We regularly receive applications from students in the first year of a university course outside the UK. This is possible but you do need to check the information below carefully.
Whilst we welcome applications from full-time university students on degree courses outside the UK, there are a few practical points that you should consider before applying.
First of all, it is not possible to transfer credits and start in second year at Cambridge. All Cambridge courses at must be started from the beginning, so you should only apply for one of our undergraduate courses if you would like to complete the whole course.
Secondly, it takes a whole year to apply. So you will need to think about this application before starting your university course, as you will need to complete the application form(s) in September (or early October), right at the beginning of your first year at university, in order to meet the 15 October Cambridge application deadline for entry the following October. Please see when to apply for more detail on application timing. If, at the time of reading you are already part way through your first year, it is likely that it will be too late.
Thirdly, you should consider all of the options for students at universities outside the UK. Would it suit you better to wait and apply for a postgraduate degree at Cambridge? Alternatively, would you be interested in starting your university course then spending one academic year (October to June) at Christ's College, Cambridge as a Visiting undergraduate student and then returning to your current university outside the UK? If you are interested in this option, please read our Visiting Students section carefully.
If you've considered the points above and are still interested in applying to Christ's College for a full undergraduate degree, please continue reading the rest of this page! Note that the information on the page applies only for applications for a full undergraduate degree at Christ's College, Cambridge specifically.
If you've already met our entry requirements
If may be that you already have a school-leaving qualification that we accept, have achieved the grades/scores required and have studied suitable subjects to meet any subject requirements for the course that you are applying for at Cambridge.
Please check carefully to make sure that you have met all of the academic requirements! You should read about the Unless you are aware that your English is poor, there is no need to worry about our English language requirements whilst doing your initial research - you can look into the detail on these at a later stage, noting that we do not need you to have met them at the point of application. |
If you have already met our academic requirements, please read our page on post-qualification applications. In most cases if we select you for an offer and are happy with recent qualifications that you have already achieved, we would not need to attach any academic requirements to your offer except the need to complete your first year as planned and provide your end-of-first year transcript (a document confirming the courses you have taken and the grades you achieved which you send to us at the end of the year - even though you would have no specific grade requirements, we will want to add the information to your record).
If you have not already met our entry requirements
It may be that although you have done well in your school-leaving qualifications, the Cambridge entry requirement information advises that you would need to complete further study in order to make an application.
In this case, please consider your options carefully. In most cases the best option will be to take standard school-leaving qualifications as you can be sure that these meet our requirements as long as you have taken the necessary subjects. The qualifications that are most available internationally are
International A levels
The International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB)
USA Advanced Placements
If you cannot take these options in your country or via distance learning, we can consider you with the first year of a university course outside the UK only if the content of the first year syllabus that you are following is academic (rather than vocational) in focus and meets any subject requirements for the specific course that you are applying for at Christ's.
If you are planning to meet our requirements via university courses, please first of all read the relevant course information carefully on the College website and the university website. Make a note of any A level subjects that are required. You may find it helpful to consult the syllabus for International A level courses for these subjects to compare the topics with the ones that your university course covers and ensure that you will study and be examined on the required content. You can find the syllabus details on the exam board websites - look for the documents called 'specification'. E.g. A level Mathematics; A level Further Maths; A level Chemistry; A level Physics Note that during the application process, you will be asked to upload curriculum details for your first year so that we can see which topics you are studying in each course (more about applying below). |
US students taking the High School Diploma and College Courses
If you are a High School Diploma student in the USA and are also taking College courses, please note that this is not covered by the information on this page - you would need to take Advanced Placements or another equivalent in order to make an application. Please see our page on applying from the USA for more information and consider signing up for one of our international webinars.
How to apply
We recommend that you read the how to apply page carefully to ensure that you're aware of the various forms, dates and deadlines. You may also find the section for international applicants helpful, and note that it includes international application support.
Please check well in advance whether your course has a compulsory Admissions Test, as you will need to register to sit this at a Test Centre near to you and be registered by the relevant date in mid-September (we recommend that you register as soon as possible to increase your chances of sitting the test at the most convenient Test Centre). The test details vary for different courses and may change from year to year. Information for each year's applicants is available from July, and please be aware that the assessment registration deadline may be before the application deadline.
Your UCAS reference can be written either by a teacher from your former school or by a tutor at your current university (if they are able to comment in detail on your academic ability).
Depending on what qualifications you took before your university course, you may also need to include a transcript as part of your application. Please see the transcript flowchart and the transcript page for further information about including a high school transcript. If you have not taken any exams at university yet, we would not expect a university transcript, however - your transcript would just cover your high school exams.
After you have applied via UCAS, please upload a summary of your curriculum for the current year by 22 October (at the latest). You will need to demonstrate that you are covering / have covered any course-specific subject requirements for the subject you are applying for (details of subject requirements are in the applying section on the relevant subject page). Details of how to upload curriculum details are available here from 20 September each year (this page is part of the current applicants section so is only available 20 Sept - early Jan).
You must choose a College
If you are applying from a university, it is important to choose a Cambridge College on the UCAS application rather than making an Open Application. Not all Colleges consider applicants from other universities.
We emphasise that the information on this page only applies to students who choose Christ's College on the UCAS application.
Webinars and application support
We recommend that you sign up for our regular webinar for international applicants as well as our international Q&A webinar - these will answer a lot of questions about applying from outside the UK. See the information and booking here.
Cambridge for Beginners is pitched for 15-17 year-old UK students, however it will be helpful in content if you would like an introductory session and a run through the application process and what we are looking for. You are welcome to sign up if you would find it helpful. See this and our other regular webinars.
Further events are advertised on our events page.
As for application support, note that as well as the how to apply page, we have an application support section for students applying from outside the UK, then our current applicants section will be published on 20 September and will guide you through the process for students who have submitted their UCAS application.
| Although we are happy to consider students studying at a university outside the United Kingdom, please be aware that it is essential to include the information in your application: failure to declare that you are currently studying at another institution is grounds for the cancellation of your application and/or withdrawal of any offer made. |
Applying from a university / How to apply / Application Support / Subjects
