The University of Cambridge is composed of 31 colleges in addition to the academic departments and administration of the central university. Until the mid-19th century, both Cambridge and Oxford comprised a group of colleges with a small central university administration, rather than universities in the common sense. Cambridge's colleges are communities of students, academics and staff – an environment in which generations and academic disciplines are able to mix, with both students and fellows experiencing "the breadth and excellence of a top University at an intimate level".[1][2]
Cambridge colleges provide most of the accommodation for undergraduates and postgraduates at the university. At the undergraduate level they have responsibility for admitting students to the university, providing pastoral support, and organising elements of their tuition, though lectures and examinations are organised by the faculties and departments of the central university. All degrees are awarded by the university itself, not the colleges, and all students study for the same course regardless of which college they attend.[3] For postgraduate students, research is conducted centrally in the faculties, departments and other university-affiliated research centres, though the colleges provide a central social and intellectual hub for students.
Colleges provide a range of facilities and services to their members in addition to accommodation,[4] including: catering, library facilities, extracurricular societies, and sporting teams. Much of sporting life at Cambridge is centred around college teams and inter-collegiate competition in Cuppers. Student activity is typically organised through separate common rooms for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Another important element of collegiate life is formal hall, which range in frequency from weekly to every night of the week during Full Term.
Colleges also provide funding, accommodation, or both, for some of the academic posts in the university, with the majority of Cambridge academics being a fellow of a college in addition to their faculty/departmental role.[5] Fellows may therefore hold college positions in addition to their academic posts at the university: these include roles such as Tutor (responsible for pastoral support), Director of Studies (responsible for academic oversight of students taking a particular subject), Dean (responsible for discipline among college members), Senior Tutor (responsible for the college's overall academic provision), or Head of college ('Head of House').
Colleges are self-governed charities in their own right, with their own endowments and possessions.
"Old" and "new" colleges
The University of Cambridge has 31 colleges,[5] founded between the 13th and 20th centuries. No colleges were founded between 1596 (Sidney Sussex College) and 1800 (Downing College), which allows the colleges to be distinguished into two groups according to foundation date:
- the 16 "old" colleges, founded between 1284 and 1596, and
- the 15 "new" colleges, founded between 1800 and 1977.
The oldest college is Peterhouse, founded in 1284,[6] and the newest is Robinson, founded in 1977.[7] Homerton, which was first founded in the eighteenth century as a dissenting academy (and later teacher training college), attained full college status in 2010.
Restrictions on entry
All 16 of the "old" colleges and 7 of the 15 "new" ones admit both male and female students as both undergraduates and postgraduates, without any age restrictions. Eight colleges restrict entry by sex, or by age of undergraduates, or admit only postgraduates:
- King's originally admitted only boys from Eton College until 1865.
- Murray Edwards and Newnham admit only women. Lucy Cavendish admitted only women until 2021;[8]
- Lucy Cavendish admitted only mature students (i.e., aged 21 or older until 2020)[8] and postgraduates until 2021;
- Clare Hall and Darwin admit only postgraduates;
- Hughes Hall, St Edmund's and Wolfson admit only mature students and postgraduates.[9]
No colleges are all-male, although most originally were. Darwin, founded in 1964, was the first mixed college, while in 1972 Churchill, Clare and King's colleges were the first previously all-male colleges to admit women, whilst King's formerly only accepted students from Eton College. The last all-male college to become mixed was Magdalene, in 1988.[10] In 1973 Hughes Hall became the first all-female college to admit men, and Girton first admitted men in 1979.
Newnham also places restrictions on the admission of staff members, allowing only women to become fellows of the college. Murray Edwards does not place this restriction on fellows.
Architectural influence
The Cambridge and Oxford colleges have served as an architectural inspiration for Collegiate Gothic architecture, used by a number of American universities including Princeton University, Cornell University, and Washington University in St. Louis since the late nineteenth century.[11][12]
List of colleges
| College (with arms and scarf colours)[13] | Founded[a] | Head of House | Undergraduates | Postgraduates | Total[15] | Endowment (2022) | Net assets (2022) | Assets per student (2019) | Abbreviation[16] (and short form) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Christ's Scarf colours: brown, with two equally-spaced narrow white stripes | 1505 | Lord McDonald of Salford[17] Master since 2022 | 433 | 256 | 689 | £117M[18] | £239M[18] | £287k | CHR | Re-foundation of Godshouse (est. 1439) |
 Churchill Scarf colours: black, with two equally-spaced narrow stripes of brown edged with pink | 1960 (1966)[b] | Dame Athene Donald[19] Master since 2014 | 499 | 346 | 845 | £113M[20] | £188M[20] | £215k | CHU | |
 Clare Scarf colours: black, with two equally-spaced narrow yellow stripes | 1326 (1336)[c] | Loretta Minghella[21] Master since 2021 | 519 | 289 | 808 | £161M[22] | £322M[22] | £350k | CL | Formerly University Hall, then Clare Hall. |
 Clare Hall Scarf colours: black, with two equally-spaced narrow stripes of red edged with yellow | 1966 (1984)[d] | C. Alan Short[23] President since 2020 | 0 | 249 | 249 | £21M[24] | £39M[24] | £140k | CLH | Postgraduate-only. |
 Corpus Christi Scarf colours: cherry pink, with two equally-spaced narrow white stripes | 1352 | Christopher Kelly[25] Master since 2018 | 294 | 259 | 553 | £99M[26] | £238M[26] | £419k | CC (Corpus) | Formerly St Benet's College. |
 Darwin Scarf colours: blue, with two equally-spaced narrow sets of three adjacent red, Cambridge blue and yellow stripes, with the red stripes closest to the edge of the scarf, and the yellow stripes closest to the centre | 1964 (1976)[d] | Mike Rands[25] Master since 2018 | 0 | 755 | 755 | £25M[27] | £81M[27] | £99k | DAR | Postgraduate-only. |
 Downing Scarf colours: black, with three narrow magenta stripes | 1800 | Graham Virgo[28] Master since 2023 | 463 | 382 | 845 | £50M[29] | £197M[29] | £233k | DOW | |
 Emmanuel Scarf colours: navy, with two equally-spaced narrow rose pink stripes | 1584 | Doug Chalmers[30] Master since 2021 | 512 | 206 | 718 | £137M[31] | £348M[31] | £394k | EM (Emma) | |
 Fitzwilliam Scarf colours: maroon, with two equally-spaced narrow grey stripes | 1869 (1966)[d] | Baroness Morgan of Huyton[32] Master since 2019 | 486 | 413 | 899 | £78M[33] | £153M[33] | £151k | F (Fitz) | |
 Girton Scarf colours: green, with two equally-spaced narrow stripes of red edged with white | 1869 (1924)[e] (1948)[b] | Elisabeth Kendall[34] Mistress since 2022 | 516 | 292 | 808 | £53M[35] | £153M[35] | £190k | G | Formerly female-only; mixed from 1976. |
 Gonville and Caius Scarf colours: four equal stripes alternating black and Cambridge blue | 1348 (1557)[f] | Pippa Rogerson[36] Master since 2018 | 602 | 247 | 849 | £254M[37] | £382M[37] | £398k | CAI (Caius) |
|
 Homerton Scarf colours: navy, with two equally-spaced narrow white stripes | 1768 (1976)[g] (2010)[d] | Lord Woolley of Woodford[38] Principal since 2021 | 615 | 577 | 1192 | £216M[39] | £250M[39] | £190k | HO | Originally mixed, then became women-only on move to Cambridge; returned to mixed from 1976. |
 Hughes Hall Scarf colours: light blue with three equally-spaced narrow stripes, the outer stripes of Cambridge blue and wider, the central stripe of white and narrower | 1885 (1949)[g] (2006)[d] | Sir Laurie Bristow[40] President since 2022 | 150 | 711 | 861 | £8M[41] | £54M[41] | £53k | HH | Mature-only.[h] |
_shield.svg){kind=small} Jesus Scarf colours: three equal stripes of red and black, with red in the middle on one side of the scarf, and black in the middle on the other | 1496 | Sonita Alleyne[42] Master since 2019 | 513 | 411 | 924 | £235M[43] | £373M[43] | £373k | JE | |
 King's Scarf colours: royal purple, with two equally-spaced narrow white stripes | 1441 | Gillian Tett[42] Provost since 2023 | 442 | 284 | 726 | £250M[44] | £423M[44] | £519k | K | |
 Lucy Cavendish Scarf colours: eight alternating stripes of black and blue of varying width, with wide black and narrow blue stripes transitioning towards narrow black and wide blue stripes across the face of the scarf | 1965 (1997)[d] | Dame Madeleine Atkins[45] President since 2018 | 385 | 544 | 929 | £13M[46] | £47M[46] | £102k | LC (Lucy Cav) | Formerly mature-only,[h] and female-only; all-age from 2020, mixed from 2021. |
 Magdalene Scarf colours: navy, with two equally-spaced narrow lavender stripes | 1428 (1542)[i] | Sir Christopher Greenwood[47] Master since 2020 | 382 | 190 | 572 | £71M[48] | £197M[48] | £312k | M |
|
 Murray Edwards Scarf colours: three equally-spaced narrow stripes separating two black areas towards the edge and two blue areas in the middle, the outer stripes of yellow and the central stripe of red | 1954 (1972)[d] (2011)[j] | Dorothy Byrne[49] President since 2021 | 376 | 189 | 565 | £46M[50] | £105M[50] | £186k | MUR (Medwards) |
|
 Newnham Scarf colours: grey, with a central broad band of navy, itself divided in two by a narrow gold stripe | 1871 (1917)[e] (1957)[k] | Alison Rose[51] Principal since 2019 | 416 | 290 | 706 | £59M[52] | £219M[52] | £310k | N | Female-only. |
_shield.svg){kind=small} Pembroke Scarf colours: dark blue, with two equally-spaced narrow Cambridge blue stripes | 1347 | Lord Smith of Finsbury[53] Master since 2015 | 475 | 285 | 760 | £90M[54] | £288M[54] | £341k | PEM | Formerly Pembroke Hall. |
 Peterhouse Scarf colours: four equal stripes alternating white and blue | 1284 | Andy Parker[55] Master since 2023 | 292 | 178 | 470 | £235M[56] | £355M[56] | £698k | PET | |
_shield.svg){kind=small} Queens' Scarf colours: dark green, with two equally-spaced narrow white stripes | 1448 (1465)[c] | Mohamed A. El‑Erian[57] President since 2020 | 521 | 500 | 1021 | £115M[58] | £149M[58] | £156k | Q | |
 Robinson Scarf colours: from one edge of the scarf to the other, the first third grey, then three equal stripes of blue, gold and grey, and then the final third blue | 1977 (1984)[b] | Sir Richard Heaton[59] Warden since 2021 | 412 | 252 | 664 | £29M[60] | £114M[60] | £140k | R | |
 St Catharine's Scarf colours: burgundy, with narrow pearl pink stripes | 1473 | Sir Mark Welland[61] Master since 2016 | 481 | 287 | 768 | £73M[62] | £171M[62] | £190k | CTH (Catz) | Formerly Catharine Hall. |
 St Edmund's Scarf colours: blue, with two equally-spaced narrow stripes of Cambridge blue edged with white | 1896 (1965)[g] (1998)[d] | Catherine Arnold[63] Master since 2019 | 121 | 452 | 573 | £19M[64] | £43M[64] | £71k | ED (Eddie's) | Mature-only.[h] |
 St John's Scarf colours: navy, with two equally-spaced narrow stripes of Cambridge blue edged with red | 1511 | Heather Hancock[65] Master since 2020 | 658 | 319 | 977 | £663M[66] | £967M[66] | £854k | JN | |
 Selwyn Scarf colours: maroon, with three narrow gold stripes through the middle, the central stripe slightly narrower than others | 1882 (1883)[g] (1958)[b] | Roger Mosey[67] Master since 2013 | 419 | 249 | 668 | £56M[68] | £134M[68] | £182 k | SE | |
 Sidney Sussex Scarf colours: two equal halves of dark-red and navy | 1596 | Martin Burton[69] Master since 2023 | 380 | 247 | 627 | £29M[70] | £131M[70] | £210k | SID (Sidney) | |
_shield.svg){kind=small} Trinity Scarf colours: navy, with three equally-spaced narrow stripes, the outer stripes of yellow and slightly narrower, the central stripe of red and slightly wider | 1546 | Dame Sally Davies[71] Master since 2019 | 722 | 332 | 1054 | £1,835M[72] | £1,985M[72] | £1,454k | T | Founded by merger of King's Hall (est. 1317) and Michaelhouse (est. 1324). |
 Trinity Hall Scarf colours: black, with two equally-spaced narrow white stripes | 1350 | Mary Hockaday[73] Master since 2022 | 376 | 226 | 602 | £350M[74] | £368M[74] | £532k | TH (Tit Hall) | |
 Wolfson Scarf colours: red, with two equally-spaced narrow golden stripes edged with white | 1965 (1977)[b] | Jane Clarke[75] President since 2017 | 180 | 832 | 1012 | £30M[76] | £78M[76] | £66k | W |
|
| Totals: | 12,354 | 10,893 | 23,247 | £5,325M | £8,381M | £319k | ||||
| Institutions(s) | Founded | Head | Undergraduates | Postgraduates | Total[15] | Endowment (2022) | Net Assets (2022) | Assets per student (2019) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Cambridge | c. 1209 | Deborah Prentice Vice-Chancellor since 2023 | 12,354 | 10,893 | 23,247 | £4,001M[77] | £6,693M[77] | £221k |
| Colleges | 1284–1977 | (See list) | " " | " " | " " | £5,325M | £8,381M | £319k |
| Totals: | 12,354 | 10,893 | 23,247 | £9,326M | £15,074M | £541k | ||
There are also several theological colleges in the city of Cambridge (for example Ridley Hall, Wesley House, Westcott House and Westminster College) that are affiliated with the university through the Cambridge Theological Federation. These colleges, while not officially part of the University of Cambridge, operate programmes that are either validated by or are taught on behalf either of the university or of Anglia Ruskin or Durham Universities.[78]
Heads of colleges
Most colleges are led by a Master, even when the Master is female. However, there are some exceptions, listed below. Girton College has always had a Mistress, even though male candidates have been able to run for the office since 1976.
- Mistress: Girton College
- President: Clare Hall, Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish College, Murray Edwards College, Queens' College, Wolfson College
- Principal: Homerton College, Newnham College
- Provost: King's College
- Warden: Robinson College
Also see List of current heads of University of Cambridge colleges.
Former colleges
The above list does not include several former colleges that no longer exist. These include:
- Ayerst Hostel, founded in the 1880s. Buildings used by St Edmund's House from 1896 and later St Edmund's College in 1996.[79]
- Buckingham College, founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hall, refounded as Magdalene in 1542.[80]
- Bull College, an unofficial college for US GIs returning from World War II, existing in Michaelmas 1945 and Lent 1946.[81]
- Cavendish College, founded in 1873, an attempt to allow poorer students to sit the Tripos examinations, whose buildings were bought by Homerton in 1895.[82][83]
- "Clare Hall" was the name of Clare College between 1338 and 1856. Clare College founded a new college named Clare Hall in 1966.
- Gonville Hall, founded in 1348, and re-founded in 1557 as Gonville and Caius College.[84]
- God's House, founded in 1437, and re-founded in 1505 as Christ's College.[85]
- King's Hall, founded in 1317, and combined with Michaelhouse to form Trinity College in 1546.[86]
- Michaelhouse, founded in 1324, and combined with King's Hall to form Trinity College in 1546.[86]
- New Hall, founded in 1954, and re-founded in 2008 as Murray Edwards College
- Physwick Hostel — a predecessor of Gonville and Caius College
- University College, founded in 1965, and re-founded in 1972 as Wolfson College
- University Hall, founded in 1326, refounded as Clare Hall in 1338, renamed as Clare College in 1856.
See also
Notes
References
Read more: Student Accommodation Cambridge https://www.studentgoodguide.com/accommodation/student-accommodation-cambridge-colleges/