During the past decade, Cambridge University has seen a large expansion in the numbers of graduate students in the University, and over three-quarters of the students at St Edmund's are studying towards a higher degrees, usually the PhD, MPhil or LLM degrees. All students at St Edmund's have an appointed Tutor who is a Fellow of the College.
Tutors oversee their academic and social wellbeing and are accessible throughout the year.
Applications for both taught and research higher degrees are dealt with by the Board of Graduate Studies. The various departments of the University are separate from the Colleges. Applicants state which department they are interested in and then list a number of Colleges in order of preference. Applications are considered first by the relevant department and then by the first College of choice. A pool system operates so that applicants not accepted by their chosen Colleges can be considered by others.