University of Cambridge

Dating from 1209, the University of Cambridge is the English-speaking world's second-oldest university, and it belongs to the Russell Group. It is organised collegiately around 31 semi-autonomous colleges; 29 of these take undergraduates, housing them and giving them personal support. Teaching pairs lectures with supervisions in small groups. Over 150 faculties, departments and other institutions fall within six schools: Arts and Humanities, Humanities and Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Physical Sciences, and Technology.

Cambridge has about 22,500 students, around 13,000 of them undergraduates. While the historic colleges are clustered in the centre of the city, significant research and teaching sites have grown up on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and at West Cambridge. More than 120 Nobel Prizes have been linked to the university's alumni and affiliates. Cambridge University Press & Assessment, which forms part of the university, is the world's oldest printer and publisher and reaches learners in numerous countries. The university is also a member of both the International Alliance of Research Universities and the League of European Research Universities.

Information for International Students

Roughly one in four Cambridge undergraduates comes from outside the UK, from around 90 countries, and international candidates go through the same admissions process as those from the UK. Following a UCAS application, candidates submit the My Cambridge Application supplementary form, and an application fee applies to most international applicants. Numerous courses set an admissions assessment, for example the TMUA, ESAT, LNAT or UCAT, and applicants who are shortlisted are invited to interview, with arrangements in place for interviews overseas. Applicants normally need IELTS Academic 7.5 overall with at least 7.0 in each element, or a result at the specified level in Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency. Only applicants ordinarily resident in the UK may join the Cambridge Foundation Year.

Undergraduates without children are guaranteed college accommodation for three or four years. Sponsored students receive advice from the International Student Office on Student visa applications, CAS requirements and getting ready to arrive in the UK. For international undergraduates, financial support is limited and means-tested, coming from individual colleges and the Cambridge Trust, and full awards that meet all costs are rare. The Graduate Route is open to eligible graduates.