The year is divided into three parts. The first one is Michaelmas Term, which is from October to December and takes its name from St Michael's day and Christmas. The second one is Lent Term, and goes from January to March. The last one is Easter Term, from April to June. Within these times, there is a period of 8 weeks called "Full Term". Most lessons and exams happen in Full Term. All students need to live in college for this period. There is a University rule which says that students can get their degree only if they have stayed for at least 9 terms (3 years) at a distance of less than 10 miles from the main Church in Cambridge.
The head of the University is the Chancellor. As of 2013, he is David Sainsbury. He was elected in 2011 after Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh said he did not want to do it anymore. Prince Philip had been Chancellor for 25 years. The position of Chancellor is mainly ceremonial. That means that the Chancellor does not take part in many decisions. He is just there because an overall head of the University is needed.
The Vice-Chancellor instead is the one that makes most decisions. For example, he/she approves and signs new rules. The role is given to a person for at least five years. The current Vice-Chancellor is Stephen J. Toope.
The Senate House is a building in Cambridge. The degree ceremony takes place there. Any Cambridge student who has an MA degree is a member of the Senate. It is also the place where the important people in the University meet to take decisions. These important people are different Officers and Fellows of the colleges. They are also called the "Regent House". This is not another building, it is just a way of calling these people. They can make and change rules when they meet. News and information are printed and given out in the "Cambridge University Reporter". This is the official newspaper of the university.
The university had £7.1 billion in endowments in 2019. This money was given over lots of time by many people. This is the largest amount of money for any university in Europe. Every college controls its money on its own. They are all considered charitable organizations. The British Government also gives money in research grants: these are for postgraduate students and their teachers. There is also some income produced by the Cambridge University Press.
In 2000, Cambridge received a very large donation of US$210 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This was to set up a scholarship so that US and other international students could study in Cambridge more easily. Bill Gates was also made a Knight by the Queen because of his generosity. Between 2005 and 2012, a campaign was made to get £1 billion from old students. This was at the same time of the University's 800th anniversary. The campaign got to the target early in 2010.
The University is spread around the town of Cambridge. The older colleges are on the river Cam. The departments and faculties are spread in different places, usually grouped in sites. There are nine main sites:
Addenbrooke's Hospital is where the medicine students go to learn how to cure patients. The "Judge Business School" is another important building: this is where courses about business and finance are taught. Since the different sites are quite close to each other, many students like to use bicycles to move around. A fifth of the journeys in the town is made by bike. Students are also not allowed to drive a car while they are in Cambridge.
Local people from Cambridge don't always like the students. "Town and Gown" is a phrase to talk about this relationship. "Town" means the Cambridge locals while "Gown" means the students and teachers, from the type of dress they wear. Since the University began, there have been some fights between the two groups. In 1381, many things were stolen from the university and the colleges. The Chancellor was then given extra power to control order in the town. When the plague arrived in Cambridge in 1630, many colleges closed up. They did not want to help the locals who had the disease.
However, more recently there have been fewer fights. The University also means more jobs and money for the population. There are many small industries that were created in Cambridge because the University was near. This effect is called "The Cambridge Phenomenon". Between 1960-2010 there have been 1,500 new companies and 40,000 new jobs in Cambridge just thanks to the University.
The University has 114 libraries. The main one is called "Cambridge University Library". It is a legal deposit, which means every book that is printed in the United Kingdom goes in this library. Many departments have their own library as well. They usually have special books for their subjects only. All colleges have a library. This is mainly for the undergraduates, so that they can read basic books about their subjects. Some colleges also have very precious books and manuscripts. For example, the Parker Library (Corpus Christi College) has special books from Medieval times.
The university also has 8 museums and a botanical garden:
One of the main aims of the University of Cambridge is to do scientific research. All the departments are always studying and discovering new things. Many important people have done research in Cambridge. This is because the university has a lot of money and resources like laboratories and books. It had £283.7 M in 2011 to spend on research; this was mainly given by the UK Government and the European Commission.
Students need to pass some tests and interviews to be allowed in Cambridge. For undergraduates, the application is done through UCAS. This is as with any other university in the UK. Students need to be very good to enter Cambridge. If they study A-levels, they are asked to get at least A*AA. Because many good students apply, the interview is very important to choose the best ones. These are done by Fellows. Usually about 25% of the applicants get a place. However, the number changes depending on the subjects. Some of them, like medicine and economics are very hard to get into. Students need to choose a college before doing the application. They may later have to change it if the college thinks they are good but does not have enough places for them.
For postgraduates the application is different. They need to ask professors (teachers) in the departments they want to work in. After an interview, they can be given a place. They then have to get some funding (money to do the project). This can be given from a government or another institution.
Some people think that admission at Cambridge is not very fair. This is because it is easier to get in if you go to a private school instead of a state school. In 2007-2008, only 57% of students who got a place were coming from state school. However, about 93% of British children go to them. If a student goes to a private school, he/she is also more likely to get a place after the interview. In 2011, only 25% of students that applied from state school got a place, while the percentage was 33% for private school students. The University is trying to make things better by making the admission process easier and giving scholarships for the poorer students. Another problem is that year after year there are also fewer people from state schools applying.
Cambridge does very well when the quality of research is tested. In 2001, it was ranked first in the British Government Assessment Exercise. Cambridge also gives out more PhDs in a year than any other UK university.
The following table has Cambridge results over the years in various College and university rankings.
The colleges also have a ranking between them. This is called the "Tompkins Table". It is published every year by The Independent newspaper. Trinity College and Emmanuel College usually do very well in it.