History

History at Cambridge is a rigorous, wide-ranging discipline that asks you to engage with the human past through primary sources, analytical argument and sustained critical enquiry. You might study politics in the Roman Republic, material culture in the Ottoman Empire, or neoliberalism in modern Britain and America, but across whatever period or theme you choose, the discipline demands precision with evidence, clarity of argument and the intellectual honesty to revise your understanding when the sources require it. History at this level is not the accumulation of facts; it is the practice of thinking carefully about what happened, why, and how we know.

At the University of Cambridge you will study this three-year full-time programme within the tutorial and supervision system for which Cambridge is internationally known. Small-group teaching places you in direct intellectual engagement with experts across a remarkable range of historical fields, and you will be expected from an early stage to read independently, form your own judgements and argue them in both writing and discussion. Cambridge's library resources, research culture and the sheer range of historical expertise concentrated in a single institution make this one of the most intellectually rich environments in which to study the subject.

The typical entry tariff for this programme is around 200 UCAS points, consistent with Cambridge's highly selective admissions.

History graduates from Cambridge are exceptionally well placed across a very wide range of careers. Law, finance, management consulting, journalism, publishing, the civil service, politics, think tanks, academia and the cultural sector are all common destinations. The research, writing and analytical skills the degree develops are valued everywhere that intellectual rigour and the ability to handle complex information matter.

Many graduates also proceed to postgraduate study in history, law, international relations, politics, economics or professional qualifications, and the Cambridge network provides a lasting professional and intellectual asset throughout their careers.