The Cambridge full-time MBA is a 1-year intensive program from the one of the world’s most prestigious research universities associated with a rich 800-year old tradition.
Studying in the vibrant and picturesque student city of Cambridge in UK places you at the heart of a world-class innovation and tech ecosystem – ‘Silicon Fen’ – valued at $222 billion constituting 18% of the value of UK tech, placing it at 2nd position, the 1st being London.
Being in close proximity of a global powerhouse, the capital city of London, gives students access to innumerable opportunities for career exploration.
Here’s all about Cambridge Judge Business School including insider insights into the MBA admissions process.
Cambridge Judge Business School in a nutshell
Cambridge MBA Class profile
The full-time MBA commences in September with a class of 245 students. The program sees a diverse cohort comprising 47% female students and 95% international students from close to 50 nationalities. The most recent class had a mean average GMAT score of 697 (classic score), an average age of 29 years with 6 years average work experience.
Cambridge MBA employment report
The MBA class saw students finding jobs across 27 countries – 79% got job offers at 3 months while 85% got offers 4 months after graduation. The class had an average base salary of £76,138 and an average compensation of £93,085.
A high number of MBA grads managed a career change – 91% switched either country, function or industry. 75% graduates switched industry sector, 70% switched job function, 51% switched country, while 33% achieved the MBA triple jump (change of country, function and industry).
Among the top sectors for post-MBA jobs, the topmost was finance with 26% getting placed into this sector, 2nd was technology at 23% while 3rd was consulting at 14%. Among those finding jobs in the consulting sector, 40% were in strategy consulting.
Cambridge MBA rankings
The MBA program has been ranked as follows:
- #8 among European Bschools in the Bloomberg Best B-Schools 2024-25 rankings
- #35 in the Financial Times (FT) 2025 Business School rankings
The FT rank in 2024 was 29 while in 2023, it was 23. So the average 3-year rank is 29.
The program has also been ranked 19th among the top 100 FT ranked MBA programs for career progress.
Cambridge MBA admissions process
To apply to the MBA program, applicants would require a bachelor’s degree (equivalent to a high 2:1 on the UK scale), more than 2 years of work experience as well as an excellent command over English language.
Among the test scores, you’d require a valid GMAT/GMAT Focus/GRE score. If English is not your first language, you would need to take an English proficiency test (TOEFL/IELTS). In addition to submitting the MBA essays, you’d need a reference from one of your supervisors or managers.
The application fee is £165 while the program fee is £74,000.
Also read: How to get into Cambridge University
Applications open in July 2025. The recruiting year has 5 rounds of applications. The Cambridge MBA application deadline for Round 1 is August 26, 2025, for Round 2, it is October 6, 2025, for the Round 3, it is January 5, 2026 while for Round 4, it is March 30, 2026 while for Round 5, it is May 5, 2026.
How Cambridge MBA admission officers take decisions
The ‘behind the scenes’ action starts after you hit the ‘submit’ button on your MBA application.
What is the step-by-step process followed by admission officers, how are applications evaluated and how are the decisions made?
We thought it would help our readers to gain insights on this. We reached out to an insider at Cambridge Judge Business School to find out more.
How the Cambridge MBA admissions process works
Emily Brierley, Head of Cambridge MBA Recruitment and Admissions
Application Submission
Applications are reviewed after each application deadline, we don’t review applications on a rolling basis, therefore there isn’t any benefit to submitting well before the deadline and we recommend that applicants use all the time available to them to ensure they’re submitting the strongest application.
After the deadline has passed all submitted applications will be assigned to a member of the MBA admissions team who will ensure that the application is complete and has all the required supporting documentation. They will contact the applicant if anything is missing to request this.
We have a 2-week grace period after each application deadline for applicants to provide any missing documents. If we don’t receive them within that timeframe, the applicant will be rolled over to the following round for consideration. The admissions team will notify the applicant of this.
Application Evaluation
Applications are reviewed by the admissions team. All applications are reviewed by at least two people to ensure consistency and fairness throughout the process. The Admissions Committee make the final decision on an application.
The team review applications holistically and we don’t weight any part of the application. We will consider all elements of a candidate’s profile to make an informed decision, considering an applicant’s motivations, contribution to the cohort, and fit for the Cambridge MBA.
Once the review is complete applicants will either be shortlisted for interview, placed on a waitlist, or will be informed that they have not been successful. We aim to get all application decisions out within 3 weeks of the application deadline.
For those placed on the waitlist, they will be considered in the following application round, and candidates are welcome to submit further documents to support their application, such as an additional letter of recommendation or supporting statement; this is not a requisite.
Interviews
Successful applicants will be notified and invited to attend a virtual interview day before the interviews take place. This includes a Q&A with the Executive Director of the MBA, CJBS Careers and the MBA admissions team; virtual networking with current students and alumni; as well the opportunity to network with their potential future classmates.
It’s a fantastic opportunity for applicants to ask questions, gain insight into the programme, and extend their network. Interviews take place around 3 weeks after candidates are shortlisted, and we are quite unique at Cambridge in that our interviews are conducted by faculty.
Each applicant will be offered a 30-minute interview slot with a member of faculty that teaches on the MBA programme, offering applicants the opportunity to meet one of their future professors. Interviews are to assess a candidate’s contribution to the cohort, classroom discussions, and to gauge their potential to manage the academic rigour of the programme.
Application outcome
Candidates can expect the final decision of their application and interview, 3 weeks after the interview has taken place. Some candidates may receive their feedback before others; this isn’t something for candidates to be concerned about and depends on when the Admissions Committee meets to discuss each case.
The Admissions Committee reviews the candidate’s application, profile, and interview feedback to make an informed decision. The Admissions Committee is comprised of faculty, CJBS careers, and the MBA admissions team to ensure that there is input across the school and across the different elements of the candidate’s profile.
The candidate will be informed whether they are unsuccessful, have been an offer on the Cambridge MBA, or placed on a waitlist. If a candidate is placed on the waitlist they will be reviewed again after the next round of interviews and informed if they have been made an offer at that stage.
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