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Natural Sciences Tripos

 

Please note: Every effort has been made to ensure that the course costs given below for courses within the Natural Sciences Tripos were accurate at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to review and revise the costs without prior notification and you are advised that their publication here serves only as an indicator of course costs for current and future years. The publication of this information does not form part of any contractual arrangement of costs associated with studying at the University.

General Tripos requirements

Essential University-approved calculator approx £25
Essential
for some courses
labcoat
Safety spectacles
approx £13-£16
approx £4 - £7
Essential

a laptop
It is recommended not using a Chromebook as they do not support some software used on the course, including digital assessment.

cost, if purchased new, will depend on choice, e.g. £400+, but existing laptops, if less than 4 years old, are likely to be fine.
Non-essential books etc., as advised in course documentation at student's discretion
library books are available
Non-essential specialist equipment can be borrowed if necessary

Costs for individual courses

The following courses have direct additional costs to students associated with them:

Part IA Earth Sciences

 

Essential

One-week field course (Arran: Easter Vacation)

Estimated Cost: £115

Part IA Evolution & Behaviour

 

Non-essential, but desiarble

One-week field course, Slapton Ley in Devon or Dale Fort in Pembrokeshire. Easter Vacation Mar/Apr).

£50 + travel costs

Part IB Earth Sciences A and B

 

Essential

Ten-day mapping course (Cumbria: Long Vacation before course)

£115
Essential

Ten-day field course (South West England: Easter Vacation)

Estimated cost: £125
Part IB Ecology, Evolution & Conservation  
Highly desirable Ten-day field course, Juniper Hall in Surrey. Long Vacation (Jun/Jul) to work on an individual project. £100 + travel costs

Part IB Plant and Microbial Sciences

 

Non-essential but highly desirable

one-week field course (Portugal: Easter Vacation)

Estimated cost: £150

Part II Earth Sciences

 

Essential

Ten-day mapping course (Skye: Long Vacation prior to course)

Estimated cost: £135

Essential

Eight-day tectonics field course [same as Physics Part III below] (Greece: Christmas Vacation)

Estimated cost: £180

Essential

One-month individual project fieldwork (Long Vacation prior to course)

Any costs above £400.  Total cost depends on choice of location. (Students are eligible to apply for college travel funds to support the costs of this trip)

Part II Zoology

 

Non-essential

Two-week field course, Kota Kinabalu and Sabah in Borneo, Malaysia or Gamboa, in Panama. Long Vacation (Sept) to work on an individual project.

£600 but students on a full Cambridge bursary will not be charged. Travel grants often available from colleges.

Part III Earth Sciences

 

Essential

Individual project.  May involve optional fieldwork costs.

any costs associated with optional fieldwork

Essential

one-week field course (Spain: Easter Vacation)

Estimated cost: £160

Part III Physics

 

Non-essential part of a Major Topic

Eight-day tectonics field course [same as Earth Sciences Part II above] (Greece: Christmas Vacation)

Estimated cost: £180