Teaching Excellence

At the heart of a Cambridge education is the supervision system.  Supervisions create a unique environment, one which gives students individual contact with those at the cutting edge of their field, and demands that they come prepared to engage thoughtfully and creatively with the subject at hand.  By learning in this way, our students develop self-confidence, critical thinking skills, intellectual curiosity and mental agility: qualities which set them apart for the rest of their lives.  The supervision system has for very many years been the cornerstone of a Cambridge education, but this system is coming under immense pressure as the method of funding higher education in the UK changes.

The Annual Fund seeks to raise funds for student support.  Students who matriculated this autumn are paying fees of £9,250 a year on top of living expenses, and with this increase it is clear that the current levels of support provided by the University and the College will soon be insufficient.  Selwyn has made it a priority to raise funds to ensure that no student feels as though Cambridge is beyond his or her financial reach. 

Individual attention

Individual and small group teaching is a very expensive method of education.  Cambridge and Oxford have the highest staff to student ratios across the UK and on average a Cambridge degree costs £21,000 a year to provide.  

Selwyn is determined to make sure that all our students, regardless of the subject they are studying, are given the highest quality teaching possible, and to do this we need to be able to attract and support the best academics and researchers. 

To support the supervision system, please donate here.

Click here to return to our current priorities.