Glossary
of Cambridge jargonGlossary
of Cambridge jargonAbsit - an extinct permission, granted by a Tutor, for a student to be away from Cambridge during the day.
Act - successful candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine are said to have kept the Act.
Accommodation Syndicate - formerly the Lodgings Syndicate.
ADC - the Amateur Dramatic Club, the leading university drama society; their Theatre.
Addenbrooke's - the main hospital in Cambridge. See also: Old Addenbrooke's.
Admission - the act of granting and receiving a degree.
ADR - Assistant Director of Research.
Aegrotat - a declaration by the university that a student deserved to have passed a failed examination, usually on account of illness.
AFCU - American Friends of Cambridge University.
AHEC - Anglia Higher Education College. Formerly CCAT, now Anglia Polytechnic University.
Affiliated Student - a graduate of another university who can take the Cambridge B.A. degree in two years rather than three.
Alumni Cantabrigiensis - biographical directory of all members of Cambridge University who matriculated before 1901, by J. & J. A. Venn.
Alumnus - a former student of the university. Plural alumni.
Amalgamated Clubs - (abbrev Amal Clubs) alternative form of United Clubs.
American Friends [of Cambridge University] - an alumnus association of former Cambridge University members now in the USA.
Apostles - university discussion society founded in the 1820s.
Appointments Board - former name of the Careers Service.
Approved Foundation - a collegiate body which has not yet quite made it as a full College of the University. The only Approved Foundation currently is: Hughes Hall.
Approved Society - a collegiate body which is affiliated to the University and can matriculate students only under certain conditions. The only Affiliated Society at the moment is Homerton College.
APU (i) - Anglia Polytechnic University.
APU (ii) - MRC Applied Psychology Unit.
Arch & Anth - Archaeology and Anthropology.
Arts (i) in opposition to science, a reference to the Arts and Humanities.
Arts (ii) the Arts Theatre or the Arts Cinema.
Arts School - a university building on Bene't Street containing the Scientific Periodicals Library, the Philosophical Society, and lecture rooms used for mathematics teaching.
Arts Theatre - a theatre in Peas Hill.
ASNC (or ASNaC) - Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic.
Assessor - an assistant to an Examiner.
Assistant Director of Research - a university appointment more senior than a Senior Assistant in Research.
Assistant in Research - a university appointment, the lowest established research post. Not to be confused with a Research Assistant.
Assistant Lecturer - the lowest grade of lecturer appointment in the university. See also: Demonstrator.
Assistant Staff - the non-academic staff of the University.
Athletics Syndicate - university committee dispensing assistance to university sports clubs.
Audit - annual check of a college's finances; formerly the occasion at which a dividend was declared; at some colleges an Audit Feast was held in celebration.
Austin - a building on the New Museums Site.
AVA - Audio-Visual Aids.
Awarder - person responsible for making grants or awarding scholarships, exhibitions, or studentships from certain funds.
This compilation is Copyright (C) R.D.H. Walker 1991-97. rdhw@cam.ac.uk