Graduate Admissions
The membership of Emmanuel College comprises around 150-170 graduate students, 480 undergraduates and some 80 Fellows. Each year the graduate intake is about 70 to 80 students, with about two-thirds researching for a PhD or the one-year MPhil, and the remainder working for advanced taught courses such as the PGCE or as clinical Medical and Veterinary students. Admission to the College is open to all suitably-qualified candidates on an equal opportunities basis. Graduate students of the College have a distinguished record, including two Nobel Prize winners and several Fellows of the Royal Society and of the British Academy.
Accommodation and Facilities
Emmanuel has at present about 100 graduate rooms and seven flats for married students, and it is actively seeking to increase this provision. All new graduate students whose admission is confirmed by 31st August are usually offered accommodation for the first year of their course. The College can normally house overseas and EU graduates and clinical medicine and veterinary medicine students for the duration of their course. PhD students from the UK and Ireland may get accommodation in their second and third years if they come sufficiently high in the rooms ballot.
Graduate accommodation primarily consists of houses of four or more graduates sharing cooking facilities. With the exception of housing located near to Addenbrooke's Hospital (which is occupied mainly by clinical medical students working at the hospital and PGCE students, who work at the Faculty of Education), almost all College accommodation is located within 10-15 minutes' walk of the main College site. The standard of accommodation varies between houses, but most rooms contain a washbasin, a computer socket and a telephone socket. Cooking facilities consist of a minimum of a grill, electric rings, and fridge, although many houses also contain freezers, ovens and microwaves. One house, Suffolk House on Milton Road has en-suite bathrooms.
Private sector student accommodation in Cambridge is widely available, but can be costly. Students wishing to live in private accommodation may make use of the University Accommodation Syndicate and the Graduate Union property service, which offer information on houses and individual rooms for rent.
Emmanuel has a large graduate common room in the beautiful Queen's Building; the MCR (the graduate society) is very lively and supportive. It has recently adopted a new constitution, which gives it greater autonomy within the College's Amalgamated Clubs structure, and a larger allocation of funds. In addition to its occasional special meetings, the MCR organises regular graduate dinners which are subsidised by the College and to which Fellows of the College are invited. All student facilities are available to graduates: these include the Library, orchestra, choir, cinema shows, bar, laundrettes, sports field, Boat Club, tennis courts, television, swimming pool, record library and music practice rooms. For suitably competent pianists there is the opportunity to play the Bösendorfer grand piano.
Finance
The combination of fees, living expenses and, in many cases, previous debt can seem a formidable challenge to starting graduate study. The College therefore tries to alleviate the financial problems of its graduate students where possible. It is able to offer graduate students grants towards attending one or more conference during their course of study, and there is also provision for students who need to conduct fieldwork outside Cambridge. Graduates may apply on the same terms as undergraduates for the College's Hardship Funds.
Various awards and bursaries are also available on a competitive basis. One full-cost Derek Brewer Ph.D. studentship (or more than one part-cost studentship) and two M.Phil. studentships will be offered most years. One or more part-cost Benson & Carslaw Scholarships (maximum award £4,000 per year) will be offered each year to students from Commonwealth countries. Some six External Research Studentships of £600 per annum are awarded to graduates admitted from other universities. Full-cost studentships only cover home or EU (not overseas) fees and the Ph.D. studentship is primarily intended for home or EU students, although overseas applicants may be considered if there are no suitable home or EU applicants. All these awards are only available to applicants who put Emmanuel as first choice on their Graduate Application Form. Applicants should also have applied for the relevant national awards (e.g. Research Council studentships) and Cambridge University awards (e.g. CHESS or CISS). Application letters should be sent by 30th June to the Graduate Tutor together with a C.V., all available university exam results, a one-page research proposal (or for a purely taught course an explanation of why you want to do the course) and an account of what other funding you intend to apply for or is already available. Applicants should also arrange for two references to be sent direct to the Graduate Tutor.
For Ph.D. students in their fourth or higher year, the College and the University normally agree to waive their fees. For those whose study qualifies them, there is the possibility of a limited amount of paid employment supervising undergraduates or conducting laboratory demonstrations. Arrangements for laboratory demonstrating are usually made through University Departments, but students who want to do undergraduate supervisions should approach the relevant College Directors of Studies in the first instance.
Emmanuel is also willing to accept part-time students who have been accepted by the University.
Research Fellowships
The College makes three elections annually to Research Fellowships, if candidates of sufficient merit present themselves. Tenure of the Fellowships will be for three years. Fellowships are normally awarded to postdoctoral candidates or to those nearing completion of their PhD work. Enquiries about Fellowships should be addressed to the Research Fellowship Secretary.
Further Information
All applications should be made to the University's Board of Graduate Studies on the Graduate Application Form. The College only gets to consider an application once the applicant has been accepted by the relevant University Faculty or Department. The Board of Graduate Studies also provides the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions concerning admission as a graduate student to Cambridge and a Graduate Studies Prospectus can be ordered online. Queries concerning admission to Emmanuel should be directed in the first instance to the Graduate Tutor's Secretary, Ann Shannon.