Welcome to our Cambridge campus
Our friendly, bustling campus is a stone’s throw from the centre of Cambridge, often described as the perfect student city.
Cambridge has been renowned as a centre of learning since the 13th century. It’s a beautiful city with outstanding architecture, a picturesque riverside setting, bags of history and culture, and a buzzing social scene.
Interested in seeing Cambridge for yourself? Come along and explore. Book on to one of our open days or join one of our weekly campus tours. We’d love to welcome you to our campus.
Our campus: past, present and future
We’ve been here since 1858 when Cambridge School of Art first opened its doors. The art school grew to become Anglia Ruskin University and it’s still at the heart of our modern-day campus on East Road. Surrounding the red-brick Victorian building, with its vaulted ceilings and light-filled studios, is a host of new facilities. You’ll find:
- our Business School, which wraps around a tree-filled central courtyard
- high-quality study facilities – lecture theatres of course, but also a mock law court, forensic science labs, and a TV studio
- a dedicated Science Centre featuring molecular biology and psychology labs, a 220-seat SuperLab, and five crime scene rooms
- the university library and open access computer area
- cafés and roof terraces
- the Mumford Theatre and Ruskin Gallery
- a range of services including our Students’ Union shop, medical centre, gym, ARU Temps, and finance and accommodation offices.
Just around the corner from campus, there's our dedicated healthcare site on Young Street, which houses state-of-the-art clinical skills labs including mock hospital wards, and a child nursing and midwifery ward.
Meanwhile Compass House – a short walk along East Road – features audio and music technology recording studios, sport and exercise science labs, and computer science/gaming labs.
We've invested £100 million in our facilities in the past five years, and plan to invest a further £91 million over the next five years.
A great place to study
Our Cambridge campus has a personality all its own. We have more than 10,000 students here on a mix of undergraduate and postgraduate, full-time and part-time courses. About a quarter of our students come from outside the UK.
As well as the internationally renowned arts courses offered by Cambridge School of Art, we’re home to students of English language and literature, linguistics, film and television production, and music.
Cambridge is also home to our School of Economics, Finance and Law; our Health Building which trains the nurses, midwives and paramedics of the future; and an array of science, psychology, computing and technology courses.
It’s an eclectic mix – and we love it.
Our courses are recognised by industry, with a large number being professionally accredited. So, whether you’re interested in English or economics, fine art or finance, we’ll help you work towards your ambitions.
World-class teaching and research
As well as our students, the Cambridge campus is home to a large academic community.
We think you’ll be inspired by our bright and highly motivated tutors. Our teaching staff hold or have been nominated for a number of prestigious higher education awards, either for teaching itself or their subject expertise.
Add to this our growing reputation for world-leading research. You’ll find four high-profile research institutes here: the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research (CIMTR), Global Sustainability Institute (GSI), Medical Technology Research Centre (MTRC), StoryLab, and the Vision and Eye Research Institute (VERI). The GSI focuses on issues surrounding climate change and sustainability, while StoryLab experiments with modern, multimodal approaches to storytelling. CIMTR explores music therapy and its effect on our health and wellbeing; the MTRC concentrates on medical technologies, life sciences and clinical research; and VERI carries out groundbreaking work on eye disease – and can offer you free eye tests at its campus eye clinic.
Alongside these institutes is a range of research units, dedicated to subjects as diverse as children's literature, ecology and political history.
Life on campus... and off
There's always something happening on campus, and whatever you're studying, you'll be close to social spaces, cafes, and Students' Union fun.
We're also just a five-minute walk from the centre of Cambridge and everything the city has to offer.
Here's an overview of some of the facilities and events on campus.
As well as the eateries below, vending facilities are available across campus.
Find out how our Catering Service supports our Sustainability Strategy in our Sustainable Food Policy.
The Eatery
The Eatery offers up a feast for campus foodies. Pick up fresh sandwiches at the deli bar. Visit our food booths for a globally inspired hot lunch. Swing by The Market Place for coffee, snacks and sandwiches on the go. Find The Eatery on the ground floor of the Helmore Building.
Blend
For a coffee hit on campus, head to Blend. Using artisan batch roasted coffee, our team of baristas can whip up anything from a flat white to an iced oat milk latte. Alongside your favourite coffee you can also grab homemade cakes, sandwiches, and freshly baked pastries. Find Blend on the 1st floor of the Helmore Building, using the stairs by Helmore Reception.
The Hatch
Pop by The Hatch for a hot lunch on the go. Find The Hatch on the ground floor of the Lord Ashcroft Building, near the library.
If you’re a first-year undergraduate, the chances are you’ll live on campus in halls. With fellow students living nearby in private accommodation, you’ll find there’s always plenty going on.
You can pop into our Students’ Union lounge, which hosts live music and club nights. The SU also supports around 100 student-led societies – together, they host a wide range of events throughout the year.
You can also enjoy a year-round programme of exhibitions at the Ruskin Gallery, including regular shows of students’ work.
Meanwhile, the centre of Cambridge is a five-minute walk away. There’s a wealth of things to do in our city; visit the Living in Cambridge page for more information.
All students can make use of the health and fitness facilities on campus in Cambridge:
- Helmore Gym, our campus gym featuring a range of cardiovascular and lifting equipment
- fitness classes, which take place in Helmore Gym and are included in the price of all gym memberships. Alternatively, you can take part on a pay-as-you-go-basis
- a tennis court.
If you're interested in playing competitively, consider joining one of our sports clubs. Or, if you simply want to have fun and try some new things, there are 'turn up and play' Campus Sport sessions throughout the year.
There are a number of quiet spaces on the Cambridge campus:
- Library third floor (silent study)
- Sensory rooms (accessible to students registered with our Disability and Dyslexia Team)
- Ruskin Green outside space
- Multi faith prayer, meditation, and quiet room.