Introduction
The University of Cambridge¡¯s mission is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. It is made up of 31 colleges and more than 100 departments that cater for some 12,000 undergraduate and 6,000 postgraduate students. In a beautiful setting by the River Cam, Cambridge is famed for the architecture of its historic colleges but also for its wealth of modern research and teaching facilities. The University¡¯s reputation for outstanding academic achievement is known worldwide and reflects the intellectual achievement of its students, as well as the world-class original research carried out by the staff of the University and the Colleges. Some of the world¡¯s most significant scientific breakthroughs have occurred at the University, including the splitting of the atom, invention of the jet engine and the discoveries of stem cells, plate tectonics, pulsars and the structure of DNA. From Isaac Newton to Stephen Hawking, the University has nurtured some of history¡¯s greatest minds and has produced more Nobel Prize winners than any other UK institution with more than 80 laureates. Cambridge's great libraries and collections housed in eight world-class museums and in the colleges are scholarly resources of outstanding international significance. Cambridge attracts the brightest and best students, researchers and academics from across the world, with a student population drawn from 135 different countries.
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The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) is recognized as the precursor of global university rankings and the most trustworthy one. ARWU presents the world's top 1000 research universities annually based on transparent methodology and objective third-party data.
