History
The University of Cambridge is rich in history - its
famous Colleges and University buildings attract visitors from all over the
world. But the University's museums and collections also hold many treasures
which give an exciting insight into some of the scholarly activities, both past
and present, of the University's academics and students.
The University of Cambridge is one of the world's oldest universities
and leading academic centres, and a self-governed community of scholars. Its
reputation for outstanding academic achievement is known world-wide and
reflects the intellectual achievement of its students, as well as the
world-class original research carried out by the staff of the University and
the Colleges.
Many of the University's customs and unusual terminology
can be traced to roots in the early years of the University's long history, and
this booklet looks to the past to find the origins of much that is distinctive
in the University of today.
Early
records
When we first come across Cambridge in written records,
it was already a considerable town. The bridge across the River Cam or Granta,
from which the town took its name, had existed since at least 875. The town was
an important trading centre before the Domesday survey was compiled in 1086, by
which time a castle stood on the rising ground to the north of the bridge, and
there were already substantial commercial and residential properties as well as
several churches in the main settlement which lay south of the bridge.
Within the town, or very close to it, there were a number
of other religious institutions. There had been canons in the Church of St
Giles below the castle before 1112, when they moved to a new site across the
River Cam at Barnwell, and the Convent of St Radegund had existed since 1135 on
the site which eventually became Jesus College. There were also two hospitals,
one reserved for lepers at Stourbridge, and a second, founded for paupers and
dedicated to St John, which after 1200 occupied the site where St John's
College now stands. Seventeen miles north of the town was the great Benedictine
house of Ely which, after 1109, was the seat of a Bishopric.
There was thus much to bring clerks (clergymen) to the
town, but traders were also attracted to it. After about 1100 they could reach
Cambridge easily by the river systems which drained the whole of the East
Midlands, and through Lynn and Ely they had access to the sea. Much wealth
accumulated in the town, and the eleven surviving medieval parish churches and
at least one handsome stone house remain as evidence of this. There were food
markets before 1066, and during the twelfth century the nuns of St Radegund
were allowed to set up a fair on their own land at Garlic Lane; the canons of
Barnwell had a fair in June (later Midsummer Fair), and the leper hospital was
granted the right to hold a fair which developed into the well-known and
long-lasting Stourbridge Fair.
By 1200, Cambridge was a thriving commercial community
which was also a county town and had at least one school of some distinction.
Then, in 1209, scholars taking refuge from hostile townsmen in Oxford migrated
to Cambridge and settled there. At first they lived in lodgings in the town,
but in time houses were hired as hostels with a Master in charge of the
students. By 1226 the scholars were numerous enough to have set up an
organisation, represented by an official called a Chancellor, and seem to have
arranged regular courses of study, taught by their own members. From the start
there was friction between the town and the students. Students, usually aged
about fourteen or fifteen, often caused disturbances; citizens of the town, on
the other hand, were known to overcharge for rooms and food. King Henry III
took the scholars under his protection as early as 1231 and arranged for them
to be sheltered from exploitation by their landlords. At the same time he tried
to ensure that they had a monopoly of teaching, by an order that only those
enrolled under the tuition of a recognised master were to be allowed to remain
in the town.
How
the University and Colleges work
With more than 18,000 students from all walks of life and
all corners of the world, nearly 9,000 staff, 31 Colleges and 150 Departments,
Faculties, Schools and other institutions, no two days are ever the same at the
University of Cambridge.
At the heart of this confederation of Departments,
Schools, Faculties and Colleges is a central administration team. It is small
because the Colleges are self-governing and teaching staff carry out much of
the daily administration at Cambridge.
Structure
The University is a confederation of Schools, Faculties,
Departments and Colleges. The Colleges are governed by their own statutes and
regulations, but are integral to the make-up of the University of Cambridge.
Colleges
Students live, eat and socialise in one of the
University’s 31 autonomous Colleges. Undergraduates receive College
supervisions – small group teaching sessions – regarded as one of the best
teaching models in the world.
Each College has its own internal procedures. They select
their own students, subject to University regulations, and most admit both
undergraduate and postgraduate students. College representatives sit on the
University Council and Finance Committee.
Schools
There are six Schools, which each form an administrative
grouping of Faculties and other institutions. They are: Arts and Humanities,
Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences,
Physical Sciences, and Technology.
There is a Council of each School – including representatives
of its Faculties and Departments. The Schools are represented on the General
Board.
Faculties and Departments
University Faculties organise teaching and research into
individual subjects or groups of subjects. Their work is normally organised
into sub-divisions called Departments.
Centres of studies are controlled by committees of
management, bringing together representatives from several disciplines.
Glossary
of Cambridge terminology
Academic year –
Extends from 1 October to 30 September and is divided into three terms, two
vacations and the Research Period.
Admission – Undergraduate
students are selected and admitted by the Colleges, through the agency of the
Cambridge Admissions Office. Graduate students apply through the Board of
Graduate Studies, which helps to arrange admission to a College.
Congregation –
A meeting of the Regent House for the formal conduct of certain items of
University business, principally admission of degrees. Congregations take place
in the Senate House regularly throughout the year.
Discussions – Discussions
are the forum in which members of the University can comment publicly on
University business. They take place on Tuesdays at 2pm and are usually held in
the Senate House.
Emeritus/Emerita –
A term applied to a Vice-Chancellor, Professor, Reader, and holder of certain
other senior positions, who has retired after the age of sixty. In Cambridge,
the term is not conferred as an individual mark of distinction.
Esquire Bedells –
Two officials whose duties are ceremonial. They have certain important
responsibilities at congregations. The Senior Esquire Bedell has a general
responsibility for the correct formulation and wearing of academical dress.
Fellow – A senior member of a
College, elected to a particular position of authority and responsibility in
relation to the academic work and government of the College.
Full term – The central
portion of each term during which teaching takes place and members of the
University are normally expected to be in residence.
General Admission –
Three congregations held towards the end of June each year are termed ‘Days of
General Admission to Degrees’. These are the occasions on which the majority of
undergraduates who have completed their final year proceed in person to their
first degrees. Degrees are also conferred at eight other congregations in the
course of the year.
Long Vacation –
The three terms are separated by three vacations (Christmas, Easter and Long
Vacation) during which undergraduate teaching is suspended. The Long Vacation
is also known as the Research Period.
Master of Arts –
In most UK universities, the Master of Arts is a degree awarded by examination.
At Cambridge, the MA is conferred by right on holders of the BA degree of the
University and on certain other senior members. It is not available as a
postgraduate qualification.
Matriculation –
New students of the University matriculate (or join the roll) when they enrol
or register at their College, signing a declaration that they will obey the
University regulations. There has been no formal University ceremony since
1962.
Notices – The Council’s
response to remarks made in a Discussion is given in a Notice published in the
Reporter. A Notice normally ends with the submission of a Grace to the Regent
House, incorporating any amendments made following the Discussion.
Ordinances – The
University Statutes allow the University to make regulations, known as
Ordinances, for the proper conduct of its affairs. They are made either by
Regent House, the Senate or the General Board.
Residence – Most students
and academic staff are required to be in residence during each period of Full
Term; unless specially exempted, staff and students must live within a
prescribed radius of Great St Mary's Church. Students may not generally proceed
to their degrees unless their Colleges certify that they have 'kept terms' by
being in residence for the specified period.
Scarlet Day – Days on which
Doctors of the University are required to wear in public their festal or
scarlet gowns. The permanent list of such days is defined by Ordinance, but in
addition the ViceChancellor may prescribe other days as scarlet days if they
are occasions, for instance, of national rejoicing or celebration, or of other
special importance to the University.
Senate – Until 1926, the
governing body of the University; it consists of all those holding the degree
of Master of Arts or any other higher degree. It elects the Chancellor and the
High Steward. Membership confers senior status and certain privileges such as
borrowing books from the University Library.
Term – The academic year is
divided into three Terms (Michaelmas: October to early December; Lent: January
to early March; and Easter: April to mid-June).
Tripos – A University
examination, passing which qualifies a candidate partly or wholly for admission
to an Honours Degree. More
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