Please read the guidance on your list carefully; it is unlikely that you will be expected to read or buy everything but there may be one or two key texts that your Department or Faculty would like you to have access to before/at the start of term. You may find other resources listed on there as freely available.
When you arrive in Cambridge you will have access to the collections in the college Library. Most of these books are to support taught courses and so you may find that you don't need to buy many books, if any, depending on your course. Some items on the lists may require you to login, for example e-books and journal articles; if that is the case you'll get those details later in the summer when all places have been confirmed. If you can't find the list for your course and would like some suggested reading, please contact the undergraduate administrator and they will ask your Director of Studies.
Tips for using pre-arrival reading lists for new undergraduate students:
- The lists tend to open and function better in Chrome and Firefox (and less well in Edge and Safari).
- Once you open a reading list, do not then try to use the resulting URL to open the list again. The reading list will not open from that URL. You always need to use the URL on this page to open your list.
- Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic
- Archaeology
- Architecture
- Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
- Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
- Classics
- Computer Science
- Education
- Engineering
- English
- Geography
- History
- History and Modern Languages
- History and Politics
- History of Art
- Land Economy
- Law
- Linguistics (MMLL)
- Medicine | Cell Biology Notes (PDF)
- MMLL French
- MMLL German beginners
- MMLL German post A level
- MMLL Italian beginners
- MMLL Italian post A level
- MMLL Portuguese beginners
- MMLL Portuguese post A level
- MMLL Russian beginners
- MMLL Russian post A level
- MMLL Spanish beginners
- MMLL Spanish post A level
- Music
- Natural Sciences Biological
- Natural Sciences Physcial | Isaac Physics Resources
- Philosophy
- Political and International Relations
- Psychology (PBS)
- Social Anthropology
- Sociology
- Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion
- Veterinary Medicine
If you are keen to find out more about how you will learn at Cambridge, have a look at CamGuides for Undergraduates.
