University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom.

History

Colleges were originally an incidental feature of the system: no college is as old as the university itself. They were endowed fellowships of scholars. There were also institutions without endowments, which were called Hostels at Cambridge but Halls at Oxford (which causes confusion since the terms College and Hall were used interchangeably in Cambridge).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first college to be founded was Peterhouse, established in 1284 by Hugh Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Many of the colleges were founded during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but colleges continued to be established throughout the centuries that followed, right up to modern times. The most recent college to be established is Robinson, which was built in the late 1970s. In 2004, there were newspaper reports that Cambridge was planning on expanding its student numbers by adding three new colleges, but this has been denied by the university. A full list of colleges is given below.

Related Topics:
Peterhouse - 1284 - Hugh Balsham - Bishop - Ely - Robinson - 1970s - 2004

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In medieval times, colleges were founded so that their students would pray for the souls of the founders. For that reason, they were often associated with chapels or abbeys. However, in 1536, in conjunction with the dissolution of the monasteries, King Henry VIII ordered the university to disband its Faculty of Canon Law and to stop teaching "scholastic philosophy." This led to a change in the focus of the colleges' curricula — away from canon law and towards the classics, the Bible, and mathematics.

Related Topics:
1536 - Dissolution of the monasteries - Henry VIII - Classics - Bible - Mathematics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Cambridge exam for the Bachelor of Arts degree, the main first degree at Cambridge in both arts and science subjects, is known as a Tripos. Although the university now offers courses in a large number of subjects, it had a particularly strong emphasis on mathematics from the time of Isaac Newton until the mid-19th century, and study of this subject was compulsory for graduation. Students awarded first-class honours after completing the maths course were named wranglers. The mathematics Tripos was competitive and helped produce some of the most famous names in British science, including James Clerk Maxwell, Lord Kelvin, and Lord Rayleigh. However, some famous students, such as G. H. Hardy, disliked the system, feeling that people were too interested in accumulating marks in exams and not interested in the subject itself. Despite diversifying its research and teaching interests, Cambridge today maintains its strength in mathematics. The Isaac Newton Institute, part of the university, is widely regarded as the UK's national research institute for maths and theoretical physics.

Related Topics:
Bachelor of Arts - Tripos - Isaac Newton - First-class honours - Wranglers - James Clerk Maxwell - Lord Kelvin - Lord Rayleigh - G. H. Hardy - Isaac Newton Institute

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Originally, all students were male. The first colleges for women were Girton College in 1869 and Newnham College in 1872. The first women students were examined in 1882 but attempts to make women full members of the university did not succeed until 1947, 20 years later than at Oxford. It is sometimes stated that Cambridge did not give degrees to women until this date: although true this is misleading. From the nineteenth century women were allowed to study courses, sit examinations, and have the result recorded: this was treated by other institutions as a degree. In the twentieth century women could be given a "titular degree". The difference was that

Related Topics:
Girton College - 1869 - Newnham College - 1872 - 1882 - 1947 - Oxford

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

without a full degree women were excluded from the governing of the university.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hence it was a denial of the vote rather than of a qualification. Because it was necessary to belong to a residential college, and all the old colleges were for men only, the number of women students was severely limited by the smaller number of women's colleges until the 1960s, when the men's colleges began to go mixed. One women's college (Girton) went mixed, but the others took the view that until the gender ratio problem was completely solved they should not limit the number of women's places by admitting men.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Of the current 31 colleges, 28 are mixed, while three admit women only (Lucy Cavendish, New Hall and Newnham). Three colleges admit graduate students only (Clare Hall, Darwin and Wolfson, the last of which also admits mature undergraduates).

Related Topics:
Lucy Cavendish - New Hall - Newnham - Clare Hall - Darwin - Wolfson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~