Dr David Woodman Robinson College, Cambridge Director of Studies in History and in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic

Structure of History degree (‘Tripos’) Over the first two years, students take what’s known as the Part I students choose 5 papers; huge amount of choice in terms of subject and period students also take a subject called ‘HAP’, ‘Historical Argument and Practice’ Themes and Sources paper, examined by a long essay in second year (3000-5000 words) Part I requirement: a pre-1750 paper and a European paper In the third year, students progress to Part II, which is more specialised courses are ‘research-led’ ‘Special Subjects’: intensively taught and organised around body of primary material; assessed by long essay and ‘gobbet’ exam ‘Specified Subjects’: also source-led, but more thematic in nature; assessed by examination only opportunity to do a dissertation Lectures, seminars, supervisions

Part I History papers: British political history British political history, since 1880

Part I papers (contd) British economic and social history British economic and social history, 1050-c. 1500 British economic and social history, c. 1500-1750 British economic and social history, 1700-1880 British economic and social history, since c. 1880

Part I papers (contd) European history European history, 776 BC-AD 69 European history, 900-c. 1215 European history, 1200-1520 European history, 1450-1760 European history, 1715-1890 European history, since 1890

Part I papers (contd) Political thought World history American history History of political thought to c. 1700 History of political thought from c. 1700 to c. 1890 World history Empires and world history from the fifteenth century to the First World War World history since 1914 American history North American history from c. 1500 to 1865 The history of the United States from 1865

Part II: ‘Special subjects’ Constructing the worlds of Archaic Greece The city of Rome and its rulers, 476-769 Chivalry, patronage and rulership: King René of Anjou in fifteenth-century Europe Uses of the visual in early modern Germany, c. 1450-1550 The Black Death Reform and reformation: Thomas More’s England An alternative history of Ireland: religious minorities and identity in the 26 counties, 1900-1959 Class, party and the politics of social identity in England, 1914-1945 The British and the Middle East, c. 1830-c. 1865 Fin de siècle Russia, 1891-1917 Liberalism and constitutional crisis in the United States, 1930-1965 The reconstruction of Germany, 1945-55 Martin Luther King Jr and the civil rights movement

Part II: ‘Specified subjects’ Transformation of the Roman world The Jewish presence in medieval society The archaeology of medieval Britain The medieval universe, c. 1000 to c. 1600 Material culture in the early modern world Persecution and toleration in Britain, 1400-1700 The politics of knowledge from the late Renaissance to the early Enlightenment Japanese history in the 19th and 20th centuries World population, development and environment since 1750 The French and the British problem, since 1688 ‘Total War’ and European societies, 1792-1815 The formation of the modern Middle East The politics of gender in Britain, 1790-1990 The long road to modernisation: Spain, since 1808 The history of the Indian sub-continent from the late 18th to the present day The history of Africa from 1800 to the present day

Expectations by the interview stage A good academic track record, with prediction of A*AA A clear sense of fascination by the subject and evidence of exploration of the texts we study Interview structure: discussion of passage of unseen text discussion of school work discussion of personal statement discussion of potential History papers and interests

Admissions assessments Assessment format: Section 1: reading comprehension (36 multiple choice questions; 60 mins) Section 2: critical response to text (60 mins) You must register in advance (and separately to the UCAS application) to take the assessment. Each task will use recently written texts, from authentic sources, in English. Texts will not depend on the understanding of specific aspects of British culture. Questions require candidates to: Look at the main ideas and focus of a text; Analyse the detail and distinguish opinions and attitudes presented in the text; Determine the writer’s purpose Extract implications and implicitly stated elements of the text Draw comparisons and contrasts within a text or between different texts The assessment is designed to be challenging. Typical applicants to the most highly selective undergraduate courses will gain approximately half of the available marks. Designed to guide Admissions Tutors as to the strength of any given applicant measured against the gathered field. Scoring system of 0 to 9.

Typical offer to History applicant: A Level: A* A A IB Diploma: 40-42 points (including 7, 7, 6 at Higher Level)

Historians – future careers law accountancy journalism and publishing teaching academia business and finance national and local government library and museum work

History and Politics degree Students take 4 papers in each year Part IA: Evidence and Argument: an introduction to methods and approaches across the two disciplines Politics paper: the modern state and its alternatives Politics paper: international conflict, order and justice History paper. One from these options: British political history 1688-1886 British political history since 1880 European history 1715-1890 European history since 1890

Part IB: the second year offers more specialized papers in the history of political thought, international relations, comparative politics, and European and global history. Students take 4 papers: The history of political thought, either from the Greeks to 1700, or the 18th and 19th centuries A paper on either comparative politics or international relations One of these history papers: World history since 1914 History of the United States since 1865 British economic and social history 1700-1880 British economic and social history since c. 1880 A long essay, a historical project, or a paper on Statistics and Methods

Part II: either a dissertation and 3 papers, or 4 papers A compulsory paper in General Themes and Issues For their remaining papers, students have a choice between: Specialised papers in History, which currently include papers on the transformation of the Roman world, South Asia since c. 1800, Stalinism and Soviet life etc. Specialised papers in Politics and International relations Further papers in the History of Political Thought A research dissertation of 10,000-15,000 words.

History and Modern Languages Languages available from October 2018 Post A Level (or equivalent): French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish Ab initio: German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish Part IA involves four papers: Core language papers in language chosen One paper from the specified introductory Modern Languages range Two papers from the specified History range Part IB involves four papers, at a more specialized level

In the fourth year, students take four papers: Part II lasts two years In the third year students undertake a Year Abroad, and write a project report of 8,000 words In the fourth year, students take four papers: The core language papers in your chosen language One paper from the specified Modern Languages range (very large amount of choice) One History paper from the following: History of political thought from c. 1700 to c. 1890; political philosophy and the history of political thought since c. 1890; a variable number of papers on topics or comparative themes in history One further paper from either Modern Languages or History One paper may be replaced by a dissertation of 10,000 words