Glossary of Terms

Tripos/Tripos subject	this is the name given to Cambridge degree subjects - for example, English or Modern and Medieval Languages, or Natural Sciences.
Faculty	the Cambridge term for a department - for example, History, Chemistry, Engineering, etc., though the term often used interchangeably with "Department".
Faculty buildings	are where lectures are housed, and, often, departmental libraries.
Coursework	the term for take-home exam papers for which students have to do independent research.
Supervision	this is a small-group or one-to-one teaching session with a lecturer in the subject.
Papers	these are the classes available within each Tripos subject - for example 20th century European History is a class in the Historical Tripos. Papers are taught through a combination of supervisions (see above), lectures and sometimes seminars.

Note: Cambridge University sets Tripos degrees/subjects and all students must study one Tripos subject - a list of those offered at the University can be found here. Students gain entry to the University through a college - for example Pembroke, Clare, Corpus Christi, etc - and colleges offer most, but usually not all, Tripos subjects. Pembroke does not, however, offer Geography or Education Studies.

This page, http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/admiss/ug/overseas/oneyear/glossary/, was printed on Wednesday 16 May 2012 at 9.20pm.
If you are relying on information on this printout significantly after this date, please check the website to ensure that it has not been superseded.
Last updated: Monday 9 August 2010 at 11.30am.
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