Statutes and Ordinances

The Statutes and Ordinances provide the constitutional framework that allows the University to govern its affairs. The Statutes contain the fundamental constitutional and governance provisions of the University and are subject to approval by Her Majesty in Council. Special Ordinances contain detailed provisions arising from the governance framework provided in the Statutes. Ordinances are detailed regulations and procedures covering all aspects of University business. Revised editions of the Statutes and Ordinances are published annually (usually in October) and previous editions, from 2008 to the present, are available below for reference. Amendments, published in the Reporter throughout the year, are also collated below on a termly basis.

Publication of Statutes and Ordinances 2020

The complete 2020 edition of the Statutes and Ordinances is now available in PDF format from the links below. This 2020 edition, published in March 2021 following delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, incorporates all amendents approved during the 2019–20 academic year. The interim November 2020 edition, incorporating changes made from 1 October 2019 to 16 April 2020, has been archived.

Statutes and Ordinances, 2020 [complete edition]

The links below are to the relevant section of the PDF of the 2020 edition, which incorporates changes approved from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020.

Statutes and Ordinances, 2020 Edition

COMPLETE VOLUME (pp. i–1136)	\|	7.34 MB file size

Contents and preliminaries	\|	including title page, imprints, historical note, seals, and preface - 156 KB file size
Index to the Statutes and Ordinances	\|	115 KB file size

Statutes

PDF files	S&O Page Nos	File size
Statute A: The Chancellor and the Government of the University	3–13	81 KB
Statute B: Membership of the University and Degrees	14–15	36 KB
Statute C: University Offices and Employment in the University	16–21	50 KB
Schedule to Statute C: Academic Staff	22–27	46 KB
Statute D: Discipline, the University Courts, and Disciplinary Panels	28–30	39 KB
Statute E: Trusts	31–45	103 KB
Statute F: Finance, Audit, Planning and Resource Allocation, Property and Buildings	46	28 KB
Statute G: Colleges and Collegiate Foundations	47–52	55 KB
Statute J: The University Press	53	27 KB
Passages from Acts of Parliament relating to the University of Cambridge, Procedure for making a Statute for a College, Rules of Procedure made by the Commissary under Statute A IX 7	54–61	59 KB

Special Ordinances

PDF files	S&O Page Nos	File size
Special Ordinances under Statute A: The Chancellor and the Government of the University	65–71	57 KB
Special Ordinances under Statute B: Membership of the University and Degrees	72	73 KB
Special Ordinances under Statute C: University Offices and Employment in the University	72–96	172 KB
Special Ordinances under Statute D: Discipline and the University Courts	96–100	100 KB
Special Ordinances under Statute G: Colleges and Collegiate Foundations	100	47 KB

Ordinances

PDF files	S&O Page Nos	File size
Chapter I: The Chancellor and the Government of the University	103–163	2.07 MB
Chapter II: Matriculation, Residence, Admission to Degrees, Discipline, Conduct, Complaints	164–242	417 KB
Chapter III: Examinations	243–257	92 KB
Chapter IV: Preliminary Examinations and Tripos Examinations	258–440	866 KB
Chapter V: B.A. Degree and M.A. Degree	441–442	31 KB
Chapter VI: Graduate Students [rescinded]	443	16 KB
Chapter VII: Degrees, Diplomas, and Other Qualifications	444–601	751 KB
Chapter VIII: Schools and Councils of the Schools	602–606	45 KB
Chapter IX: Faculties, Departments, and Other Institutions under the Supervision of the General Board	607–675	356 KB
Chapter X: Institutions under the Supervision of the Council	676–677	32 KB
Chapter XI: University Offices and Grants of Title	678–769	441 KB
Chapter XII: Trusts	770–1044	1.36 MB
Chapter XIII: Finance and Property	1045–1081	357 KB
Chapter XIV: Colleges	1082–1109	128 KB
Chapter XV: Institutions Recognized under Statute G I	1110	16 KB
Appendix I: Procedures and Guidelines	1111–1114	43 KB

Amendments to the Statutes and Ordinances

Amendments to the Statutes and Ordinances will be published here, usually on a termly basis:

Previous Editions of the Statutes and Ordinances

Year: 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Nov 2020

The online editions of the Statutes and Ordinances from previous years are available above. These editions were published in October of the relevant year and DO NOT incorporate any amendments made during the subsequent academic year. The November 2020 edition incorporates amendments from 1 October 2019 to 16 April 2020 and is only available in pdf format.

In February 2014, the previous Statutes were repealed and new Statutes and Special Ordinances came into force. For ease of reference, a spreadsheet has been created to help with cross-referencing between the previous Statutes and the current Statutes and Special Ordinances: pdf version Excel spreadsheet. Appendix II of the Report of the Council on the Technical Review of the Statutes of 28 June 2012, which contains colour-coded cross-references and explanation, may also prove useful.