University of Cambridge

Motto: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge

As one of the oldest universities in the world (founded in 1209), Cambridge is an ancient school steeped in tradition.

It is small exaggeration to say the history of western science is built on a cornerstone called Cambridge. The roster of great scientists and mathematicians associated with the university includes Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, James Clerk Maxwell, Augustus De Morgan, Ernest Rutherford, G.H. Hardy, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Alan Turing, Francis Crick, James Watson, Roger Penrose, and Stephen Hawking. Whether speaking of the unifying ideas in physics, the foundations of computer science, or the codifying of biology, Cambridge has been at the forefront of humanity’s quest for truth longer than most nations have existed.

Of course, great achievements are not restricted to the sciences. Such luminaries in the humanities as Desiderius Erasmus, John Milton, G.E. Moore, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, John Maynard Keynes, and C.S. Lewis, among dozens of other great names, taught and studied here.

But despite the many memories conjured by its imposing Gothic architecture, Cambridge does not live in the past. The university remains one of the world’s elite research institutions, with only Oxford to rival it in the U.K. and only a handful of American schools able to do so from overseas.

Its over 18,000 students represent more than 135 countries and its faculty have earned over 80 Nobel laureates.


Though Cambridge’s $8.1 billion endowment puts it squarely behind a number of other universities in terms of wealth, it is easily the richest university in Europe. In fact, if Cambridge were a country, its per capita GDP would eclipse that of Monaco, the richest country in the world. Such wealth is mostly attributed to the building and land assets the university has accumulated over its 800-year history (legend has it one can walk from Cambridge to Oxford on land owned by Cambridge’s Trinity College), though it has also produced a large number of high-achieving alumni, many of whom have left generous donations. Recently, Bill Gates gifted the university with $210 million to establish Gates Scholarships for international postgraduates.

Endowment: $8.1 billion
Average Cost per Student: $25,745 per year
Average Salary of Full-Time Faculty: $78,642
Annual Research Budget: Unknown

Entry Standards

Most conditional offers made by the Cambridge Colleges require A*A*A at A Level (or equivalent) for undergraduate science courses (excluding Psychological and Behavioural Sciences), and A*AA for arts courses and Psychological and Behavioural Sciences.
Colleges have the discretion to make non-standard offers where appropriate as part of their holistic assessment of candidates.
Undergraduate applicants may be asked to submit written work or sit a test (eg BMAT, TSA or a College-based test).
The University interviews the majority of its undergraduate applicants (approximately 80 per cent).
For more information visit www.cam.ac.uk/whycambridge