One of only two wholly postgraduate colleges in Cambridge, Clare Hall is also the smallest, with total student numbers around 200. This makes it an ideal community in which to quickly feel at home and where social and intellectual mixing can take place in an informal and friendly setting.
Our members make up an integrated academic community which promotes a culturally rich and intellectually diverse environment for advanced study. Many postgraduate students, like many of the visiting senior academics, are from overseas, adding a stimulating international dimension to life in the College.
Supporting you to thrive
Postgraduate students often prefer to be in a more mature community with facilities and support tailored specifically to their needs. Clare Hall offers a community that functions all year round, with accommodation available in vacations as well as term time, and catering provision throughout the year. Fellows, Visiting Fellows and postgraduate students regularly mix at lunch, dinner and frequent informal gatherings, seminars and talks. Art and music are widely appreciated within the College, which hosts regular exhibitions and musical performances to which all are welcome. Our Graduate Student Body (GSB) organises an array of student-led events and sports, in addition to our college Boat and Cricket Clubs.
The Tutorial system at Clare Hall is expressly geared to meet the needs of its postgraduate students, and we have a wealth of experience in dealing with the wide range of pastoral, financial and wellbeing issues that advanced study can bring. Each student is allocated a personal Tutor who is available to meet with them regularly, both individually and in groups. Academic English writing and communications skills support is also available for students through workshops and on an individual basis, for both native and non-native English-speakers and across the academic disciplines.
Please find funding details for prospective students below. Once you arrive in Cambridge, there is further funding provision available for current students, including the Boak Student Support Fund, which offers support in terms of conference and research travel. There are also awards through our Tutorial Office related to research, hardship, mental health and sports.
Your application to University and College
Every student at the University of Cambridge is a member of a college, and choosing a college is an integral part of the general application process of admission to the University.
Graduate students must first be accepted by a Faculty or Department, and the admission process is handled by the Postgraduate Admissions Office – except in the case of the MBA, which is dealt with directly by the Judge Business School.
As part of your application, you will be asked to nominate either a first and second choice of college or make an open application (i.e. not specifying a college choice). If a Faculty or Department offers you a place, your application is forwarded to the colleges you have nominated in order of preference. If neither offers you a place, your application will be passed to further colleges until an offer is made.
All offers of a college place are conditional until the Postgraduate Admissions Office is satisfied you have met the academic and financial conditions for entry as a graduate student. Bursaries and awards are also available.
If you would like to be considered for a place at Clare Hall, you should make it your first choice.
Student wellbeing
At Clare Hall, we have a number of ways we help support our students’ wellbeing and mental health. College-based counselling and the College Nurse and Student Wellbeing Advisor are there to help you make the most of your time at Clare Hall and provide mental health support.
The College also has a flourishing range of clubs, societies, lectures and events to enjoy year-round.
One student commented in our 2023 survey, ‘Wonderful team at Clare Hall. The entire Housekeeping team greets me with warmth and care. The Porters are amazing and devote their full attention and skill to any query I have. The Dining Hall staff create wonderful Formal Halls. This is a loving and special place in the world.’
Beyond your course
At Clare Hall, former students are proposed for election to Life Membership at the next available Governing Body meeting once their degree has been conferred. Life Membership means just that – you are a member for life, and are welcome to return to College anytime to renew acquaintance, make use of the facilities or just enjoy the intellectual and social environment. In becoming a Life Member of Clare Hall, you join an inclusive and welcoming society of international leaders and academics.