Graduate Admissions:
Facilities at Clare
Graduates at Clare are members of the Union of Clare Students
and active participants in the sporting and social activities of the
College. Through College or University Clubs and Societies, graduates are able to
take part in almost every sport and in almost every cultural
and intellectual activity. Meals can be taken in the College
during terms and there is a wide range of options including a
formal, served evening meal in Hall; an informal salad bar in
Hall at lunch times; and an informal cafeteria in the Buttery for
all meals. On Friday evenings in Term, a Graduate Formal Hall is provided at a modest price.
We have our own Bar, Music Room, Guest Rooms, Undergraduate Library, and
Chapel. Musical
activities are particularly strong; we have our own Director of
Music, Tim Brown, and we encourage both choral and instrumental
interests.
Graduate students have their own common room (The Middle
Common Room, or MCR - see top two photographs) in the Old Court of the College where there
are newspapers, periodicals and facilities for making coffee
and snacks. An adjoining graduate computer room is equipped with
three PCs and one Apple Macintosh, a laser printer, various
word-processing and other software packages, and is linked via
the College Ethernet network to the University Data Network and
the Internet beyond.
The MCR is also a centre for social activities for graduates,
the venue for parties and meetings, and the gathering point
before formal dining in Hall each Friday evening. Outside of the MCR are notice
boards reserved for graduate matters.
Friday dinner (click
on third photograph to enlarge) is the focus of graduate life
at Clare. Each Friday in term the Hall is reserved for graduate
students and they are encouraged to dine with their guests. On two
Fridays during term (the second and fifth) graduates and their guests
also dine with the Fellows of the College. On other Fridays in term,
graduates gather in the MCR for drinks before hall. Occasionally,
a special meal (known as a Super Hall) is served. The College encourages
these functions by providing free wine during the meals and by allowing
each graduate to bring one guest per week at College expense. After
the Friday night dinners a selection of beer, wines and soft drinks
is available in the MCR. New students are also invited to a special
Graduate Matriculation Dinner at the beginning of the Michaelmas
Term.
The social life of the MCR is run by an elected committee
(President; Vice-President; Treasurer; Secretary and other officers) who
organise MCR events and arrange the facilities available in the room itself. From time to
time they organise parties, talks, theatre trips, and sporting
activities (many of which are subsidised), and they are available
to help and advise graduate members. Additionally, during the first weeks of the academic
year, Committee members organise a series of "Freshers" events to help new graduates acclimatise to life
at Clare. They represent the graduates
on such College bodies as the Council, the Governing Body and the
Finance Committee.
Clare has a Graduate Admissions
Tutor, a separate Graduate Tutor and an Assistant Graduate Tutor
who represent the long term interests of the graduates and help
in the formulation of general policy. They are available by appointment
to help and advise any graduate member. They control some accommodation
in College, and arrange accommodation for graduate students who
are coming to Cambridge in conjunction with the Housekeeping Department.
We expect graduate students to have arranged
their finances before coming into residence and, like the Board
of Graduate Studies, we require graduates to show that they have
adequate finances for all of their proposed stay in Cambridge, both
maintenance and fees. Within this general provision we are able
to give limited help to encourage graduates to purchase books and
will consider helping with travel expenses (not removal expenses)
which are essential for a particular piece of research. There are
also a number of specialised hardship funds from which help may
be requested if an individual's circumstances unexpectedly change.
The Assistant Graduate Tutor will advise graduates who are in difficulty,
but it should be emphasised that the College provides major financial
support only in a few subjects.
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