Top login menu

Murray Edwards College
University of Cambridge

Academic and Personal Development

  • Home
  • Main page content

    Photo of student Eleanor Deeley in Western Uganda
    Student Eleanor Deeley used Gateway Challenges Funding to volunteer in Uganda

    Students who study here expect to do well academically and in their chosen career paths. We provide the environment and the opportunities to make this possible, tailoring what we do to the outstanding young women we attract. Here are four current developments.

    1. Promoting effective learning and teaching

    We prioritise the educational experience and achievement of women by identifying and training strong supervisors and tutors. We complement this for students with popular workshops on effective learning using our own peer advisers, via our unique Gateway Programme. We promote wider understanding of the issues for women relating to implicit bias and stereotype threat. We create a vibrant academic atmosphere through subject societies, subject dinners and through our seminar series, Capitalism on the Edge, with wide relevance across disciplines and nationally renowned speakers.

    Our students thrive with the benefit of college provision alongside the fully co-educational environment of  lectures, practicals and seminars organised through the Departments and Faculties. 

    2. Supporting challenge

    Those with the confidence to tackle challenging situations and the resilience to remain positive will feel empowered to secure what they want in the future. Every year we provide financial support to over 50 students who are undertaking challenges of their choice during the Summer vacation. You can read some of their inspiring stories through the Gateways Challenges Blog.

    3. Opening the doors to career

    Many students have little idea about  the career they want nor how to find out about the many options available to them. Through our Gateway Programme we provide workshops about choice and practical sessions about CVs and networking. We complement these with opportunities to talk with alumnae in a wide range of roles and sectors and with opportunities for work placements.

    4. Talking science

    We want more able young women to consider studying science at university.  We ran a Women in Science Symposium in 2014 and have since established a ‘She Talks Science’ blog, a 'She Talks Science' report and ‘She Talks Science: Aiming High’ conference.  Both provide the opportunity for young women to talk about the science that interests them and to interact with others who have successfully chosen to follow this path. The blog and conference have helped to mark out our support for the particular issues faced by women in the sciences – an approach that continues during their time studying with us.