University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge (Cambridge) is an institute of higher learning and collegiate research university in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the fourth-oldest university in the world and second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. In 2020, Cambridge had 24,450 students from 147 different countries, including 12,850 undergraduates and 11,600 postgraduates, as well as 11,528 staff members in academic, academic-related, contract research, technical, and support roles. In 2018, Cambridge had more than 298,000 living alumni, including 110 Nobel Prize laureates, 47 heads of state, and 190 Olympic medalists. Cambridge's stated mission is "to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence"

Cambridge University is structured as a confederation of six schools, faculties, over 150 departments, and thirty-one constituent colleges. The six schools of Cambridge are Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Technology. The thirty-one autonomous colleges are governed by their own statutes and regulations, but are an integral part of the university. The colleges include Christ's College, Churchill College, Clare College, Clare Hall, Corpus Christi College, Darwin College, Downing College, Emmanuel College, Fitzwilliam College, Girton College, Gonville & Caius College, Homerton College, Hughes Hall, Jesus College, King's College, Lucy Cavendish College, Magdalene College, Murray Edwards College, Newnham College, Pembroke College, Peterhouse, Queens' College, Robinson College, Selwyn College, Sidney Sussex College, St. Catharine's College, St. Edmund's College, St. John's College, Trinity College, Trinity Hall, and Wolfson College.

In addition to research activities within each of the six schools, Cambridge has established cross-school Strategic Research Initiatives and Networks and Interdisciplinary Research Centres. The Strategic Research Initiatives include Cambridge Academy of Therapeutic Sciences, Global Challenges, and Reproduction. The Strategic Research Networks include Digital Humanities, Immunology, and Metabolism. The Interdisciplinary Research Centres include Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery, Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Conservation, Energy, Global Food Security, Infectious Diseases, Language Sciences, Neuroscience, Public Health, Stem Cells, and Synthetic Biology. Cambridge researchers collaborate with colleagues worldwide and the University has established partnerships in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. During the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, the university used its research facilities to develop diagnostic equipment to expedite the testing for the virus for workers who serve the National Health Service (NHS), utilizing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that yields results in four hours.

The University of Cambridge has the largest endowment of any European University. In 2018, Cambridge University's endowment was valued at £4.9 billion, while the combined wealth of all thirty-one colleges was £6.9 billion.