Whichever College you’re at, you’ll have access to the same University-based lectures, practical classes and seminars which form the backbone of our degrees. Here at Caius, we offer our students lots of additional support. We have a very large number of teaching fellows, an academic skills support programme which is available to everyone, and many subject societies through which students explore their interests informally.  

At the heart of College teaching is the supervision. Supervisions are teaching sessions, either one-on-one or in small groups, with an expert in a relevant subject. This individual focus on each student is one of the greatest strengths of studying at Cambridge and it’s what makes our degrees really special. Caius has a relatively large number of fellows, which means that we can offer many supervisions in College, and one-to-one supervision remains fairly common.

Typically students have between one and four supervisions a week, each lasting an hour. What happens in a supervision varies from course to course, but usually students are expected to write an essay or work through some problems in advance. This work is then discussed in detail with the supervisor. Designed to help you develop the skills to learn independently, supervisions are a fantastic opportunity to explore course material in greater depth and clarify areas of uncertainty. They can also be tailored to your own interests and needs within your course.

At Caius, you’ll have a Director of Studies, a subject specialist whose role is to organise your supervisions and advise you on all aspects of your course. You’ll meet with your Director of Studies on a regular basis, and they will help you should any academic problems arise. This is another way that Cambridge provides the individual support and attention that will allow you to thrive academically.