Andy Burnham is the first prime minister in 89 years to have studied at Cambridge. The Fitzwilliam College graduate is the 15th British leader from the university, while Oxford has had 31. The second-oldest university in the English-speaking world — awarded University of the Year in the East 2027 — Cambridge is an academic powerhouse for research and education, from its coveted undergraduate degrees such as English literature (the prime minister’s subject), natural sciences and Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic to the advancing of AI, stem cell modelling and climate change research. It is teeming with world-leading academics who are drawn to Cambridge’s picturesque setting, where rooms range from the medieval to the modern.
Admissions are handled by the 31 colleges (29 of them for undergraduates) and about three quarters of applicants are interviewed.
What is the University of Cambridge’s academic reputation?
Founded in 1209 — and home to Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking over its long history — Cambridge had an eight-year reign as No 1 in our league table and now it’s fourth for the second consecutive year.
Cambridge is still a global leader, placing sixth in the QS World University Rankings 2027 behind Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, Stanford, Oxford and Harvard; joint third in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026; and fourth in the Shanghai Ranking 2025, where it is the top-rated UK institution.
The university's research pedigree is confirmed by the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), which rated 93 per cent of its work as world-leading or internationally excellent. In our analysis of research quality, Cambridge is second only to Imperial College London. Cambridge was in the top three in a third of its subject areas and led the field in clinical medicine, earth sciences, architecture and land economy and business. Compared with institutions that share its broad academic range, Cambridge’s outcomes are the strongest. The university leads in 16 of our subject tables, more than any other.
Most lectures are delivered in person, as are its more focused small-group supervisions. Our analysis of the latest National Student Survey (NSS) shows improving rates of satisfaction with teaching quality, up 18 places to rank 41=. Feedback on the wider undergraduate experience is up too, by 12 places (105th).
Cambridge was awarded triple gold in the government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023).
A new linguistics and modern languages tripos degree is a four-year undergraduate programme that integrates the scientific study of language with the study of a specific language, its social context, history and culture. The four-year design tripos degree — a collaboration between the departments of architecture, engineering and materials science and metallurgy — merges arts and sciences to tackle social and environmental challenges and welcomes its third cohort in October 2026. Elsewhere, the renowned land economy degree has been renamed as environment, law and economics. The modern and medieval languages degree has also been tweaked to become linguistics and modern languages.
What are the University of Cambridge’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
Typical minimum offers are usually A*A*A or A*AA at A-level. Cambridge does not enter clearing or make contextual offers with lower grades but uses applicants’ backgrounds to provide a rounded picture for admissions tutors.
As the intricately detailed admissions statistics published on its website show, Cambridge receives six applications per place, on average, but there is huge variation between courses. Modern and medieval languages had the highest success rate in 2025, with 50.6 per cent of 265 applicants being accepted onto courses. At the opposite end of the scale, only 7.4 per cent of the 1,739 applicants to its computer science degree gained places.
The fully funded Cambridge Foundation Year in arts, humanities and social sciences is designed for disadvantaged students and requires 120 Ucas tariff points (equivalent to BBB at A-level). In 2025 the course attracted seven applications per place, and 47 students were accepted. Successful completion allows progression to a range of undergraduate degrees.
Among home students, admissions from independent schools represented 27.5 per cent of the 2025 intake (down from 29 per cent the year before), while the maintained sector — including selective grammar schools — represented 72.5 per cent (up from 71 per cent).
What are the graduate prospects and how will the university help me get career-ready?
The university holds ten sector-specific careers fairs each year, and its career development platform, Handshake, advertises vacancies and internships.
Careers get off to a flying start for Cambridge graduates. In our analysis of the Graduate Outcomes survey, the university remains third with 86.3 per cent of leavers in highly skilled jobs or postgraduate study within 15 months.
How does the college system work?
Applications are made via Ucas but have an earlier deadline (October 15 for 2027 entry), and candidates can only apply to either Cambridge or Oxford in one year. Selection is handled by the 31 colleges and applicants can choose a specific college or make an open application. A "pool" system gives the most promising candidates a second chance if they miss out on their first choice — but Cambridge reconsiders fewer applicants than Oxford does.
The colleges have differing characteristics — and architecture. At Lucy Cavendish (late-Victorian and Edwardian red-brick villas with modern additions), 94.6 per cent of those accepted for a place in 2025 went to state schools; at Peterhouse College (founded in 1284 and featuring an 13th-century hall and a 17th century chapel) the proportion was 56.5 per cent. There are two female-only colleges: Murray Edwards and Newnham.
What is the University of Cambridge’s campus like?
Offering a more intimate setting than Oxford, medieval courts, grand Tudor entrances and grand stone buildings dominate, and many are linked across the River Cam by much-photographed bridges. The university campus encompasses 31 colleges, six academic schools, more than 150 departments, more than 100 libraries and nine specialist museums — all inside beautiful buildings surrounded by sprawling green spaces. Specialist facilities range from laboratories and surgical suites to concert halls and theatres. The Ray Dolby Centre, which opened in 2025, houses the renowned Cavendish Laboratory, the home of world-changing discoveries from the electron to the structure of DNA. Its museums display such treasures as samurai armour, paintings by Titian and Rembrandt and even Ernest Shackleton’s snow goggles.
When can I visit?
Everything you need to know about the University of Cambridge’s student life
A demanding academic schedule is crammed into three eight-week terms, requiring a concerted effort from students, who spend between 42 and 46 hours a week at the books. There are more than 700 societies and sports clubs — from animé and badminton to ice hockey and opera — to choose from. Each college has its own bar, and the city offers plenty of pubs and nightlife. Outstanding sports facilities are available across the university and within colleges. The arts and culture are just as richly served, with the ADC Theatre the oldest university playhouse in the country. Some colleges also have their own theatres and students can join groups including the Marlowe Society, the Fletcher Players and Footlights, which specialises in comedy. The university’s museum collections span zoology, archaeology and art, as well as antiquities.
Since introducing the Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan, which ran from 2022-25, Cambridge has significantly boosted investment in counselling, reducing waiting times to just three working days. Each college also has a senior tutor, nurse and wellbeing adviser.
What do the students say?
“Studying at Cambridge is a unique experience… you’ll meet so many different people that will truly make your time at uni so special. We also have over 500 different student groups registered at Cambridge SU (and that’s not even including college societies) so there is something for everyone — as well as the option to create your own.”
Olivia Ledger, vice-president, Cambridge Students’ Union
What about student accommodation at the University of Cambridge?
Rooms are in the colleges (offered to all first-years) or in flats and houses within the university precincts, within a three-mile radius of Great St Mary’s church. Basic kitchen facilities are available and colleges offer café-style meals, and three-course dinners known as formal halls. Communal dining is encouraged, and some colleges require students to eat a certain number of meals in college each term.
How diverse and inclusive is the University of Cambridge?
The university has made strides in widening participation, with state sector admissions increasing again in 2025. However, when selective state schools (grammars) are omitted from the figures — as tracked by our social inclusion index — Cambridge continues to sit outside the top 100, in 113th place. The relatively high proportion of students from independent schools is at odds with broad assumptions among some private school families, who have felt aggrieved by Oxbridge admissions’ efforts to improve their state school intakes in recent years.
Having met its state school admissions target — 69.1 per cent by 2024-25 — early, Cambridge has moved its focus on to wider socioeconomic factors.
Ethnic diversity stands at 34 per cent (60th) aided by initiatives like the Stormzy Scholarship, which has funded 68 black British students to date. Cambridge also works with social mobility charities and runs extensive outreach programmes to demystify the application process.
What financial assistance is available?
Generous provision is a priority. The Cambridge Bursary awarded more than £10 million to 3,158 students from low to middle-income households in 2024-25, paying up to £3,500 a year to students with household incomes below £62,215. About one in three UK undergraduates receives this bursary. This figure rises to £5,600 for students on the Enhanced Bursary.
There are also about 500 scholarships awarded annually for academic excellence and travel, managed by departments and colleges as well as centrally.
