Grounds and Facilities poster
Book for our next Grounds & Facilities webinar or see Visiting Christs

Why study Engineering at Christ’s?

At Christ’s we welcome Engineering students from all across the world. Our six Fellows work together with research students and external academics to cover all aspects of Engineering at a high level, so you can be confident of an outstanding start in the subject.

Our graduates go on to work in a range of sectors, including in traditional engineering companies, consultancies, management consultancies, investment banks, hedge funds, start-ups, research and for online giants such as Google and Facebook.
 

Course content and structure

Please visit the University website for full details of the Engineering course content and structure.

Cambridge offers two courses (or ‘triposes’) in Engineering:

  • Engineering (with specialisation in one of the main engineering disciplines in 3rd and optional 4th year)
  • Manufacturing Engineering (specialist training in marketing, design, manufacturing engineering and factory operation in the third and fourth years).

There is also a separate Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology degree, or after two years of Engineering you can opt for the one-year Management Studies course to gain a BA degree after a total of three years of study.

Please visit the University website for full details of the Engineering course content and structure, including the course film. You will also find information on the Department of Engineering page for prospective applicants. If you have further questions about course content, please contact ugrad-admissions@eng.cam.ac.uk. 
 

Teaching

Christ’s College has the following Engineering Fellows and Bye-Fellows whose broad collective expertise means we’re well placed to support your studies.

The University’s Engineering Department arranges all your classes, lectures and practicals. Christ’s Director of Studies in Engineering Dr Elena Punskaya helps organise your work and ‘supervisions’. These weekly small-group tutorial sessions with College Fellows, university lecturers or research workers give you the advantage of personally-tailored tuition and guidance. And we’re willing to provide extra sessions if needed.

Christ’s is handily located right in the heart of Cambridge, only 15 minutes’ walk from the Engineering Department.

 

What do our students think?

Student Q&A film
  Watch the Christ's student Q&A film

Read about the experiences of AnnieAndrew, Ollie, and Hiral who recently studied Engineering here at Christ’s. There's also Statos, who did first year Engineering before changing to Natural Sciences (Physical).

If you’d like to hear from other Christ's students, please watch the Christ's student Q&A film, and visit our Student Profiles page.

"I'd advise any applicants to go into the course with an open mind about specialisms – often people change their minds after studying all of Engineering for the first two years!"

Hiral

 

How to Apply

Visit How to Apply for full details and a timeline of the application process. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and school types, all over the world. If you're applying from outside the UK, please read our international students section.

News
  • Update: for candidates applying to Christ's in October 2024 who are taking or have taken A-levels, note that A level Further Mathematics is now a required subject (it was previously a strongly recommended subject). 
  • Update: from 2024 onwards, all applicants for Engineering at Cambridge will take the ESAT (the ENGAA is no longer used). Please see the ESAT section below for further details and ensure that you are registered by the deadline.


Subject requirements

If you are taking or have taken A-levels (not including Singapore A levels) and applying to Christ's College then there are three required subjects:

  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Further Mathematics

If your school does not offer Further Mathematics, you may be able to get support through the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme. It can support you by offering advice about choosing Further Mathematics, revision events, university applications, enrichment materials and activities, and tuition, when it is not available through your school or college.

If you are studying for another qualification then you must take

  • Mathematics (International Baccalaureate students should take HL Maths Analysis and Approaches)
  • Physics
  • A third mathematical / science subject at IB Higher, Scottish Advanced Higher or equivalent.

There is no additional STEP requirement for Engineering at Christ's.

A number of our international candidates from countries where you study a wide range of subjects at school in the final two years find it helpful to take part in mathematics competitions as a way to focus on extending their mathematical knowledge and ability.

ESAT (Registration required)

All applicants for Engineering at Cambridge must sit a computer-based assessment called the ESAT (Engineering and Science Admissions Test) as part of their application. This is the same at all Cambridge Colleges.

Date What happens
May 2024 Free practice materials and further detail about the ESAT will be published (initial information is on the ESAT page here)
Deadline tbc. You create an account, register and pay the entry fee for the ESAT (details will be available later this Spring)
15 or 16 October 2024 You take the ESAT at a Pearson VUE test centre (you must use this sitting)
Approx 6 weeks
after you sit the test
You receive your results via the Pearson VUE booking portal
(results are automatically shared with us as well - you do not need to send them to us)


You will need to sit the ESAT at a Pearson VUE test centre. There are tests centres in over 180 countries - you will be able to find your nearest test centre nearer the time on the Pearson VUE website. The entry fee is £75 to sit the ESAT in the UK or Republic of Ireland, or £130 to sit the test in another country. Note that UK students in financial need can apply for a bursary voucher (a unique code which can be used instead of payment when registering - further detail will be available later in the Spring).

To help with preparation, free practice materials will be available in May 2024. There will also be more information about the test format, specification and other support materials. There is no set score that we are looking for and we don't expect you to get every question right. The ESAT forms part of our holistic admissions process, which means that we will look at your scores in the context of your whole application.

Interviews

If we invite you for interviews, these usually take place in early December. Those invited for Cambridge interviews are normally interviewed for 35-50 minutes in total. At Christ’s, we usually split the time into two interviews with subject-relevant academics. Further detail about the format of interviews will be available here nearer the time.

During the interviews we might ask you about topics you're not familiar with. Our aim is to assess your innate engineering and/or scientific ability when working through unprepared questions and see how quickly you absorb new ideas. It's not about catching you out. We help you work through unseen problems and ask you to think out loud as you tackle them, so we understand your individual approach. Do not forget that the interviews are not just there for us to ask you questions. They provide you an excellent opportunity to ask us about the course, the College and the University.

Further, more general information about interviews (including two useful films) is available in the Cambridge interviews section, and it's worth also having a look at supervisions (short film here), as interviews are similar to what you do every week as a Cambridge student.

Offers

We typically admit between eight and twelve Engineering students per year. 

We define the terms of each offer individually, but offers for Engineering are likely to be minimum:

If you're taking another qualification, we expect you to be working at or close to the top of the mark range i.e.

You can look up other qualifications in the offer levels for other exam systems and international entry requirements, and if you are applying from outside the UK please read the Christ's international students section for further information and check the country pages.

If you will have finished school when you apply, please also read about post-qualification applications, taking a gap year, and, if relevant, applying from a university.

Taking a gap year

For those who are considering a gap year, deferred entry applications and post-qualification applications for Engineering are encouraged by the College. A gap year can offer a valuable opportunity to travel and/or gain work experience in an industrial setting (via, for example, the Year in Industry Scheme), which can be a major advantage during the undergraduate course. See the industrial placements information on the Engineering Department website.
 

Helpful Resources

I want to study Engineering Cambridge Engineering Department resource to help you to develop and practice problem-solving skills for Engineering courses at competitive universities. 
Advanced Mathematics Support Programme Website with advice on choosing Further Mathematics, revision events, enrichment materials and activities, and tuition, when it is not available through your school or college. See in particular A level Maths resources and A level Further Maths resources. If you're studying independently, Integral offers an online Further Maths course, and there are also free Further Maths videos.
Imperial College London A level Further Maths skills course This is to support students taking Further Maths A level (so you can use the free version) - it does not replace the A level Further Maths qualification.
Isaac Physics  Website to help you develop problem-solving skills in Physics from GCSE to A-level through to the transition to university. See A-level resources and student support. There is also a mentoring scheme
A-Z of Women in Engineering Resource made by Stemettes
Nuffield Research Placements Year 12 opportunity to work on a summer research project. Strict eligibility criteria apply.

F1 in schools or Greenpower Education Trust

Use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership/teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in a practical, imaginative, competitive and exciting way.
Engineering video FAQ's See FAQ's on course content, and on specialisations
Recommended reading Suggestions for budding engineers if you are looking for an interesting insight into Engineering. This is not a required reading list.
Maths study from home resources

See NRICH Maths at Home and Integral.

HE+ Engineering Website for secondary school students who want to explore Engineering.
CamGuides Introducing the academic and information skills that you will need during your studies, as well as how and where you would be working.



Open Days and Online Events

Online events: Our open days and events page advertises online opportunities as well as events you can attend in Cambridge. These include our regular webinars from February until August, and our College Open Days in October, February and September.

The Engineering Department puts on lots of events for the annual Cambridge Open Days, in July. Booking opens in April each year and you can visit Christ's College on the same day. If you can't visit in person, there is a virtual tour of the Engineering department online.

Want to know more?

For a full picture of what the course involves, please read the University's Engineering course prospectus, take a look at Undergraduate Engineering admissions and the Department of Engineering information for prospective students too. It would be helpful to watch this film about the Dyson Centre too.

If you have any queries, send them to admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk and we’ll help however we can.
 

Undergraduate Admissions main page / Back to the subject list / How to apply / Why choose Christ's?