Colleges of the University of Cambridge facts for kids

Arms of the University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a famous university in England. It's made up of 31 special communities called colleges. Think of them like smaller, friendly neighborhoods within the big university. These colleges are where students, teachers, and staff live and work together. It's a great way to experience a top university in a close-knit setting.

The colleges provide most of the places for students to live. They also help students get into the university and offer support and some teaching. However, the main lectures and exams are handled by the university's departments. All students get their degrees from the university, not from their specific college. Even though students belong to different colleges, they all study the same courses. For students doing advanced research, the colleges are a central place to meet and share ideas.

Colleges offer many things to their members, like food, libraries, clubs, and sports teams. A lot of the sports at Cambridge happen between college teams. Students often organize activities through special common rooms for different age groups. Another important part of college life is "formal hall," which is a special dinner that happens regularly.

Many teachers and researchers at Cambridge are also "fellows" of a college. This means they have a role in a college in addition to their teaching jobs at the university. They might help students with their studies, offer support, or be in charge of discipline. Colleges are like independent charities with their own money and buildings.

Old and New Colleges

The University of Cambridge has 31 colleges. They were founded over many centuries, from the 1200s to the 1900s.

• The 16 "old" colleges were started between 1284 and 1596.
• The 15 "new" colleges were started between 1800 and 1977.

The oldest college is Peterhouse, founded in 1284. The newest is Robinson, founded in 1977. Homerton became a full college in 2010, but it started much earlier as a different kind of school.

Some of the "new" colleges are located on a place called Castle Hill. These include Churchill, Fitzwilliam, Girton, Lucy Cavendish, Murray Edwards, and St Edmund's. People sometimes call them "hill colleges."

Who Can Join?

Most of the colleges (all 16 "old" ones and 8 of the "new" ones) welcome both male and female students of all ages. However, seven colleges have some special rules:

• Murray Edwards and Newnham are only for women.
• Clare Hall and Darwin are only for students doing advanced degrees (postgraduates).
• Hughes Hall, St Edmund's, and Wolfson are only for older students (mature students) and postgraduates.

No colleges are only for men anymore, though many used to be. Darwin was the first college to accept both men and women in 1964. The last college that used to be only for men, Magdalene, started accepting women in 1988.

College Buildings and Design

The buildings of Cambridge and Oxford colleges have inspired the design of many universities in America. This style is called "Collegiate Gothic" and can be seen at places like Princeton University and the University of Chicago.

List of Colleges

Here is a list of the colleges at the University of Cambridge:

College (with arms)	Founded	Head of House	Student numbers			Abbreviation (and short form)	Notes
			Undergraduates	Postgraduates	Total
Christ's	1505	Lord McDonald of Salford Master since 2022	433	294	727	CHR	Started as Godshouse in 1439.
Churchill	1960 (1966)	Professor Sharon Peacock Master since 2024	486	338	824	CHU
Clare	1326 (1336)	Loretta Minghella Master since 2021	491	270	761	CL	Used to be called University Hall, then Clare Hall.
Clare Hall	1966 (1984)	C. Alan Short President since 2020	0	289	289	CLH	Only for students doing advanced degrees.
Corpus Christi	1352	Christopher Kelly Master since 2018	315	181	496	CC (Corpus)	Used to be called St Benet's College.
Darwin	1964 (1976)	Mike Rands Master since 2018	0	749	749	DAR	Only for students doing advanced degrees.
Downing	1800	Graham Virgo Master since 2023	465	441	906	DOW
Emmanuel	1584	Doug Chalmers Master since 2021	514	219	733	EM (Emma)
Fitzwilliam	1869 (1966)	Baroness Morgan of Huyton Master since 2019	490	481	971	F (Fitz)
Girton	1869 (1924) (1948)	Elisabeth Kendall Mistress since 2022	529	375	904	G	Used to be only for women; started accepting men in 1976.
Gonville and Caius	1348 (1557)	Pippa Rogerson Master since 2018	584	254	838	CAI (Caius)	Caius is pronounced "keys". Used to be called Gonville Hall.
Homerton	1768 (1976) (2010)	Lord Woolley of Woodford Principal since 2021	617	714	1331	HO	Originally mixed, then became women-only, then mixed again in 1976.
Hughes Hall	1885 (1949) (2006)	Sir Laurie Bristow President since 2022	166	764	930	HH	Only for older students.
Jesus	1496	Sonita Alleyne Master since 2019	527	390	917	JE
King's	1441	Gillian Tett Provost since 2023	466	359	825	K
Lucy Cavendish	1965 (1997)	Dame Madeleine Atkins President since 2018	455	638	1093	LC (Lucy Cav, Lucy)	Used to be only for older women; now for all ages and mixed since 2021.
Magdalene	1428 (1542)	Sir Christopher Greenwood Master since 2020	375	202	577	M	Magdalene is pronounced "maudlin". Used to be called Buckingham College.
Murray Edwards	1954 (1972) (2011)	Dorothy Byrne President since 2021	383	227	610	MUR (Medwards)	Only for female students. Used to be called New Hall.
Newnham	1871 (1917) (1957)	Alison Rose Principal since 2019	418	298	716	N	Only for female students.
Pembroke	1347	Lord Smith of Finsbury Master since 2015	453	288	741	PEM	Used to be called Pembroke Hall.
Peterhouse	1284	Andy Parker Master since 2023	301	203	504	PET
Queens'	1448 (1465)	Mohamed A. El‑Erian President since 2020	538	530	1068	Q
Robinson	1977 (1984)	Sir Richard Heaton Warden since 2021	422	261	683	R
St Catharine's	1473	Sir John Benger Master since 2023	475	356	831	CTH (Catz)	Used to be called Catharine Hall.
St Edmund's	1896 (1965) (1998)	Chris Young Master since 2024	196	621	817	ED (Eddie's)	Only for older students.
St John's	1511	Heather Hancock Master since 2020	609	347	956	JN (John's)
Selwyn	1882 (1883) (1958)	Roger Mosey Master since 2013	431	258	689	SE
Sidney Sussex	1596	Martin Burton Master since 2023	397	217	614	SID (Sidney)
Trinity	1546	Dame Sally Davies Master since 2019	702	317	1019	T	Formed by combining King's Hall (started 1317) and Michaelhouse (started 1324).
Trinity Hall	1350	Mary Hockaday Master since 2022	369	196	565	TH (Tit Hall)
Wolfson	1965 (1977)	Jane Clarke President since 2017	168	914	1082	W	Only for older students. Used to be called University College.
Totals:			12,354	10,893	23,247

There are also other colleges in Cambridge that focus on religious studies. They are connected to the university but are not official colleges of the University of Cambridge.

Timeline of the colleges in the order their students are presented for graduation, compared with some events in British history.

Leaders of the Colleges

Most colleges are led by someone called a Master. Even if the Master is a woman, they are usually still called "Master." However, some colleges have different titles for their leaders:

• Mistress: Girton College
• President: Clare Hall, Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish College, Murray Edwards College, Queens' College, Wolfson College
• Principal: Homerton College, Newnham College
• Provost: King's College
• Warden: Robinson College

Colleges That No Longer Exist

Over time, some colleges have changed names or combined with others. Here are a few examples of colleges that no longer exist under their original names:

• Buckingham College: Started in 1428, it later became Magdalene in 1542.
• God's House: Founded in 1437, it became Christ's College in 1505.
• King's Hall and Michaelhouse: These two colleges, founded in 1317 and 1324, joined together to form Trinity College in 1546.
• New Hall: Started in 1954, it was renamed Murray Edwards College in 2008.