History & Politics

Studying History and Politics together provides you with the opportunity to consider power and politics across histories, institutions and societies around the world.

Overview

Ucas code

VL12

Campus code

X

Typical offers made per year

3

Typical Undergraduate cohort

8

Minimum offer level

A Levels: A*AA, with A* in History

IB: 42 points, with 776 at Higher Level

Other qualifications: check what other international qualifications are accepted at Cambridge

STEP (SIXTH TERM EXAMINATION PAPER)

COURSE DURATION

BA (Hons) 3 years full-time

Essential subjects

A-level/IB Higher Level History

Desirable subjects

Common subjects taken by successful History and Politics applicants include: Government and Politics, Economics, English, Languages, and Mathematics.

ADMISSIONS ASSESSMENT

Applicants are required to submit two pieces of written work. This should be in essay format with a word limit of up to 1500 words. The work can be extracted from an EPQ.

Why Choose St John's for History & Politics?

An illustration from Thomas More's Utopia in the College Library's Special Collections

We have around ten Fellows across History and Politics, including leading scholars of political thought, 20th-century Britain, the modern Middle East and Africa, the comparative politics of Southeast Asia, medieval Britain and early modern Europe. This means that we can provide expert College teaching and guidance across a significant part of the Tripos.

Our Fellows in History and Politics engender a supportive atmosphere, encouraging our students to develop self-motivated and independent minds from the outset.

With a typical cohort of eight undergraduates studying History and Politics, part of an overall community of more than 30 students in History and allied disciplines in St John’s, you’ll foster firm friendships and intellectual camaraderie.

The student-run Palmerston Society for undergraduates in History and Politics and in HSPS organises stimulating talks with influential politicians and academics, social events, an annual garden party and dinner.

Watch this video to find out more about the History and Politics course at Cambridge.

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Our academics

Director of Studies

Sub-Director of Studies

Professor Andrew Arsan

Fellow

Director of Studies

Sub-Director of Studies

Dr Tomas Larsson

Fellow

Director of Studies

Sub-Director of Studies

Dr Mark Nicholls

Fellow

Director of Studies

Sub-Director of Studies

Dr Sylvana Tomaselli

Fellow

Course structure and information

Students are taught by eminent academics in the Faculty of History and the Department of Politics and International Studies.

Find out more about the course structure and what to expect when studying at St John's College.

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Supporting your studies

Dissertation support

Our experienced Library staff offer weekly drop-in sessions focused on topics such as literature searches, referencing, copyright, plagiarism, study skills, time management and accessing online and physical resources in Cambridge libraries.

The College Archivist provides induction sessions to advise students on how they could use archives for their dissertation and how to navigate archives catalogues. Students can arrange one-to-one chats with the Archivist to discuss whether the College's institutional archives hold material relevant to their topic.

The Reading Room Exhibition can also be a great source of inspiration. If a student is using primary sources from the early modern period they can attend the online palaeography sessions run by the Archivist to practise reading late 15th-17th century handwriting.

Palaeography lessons

Deciphering old handwriting is a valuable skill when you're studying texts from the past. Our experienced Archivist offers free palaeography sessions during term time to any student interested in learning more about working with historical documents and manuscripts.

The College Archive collections are particularly rich in medieval material, and classes are held in our state-of-the-art Archive Centre inside the ancient School of Pythagoras (the oldest extant secular building in Cambridge). Students of any subject can also sign up to a general 'Introduction to the Archives' session at the start of each academic year.

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Exchange Programmes

St John's is proud to collaborate with a number of great institutions to provide exciting cultural and academic exchanges. Our current exchange partners include Caltech Scholars exchange, Collegio Ghislieri di Pavia University Exchange, Heidelberg University Exchange, Nagoya University Exchange Scheme and NUS Research Exchange Programme.

Discover student life

meet our students

Supervisions at St John’s are interesting and challenging. My supervisor has taught me how to express my own ideas and intellect and holds me accountable, for all the right reasons

Armand, History & Politics, undergraduate

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Supervisions at St John’s are interesting and challenging. My supervisor has taught me how to express my own ideas and intellect and holds me accountable, for all the right reasons

Armand, History & Politics, undergraduate

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History and politics were my favourite subjects at school and I wanted to do a degree that brought them together. I chose St John’s because everything is on-site or close by in the city, and I loved the views and river.

History & Politics is a brilliant course, it’s so flexible. We can select from a wide range of papers and decide in third year which subject to focus on. St John’s is a big College but it has a close-knit social fabric to it, which is why I love it. I’m really thankful for the sporting community at John’s - College football has been a brilliant way to make friends, including students in older years who are like cousins to me.

Cambridge has more than met my expectations - not just in terms of the course, but also because St John’s is beautiful, the traditions are amazing, and I’ve made brilliant friends

Caitlin, History & Politics, undergraduate

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Cambridge has more than met my expectations - not just in terms of the course, but also because St John’s is beautiful, the traditions are amazing, and I’ve made brilliant friends

Caitlin, History & Politics, undergraduate

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I’d like a career in political communications and media, I'd like to work in political public engagement. I did English, history and biology A-levels and it’s been useful to have that range of abilities.

Although I hadn’t studied Politics before, my first year gave me a basis in political theory and international relations, and I can narrow it to British politics and public policy later. I love College sport, you can try anything as a beginner – I’m a swimmer but wanted a team sport so learned rowing at St John’s and competed in the Bumps race on the river.

Applying

We are looking for students in History and Politics who are intellectually curious, deeply interested in current affairs and academically ambitious. We seek to admit students who have been reading, writing and thinking about their interests in the historical and political world beyond the requirements of their school/college curriculum.

Successful candidates can show that they prepared for and were excited to undertake independent study. They have engaged with their peers in academic discussion and debate.

You might evidence this through in-depth reading, listening to political discussion in Parliament and its analysis by expert commentators, attending online lectures or subscribing to podcasts which build your understanding of the nature of politics across history.

If you are invited for interview, this will typically be for 35-40 minutes with Teaching Fellows in History and Political Sciences.

In the interview, we look for evidence that you have strong potential to structure historical arguments, and can use and discuss historical evidence effectively. We are also looking for evidence that you can think in original and coherent ways about the past and write fluently and precisely. The interviewers may use your submitted written work as a prompt for discussion about your interests and ideas.

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Life after St John's

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Our societies

Palmerston Society

Our society is named after Lord Palmerston, one of the four British prime ministers who studied at St John’s.

It is the only active political association in the College, encompassing undergraduates in Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) and History and Politics, as well as postgraduates studying and researching in these areas.

We organise talks and debates with influential politicians and academics, which students in other subjects are welcome to attend.

Our social events include an annual dinner and garden party, providing a supportive community for social scientists across St John’s.

Find out more Visit society's website

History Society

St John’s has one the most active history societies in Cambridge, bringing together College historians across the generations.

We hold events across Michaelmas and Lent Terms, an annual dinner and a garden party.

The society attracts a high calibre of speakers, from distinguished academics, to knights and peers of the realm, all offering a unique perspective from the top of their fields.

Our talks allow speakers the freedom to focus on their expertise in a less formal and more intimate setting than a lecture and gives students the chance to listen and challenge renowned historians.

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Find out more Visit society's website

Discover all societies

Notable alumni

Lord (Peter) Hennessy of Nympsfield

1966

Academic, Historian, Journalist

Nobel Laureate

Royal Medal winner

Academy Award winner

Pulitzer Prize winner

Olympic Medal winner

Poet Laureate

Hennessy started his career as a journalist, writing political pieces for The Times, Financial Times and The Economist. He was a regular presenter on BBC current affairs programmes from the 1980s. In 1986 he co-founded the Institute of Contemporary British History and began his academic career, specialising in the history of UK government. He was appointed professor at Queen Mary University of London. In the 2010s he interviewed senior politicians about their life and times for Radio 4's Reflections series. He was made a life peer in 2010.

Lord Palmerston (Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston)

1803

Prime Minister

Nobel Laureate

Royal Medal winner

Academy Award winner

Pulitzer Prize winner

Olympic Medal winner

Poet Laureate

Palmerston was a British statesman known for his wit and patriotism, who served as the first Liberal prime minister from 1855 to 1858 and 1859 to 1865, when he died in office. A Whig prior to the formation of the Liberal Party, he became foreign secretary in 1830 and dominated foreign policy for decades at the height of Britain's imperial ambitions, bringing India under the Crown in 1858. In College, the Fisher Building's main hall is named after him and students of Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) join the Palmerston Society.