About University of Cambridge, Pembroke College Partnership

Looking for specific classes? Explore CHART, our exclusive class database — if the University of Cambridge Pembroke College Program is pre-approved at your institution, you’ll find classes recently taken by other IFSA students.

There are no traditional classes at Cambridge University. Rather, Cambridge has the supervision system, which is a weekly one-on-one, or in a small group, with your supervisor, in which you discuss your work and the topics that you are studying, ask questions, and receive feedback. Students typically take two courses, called ‘papers’ at Cambridge per semester. Each paper typically consists of eight hour-long supervisions. A course of lectures also supplements your supervisions for each paper, and your supervisor will advise you about which lectures you should attend. 

Students applying for Pembroke College may study in one of the following departments:

• Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic Studies
• Archaeology
• Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
• Classics
• Economics
• Education
• English
• History
• History of Art
• Linguistics
• Mathematics
• Modern and Medieval Languages
• Philosophy
• Human, Social, and Political Science (Political Science, International Affairs, Anthropology)
• Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion

If you are accepted to study at Pembroke College, you will be sent further information about how to make your paper choices and asked to submit five choices in order of preference. You will submit your preferences shortly after admission, but the two papers per semester that you have been assigned can usually only be confirmed around one month before the start of the program. Explore the course overview booklet for more information.

Withdrawal from this program after acceptance of an admissions offer is a very bad idea, as the cancellation policy is very strict. No exceptions are granted, even for illness or other unforseen circumstances.