St Edmund's College, Cambridge

What St Edmund's College, Cambridge does

St Edmund's College, Cambridge is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge, established in 1896 as a hostel for Roman Catholic students previously excluded from full Cambridge membership and incorporated as a corporate body under a Royal Charter granted in 1998. The College is the only full Cambridge or Oxford college with a post-Reformation Roman Catholic founding, and it operates as a registered charity (number 1137454) governed by a Master and approximately 56 Fellows. Its core business is delivering Cambridge undergraduate and postgraduate degrees to mature students aged 21 and over, alongside a free fully-funded Cambridge Foundation Year programme, the Cambridge 21+ outreach programme, and three embedded research and education institutes — the Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry, the co-founded Faraday Institute for Science and Religion (2006), and an affiliation with the Woolf Institute.

The College runs a residential model on a compact 10-acre campus in Cambridge's West End, with over 300 rooms (including around 200 en-suites and family flats) and guaranteed on-campus accommodation for single undergraduates across the duration of study. The community totals nearly 1,000 members, comprising over 700 undergraduate and postgraduate students from more than 80 nationalities and around 250 senior academics and professional members supported by approximately 70 staff.

Revenue is generated through a combination of recurring annual streams — tuition fees (£9,790/year for home undergraduates, £13,440/year college fee for overseas students, plus course-dependent overseas tuition), accommodation rental, termly catering credits (£155/term for full-time students), and Combination Room dues — alongside one-off payments (a £52 lifetime alumni society fee), charitable donations and endowment income (held through the Cambridge University Endowment Fund), and venue hire and catering from the Conferences and Events team. Distribution is anchored by partnership with the central University of Cambridge admissions process via UCAS, supplemented by direct outreach through open days, virtual tours, the Chat with Students programme, and the Cambridge 21+ residential. Pricing is set externally for home tuition and varies by course for overseas students, with no proprietary technology platform or AI capabilities disclosed.

Name

St Edmund's College, Cambridge

Legal name

The Master, Fellows and Scholars of St Edmund's College in the University of Cambridge

Website

https://st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1896

Operating status

Operating

Short description

St Edmund's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded 1896, offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees exclusively to mature students aged 21 and over, alongside the Cambridge Foundation Year and Cambridge 21+ programmes on a 10-acre Cambridge campus serving over 700 students from 80+ nationalities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Religiously Affiliated Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Denominational Theological Colleges (e.g., Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical) (EDAHAKAM)

Keywords

• Higher education
• Mature student college
• University accommodation
• Postgraduate research
• Undergraduate programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition Fees: Home students pay £9,790/year for first degree; £13,842/year for additional degree. Overseas students pay course-dependent fees plus £13,440 college fee.
2. Accommodation Fees: Rental charges for on-campus accommodation including single rooms, en-suite rooms, and family flats. Details on accommodation web pages.
3. Catering Charges: Compulsory catering credit charges (£155/term for full-time students) for dining hall and coffee shop access, with unused balance reclaimable after Easter Term.
4. Alumni Society Fee: One-time charge of £52 at matriculation for lifetime alumni society membership.
5. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations from alumni and supporters to support college mission, student funding, and areas of need.
6. Conferencing and Events: Venue hire and catering services for external events through conference and events team.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

St Edmund's College provides higher education services to mature students (aged 21 and over) as a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs across 30+ subjects, foundation year preparation courses, on-campus accommodation, catering services, and venue hire for conferences and events. It is the only full Cambridge college with a post-Reformation Roman Catholic founding and serves over 700 students from 80+ nationalities.

Product overview

St Edmund's College, Cambridge is a mature student college of the University of Cambridge offering undergraduate and postgraduate education for students aged 21 and over. The college provides a portfolio of educational programmes including undergraduate degree courses, postgraduate research and taught programmes, the Cambridge Foundation Year Programme (a free one-year residential preparation course), and the Cambridge 21+ Programme (a hybrid residential outreach programme). Supporting the core academic offerings are the Von Hügel Institute (VHI) for interdisciplinary research in ethics and global realities, college accommodation services (guaranteed for all single undergraduates), conference and events venues, and alumni relations with fundraising support. The college is the only full Cambridge (and Oxford) college with a post-Reformation Roman Catholic founding, established in 1896.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Von Hügel Institute (VHI): An Institute of Critical Catholic Inquiry engaged in interdisciplinary research focused on ethics and contemporary global realities, dedicated to encounter, dialogue and transformation.

Products and services

• Undergraduate Studies Undergraduate degree programs for mature students aged 21 and over, offering 30+ courses including Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic to Veterinary Medicine, including affiliate and second-degree options. Presented for University of Cambridge degrees.
• Postgraduate Studies Graduate-level degree programs and research opportunities for mature students, including PhDs and taught master's courses across all University of Cambridge disciplines, including Graduate Medicine and postgraduate research degrees.
• Von Hügel Institute (VHI) An Institute of Critical Catholic Inquiry engaged in interdisciplinary research focused on ethics and contemporary global realities, dedicated to encounter, dialogue and transformation. Based within St Edmund's College.
• Cambridge Foundation Year Programme A free and fully funded one-year residential course designed to offer a stepping stone into Cambridge for those who have experienced educational disadvantage.
• Cambridge 21+ Programme A hybrid residential programme for mature students (21+) with home fee status who have not previously completed an undergraduate degree, providing taste of Cambridge student life and application support, including virtual sessions April-May covering Cambridge application process, academic skills, and funding.
• College Accommodation Services On-campus accommodation with over 300 rooms including 200 en-suites and family-friendly flats. Single undergraduate students are guaranteed accommodation for the duration of their studies. Includes single rooms, en-suite rooms, and family flats.
• Conferences and Events Services Venue hire, fine dining, and catering services for external events, including rooms and facilities available for conferences, available through the College's conference and events team.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 700 students from 80+ nationalities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Von Hügel InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1896Internal research institute of St Edmund's College for Critical Catholic Inquiry, engaged in interdisciplinary research focused on ethics and contemporary global realities, dedicated to encounter, dialogue and transformation. Continues the college's Royal Charter objective to promote contributions from the Catholic Church.
• Woolf InstitutestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollege affiliation with Woolf Institute, dedicated to improving relations between religion and society through education.
• Faraday Institute for Science and ReligionstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollege affiliation with Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. Co-founded by St Edmund's in 2006, focused on academic work on relationship between Christianity and society.
• University of CambridgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt Edmund's is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, providing education in conjunction with the University. College presents students for University degrees.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Clare Hall, Cambridge: Direct peer — the fourth graduate college founded in 1966 alongside St Edmund's, with a shared emphasis on advanced study, mature scholars, and a small, research-intensive community.
• Wolfson College, Cambridge: Direct peer — one of the four original graduate colleges co-established with St Edmund's in 1965, with comparable mature/postgraduate focus and similar admissions flexibility for older students.
• Kellogg College, University of Oxford: Direct peer — Oxford's largest graduate and part-time college, serving a similarly mature, professionally diverse student body with modular and part-time study pathways comparable to St Edmund's mature-student positioning.
• Wolfson College, University of Oxford: Direct peer — Oxford's largest graduate college with a focus on mature and international students, offering comparable postgraduate taught and research pathways for non-traditional learners.
• Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge: Direct peer — a Cambridge college focused on mature students with a particular emphasis on access and widening participation, competing for the same non-traditional applicant pool St Edmund's targets.
• Hughes Hall, Cambridge: Direct peer — a Cambridge mature college founded in 1885, explicitly admitting students aged 21+, directly competing for the same mature undergraduate and postgraduate applicants as St Edmund's.
• Darwin College, Cambridge: Direct peer — founded in 1964 as one of the four original Cambridge graduate colleges alongside St Edmund's, sharing a similar mature-student, research-led identity and small college scale.
• Homerton College, Cambridge: Direct peer — a Cambridge college with a strong tradition of admitting mature and access students, including offering education degrees and second undergraduate degrees, overlapping with St Edmund's mature undergraduate offering.
• St Antony's College, University of Oxford: Direct peer — Oxford's international graduate college with a strong international and interdisciplinary focus, comparable to St Edmund's globally diverse mature and postgraduate community.

Regional players

• Heythrop College (historical) / Newman University: Regional peer — UK Catholic higher education institution with a comparable Catholic intellectual heritage and tradition of liberal arts education, thematically aligned with St Edmund's Catholic founding identity (Heythrop closed in 2019; Newman University is its nearest active Catholic HE successor).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/StEdmundsCollegeCambridge/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/StEdmundsCollege
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/11323003
• Instagraminstagram.com/stedmundscam
• Xx.com/StEdmundsCam

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about St Edmund's College, Cambridge