List of professorships at the University of Cambridge

Professorship Faculty or Department Benefactor Established Discontinued Notes Lady Margaret’s Professor of Divinity Divinity Lady Margaret Beaufort 1502 Regius Professor of Divinity Divinity Henry VIII 1540 Regius Professor of Civil Law Law Henry VIII 1540 Regius Professor of Physic Medicine Henry VIII 1540 Ex officio Head of the School of Clinical Medicine Regius Professor of Hebrew Middle Eastern Studies Henry VIII 1540 Regius Professor of Greek Classics Henry VIII 1540 Sir Thomas Adams’s Professor of Arabic Middle Eastern Studies Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet 1632 Lucasian Professor of Mathematics Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics Henry Lucas 1663 Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy Philosophy John Knightbridge 1683 Professor of Music Music 1684 Yusuf Hamied 1702 Professor of Chemistry Chemistry 1702 Formerly BP Professor of Chemistry (1991–2019), Professor of Organic Chemistry (1943–1991) and Professor of Chemistry (1702–1943) Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy Astronomy Thomas Plume 1704 Professor of Anatomy Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience 1707 Regius Professor of History History George I 1724 Formerly Regius Professor of Modern History (1724–2010) Regius Professor of Botany Plant Sciences 1724 Formerly Professor of Botany (1724–2009) Woodwardian Professor of Geology Earth Sciences John Woodward 1728 Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics Thomas Lowndes 1749 Norris–Hulse Professor of Divinity Divinity 1777 Formed in 1934 by merger of the Norrisian (1777) and Hulsean (1860) Professorships of Divinity Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy Physics Rev Richard Jackson 1783 Downing Professor of the Laws of England Law Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet 1800 Downing Professor of Medicine Medicine Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet 1800 1930 Professor of Mineralogy Mineralogy 1808 1931 Replaced by the Professorship of Mineralogy and Petrology in 1931 Lord Almoner’s Professor of Arabic Oriental Languages The Crown, via the Lord Almoner 1815 1933 Preceded by a readership of the same title (1724–1815) Disney Professor of Archaeology Archaeology John Disney 1851 Sadleirian Professor of Pure Mathematics Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics Lady Mary Sadleir 1860 Preceded by a lectureship of the same title (1748–1864) Professor of Political Economy Economics 1863 Title first granted in 1828, permanent professorship established in 1863 Professor of Zoology Zoology 1866 Formerly Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy (1866–1934) Whewell Professor of International Law Law William Whewell 1867 Kennedy Professor of Latin Classics Friends and former pupils of Benjamin Hall Kennedy 1869 Formerly Professor of Latin (1869–1911) Slade Professor of Fine Art History of Art Felix Slade 1869 Cavendish Professor of Physics Physics William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire 1871 Professor of Engineering Engineering 1875 Formerly Professor of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics (1875–1934) and Professor of Mechanical Science (1934–1966) Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic Joseph Bosworth 1878 Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History History Wolstan Dixie 1882 Preceded by fellowships of Emmanuel College established from the same endowment Professor of Physiology Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience 1883 Professor of Pathology[1] Pathology 1883 Also ex officio member of the Faculty Board of Clinical Medicine Ely Professor of Divinity Divinity Canonry of Ely 1889 1980 Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy Philosophy 1896 Formerly Professor of Philosophy (1934–2010) and Professor of Mental Philosophy and Logic (1896–1934) Professor of Ancient History Classics 1898 Also ex officio member of the Faculty Board of History Drapers Professor of Agriculture Biology Worshipful Company of Drapers 1899 1990 Quick Professor of Biology Determined upon appointment Frederick James Quick 1906 Professor of Astrophysics Astronomy 1909 Schröder Professor of German Modern and Medieval Languages Messrs J. Henry Schröder and Company 1909 King Edward VII Professor of English Literature English Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere 1911 Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics Genetics Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher 1912 Serena Professor of Italian Modern and Medieval Languages Arthur Serena 1919 Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History History Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere 1919 Formerly Vere Harmsworth Professor of Naval History (1919–1933) Drapers Professor of French Modern and Medieval Languages Worshipful Company of Drapers 1919 Francis Mond Professor of Aeronautical Engineering Engineering Emile Mond 1919 Professor of Physical Chemistry Chemistry 1920 Sir William Dunn Professor of Biochemistry Biochemistry Sir William Dunn, 1st Baronet, of Lakenheath 1921 Professor of the History of Political Thought[2][3] History Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial 1927 Formerly Professor of Political Science (1927–2010) Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics W. W. Rouse Ball 1927 Rouse Ball Professor of English Law Law W. W. Rouse Ball 1927 Professor of Economic History[4][5] History 1928 Also ex officio member of the Faculty Board of Economics Professor of Modern History History 1930 Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy Classics Perceval Maitland Laurence 1930 Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology Classics Perceval Maitland Laurence 1930 Montague Burton Professor of Industrial Relations Economics Montague Burton 1930 Professor of Geography[6] Geography 1931 Professor of Experimental Psychology Psychology 1931 Professor of Mineralogy and Petrology Earth Sciences 1931 Replaced the Professorship of Mineralogy established in 1808 John Humphrey Plummer Professors Determined upon appointment 1931 Goldsmiths’ Professor of Materials Science Materials Science and Metallurgy Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths 1931 William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology Social Anthropology William Wyse 1932 Professor of Spanish Modern and Medieval Languages 1933 Professor of Comparative Philology[7] Classics 1937 Professor of Medieval History History 1937 Professor of Education Education 1938 Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions Determined upon appointment Cambridge University Press 1944 Professor of Electrical Engineering Engineering 1944 Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Royal Dutch Shell 1945 Herbert Thompson Professor of Egyptology Oriental Studies Henry Francis Herbert Thompson 1945 1977 Subsequently re-established as a personal professorship (2005–13) Hopkinson and Imperial Chemical Industries Professor of Applied Thermodynamics Engineering Imperial Chemical Industries 1950 Professor of Small Animal Surgery Veterinary Medicine 1950 Formerly Professor of Comparative Oncology and Genetics (2011–13) and Professor of Veterinary Clinical Studies (1950–2011) Smuts Professor of Commonwealth History History 1952 Formerly Smuts Professor of the History of the British Commonwealth (1952–94) Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English English 1954 Wolfson Professor of Criminology Criminology 1959 Professor of Manufacturing Engineering Engineering 1960 Sheild Professor of Pharmacology Pharmacology 1961 Professor of Mathematical Statistics Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics 1961 Professor of Medicine Medicine 1962 Professor of Applied Mathematics Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics 1964 Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics Economics 1965 Formerly Professor of Economics (1965–1994) Professor of English English 1966 Professor of Engineering Engineering 1966 Sir Kirby Laing Professor of Civil Engineering Engineering Kirby Laing Foundation 1966 Formerly Professor of Engineering (1966–2011) Professor of Physics Physics 1966 Professor of Geophysics Earth Sciences 1966 Churchill Professor of Mathematics for Operational Research Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics Esso Petroleum Company Limited 1966 Joseph Needham Professor of Chinese History, Science, and Civilization East Asian Studies 1966 Formerly Professor of Chinese (1966–2008) Mary Marshall and Arthur Walton Professor of the Physiology of Reproduction Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience Francis Marshall 1967 Professor of Mathematical Physics Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics 1967 Professor of Slavonic Studies Modern and Medieval Languages 1968 Simón Bolívar Professor of Latin-American Studies Determined upon appointment Government of Venezuela 1968 Professor of Chemistry Physics & Chemistry 1968 Geoffrey Moorhouse Gibson Professor of Chemistry Chemistry 1970 Professor of Architecture Architecture 1970 Professor of Economics Economics 1970 Rank Professor of Engineering Engineering 1971 Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor in Legal Science Law Overbrook Foundation 1971 Alexander Todd Visiting Professor of Chemistry Physics & Chemistry 1972 Professor of Law[8] Law 1973 Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine Public Health and Primary Care 1975 Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Obstetrics and Gynaecology 1975 Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine Clinical Biochemistry 1977 Professor of Radiology Radiology 1977 Sheila Joan Smith Professor of Immunology Medicine Herchel Smith 1977 Formerly Sheila Joan Smith Professor of Tumour Immunology (1977–1988) Professor of Paediatrics Paediatrics 1978 Professor of Mathematical Physics Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics 1978 Paul Mellon Professor of American History History Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 1980 Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry Clinical Medicine American Friends of Cambridge University 1982 Charles Darwin Professor of Animal Embryology School of the Biological Sciences Edward J. Bles 1982 Previously established as a personal professorship (1967–1981) Jawaharlal Nehru Visiting Professor Determined upon appointment Edward J. Bles 1983 Professor of Japanese Studies East Asian Studies Keidanren 1984 Professor of Sociology Sociology 1985 Professor of Haematology Haematology 1986 KPMG Professor of Management Studies Judge Business School Peat, Marwick, and Mitchell & Co. 1986 Professor of Clinical Gerontology Public Health and Primary Care 1987 Professor of Medicine Medicine 1987 Herchel Smith Professor of Organic Chemistry Chemistry American Friends of Cambridge University 1988 Professor of Neurology Clinical Neurosciences 1988 Professor of English and Applied Linguistics Modern and Medieval Languages 1988 Sir Alan Cottrell Professor of Materials Science Materials Science and Metallurgy 1988 Formerly Professor of Materials Science (1988–2012) Professor of Theoretical Geophysics Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics 1989 George Pitt-Rivers Professor of Archaeological Science Archaeology 1990 Professor of Neurosurgery Clinical Neurosciences 1990 Diageo Professor of Management Studies Judge Business School 1990 Professor of Molecular Endocrinology Clinical Biochemistry 1990 Formerly Serono Professor of Molecular Endocrinology (1990–2014) Professor of Land Economy Land Economy 1991 Professor of Virology Pathology 1991 S. J. Berwin Professor of Corporate Law Law S. J. Berwin and Co. 1991 GlaxoSmithKline Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis Medicine Glaxo Holdings 1991 Professor of Histopathology Pathology 1992 G. I. Taylor Professor of Fluid Mechanics Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics Gladys Davies 1992 BBV Foundation Visiting Professor Determined upon appointment BBV Foundation, Bilbao 1992 John Wilfrid Linnett Visiting Professor of Chemistry Cambridge 1993 Professor of Geography Geography 1993 Herchel Smith Professor of Intellectual Property Law Law American Friends of Cambridge University 1993 Professor of Statistical Science Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics 1994 Professor of Computer Science Computer Science and Technology 1994 Professor of European Law Law 1994 Professor of Information Engineering Engineering 1994 Professor of Immunology Pathology 1995 Marks & Spencer Professor of Farm Animal Health, Food Science, and Food Safety Veterinary Medicine Marks & Spencer 1996 Professor of Surgery Surgery 1996 Beckwith Professor of Management Studies Judge Business School Peter Beckwith 1996 Sir Patrick Sheehy Professor of International Relations Politics and International Studies British American Tobacco 1996 Professor of Medical Genetics Medical Genetics 1997 Hans Rausing Professor of History and Philosophy of Science History and Philosophy of Science 1997 Ursula Zoëllner Professor of Cancer Research Oncology F. A. Zoëllner 1997 Professor of Mechanical Engineering Engineering 1997 Professor of Computer Technology Computer Science and Technology 1997 Sinyi Professor of Chinese Management Judge Business School Sinyi Foundation 1997 Robert Sansom Professor of Computer Science Computer Science and Technology Robert Sansom 1998 Professor of Endocrinology Medicine 1998 Dennis Gillings Professor of Health Management Judge Business School Dennis Gillings 1998 Margaret Thatcher Professor of Enterprise Studies Judge Business School Margaret Thatcher Foundation 1998 Unilever Professor of Molecular Sciences Informatics Chemistry Unilever 1999 BP Professor of Petroleum Science Earth Sciences 1999 Grosvenor Professor of Real Estate Finance Land Economy 1999 Schlumberger Professor of Complex Physical Systems Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics 1999 Professor of Chemical Engineering Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology 1999 Professor of Education Education 2000 Formerly Professor of Primary Education (2000–2005) Professor of Education Education 2000 Formerly Professor of Educational Leadership (2000–2007) Professor of Linguistics Modern and Medieval Languages 2000 Professor of Psychology in the Social Sciences Psychology 2000 Professor of Plant Ecology Plant Sciences 2000 Professor of Physical Geography Geography 2000 Professor of Human Geography Geography 2000 Professor of Psychiatry Psychiatry 2000 N. M. Rothschild & Sons Professor of Mathematical Sciences N. M. Rothschild & Sons 2001 Ex officio Director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences Marconi Professor of Communications Systems Computer Science and Technology Marconi Communications 2001 Professor of Oncological Pathology Pathology 2001 Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery Surgery 2001 Adam Smith Professor of Corporate Governance Judge Business School 2001 Formerly Robert Monks Professorship of Corporate Governance (2001–11) Professor of English English 2001 Van Eck Professor of Engineering Engineering Fred van Eck 2001 Prince Philip Professor of Technology Engineering 2001 Established to mark the 80th birthday of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the 25th anniversary of his election as Chancellor Hitachi Professor of Electron Device Physics Physics Hitachi Ltd 2002 Leigh Trapnell Professor of Quantum Physics Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics Hazel N. Trapnell 2002 Professor of Accounting Judge Business School 2002 Sandra Dawson Visiting Professor of Marketing, Strategy, and Innovation Judge Business School
  • Gianni Montezemolo
  • Joan Montezemolo
2002 Formerly Visiting Professorship of Marketing, Strategy, and Innovation (2002–2013) Professor of Environmental Systems Analysis Geography 2003 Professor of Plant Systematics and Evolution Plant Sciences 2003 Professor of Gastroenterology Medicine 2003 Herchel Smith Professorship of Pure Mathematics Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics Herchel Smith 2004 Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Genetics Genetics Herchel Smith 2004 Professor of Education Education 2004 Professor of Education Education 2004 2017 Bernard Wolfe Professor of Health Neuroscience Determined upon appointment Woco Foundation of Canada 2004 Professor of Information Engineering Engineering 2004 Herchel Smith Professor of Physics Physics Herchel Smith 2004 Herchel Smith Professor of Biochemistry Biochemistry Herchel Smith 2005 Professor of Family Research Psychology 2005 French Government Visiting Professor Modern and Medieval Languages 2005 Professor of Education Education 2005 Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Biology Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience Herchel Smith 2006 Sigrid Rausing Professor of Social Anthropology Social Anthropology Sigrid M. Rausing 2006 Formerly Sigrid Rausing Professor of Collaborative Anthropology (2006–11) Miriam Rothschild Professorship of Conservation Biology Zoology Lisbet Rausing Charitable Fund 2006 His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Professor of Modern Arabic Studies Middle Eastern Studies Qaboos bin Said al Said 2006 Professor of Applied Mathematics Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics 2006 Professor of Physics Physics 2006 Professor of Comparative Pathology Veterinary Medicine Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries 2006 Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science (2006–07) Genzyme Professor of Experimental Medicine Medicine Genzyme Corporation 2006 Moran Professor of Conservation and Development Geography
  • James Wilson
  • Jane Wilson (née Hepburne Scott)
2006 Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics Winton Charitable Foundation 2006 Formerly Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk (2006–2020) Jawaharlal Nehru Professor of Indian Business and Enterprise Judge Business School High Commission of India 2007 Li Ka Shing Professor of Oncology Oncology Li Ka Shing Foundation 2007 Prince Philip Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Zoology 2007 Established to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the installation of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as Chancellor Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance Judge Business School Eranda Rothchild Foundation 2007 Professor of Experimental Astrophysics Physics 2008 Professor of Education Education 2008 A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture Classics A. G. Leventis Foundation 2008 Tata Steel Professor of Metallurgy Materials Science and Metallurgy Tata Steel (UK) Ltd 2008 Professor of Veterinary Diagnostic Pathology Veterinary Medicine 2009 Formerly Professor of Diagnostic Veterinary Pathology (2009) Diane Middlebrook and Carl Djerassi Visiting Professor of Gender Studies Politics and International Studies Carl Djerassi 2009 Sir Arthur Marshall Visiting Professor of Urban Design Architecture D. G. Marshall of Cambridge Trust 2010 Formerly Sir Arthur Marshall Visiting Professor of Sustainable Urban Design (2010–15) Visiting Professor of Architecture Architecture 2010 Professor of Photonic Systems and Displays Engineering 2010 Pembroke Visiting Professor of International Finance Judge Business School 2010 BP Foundation McKenzie Professor of Earth Sciences Earth Sciences BP Foundation 2010 Humanitas Visiting Professors Institute for Strategic Dialogue 2010 Professor of Historical and Cultural Geography Geography 2011 Formerly Professor of Demography (2011–14) Sultan Qaboos Professor of Abrahamic Faiths and Shared Values Divinity Qaboos bin Said al Said 2011 Professor of Education Education 2011 Dyson Professor of Fluid Mechanics Engineering Dyson Technology Limited 2011 Regius Professor of Engineering Engineering 2011 Established to commemorate the retirement of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as Chancellor Harold Samuel Professor of Law and Environmental Policy Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge Estate Management Development Fund 2012 Chong Hua Professor of Chinese Development Politics and International Studies Chong Hua Educational Foundation 2012 Professor of Sustainable Reaction Engineering Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology 2012 Professor of Politics Politics and International Studies 2012 Professor of Engineering Engineering 2012 John Harvard Professor of the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Alternating between institutions in the Schools of Arts and Humanities, and of the Humanities and Social Sciences 2013 Stephen W. Hawking Professor of Cosmology Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics Avery–Tsui Foundation[9] 2014 Professor of History of Art History of Art 2015 LEGO Professor of Play in Education, Development and Learning[10] Education The LEGO Foundation[11] 2015 Janeway Professor of Financial Economics Economics Weslie and William Janeway 2015 Professor of Infrastructure Geotechnics Engineering 2015 El-Erian Professor of Economics Economics Mohamed El-Erian 2016 Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law Law Sir David Li, Li family, Robinson College and anonymous benefactors[12] 2016 Professor of Public Policy Politics and International Studies 2016 Russell R. Geiger Professor of Crop Science Plant Sciences Russell R. Geiger 2016 Professor of Information and Communications Engineering 2016 Professor of Computer Science Computer Science and Technology 2016 Al-Kindi Professor Genetics King Abdullah University of Science and Technology 2017 Bennett Professor of Public Policy Politics and International Studies Peter W. Bennett 2017 Dr John C. Taylor Professor of Public Innovation Engineering John Taylor 2017 Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Professor of the Deep History and Archaeology of Africa Archaeology Jonathan and Jennifer Oppenheimer Foundation 2017 Versus Arthritis Professor of Rheumatology Medicine Versus Arthritis 2018 Formerly ARUK Professorship of Rheumatology (2018–2019) Professor of Digital Humanities Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities 2018 Professor of Accounting Judge Business School 2018 DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning Computer Science and Technology DeepMind[13] 2019 Nanjing Professor of Technology and Innovation Engineering Nanjing Healthcare Investment Area and Development Company 2019 Caroline Humphrey Professor of the Anthropology of Inner Asia Social Anthropology Sigrid Rausing Trust 2020 Sheila Joan Smith Professor of Medicine Medicine Herchel Smith[14] 2020 Professor of Autism Research Psychiatry Autism Research Trust[14] 2021 Gnodde Goldman Sachs Professor of Neuroinformatics Psychiatry Goldman Sachs Gives UK on behalf of Richard and Kara Gnodde[15] 2021 Andreas von Hirsch Professor of Penal Theory and Ethics Criminology Andreas von Hirsch[16] 2021