Director of Studies
Sub-Director of Studies
A-level/IB Higher Level Mathematics
A combination of science/art/essay-based subjects and sciences at GCSE.
All applicants invited for interview are required to take a sketching assignment. More information can be found here.
All applicants are required to submit a portfolio and sketchbooks of their own original recent artistic work. We like to see a portfolio which demonstrates your ability to work in a range of media and in 2D and 3D.
Design is a new Cambridge degree and Dr Darshil Shah, Director of Studies at St John’s for our Design students, is at the heart of its development. He works closely with our teaching Fellow in Architecture, Dr Sofia Nivarti.
The Design Tripos combines scientific literacy and creativity. It challenges you to address real-world problems, from the built environment to apps, AI and electronics. The strength and depth of St John’s Fellowship in adjacent disciplines such as Engineering gives our students ready access to insight from leading researchers.
Altogether, we have around 20 undergraduates in Design and Architecture, forming a passionate and thriving community with our graduate students and Fellows. Students run the College Architecture Society with student-organised talks, classes (eg life-drawing, CAD-skills, cross-crits) and social events.
We understand the special demands of studio-led teaching and learning. We provide excellent in-College support, including a drawing board in your room and a well-equipped Art Room.
Design may be new as a Cambridge course, but our alumni have influenced and led design innovation in countless ways, from Sir Charles Parson’s design of the steam turbine engine to Sir Cecil Beaton’s iconic reputation as an artist, photographer and costume designer.
Watch this video to find out more about Design at St John’s.
Being a Design student at St John's is academically stretching across a range of disciplines. You need to excel in your examinations, achieving well in both arts and sciences, and a strong performance in Mathematics is particularly important.
We are seeking creative, highly motivated and committed individuals with outstanding artistic ability and some science background, a strong three-dimensional sense, excellent writing skills and a solid grounding in Mathematics.
Applicants who stand out submit a strong portfolio with a range of subject matter that illustrates your personal interests, experience, imagination and ability in the visual and material arts. We are keen to see your informal and preparatory work, as well as more formal work, so we can understand how you observe the world around you and how you test and develop ideas. We want to see your work in a range of media and your portfolio should demonstrate this. You can include material prepared for school-leaving examinations but creative work executed outside formal courses is also welcome.
Look for ways of developing your interest in Design beyond the school/college curriculum. Tell us what catches your attention in the news, whether it is cutting-edge designs in the built environment, the use of sustainable materials for everyday products, or solutions to engineering problems in the world today.
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