University of Cambridge

THE UNIVERSITY OF Cambridge (Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the world s most prestigious universities. The university grew out of an association of scholars in the city of Cambridge that was formed in 1209 by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute with the townsfolk there. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge are often jointly referred to as Oxbridge. In addition to their cultural and practical associations as a historic part of English society, the two universities also have a long history of rivalry with each other. The University of Cambridge currently has 31 colleges, of which three admit only women (New Hall, Newnham, and Lucy Cavendish). The remaining 28 are mixed, with Magdalene being the last all-male college to begin admitting women, in 1988. Two colleges admit only postgraduates (Clare Hall and Darwin), and four more admit mainly mature students or graduate students (Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St. Edmunds, and Wolfson).

The other 25 colleges admit mainly undergraduate students but also allow postgraduates following courses of study or research. Although various colleges are traditionally strong in a particular subject, for example, Churchill has a formalized bias toward the sciences and engineering, the colleges all admit students from just about the whole range of subjects, although some colleges do not take students for a handful of subjects such as architecture or history of art. It is noteworthy that costs to students (accommodation and food prices) vary considerably from college to college. This may be of increasing significance to potential applicants as government grants decline in the next few years.

The Department of Land Economy offers a three-year honors undergraduate degree program, as well as postgraduate studies in environmental policy. The main focus of the program is land and environmental protection. Up to 40 students are admitted each year. The University of Cambridge offers a variety of taught courses relating to the environment, whether as part of an undergraduate degree course or a postgraduate course. Climate change research at the University of Cambridge ranges from long-term climate modeling using geological data to in situ measurements of the present composition of the Earth's atmosphere, at all scales from global climate models to study of the dynamic chemical processes controlling the present state of the atmosphere. Significant expertise in atmospheric sciences and earth sciences provides a strong foundation for research into limiting the effects of human activity on the Earth's climate, mitigating the effects of climate change, assessing the effects of climate change on human health, and designing economic policies and technologies for climate change mitigation.

The Cambridge Environmental Initiative was launched in December 2004. The primary mission of this initiative is to facilitate and support interdisciplinary environmental research within the University of Cambridge, promote the university's external profile in environmental research, and encourage new environmental research initiatives within the university.

The Cambridge Center for Climate Change Mitigation Research is an interdisciplinary research center, focusing on climate change mitigation at the local and global levels. The main objective of this collaboration is to foresee strategies, policies, and processes to mitigate human-induced climate change, which are effective, efficient, and equitable, including understanding and modeling transitions to low-carbon energy-environment-economy systems. The center houses global, European, and U.K. research teams adopting a common set of conventions and protocols that are networked with multidisciplinary teams working in different countries.

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