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:
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.[77]
Timeline of the colleges in the order their students are presented for graduation, compared with some events in British history.
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.
Bull College, an unofficial college for US GIs returning from World War II, existing in Michaelmas 1945 and Lent 1946.[80]
Cavendish College, founded in 1873, an attempt to allow poorer students to sit the Tripos examinations, whose buildings were bought by Homerton in 1895.[81][82]
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