Studying at Downing
Downing is a friendly and informal community which encourages all students who study here to strive for academic excellence. Downing provides all the essential features which enable students who study here to get the best from their time at Cambridge. Academic standards are high and we take intellectual life and research seriously. Our aim is to help all students to develop their academic ability and personal potential.
The teaching of Downing’s undergraduates is shared between the University and the College. University faculties and departments put on lectures and practical classes, attended by students from all colleges. Individual or small-group teaching is provided by the College with students and teachers working more closely together than at most other universities. These teaching sessions are called Supervisions. Students meet their Supervisor in a particular subject for informal discussion of work prepared in advance and to clarify problems encountered in their lectures or reading. Supervisions are organised by the Director of Studies, who also advises his or her students on the lectures, seminars and/or practical sessions they should attend.
Downing has excellent teaching strengths with a good balance between Arts and Science subjects. Much of the teaching is done by Downing’s teaching Fellows, but Supervisors are also drawn from other colleges or from research groups elsewhere in the University. Click on the links below to find out more about the subjects you can study here. You can also find more information in the University Prospectus.
| Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic |
| Archaeology and Anthropology |
| Architecture |
| Asian and Middle Eastern Studies |
| Chemical Engineering |
| Classics |
| Computer Science |
| Economics |
| Education |
| Engineering |
| English |
| Geography |
| History |
| History of Art |
| Human, Social and Political Sciences |
| Land Economy |
| Law |
| Linguistics |
| Mathematics |
| Medical Sciences |
| Modern and Medieval Languages |
| Music |
| Natural Sciences (includes physical and biological sciences) |
| Philosophy |
| Psychological and Behavioural Sciences |
| Theology and Religious Studies |
| Veterinary Medicine |