HOW THE UNIVERSITY WORKS
We are one of the world's oldest universities and leading academic centres, and a self-governed
community of scholars. Cambridge comprises 31 Colleges and over 150 departments, faculties, schools
and other institutions.
The Colleges
A college is where students live, eat and socialize and where they receive small group teaching sessions,
known as supervisions - it plays a far more significant part in an undergraduate's life than a hall of
residence in a non-collegiate university. The college provides a 'community of scholars' in which the
students live, work and study during their years at Cambridge and a student must be admitted to a
college before he or she can become a member of the University.
Each college is an independent institution with its own property and income. The colleges appoint their
own staff and are responsible for selecting students, in accordance with University regulations. The
teaching of students is shared between the Colleges and University departments. Degrees are awarded
by the University.
In the past college life revolved around the three great communal areas - the chapel, the library and the
dining hall - and these are still an essential parts of even the most recent colleges. Access to the colleges
is usually restricted, and so conference delegates may find themselves in the privileged position of being
able to enjoy facilities not normally open to the general public.
The 31 colleges contribute funds to the University, which provides the central resources for promoting
research and teaching - such as lecture theatres, faculty libraries and laboratories; sets the curriculum;
conducts the examinations and confers the degrees; and meets a major part of the bill for academic
salaries.
The University
The University of Cambridge is therefore a confederation of Colleges, Faculties and other institutions. It
functions with a relatively small central administration, and with central bodies consisting of, and mainly
elected by, the current academic personnel of the Faculties and Colleges.
A large part of Cambridge's day-to-day administration is carried out by teaching staff on behalf of their
colleagues, and the University's governmental structure is democratic.
More information on how the University works can be found here:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/works/
www.conferencecambridge.com | Conference Cambridge | 12c King's Parade | Cambridge | CB2 1SJ
T: 01223 768740 | F: 01223 768741 | E: enquiries@conferencecambridge.com
Conference Cambridge is the official, free venue-finding service for Cambridge University and its Colleges and it's our aim to find the perfect
host for any event. Conference Cambridge is the trading name of The Cambridge Venue Company Limited.
Faculties & Departments
Teaching and research in Cambridge is organised by a number of Faculties. In addition, a small number
of bodies entitled Syndicates also have responsibilities for teaching and research, and exercise powers
similar in effect to those of Faculty Boards. The Faculties and Syndicates cover the whole of the
academic programme in the University, each being responsible for a broad subject area.
Each Faculty is governed by a Faculty Board which is responsible for the provision of adequate teaching
and facilities for research. The composition of each Board follows one of a number of different plans
defined by Ordinance. Broadly speaking each Board consists of five classes of membership: Professors
and Heads of Departments within the Faculty; members elected by the senior members (i.e. teaching
staff) in the Faculty; junior members elected by the students of the Faculty; representatives of cognate
studies; and co-opted members. The number of persons within each of these categories is defined by
differing regulations for each Faculty. The Chairman and Secretary are elected by each Board from
amongst their members.
Faculty Boards are responsible to the General Board; other Boards and Syndicates are responsible either
to the General Board (if primarily for academic purposes) or to the Council.
Departments
The Faculties have different organisational sub-structures which partly reflect their history and partly
their operational needs. Administratively there is great convenience in dividing the work of a large
Faculty into separate Departments but it carries the danger that the academic programme may become
too compartmentalised. The Councils of the Schools play an important role in ensuring that the natural
academic links between different Faculties are maintained and developed.
Most scientific Faculties are divided into Departments, of which there are about sixty. Each Department
has a Head, who is in most cases a Professor or another teaching officer in the Department appointed
for five years at a time by the General Board. The term 'Department' is also used of some academic subdivisions in the Arts and Humanities, but these institutions are not generally as administratively
autonomous as they are in the scientific Faculties. There is also a small number of Sub-Departments,
which are distinct divisions of scientific departments.
www.conferencecambridge.com | Conference Cambridge | 12c King's Parade | Cambridge | CB2 1SJ
T: 01223 768740 | F: 01223 768741 | E: enquiries@conferencecambridge.com
Conference Cambridge is the official, free venue-finding service for Cambridge University and its Colleges and it's our aim to find the perfect
host for any event. Conference Cambridge is the trading name of The Cambridge Venue Company Limited.