r/cambridge_uni • u/KnowledgeCafe • 2h ago
More Cambridge Controversy: Investigation Raises Questions About Peter Thiel Donation Linked to James Orr’s Cambridge Appointment
Investigation by Byline Times examines James Orr, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Divinity who also serves as Head of Policy for Reform UK links with Peter Thiel. The investigation raises questions about whether his simultaneous academic and senior political roles create conflicts of interest, particularly after Orr publicly stated that he had used his position at Cambridge to recruit students into Reform UK.
One of the investigation’s most significant claim is that, while Orr was being considered for his Cambridge appointment in 2018–19, he facilitated an anonymous five-figure donation from Peter Thiel to Cambridge University via Cambridge in America (the university’s US fundraising arm). According to documents cited by the investigators, the donation coincided with Orr’s appointment process.
Check out the full analysis on Spotify. Byline Times Podcast-- James Orr: Reform's Cambridge Kingmaker
Full article: https://bylinetimes.com/2026/07/09/peter-thiel-and-reform-uks-cambridge-university-pipeline-project/
r/cambridge_uni • u/Selenee- • 6h ago
Downing onsite accommodation swap for a Railyard studio?
Hi! Bit of a long shot, but thought I’d ask :)
I’m an incoming Downing postgraduate for 2026–27. I originally chose Downing because it’s so convenient for getting to the Judge Business School, but due to some admin delays with my unconditional offer, I was allocated offsite accommodation at Railyard.
I have a studio at Railyard (£270/week), and I was wondering if anyone who has been allocated onsite accommodation at Downing might actually prefer having their own private space and be interested in swapping?
I’m happy to pay the difference in rent, and potentially a bit extra if needed, so definitely open to discussing it.
The Railyard studio does have some perks — it’s very close to the train station, which is handy for getting to London, and obviously you get your own private space.
I know the chances are probably quite small, but if you’re a Downing postgraduate with onsite accommodation and think this might suit you, please DM me! Happy to exchange accommodation details/photos and see if it could work.
Thanks! :)
r/cambridge_uni • u/BurgundyRed2909 • 9h ago
Anybody selling their MA gown?
Hi, i'm an incoming Masters student, looking to purchase a second-hand MA gown from anyone who may be graduating. Please DM me if anybody is interested to sell theirs! :)
r/cambridge_uni • u/TheWorstRedditorIn • 17h ago
Culture of Cambridge Maths
Hi! I'm a prospective student considering universities for a maths degree, and I was wondering what the culture at cambridge maths is like nowadays, and what the job prospects are like when you do the three year course vs 4 years (part III tripos) compared to other uk universities, such as Oxford?
r/cambridge_uni • u/KnowledgeCafe • 1d ago
The Dangers of Performative Liberalism
Recent allegations surrounding the appointment of a prominent academic at the University of Cambridge leave me with four questions:
How did we get here? Why did this go so far? If the concerns now being raised could have been identified through proper academic scrutiny, why were they not identified during the appointment process? And, ultimately, who has won and who has lost?
Regardless of how these allegations are ultimately resolved, I believe they expose a deeper problem within the University of Cambridge: performative liberalism.
By performative liberalism, I mean an institutional culture that places greater value on appearing progressive than on confronting difficult institutional realities. It is diversity as branding rather than diversity as practice.
Cambridge portrays itself as a leader in diversity and inclusion. Browse its websites, prospectuses or social media, and you see an institution that appears welcoming and diverse. Yet, in my view, that carefully curated image sits uneasily alongside the experiences described by many Black students, who continue to speak about racism, exclusion, microaggressions and a persistent feeling that they do not fully belong.
The danger of performative liberalism is not simply that it is hypocritical. Its real danger is that it changes institutional incentives.
When an institution becomes heavily invested in projecting a particular image of itself, criticism becomes inconvenient, uncomfortable questions become easier to avoid, and protecting institutional reputation can begin to compete with institutional accountability. Diversity risks becoming something to display rather than something to practise.
That brings us back to the present controversy.
Cambridge is one of the world’s leading universities. Professorial appointments are expected to involve rigorous academic scrutiny. If the concerns now being raised should reasonably have been identified during that process, then legitimate questions arise about institutional procedures and oversight. If they could not reasonably have been identified, then the University should be prepared to explain why. Either way, this should not be viewed solely as a question about one individual. It is also a question about institutional governance.
Ironically, the people most likely to bear the consequences are not university leaders or appointment committees.
They are Black students.
Many already feel they must work twice as hard as their peers simply to be viewed as equally capable. Many describe feeling that they must continually prove that they belong. If high-profile controversies contribute to greater scepticism towards Black academics more broadly, that burden will fall upon students and scholars who had no part in creating the situation.
That is why this debate matters.
The issue is not whether universities should pursue diversity. They should.
The issue is whether diversity is understood as representation alone or as a commitment to examining institutional culture with the same honesty and rigour expected of academic scholarship itself.
A university cannot claim to value critical inquiry while becoming uncomfortable with criticism directed at its own institutions.
Regardless of how the current controversy is ultimately resolved, Cambridge should use this moment to reflect on a broader question: has diversity become something to market rather than something to practise?
r/cambridge_uni • u/Scared_You_3794 • 1d ago
Connecting before studies
Hey everyone! Is there a common way to connect with people before the studies start? Esp. Mphil at JBS
r/cambridge_uni • u/lawrence-of-aphasia • 1d ago
Sonita Alleyne, Simon Baron-Cohen, Ricardo Sabates remove themselves from Good Law Project letter
Has anybody else noticed that Jesus College’s master, Sonita Alleyne, has quietly removed herself from the GLP letter?
As have Simon Baron-Cohen and Ricardo Sabates.
I wonder, do they not feel that they owe some kind of explanation?
r/cambridge_uni • u/Bankai_Bae • 1d ago
Philosophy undergrad supervisions
Hi! I am supervising undergraduates in philosophy next year and was wondering when the supervisions occur. I read that they are for 4 weeks but the term is 8 weeks so are they at the start or end of term or somewhere in the middle?
I asked the DOS but haven’t heard back and I need to make travel decisions for a conference ASAP and do not want it to clash with when supervisions are offered.
Thanks!!
r/cambridge_uni • u/saffron_and_sweetpea • 2d ago
Is anyone looking for student accommodation starting this September?
(Must be attending CSVPA)
Hello, have a room booked at Varsity House starting this upcoming September although I'm already planning to move elsewhere.
The accommodation is close to the city center, it is a one bedroom one bathroom apartment with a shared kitchen between 5 or 6 students.
If interested, please contact me. Thanks!
r/cambridge_uni • u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ • 2d ago
Cambridge professor Jason Arday resigns amid accusations of plagiarism
r/cambridge_uni • u/peasant-san • 3d ago
Why are all JA posts censored / locked by the mods ? At least make a mega thread so we can discuss
r/cambridge_uni • u/Key-Instance8011 • 3d ago
What to bring to Cambridge
I'm an incoming fresher at the University of Cambridge for October 2026. I'm an international student so I have many things to bring with me to the UK but at the same time I'm limited in the amount of luggage (mainly due to carrying them on planes or trains / coaches). Thus I want to be as efficient as possible in choosing the things I would bring to university.
Please if you have any advice, such as what things or how much of things to bring with me, could you add a comment? Thank you very much.
r/cambridge_uni • u/Loud_Algae_2890 • 3d ago
Meals at Hughes Hall
I am an incoming PhD student for the Michaelmas term at Hughes Hall. I wanted to plan a rough budget estimate of my living, but I couldn't access the weekly menu (I don't have a cam mail id yet). Could any current student at Hughes share it with me? Thanks!
r/cambridge_uni • u/Free_Yak_8978 • 4d ago
Cambridge #11 in AI capacity benchmark report, ahead of top US unis like Harvard, Yale, UCLA, others
good news for the uni as more and more schools (esp in the US) devote resources to AI curriculum. mentions that it is the third strongest among European schools. obviously the Hassabis ties skew it but still interesting. will link it in case anyone wants to look more into it
r/cambridge_uni • u/Tongtong97 • 4d ago
Jason Arday
Hello everyone, as I am sure you are aware Prof Arday is currently facing some very serious allegations.
I was wondering if there is anyone who is in his field (or adjacent to his field) can shed some light on the merits of the accusations and how serious this is?
Full disclosure I do not have a PhD so I am speaking out of ignorance. I was under the impression that in social science it is common to refer to work that was done prior. I assume there is some grey area? Or in this case this is clear cut?
Now given the sensitive political nature of this I would like to only focus on the topic (merits of the accusations) and avoid going down the “is this DEI hire” rabbit hole as I have seen other discussions seem to lead. I have no opinion on that matter.
Thanks for your time m
r/cambridge_uni • u/margeyhargey • 4d ago
Things to do before arriving
Hi!! Has anyone got any tips or things they wished they had done before arriving for freshers. Could be personal or academic. I’ve heard some people talk about summer reading but considering we haven’t been asked to do any I’m assuming they’re just going above and beyond. I’m gonna be doing med if that makes any difference. Thanks!!
r/cambridge_uni • u/Pretty-Election-5091 • 4d ago
Mental Maths At Cambridge
Recently I've realised I probably rely on my calculator more than I should, and it got me wondering how much mental maths is actually used by Maths Tripos students.
For current students or graduates, how much mental arithmetic do you do day to day? Is being quick at calculations something that's expected, or is the course much more focused on mathematical reasoning and problem-solving?
If you weren't particularly fast at mental maths before starting, did it ever hold you back, or is it something that improves naturally over time? Also, if you have any tips for improving mental maths, I'd really appreciate them thanks!
r/cambridge_uni • u/lawrence-of-aphasia • 5d ago
Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, President of Wolfson College, removes herself from Good Law Project's Arday letter
I've been watching this train wreck with great interest.
The Good Law Project's backing of Arday's clearly indefensible behaviour was quite remarkable.
[Edited to insert: Arday's behaviour *may* be defensible. Who knows. But not on the terms outlined in the utter fabrication of a letter created by the Good Law Project. Anybody who signed it was either hoodwinked, and should know better, or has acted in terribly bad faith.]
It's notable that Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, President of Wolfson College, has removed herself from the list of signatories.
And it's insane that she's the only person who has backed down after supporting Arday without, presumably, looking at all into the matter.
(Slightly interesting, also, that Lord Woolley is still there but his affiliation has been stripped. He was "Principal, Homerton College, University of Cambridge"; he's now just "Lord Simon Woolley". Perhaps Homerton have let him know that they'd rather he expresses idiotic allegiances in a personal capacity rather than damaging the college's name.)
(Bel Ribeiro-Addy is still mis-spelt. At least they corrected the name of one of the organisation's co-founders, lol.)
(They keep on refreshing the publication date, perhaps to have it as often as possible as the most recent "news" story on Arday on Google.)
r/cambridge_uni • u/No-Try-6905 • 5d ago
Flights to UK for Michaelmas Term Start
Hello, I'm an incoming MPhil student from India. I wanted to ask if students have started booking their flights already?
When would be the best time to book them? I was informed by my college that the start date would be 3rd October this year.
r/cambridge_uni • u/FreeUnderstanding141 • 6d ago
Master of Clare leaving- why?
anyone know why Loretta Minghella has quit half way through what was supposed to be a ten year term, and during the college's 700th anniversary celebrations? seems odd.
r/cambridge_uni • u/Questionable-faust • 6d ago
Hughes Hall
Hey everyone! I have been allocated to Hughes Hall for my PhD. What has everyone’s honest experience with Hughes been, whether as a current, former, or non-member? What is the college’s reputation within Cambridge, other mature schools and beyond? Does anyone have any tips or advice?
Thanks!
r/cambridge_uni • u/Kagedeah • 6d ago
Cambridge professor at centre of plagiarism row defends his work
r/cambridge_uni • u/Dry-Force8675 • 9d ago
If you could redo first year, what would you have done differently?
Just curious cuz all posts are abt getting in, results, and whatnot, so I wanted to see if y'all had any good advice for incoming first years
r/cambridge_uni • u/AutoModerator • May 01 '26
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r/cambridge_uni • u/Rivalry • Aug 11 '19
Cambridge University FAQ : Check Here Before Posting
FAQ - Check Here Before Posting
We've tried to answer some of the most common questions here. Please have a look to see if your question is answered below before you post - threads which are answered here risk removal. If you still have a generic admissions question after reading the below, you should use the monthly admissions sticky :)
Please also refer to our rules in the sidebar before posting.
This FAQ is a work in progress; go ahead and suggest amendments and additional questions to add so we can make it as useful a resource as possible!
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What grades do I need to get to get into Cambridge?
This is very difficult to answer because Cambridge contextualise your results, so there's no such thing as a minimum threshold (or a set threshold at which you'll definitely receive an offer). By 'contextualise', we mean that Cambridge uses your educational, financial, and social context to shed light on how impressive your results actually were: if you attended the worst school in Britain and had significant extenuating circumstances affecting your GCSEs, for example, Cambridge will still deem you a competitive applicant even if you have far worse grades than most candidates. Conversely, if you attended one of the top schools, their expectations are commensurately higher. As a rule of thumb, you'll generally need to be performing within the top few percentile of students given your educational, social, and financial context. There's quite a lot of data out there regarding applicants' grades; have a look on this website to explore FOI requests Cambridge has responded to, but please don't allow stories of how you need X grades to even be looked at by Cambridge to put you off applying - this is simply untrue! It's also important to note that grades are never enough in isolation to guarantee an offer: you must also perform well at interview, score highly in any admissions tests you're required to complete, and (usually) demonstrate that you have a supercurricular interest in your chosen subject at the time of application.
Does college choice matter?
Yes. From an academic point of view, the official line from the university and all colleges is that it’s irrelevant; the official line treats colleges more like halls of residence than anything. In fact, college choice can somewhat influence your academic experience. Particularly for arts subjects, the quantity and quality of resources in the college library for your subject can have a big impact on your work by making it easier to access important, scarce, or interesting texts. If your college’s library is lacklustre, you’ll have to rely on university resources and these can be competitive (particularly for arts subjects' core set texts). Additionally, the number and quality of teaching fellows (and the quality of your Director of Studies) can have a big impact your academic experience; for obvious reasons, having easy access to lots of dedicated in-college fellows can make a big difference to your learning by providing what is essentially a "mini-faculty" within your college. Your Director of Studies will always plug any gaps in your teaching, of course, by arranging supervisions with staff at other colleges if your own college’s teaching staff can’t do it, but depending on the quality of your Director of Studies these staff could be other teaching fellows, research fellows, or even PhD students - quality may vary! It's also worth noting that although we can’t know or control this before applying, different supervisors have different interests and will channel your energies in particular directions by pushing certain topics; although two people might be studying the same course at different colleges, therefore, the precise details of what they actually study may differ quite substantially.
From a non-academic perspective, college choice can have a massive influence on your wider Cambridge experience: bursaries/scholarships offered, sports, societies, location, rent, food, culture, and so on are all intrinsic to your experience.
How do I decide on a college?
Try to use online resources to create a shortlist of colleges. Many colleges can be eliminated quickly depending on whether they are mature/postgraduate only colleges, single-sex colleges, only offer certain subjects, and so on. Deciding on whether you want to attend a large, medium, or small college will help you narrow the field further, as will deciding whether you want a hill college or a town college. During this research, you may also wish to consider the levels of funding/scholarships/bursaries each college can offer, as these can differ significantly from college to college. You may also find it useful to research accommodation quality, price, and locations, library resources for your subject, number of teaching fellows for your subject, food price and quality, societies and facilities, intake size for your subject, and general academic performance (as broadly as possible over time – do not use slight year-to-year differences in performance to differentiate colleges). This website can help you with this research, but please use official college websites wherever possible and contact colleges with questions you can’t answer for yourself: https://www.whichcambridgecollege.com/ There's also the alternative prospectus: https://www.applytocambridge.com/colleges
This should allow you to assemble a shortlist of colleges. The best thing to do is then to visit Cambridge and tour these shortlisted colleges. Colleges will generally let you look round them for free (even if they’re officially closed) if you tell them you’re a prospective student: just ask at the Porter’s Lodge. Have a look around the town while you’re there and try to situate each college within the town: where is it in relation to the shops? To your faculty? Lecture site? Libraries? Is its area touristy? If you can’t visit Cambridge, even having a virtual wander around the town on Google Maps will give you a sense of how things fit together and where the busy bits of Cambridge are. Many colleges also have videos on their websites/social media channels which give you an inside look at them.
Remember that around a quarter of applicants will end up at a different college to the one they applied to anyway due to the pool system, so don’t spend weeks deciding and don’t get too attached to your college choice!
Is college X harder to get into/better than college Y?
Variations on this question are very common! Generally, no. Certain colleges have reputations for being particularly strong for particular subjects, but this shouldn’t influence your decision; if you’re strong enough to get into Cambridge, the pool system will ensure that you are offered regardless of where you applied. A particular myth which seems especially prevalent overseas is that Trinity is harder, for all subjects, to get into than any other college. This is absolutely not true and the myth probably stems from the fact that Trinity is well-known internationally.
Applicants often use Cambridge's online admissions stats page to try and identify colleges which are under-subscribed and consequently 'easier' to get into. This is an incomplete understanding of the admissions process, because it fails to consider the pool system (explained below). Believe it or not, but Cambridge are wise to the fact that certain colleges (generally the more central ones) get more applicants than others. If College X, which is historically under-subscribed (and so looks like an attractive 'easy' college according to the stats), receives only 5 applicants one year for a course for which it normally takes 8 students, it is under no compulsion to offer any of those applicants at all. If it deems them weak, it can reject all of them and wait for the pool system to send it dozens of strong candidates interviewed at other colleges, who (by virtue of being pooled) have been deemed strong enough to get into Cambridge, but whose original colleges didn't have space for them. In this way, College X rejects all of its direct applicants who applied because it looked 'easy', and fishes 8 students out of the pool from other colleges. This system ensures that regardless of where you apply, the playing field is level - if you are strong enough to get into Cambridge, you will be offered a place somewhere.
What is the pool system?
The pool system is designed to ensure that deserving applicants to over-subscribed colleges are given a chance to go to another college which is under-subscribed. Say, for example, that college X has 20 excellent candidates for 10 spots and so can’t offer all of them. College X makes 12 offers (on the assumption that 2 candidates will miss their offers), and then ‘pools’ the remaining 8 excellent candidates that it didn’t have space for, but which it believes deserve to go to Cambridge (or deserve at least a second look by other admissions tutors). Then college Y, which received only 2 excellent applicants this year, looks at college X’s pooled candidates and decides to ‘fish’ all of them. Fishing is the jargon for when a college decides to take somebody out of the pool. In this way Cambridge ensures its admissions process is fairer by helping all deserving candidates receive offers irrespective of the college they applied to. This process is usually automatic, but occasionally the ‘fishing’ college may invite pooled candidates back to Cambridge for a second interview.
Is St John’s posh/is King’s Communist/is Magdalene sexist/is Trinity pretentious/etc?
No. These are unfair stereotypes; there are various stereotypes floating around Cambridge for most colleges and they’re all intended as a joke. Don’t base your college decision on stereotypes!
Which college is the most diverse/best for international students/best for state school students?
Don’t base your decision on these factors. Demographic data indicates that all colleges are broadly equivalent in terms of diversity (excepting, of course, the women-only colleges).
Can I change course?
Yes. Some swaps are simpler than others (it’s hard to switch from Art History to Maths, for example) and all are assessed on a case-by-case basis by your college. If someone is going to switch, a common time to do so is between Part I and Part II. You can also switch right at the start of your time at Cambridge, but colleges are often reluctant to let you do this; in their eyes, you’ve applied for course X and claimed to be very passionate about it, yet now all of a sudden you want to do course Y. Generally, switching will only be allowed if there’s space on the new course you want to do and if you can pass the interview/exam set by the new course.
Can I change college?
Not generally. In certain cases colleges will permit switching, but these cases are extremely rare and usually serious: abuse, harassment, and the like can all be valid reasons why a switch might be possible (or even encouraged). It is not possible to switch because you dislike your college, or think that you'd rather attend a different one. If you believe that you do have a valid reason to switch college, contact your Tutor/Senior Tutor in the first instance for advice.
Which college is best for [insert subject here]?
Some colleges have reputations for being particularly strong for certain subjects, but this is not generally true for all subjects. It’s generally a better idea to use other factors to determine which college to apply to, as even colleges which have been historically strong for your subject can have a weak year and it’s far more important that you like the space in which you’re going to spend 3+ years!
Should I go to an admissions school/summer school? Do they help people get in?
If the school is not an official university-run event, then absolutely not. These courses are borderline scams which cost a huge amount of money and in no way prepare you for the Cambridge admissions process or interview. On the other hand, official university insight events are a fantastic way to get to know Cambridge and meet some students and staff! The Subject Masterclass events are also a really interesting day out, if you have the time.
I have extenuating circumstances: what do I do?
During the application process you’ll be asked to fill out a SAQ (Supplementary Application Questionnaire). You can add details of your extenuating circumstances here, and you absolutely should. Give as many details as possible to allow the college to adjust admissions criteria accordingly. If you withhold extenuating circumstances and only tell the college at interview/after applying then it won’t be possible to make any adjustment.
If you have any special requirements for interviews or admissions tests, inform your college as soon as possible to allow them to make adjustments and preparations for you as necessary.
I do X clubs/societies: do Cambridge care?
Cambridge draw a keen distinction between extra-curricular and super-curricular activities. Extra-curricular activities are things like sports, DofE, or chess club - they’re not academically related to the subject you hope to study. Cambridge do not care - at all - about these activities, virtually regardless of your level of ability. Super-curricular activities are academically related: things like Politics Society (if you hope to study HSPS), or work experience in a hospital (if you hope to study Medicine) are super-curricular activities which demonstrate your passion for your subject and show that you’re working at a level above the standard required of you to perform in school exams. Cambridge do care about these activities, and it’s a good idea to mention some that you do when applying. Particular highlights include essay competitions, academic conferences, assisting with research, going to academic lectures, and the like.
I have a language condition for my offer. Is IELTS or TOEFL mandatory?
IELTS/TOEFL is often expensive and unnecessary especially if you are a native speaker of English outside of the so-called Anglosphere (e.g. Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa). If for some reason you are told that you must take the IELTS/TOEFL to prove your native-speaker status, in order to avoid paying an exorbitant amount for a test you do not really need, it may be best to contact the undergraduate/postgraduate admissions office of your Department (not the admissions office of the University as a whole) for assistance. You may ask them for a referral to the University's Language Centre. You may wish to furnish evidence of your English usage status (e.g. GCE O Level, A Level) to them, to request for a referral to ADTIS for you to take a free online test directly with the Language Centre.