What is the University of Cambridge?
The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, founded in 1209 by scholars who left Oxford. It is made up of 31 colleges and is one of the world's leading universities.
The university's oldest college, Peterhouse, was founded in 1284. Other famous colleges include King's, Trinity and St John's.
Cambridge has produced more than 100 Nobel Prize winners, more than almost any other institution. Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking all studied or worked there.
Landmarks
King's College Chapel, with its fan-vaulted ceiling, is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Its choir's Christmas Eve service, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, is broadcast around the world.
Punting on the River Cam, past the colleges known as the Backs, is a popular activity for visitors. The Mathematical Bridge at Queens' College is a famous wooden footbridge.
Scientists at Cambridge discovered the structure of DNA in 1953, and the electron was discovered at the Cavendish Laboratory in 1897. Cambridge and Oxford compete in the annual Boat Race.
Students apply through a competitive process that often includes interviews.