After Cambridge was described as a studium generale in a letter by Pope Nicholas IV in 1290 , and confirmed as such in a bull by Pope John XXII in 1318 , it became common for researchers from other European medieval universities to visit Cambridge to study or to give lecture courses .
In 1290 Pope Nicholas IV called Cambridge a studium generale ( name for a university in Medieval times ) .
Radcliffe gave Radcliffe College diplomas to undergraduates and graduate students for the first 70 or so years of its history . Beginning in 1963 Radcliffe gave joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas to undergraduates .