Whether you’re sure of the career you want to pursue when you graduate or you’re looking to explore your options, we’ll help you to prepare for your future.

• 89% of our students who responded to the Graduate Outcomes Survey were in work or further study within 15 months of graduating¹
• Top 10 in the UK for graduate prospects (Complete University Guide 2021)

Transferable skills
The majority of graduate employers recruit students with any degree discipline. It’s the flexibility of your degree, as well as the range of transferable skills that you develop, that are of interest to employers.

Cambridge students are typically ambitious, intelligent, motivated, hard-working, passionate, committed, curious, intellectually creative, independent thinkers, and able to manage their time effectively. Employers know this and look for the same attributes in potential new employees, which is why our graduates are so sought after.   

Dedicated support and guidance
Once you’re at Cambridge, you can work with our dedicated Careers Service from day one to explore your career options. The team of experienced and impartial careers advisers can help you connect with employers and navigate the complex job market, saving you time and maximising your employability prospects. The Careers Service run a range of workshops on topics including choosing a career, cover letters, applications and getting ready for interviews. They also organise more than 200 careers events and briefing and skills sessions, and typically around 15 major careers fairs each year.

Internships and work experience
Our industry connections provide a range of opportunities for you to undertake work experience, enhancing your CV ready for graduation. Thousands of opportunities are publicised across all sectors on the Careers Service’s Handshake site, with bursaries offered to support unpaid opportunities with charities.

Networking opportunities
The Careers Service’s alumni database, GradLink, will give you access to contact details for over 1,200 Cambridge alumni working in a huge range of industries who can offer first-hand advice. The Service also runs more than 50 employment-related skills training sessions and can offer information on occupations, further study courses and funding.

Graduate employment destinations
Our graduates go on to work in a wide range of industries, from social work and education, to legal activities and finance. The list below shows the top ten occupations of respondents to the Graduate Outcomes Survey (15 months after graduation).¹

Medical practitioner

1. Programmer/software development professional
2. Management consultants and business analysts
3. Finance and investment analysts and advisers
4. Marketing associate professionals
5. Business and related associate professionals
6. Secondary education teaching professionals
7. Primary and nursery teaching professionals
8. University researchers
9. Higher education teaching professionals

UK announces 2-year post-study work visa for international Students

Class XII school leaving qualifications are not considered to be suitable preparation for a competitive application to the University of Cambridge.

Applications from students taking Class XII school leaving qualifications from any exam board will only be considered competitive if they are accompanied by additional qualifications. Details are given below about the typical qualifications and levels expected to be achieved in addition to a very high level of performance in Class XII:

College Board Advanced Placement Tests - offers for all Cambridge courses (though please see the note on Mathematics under STEP below) may be made conditional on achieving grades of 5 in five or more AP Tests
IIT-JEE (Advanced) - offers for Chemical Engineering, Engineering, Natural Sciences (Physical) may be made conditional on a rank of <2000 in the IIT JEE (Advanced)
STEP - offers for Mathematics will be conditional on achievement in the Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP). STEP may also be required for offers for other subjects, such as Computer Science, Engineering, and Economics, where attainment equivalent to A-Level Mathematics and/or Further Mathematics cannot be demonstrated by any other means. For more details on STEP please see here. Please note that all Mathematics offers will have a STEP condition attached (including for applicants taking AP Tests or the IIT JEE)
Applicants studying towards Class XII will be expected to be on course to attain grades at a very high level in relevant subjects to the course being applied to. Grades expected depend on the Board with which you are studying, examples of typical requirement from some example boards are detailed below:

CISCE and NIOS - applicants will require scores of 90% or higher in five or more relevant subjects
CBSE - applicants will require five or more A1 grades in relevant subjects
State Boards - applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis, however applicants will typically require scores of 95% or equivalent in five or more relevant subjects.

IELTS Academic1 – normally a minimum overall grade of 7.5, usually with 7.0 or above in each element
TOEFL Internet Based Test (IBT) – normally a minimum overall score of 110, with 25 or above in each element
EU students – a high grade in English taken as part of a leaving exam (eg the European/French Baccalaureate, Abitur etc) may be acceptable
Cambridge English: C2 Proficiency – accepted with a minimum overall score of 200, with no element lower than 185.
Cambridge English: C1 Advanced – accepted with a minimum overall score of 193, with no element lower than 185, plus an assessment by the Language Centre. Following assessment the University Language Centre may advise further action from the applicant (eg enrolment at one of the Language Centre courses, or completion of an IELTS test).
Singapore Integrated Programme (SIP) – may be considered an acceptable English language qualification