The origins of St Edmund’s College lie in the repeal of the Test Act in 1871, permitting Jewish, Non-Conformist and Roman Catholic scholars to return to the University of Cambridge for the first time since the religious revolution of the sixteenth century.
Since 1896, St Edmund’s has provided a home for students from backgrounds under-represented at Cambridge and for those who feel otherwise excluded from the teaching, learning and research carried out by the University. We are proud of this legacy and continue to prize equity, diversity, belonging and inclusion in all aspects of college life.
We welcome students of all faiths and none and the college is particularly proud of its ‘faith-friendly’ approach, recognising the important role faith plays in many students’ lives.
The college occupies a 6 acre site as part of the ‘hill college’ community (Churchill, Lucy Cavendish, Fitzwilliam, Murray Edwards and St Edmund’s) and is close to the West Cambridge site, Sidgwick site, and the faculties and departments located in the city centre. We have over 300 rooms on site with around 200 of these en suite.
Whilst we are a college for mature and postgraduate students and welcome learners of 21 or older, the average age of our students is around 23. We have a single study body with undergraduates and postgraduates organising events and socialising together and represented by one students committee (the CR). St Edmund’s is a relatively informal college but there are regular formal dinners and even a college punt for an unmistakable Cambridge experience.
In this video, we asked our students to sum up St Edmund’s College in one word.
In this video, our students tell us what it is like to be a student at St Edmund’s College