Hi, I’m Natalie, and I’m a second-year Historian at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. History was always my favourite subject at school, so I was excited to explore it further at university. The flexibility and extent of free choice within the Cambridge History course seemed perfect for me.
In a typical week, History students will have around 6-8 lectures, plus one supervision. Lectures are held at the History Faculty at Sidgwick Site, where many of the humanities subjects are based, and usually consist of up to thirty students. The huge variety of papers (other universities may call these ‘modules’) on offer means that students are spread across all these lecture series, rather than all taking the same compulsory modules. Lectures are usually fifty minutes long, and lecturers encourage students to speak to or email them after the lecture to ask any further questions.
History students also attend a weekly supervision, which are one-to-one teaching sessions with an academic who is an expert in the particular field of History being studied. In the week prior to each supervision, students are asked to produce an essay of around 2,000-2,500 words with a given title. Students are usually provided with a recommended reading list (top tip: these are always too long, the idea is to choose which texts you personally find interesting and could use to benefit your essay argument), and the essay will be discussed in the following supervision. I usually spend 3-4 days reading quite intensely for my weekly essay, typing notes and thinking about what I might want to write. I will then spend half a day planning the essay, and the final day writing and proofreading, before emailing the finished essay to my supervisor, who will mark and write comments about it for us to discuss in the supervision. Supervisions are also an opportunity to ask any questions you have about the topic – make the most of this! The supervisors are experts in their field, which means the supervisions often end up involving some very interesting and insightful conversations.
The interview is intended to provide applicants with an insight into what supervisions are like. If you enjoy your interviews, that’s a very good sign that you would enjoy the Cambridge style of teaching! I had two interviews, pretty much back-to-back. My first interview focused predominantly on the essays I had submitted beforehand, which had been written as part of my A Level course, plus a small section on the pre-reading I had been given just before the interview. My second interview focused entirely on my personal statement – I was asked to expand on various points, talk more about the wider reading I had done, and elaborate on experiences I had briefly mentioned. Although I was nervous, I quickly settled into the conversations and ended up really enjoying the experience! Regardless of whether you receive an offer or not, a Cambridge interview is a really valuable experience and an unparalleled opportunity to have an interesting discussion about your favourite subject with some academics who are experts in their fields.
When preparing for the interview, I would recommend re-reading your personal statement and ideally annotating it with potential questions that could be asked about it. Pick out any books you have mentioned and make sure you could talk more about them if asked, including the main argument and any important details about the author. Similarly, if you have been asked to submit any written work, make sure you can defend the arguments you made or, alternatively, explain how more recent research you have conducted may have encouraged you to change your view. The interviewers are looking for evidence that you could develop key ‘History student skills’ such as analysis, supporting arguments with coherent evidence, and acknowledging the existence of alternative viewpoints. In the interview, prepare to take on board any hints or suggestions the interviewers provide, and use them to either support or alter your argument. There aren’t often ‘right answers’ in History, so the interviewers are looking for evidence of your thought process and how you use information to adapt your argument. With this in mind, the most important piece of advice is therefore to think out loud!
History at Cambridge is a varied and exciting course, which provides the opportunity to explore your interests in more depth and engage with primary sources and independent research. Because History involves only a few contact hours, students are expected to organise their time effectively and work independently. I really enjoy this aspect of the course, and it means I can make time for lots of other things alongside my degree, such as exploring some of the vast range of sports and societies on offer at Cambridge. If you have a genuine interest in History and a desire to further explore your interests within the subject, the Cambridge degree could be for you!