How to apply
All applicants must complete a UCAS application and submit it to UCAS by the relevant deadline. In addition to a UCAS application, applicants who are attending a school/college outside the EU must complete and submit a Cambridge Online Preliminary Application (COPA)* by the relevant deadline (see table below and the Dates and Deadlines page).
In both your UCAS and COPA applications, you should indicate the Cambridge College to which you wish to apply. If you have no preference for a particular College, you can choose to make an 'open' application, where your application is allocated by a computer to a College. Please note that affiliated applicants must apply to a College - there is no open application route for affiliated applicants.
*There is an overseas application fee associated with the COPA as well as an interview fee for those being interviewed overseas.
Interviews
In the recent past the University has conducted overseas interviews in Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore. The up-to-date list of countries where overseas interviews will take place for admission in October 2013 will be available on this website from July 2012.
If you would like to be interviewed overseas, both your COPA and your UCAS application must be submitted by the appropriate date. Where interviews are conducted in an applicant's home country, they can only be considered for interview in that country or in Cambridge.
| Application Deadlines | |
| 9 September 2012 | Students who would like to be interviewed in India |
| 20 September 2012 | Students who would like to be interviewed in China, Malaysia or Singapore |
| 15 October 2012 | Students who would like to be interviewed in Cambridge or Pakistan Students who are domiciled in/Nationals of Canada who would like to be interviewed in Canada Students who are domiciled in/permanent resident in Hong Kong who would like to be interviewed in Hong Kong |
Application timetable
See the main Applying to Cambridge pages for further details about the application and selection process.
| Date | Application process |
| April 2012 onwards | Research the courses available at Cambridge and the College system. |
| May 2012 onwards | If, after looking at the information online, you have identified a College you would like to apply to, write informally to the Admissions Tutor of that College (names and addresses are given in College profiles), informing him/her of your plans and circumstances. It would be useful if you could give as much information as possible about the courses you are currently studying in your own country; the scores you are achieving and the course you wish to study, to enable the Tutor to assess your academic potential. |
| June-October 2012 | Complete and send your completed COPA together with the appropriate application fee. Open applications are processed by computer and are allocated to Colleges, which thereafter take over the admissions process and will contact you direct. You should also submit a UCAS application. |
| 9 September 2012 | Students who would like to be interviewed in India:
|
| 20 September 2012 | Students who would like to be interviewed in Malaysia, Singapore or China:
|
| 15 October 2012 | Students who would like to be interviewed in Cambridge, Canada, Hong Kong, or Pakistan (restriction apply see above):
|
| September-December 2012 | UK applicants are interviewed. Overseas applicants may be invited for interview or asked to submit samples of their work/sit admissions tests, some may be considered without interview. See Interviews and Additional Work or Tests for further info. |
| January 2013 | Applicants are notified of decisions. The possibilities are:
|
| October 2013 | Academic year starts |