Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
college of the University of Cambridge
Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century to the early 19th century it was also commonly known as Bene't College.
The college is notable as the only one founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guild of Corpus Christi and the Guild of the Blessed Virgin Mary, making it the sixth-oldest college in Cambridge. With around 300 undergraduates and 200 postgraduates, it also has the second smallest student body of the traditional colleges of the university, after Peterhouse.
The College has traditionally been one of the more academically successful colleges in the University of Cambridge. In the unofficial Tompkins Table, which ranks the colleges by the class of degrees obtained by their undergraduates, in 2012 Corpus was in third position, with 32.4% of its undergraduates achieving first-class degrees. The college's average position between 2003 and 2012 was ninth, and in the 2024 rankings it was placed third. In 2024, the college also ranked first overall for finalists.
Corpus ranks among the wealthiest Cambridge colleges in terms of fixed assets, being exceptionally rich in silver. The College's endowment was valued at £99.7 million at the end of June 2023, while its net assets were valued at £239 million.
The public source identifies “Corpus Christi College, Cambridge” as college of the University of Cambridge. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Corpus, Christi and College.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q536282. VIAF identifies the subject as 146606689. The Library of Congress control number is n82129794. Authority coordinates are 52.203, 0.118. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1352, 2012, 2003 and 2024.
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This entry incorporates text from “Corpus Christi College, Cambridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.