University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the third-oldest university in continuous operation.
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| Latin: Universitas Cantabrigiensis | |
Other name | The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge |
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| Motto | Latin: Hinc lucem et pocula sacra |
Motto in English | Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. |
| Type | Public research university |
| Established | c. 1209 |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | £7.121 billion (including colleges)[3] |
| Budget | £2.308 billion (excluding colleges)[4] |
| Chancellor | The Lord Sainsbury of Turville |
| Vice-Chancellor | Anthony Freeling |
Academic staff | 6,170 (2020)[5] |
Administrative staff | 3,615 (excluding colleges)[5] |
| Students | 24,450 (2020)[6] |
| Undergraduates | 12,850 (2020) |
| Postgraduates | 11,600 (2020) |
| Location | , England |
| Campus |
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| Colours | Cambridge Blue[9] |
Sporting affiliations | British Universities and Colleges Sport |
| Website | www |
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The university's founding followed the arrival of scholars who left the University of Oxford for Cambridge after a dispute with local townspeople.[10][11] The two ancient English universities, although sometimes described as rivals, share many common features and are often jointly referred to as Oxbridge. In 1231, 22 years after its founding, the university was recognised with a royal charter granted by King Henry III.
The University of Cambridge includes 31 semi-autonomous constituent colleges and over 150 academic departments, faculties, and other institutions organised into six schools. All of the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, managing their own personnel and policies, and all students are required to have a college affiliation within the university. Undergraduate teaching at Cambridge is centred on weekly small-group supervisions in the colleges with lectures, seminars, laboratory work, and occasionally further supervision provided by the central university faculties and departments.[12][13]
The university also operates eight cultural and scientific museums, including the Fitzwilliam Museum and Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Cambridge's 116 libraries hold a total of approximately 16 million books, around nine million of which are in Cambridge University Library, a legal deposit library and one of the world's largest academic libraries.
Cambridge affiliates (alumni, academics and others holding official appointments) have won 121 Nobel Prizes.[14] Among the university's notable alumni are 14 British prime ministers and 92 Olympic Gold medal-winning athletes,[15] and several historically iconic and transformational individuals in their respective fields, including Francis Bacon, Lord Byron, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, John Maynard Keynes, John Milton, Vladimir Nabokov, Jawaharlal Nehru, Isaac Newton, Bertrand Russell, Alan Turing, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. As of 2023,[update] the university is ranked fourth in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, second in the world by QS World University Rankings, third in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, second in the UK by the Complete University Guide, and third in the UK by the Guardian University Guide and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.