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College Teaching and Learning
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College provides each student with a Director of Studies (DoS) who is responsible for steering and facilitating their learning. All DoSs are experts in the subject whose studies they direct; a great many are also world-class research academics. In Churchill most DoSs are Fellows (academic staff members) of the College. DoSs meet their students at the beginning and end of each term to provide them with formal advice and guidance, but they are available throughout a student's undergraduate career if particular issues crop up that need attention or action. Our DoSs are notably pro-active and immensely committed to their students' academic development and well-being. |
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The principal job of our DoSs is to arrange student supervisions — the weekly, small-group, sometimes one-to-one tuition that it unique to Cambridge and characterises its teaching and learning. For most students supervisions are immensely rewarding. They allow us to challenge and stretch you, and allow you the opportunity to develop your understanding and pursue the questions in which you are especially interested. The consequence is that your learning is broadened, deepened and made even more stimulating and enjoyable. At Churchill we pay above the standard rate to many of our supervisors in order to obtain the very best supervision for our students. Student teaching and learning questionnaires allow us closely to monitor the effectiveness of tuition. This effort is rewarded by the outstanding examination results our students achieve. |
"Certainly in my subject Churchill has some of the University's best teaching Fellows. After an hour with them you really understand the course; no mean feat with Part IB Thermodynamics!"
Richard, Fourth Year, Physics.
| Churchill also provides you with practical tools to enable your learning. The most important of these is probably the College Library, which is large and comfortable, open 24 hours a day throughout the year and which has good holdings in all subjects. The Library offers a number of different rooms and seating/studying options, but we also make seminar rooms available to students who wish to study privately in groups. Information Technology is increasingly central to education in Cambridge. Churchill was one of the first Colleges to invest heavily in this and our computing provision and staff are both excellent. We also provide specialist English language and writing support for students whose note-taking and essay-writing skills need to be improved. |
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Subject-related socialising and the building of esprit de corps are important to academic development. In Churchill many subjects run academic student societies in which outside speakers give talks or students make presentations on their work. Sessions are often linked to subject formals in Hall and each year whole-College subject dinners allow the Master, Senior Tutor, Fellows, graduate students and undergraduates to get together and talk in a less academic setting. |