Editing Tripos (section)

==Structure==
[[File:Mathmo results.jpg|thumb|[[Cambridge Mathematical Tripos|Mathematical tripos]] results are read out inside [[Senate House (University of Cambridge)|Senate House]] and then tossed from the balcony]]
A tripos is divided into two parts: ''Part I'', which is broadly based, and ''Part II'', which allows specialization within the student's chosen field. Since a [[bachelor's degree]] usually takes three years to complete, either Part I or Part II is two years, and the other one year. The details of this can vary from subject to subject. There is also an optional Part III offered in some subjects, such as the [[Cambridge Mathematical Tripos|Mathematical Tripos]]; these are not required to complete a bachelor's degree. Some ''Part III'' courses allow the student to graduate with both a [[master's degree]] and a bachelor's degree: for example, scientific Part III courses allow the student to graduate with an M.Sci. degree in addition to the B.A. degree which all Cambridge graduates receive. The Engineering Tripos is divided into four Parts (IA, IB, IIA, IIB), each corresponding to one academic year, and leads to the simultaneous awarding of the B.A. and M.Eng. degrees.

Students are [[Test (assessment)|examined]] formally at the end of each part and are awarded a degree classification for each part. While each part receives its own classification, a student's performance in Part II is generally considered definitive for determining their overall ranking within their subject cohort (for example, the historic position of [[Senior Wrangler]] in the Mathematical Tripos was determined by Part II performance). Most subjects are examined in all three years; for example, the [[Natural Sciences Tripos]] has examinations for Part IA, Part IB, Part II, and in some subjects, Part III. The English, History and ASNaC Triposes have preliminary rather than full examinations at the end of the first year, though History and English have recently scrapped Preliminary exams in the first year and moved to an IA, IB, II structure with classed examinations in all years. 

The student who achieves the highest marks in their Tripos subject, commonly referred to as the 'Tripos topper', is awarded with the Winifred Georgina Holgate Pollard Memorial Prize.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/2017/chapter12-section2.html#heading2-250 | title=Chapter Xii : Trusts - Funds, Studentships, Prizes, Lectureships, Etc }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/10466 | title=New prize for Tripos toppers announced }}</ref> The prize is widely regarded as the most prestigious academic accolade awarded to students by the University of Cambridge. Each year, the University recognises these top students by publishing their names in the ''Reporter'', the University of Cambridge's official journal, celebrating their academic excellence.

Degree regulations state that, to be awarded a degree, a student must have passed two honours examinations (i.e., two Tripos examinations) – this could include a Part I and a Part II, two Part I exams, or (in some cases) a Part I and a Part IA. From October 2011, students can only be awarded an [[British undergraduate degree classification|honours degree]] if they have been awarded honours in a Part II or Part III examination;<ref>{{cite web|title=Joint Report of the Council and the General Board on the requirements for the B.A. Degree by Honours|url=http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2008-09/weekly/6158/17.html|work=Cambridge University Reporter, Thursday 23 July 2009|access-date=30 March 2011}}</ref> a combination of Part I examinations will allow a student to graduate with an [[British undergraduate degree classification|Ordinary degree]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Joint Report of the Council and the General Board on the future of Ordinary Examinations and the Ordinary B.A. Degree|url=http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2010-11/weekly/6204/section7.shtml|work=Cambridge University Reporter, Wednesday 24 November 2010|access-date=30 March 2011}}</ref> All students must complete at least nine terms of residence (three years of study) – making it impossible for students to simply complete two one-year tripos parts. This makes it easy for an undergraduate to switch out of a subject. So a one-year Part I (or Part IA) must be followed by a two-year Part II, and usually vice versa. More exotic combinations are possible, with the permission of the student's college and prospective department, but some combinations create a four-year bachelor's degree. A few subjects – i.e. Management Studies, Manufacturing Engineering, and Linguistics (prior to October 2010) – exist only as Part II, and can be preceded by any manner of Part I subject.

Students who already possess a bachelor's degree or equivalent from another university are generally permitted to skip Part I, and thus can complete a Cambridge bachelor's degree in two years or less. Students already holding a BA degree from Cambridge are not permitted to collect a second BA from the university.

A student requesting to graduate (technically, 'admitted to a degree') is assessed mainly on two criteria: not only the Triposes they have completed (requirements laid by the statutes and ordinances of Cambridge), as recorded in the ''[[Cambridge University Reporter]]'' (Cambridge's [[gazette]] newspaper), but also the number of terms kept (at least nine required for a BA; 10 for an undergraduate master's degree). A student's requests to graduate should also be approved by their college, and be unopposed by the regent house, one of the university's governing bodies with vetoing powers.