Why?
History & Politics offers a unique opportunity to combine the study of two distinct but highly complementary disciplines and study both subjects through the prism of the other. Both the Cambridge History Faculty and the Department of Politics and International Studies are world-leading institutions, ranking first and fifth respectively, in the UK.
Course
You will take four papers each year. In Year 1, all students take Evidence and Argument, The Modern State and its Alternatives, and International Conflict, Order and Justice and one optional history paper. In Year 2, students choose a paper from each category: history of political thought, comparative politics or international organisations, a further optional paper and lastly, an option of a thesis or statistics and methods. In Year 3, students take further 4 papers one of which can be a thesis.
Your weekly timetable will centre around 8-10 weekly lectures, a weekly or a bi-weekly essay and a supervision.
Applying
History & Politics requires A*AA at A level or 40-42 IB. History is highly recommended and required by some colleges. All applicants must sit a 2-hour pre-interview written assessment (History Admissions Assessment)which takes place at the end of October and is made up of a reading comprehension and a source analysis task. Most colleges also require applicants to submit examples of their written work.
A strong History & Politics applicant will have a thorough grasp of at least a few historical periods that they are able to discuss and analyse, completed with extra-reading of relevant and high-calibre historians. You should be able to demonstrate excellent writing and research skills and ability to consider historical events from multiple perspectives. In addition, You should have excellent knowledge of current affairs and an appetite for delving into political issues and questioning the foundation of the world around them.
Statistics
2017 - Applications: 195, Offers: 57, Acceptance Rate: 21%.
HOW WE CAN HELP
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KEY HISTORY & POLITICS RESOURCES
Cambridge
My passion for history stems from a realisation that so often the events of the past dictate the events of today and the prospects of the future, allowing us to trace the complexity of events and ideologies.