You will need to provide the details of two referees in your online application, including their email addresses.
You must nominate your referees using their institutional email addresses. If you need to nominate a professional referee, you will need to use their professional email address (see table below).
Make sure you have the correct email address for each referee and that they are willing to provide a reference for you.
Your referees will have to submit references for you in English via our Online Referee Portal.
In addition to providing a reference, all referees will be asked to make a judgement of you in the following areas:
- your performance to date
- your potential to be original, creative and/or independent of thought
- your suitability for the course you are applying to
Therefore, it is important to select a referee who knows you and your work well enough to make an evaluation based on the bullet points above.
In general, we would expect at least one of your references to relate to your current or most recent course of study (where applicable).
You can send reminders to your referees through the ’Manage References’ section in the Applicant Portal. You will be notified once your references are submitted.
For your application to be considered, we need to receive all your references before the course deadline or your application will be withdrawn.
If you wish to be considered for funding, all your references must be received before the funding deadline.
We cannot:
- accept references sent by the applicant
- accept references sent by post
- use references from any previous application you have made
- send reminders to referees or contact them to chase outstanding references (you can do this yourself via the Applicant Portal)
Who should you nominate as a referee?
|
You |
Your first referee |
Your second referee |
|---|---|---|
|
You are currently studying or have recently finished studying. |
A tutor or supervisor from your most recent degree course is preferred (if they are able to sufficiently comment on your academic ability). Alternatively, a tutor or supervisor from your undergraduate level (if you have finished a postgraduate course as well). |
A tutor from your most recent degree course OR from your previous course if you have a master's degree. |
|
You left higher education more than three years ago and are unable to nominate two academic referees from your previous studies. |
A member of academic staff from your most recent higher education course. |
Your employer or another person who can testify to your abilities in a professional context. |
|
You left higher education over six years ago and are unable to nominate two academic referees from your previous studies. |
Your employer or another person who can testify to your abilities in a professional context. |
Your employer or another person who can testify to your abilities in a professional context. |
References are supplied to Cambridge in confidence and as such are exempt from the right of access provisions of data protection legislation (UK GDPR). References will not be passed on to third parties or provided to applicants.