears on ceremonial occasions a black silk gown with a long train, decorated with gold lace, similar to the gown of the Lord Chancellor.

Persons presenting for or conferring degrees

The Vice-Chancellor or his/her deputy, when conferring degrees, and anyone who is not a praelector of a college presenting a graduand (in practice, this is limited to the professors or their deputies presenting for higher doctorates) wears a scarlet cope trimmed with white fur, as shown in the image.

Proctors

The Proctors in Cambridge are formally responsible for the discipline of junior members of the university. In addition, they have various ceremonial and administrative roles, which they are, in practice, mainly occupied with.

In both Oxford and Cambridge, the Proctors could formerly be seen patrolling the streets after dark with the university police, or bulldogs, who wore top hats in Cambridge and bowler hats in Oxford. These traditions have now ceased, although the Proctors are still responsible for posting various disciplinary notices (e.g. highlighting the restriction on undergraduates' possession of motor cars) around the Colleges. Their Constables continue to wear top hats and cloaks on ceremonial occasions.

The Proctors wear the academic dress of a Master of Arts, but with a distinctive 'ruff' at the neck. (See also Ruff (clothing).)

Other officials

Other officials such as the Esquire Bedell or Orator wear the academic dress appropriate to their degree.

External links

• Ordinances Chapter II, with academical dress regulations (PDF)
• The Burgon Society, founded to promote the study of Academical Dress
• Cambridge University Heraldic & Genealogical Society gown guide
• Dress at graduation
• Academic dress
• Discussion of the wearing of academical dress on scarlet days
• Discussion of academical dress for the Vet.M.D. degree
• Ryder and Amies academic tailors, with images of academic dress on their website
• Information on dress at graduation from the website of Trinity Hall
• Information on the Cambridge MA from the Cambridge University website

• Formal Hall (formal evening meals)

A formal dinner at St Johns College, Cambridge.

A formal dinner involves dining in the collegiate manner served by servants, whilst wearing academic dress if at an academic college, and is typically lit by candles.

It is normally preceded (and sometimes followed) by a Grace, which in older institutions may often be in Latin and is frequently peculiar to the institution in question.

There may be one or more after dinner speakers at the end of the dinner or even between courses if it is a special occasion.

Societies and leisure activities

• Amateur Dramatic Club
• The Boat Race against Oxford University
• Cambridge Apostles
• Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats
• The Cambridge Union Society
• Cambridge University Association Football League
• Cambridge University Conservative Association
• Cambridge University Cricket Club
• Cambridge University Labour Club
• Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club
• Cambridge University Student Alliances
• CUR1350, the student radio station
• Footlights
• Hawks’ Club
• May Balls
• Punting
• Pitt Club
• Varsity and The Cambridge Student, the student newspapers
• For a more complete list see List of social activities at the University of Cambridge
• See also: University website list of societies

Organisations and institutions associated with the university

• 800th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign
• Alumni website
• Auto-ID Labs
• Babraham Institute (biomedical research)
• Cambridge Assessment (formerly known as the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate)
• Cambridge Network – Cambridge University industry networking
• Cambridge Science Park
• Cambridge Stem Cell Initiative
• Cambridge University Library
• Cambridge University Press
• Cambridge University Students’ Union (CUSU)
• Coimbra Group
• Downing Site
• Fitzwilliam Museum
• Franco-British Student Alliance
• Graduate Union of Cambridge University
• Granta literary magazine
• Gurdon Institute of Cancer and Developmental Biology
• Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences
• Kettle’s Yard art gallery
• League of European Research Universities
• Medical Research Council research centres and units – MRC’s Cambridge cluster (including the Laboratory of Molecular Biology) is its largest outside London; its Cambridge graduate students register with the University
• Millennium Mathematics Project
• The Naked Scientists – Cambridge University science radio show and podcasts
• New Museums Site
• Phoenix
• Russell Group
• Sanger Institute (genome research)
• Scott Polar Research Institute
• Sidgwick Site
• West Cambridge
• Westminster Quarters

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Note 1: [19] - The list of Cambridge’s 81 Nobel Prize winners, from the University of Cambridge website.
• Note 2: [20] - A list of universities with the most Nobel Prize winner affiliations. The University of Chicago has the second most with 78 (30 of which were won by former students).
• Note 3: [21] - A 2005 ranking from The Times Higher Education Supplement of the world’s research universities, with Cambridge ranked 3rd, behind Harvard and MIT.
• Note 4: [22] - A 2005 ranking from the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University of the world’s research universities, with Cambridge ranked 2nd, behind Harvard.

External links

• University of Cambridge official website
• A Short History of the University – from the official website
• Cambridge expansion plans
• talks.cam.ac.uk – Cambridge University talks-listing service
• Varsity – a student newspaper
• The Cambridge Student (TCS) – a student newspaper
• BlueSci – student science magazine
• Cambridge Alumni Magazine
• Gown – the graduate magazine
• CUR1350 – the student-run radio station
• Tompkins Table - unofficial ranking of Cambridge colleges
• Cambridge University jargon
• Cambridge Online – a comprehensive city guide and directory with thousands of pages of local information contributed by Cambridge residents
• Computing-Info - Information for prospective students about computing and networking policies at the University and within the colleges
• Images and maps
  • Aerial view – from Google Maps
  • Interactive map – a well designed zoomable map linking to all the University departments and colleges
  • Cambridge in Colour – Cambridge University photography
  • Cambridge 2000 – a large collection of photographs of Cambridge architecture

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