Cambridge is one of the world’s great universities, and has the ability to transform lives. If you study here, you will experience that quality at first hand. Day to day, you will work with academic staff who are leaders in their fields, and who are also committed to see you succeed, and to help you develop your ideas, knowledge and understanding.

The secret of Cambridge’s great teaching strength is to be found in the partnership between the Colleges and the University: a combination which provides superb facilities, contact with the very best minds, and the personal support to help you make the most of them. You will have an unparalleled chance to develop your academic interests, and to explore plentiful opportunities for sports, drama, political and social activities.

It adds up to a remarkable educational experience which will challenge you while you’re here, and provide a springboard for your future career: Cambridge graduates are to be found at the highest levels of industry, academia, the arts, public service, and commerce.

It matters to all of us here that the doors of this University are open to all students with the highest intellectual potential to succeed. There is no ‘right background’, no hidden test of social or economic circumstances, no right school to have attended. We work hard at making sure of this, assessing each applicant individually, and encouraging the widest possible pool of talented applicants. In particular, we have created the Cambridge Bursary Scheme to ensure that financial considerations are not a barrier to applications from gifted students. Whoever you are and wherever you come from, if you have the ability, the enthusiasm and the motivation, then we want to hear from you.

My days as an undergraduate here were a hugely important time for me. I hope that you will find in this Prospectus the inspiration to apply, and to find out for yourself what Cambridge has to offer.

Professor Alison Richard