History
The Course
Cambridge accepts about 170 undergraduates a year to read History,
distributed across the various colleges. In the first two years
of the course, students choose from a range of broadly-based papers.
Some British history is compulsory at this stage, but there is a
wide variety of other papers in European, American, Asian and African
history, as well as the history of political ideas and thought.
The third and final year of the course offers a very large choice
of more specialised and document-centred papers, and an opportunity
to do an individual dissertation on a subject of the student's choice.
It is also possible in to combine History with other courses, such
as Law or Economics. This is done by taking the first part of one
course, and the second of another. History can be taken either as
a Part I or a Part II subject in this way. Thus (for example) a
student might read Part I History and Part II Law, or Part I Economics
and Part II History.
The main attraction of
History at Cambridge is thus the way it allows students to put together
their own 'package' of topics and papers tailored to their particular
interests. The teaching is also structured to encourage this, with
individual or small-group supervisions arranged flexibly to accommodate
the very different choices of topics which students may want to
make.  The
Faculty has the breadth of teaching expertise to make this possible,
while students can draw on a number of excellent libraries.
Further details about
History at Cambridge are available from the Cambridge University
Guide to Courses, or direct from the Secretary, Faculty of History,
West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9EF, or contact the Cambridge University
website on http://www.hist.cam.ac.uk
Studying History at
Clare
Clare has a strong teaching side in History, which covers a wide
range of specialisms (see below). This encourages lively seminars
on historical method that we also run. In common with other Cambridge
colleges, though, we do not expect to be able to cover all interests,
and so where appropriate arrange for students to be supervised by
fellows in other colleges. As far as libraries are concerned, Clare
is ideally situated for historians: it is just five minutes' walk
from the History Faculty, and is also right next door to the main
University Library.
Students reading History
aim to cover one paper every term. The eight weeks of each 'Full
Term' revolve very much around the weekly essay and one-hour supervision.
A typical weekly workload for a historian would be some six hours
of lectures on their chosen papers, the preparation of an essay,
usually of some 3,000 to 4,000 words and involving substantial reading
and planning, one individual supervision, and some more general
reading as preparation for our college-based discussions of historical
method.
Above all in Clare, we
try to provide our historians with a milieu that is both intellectually
stimulating, and friendly and supportive. Clare historians have
a reputation for academic achievement, and we believe that most
students flourish best when challenged and tested. But we also appreciate
that our students may come to university with diverse expectations
and experience, and their needs as individuals may vary considerably.
We try hard to take account of this, and to provide an environment
in which students of all kinds will be able to make the most of
their abilities. We also positively welcome direct enquiries from
prospective candidates or their teachers needing further information
about the course or the college.
Admissions Requirements
Offers are based on A2-level (or equivalent) examination results,
a typical offer to read History would be AAA. Candidates are
not expected to have a particular combination of subjects at A2-level
(or equivalent).
Interviews
Applicants are usually interviewed in the second or third week of
December, and will usually have two interviews. Both of these will
be subject-based but one interview will also have a more general
component. To give you a further way of showing your potential,
we also invite you to submit school work. You are asked to send
in two pieces of history school/college work in advance of your
interviews. These may be essays or other project work, but should
NOT have been completed under examination or timed conditions.
We won't accept short answers based on document exercises or non-history essays. If your coursework does not include essays, you should ask your teacher to set you two essays to write in your own time. Your teacher should confirm that these essays are your own work, but it is not necessary for teachers to mark the essays or give them a grade. We
will write to you to ask for this work to be sent to us by the middle
of November, preceding the December interviews. We like to see school
work because it does not involve candidates in any extra preparation,
and it gives us a chance to see how you work under everyday, as
well as examination, conditions.
Fellows in History
Professor
John Guy, Teaching Fellow. He works in the field of early
modern British History
Dr
Hubertus Jahn,Senior Lecturer in History, teaches modern
European History and specialises in Russian Social and Cultural
History from the early modern period to the present.
Dr
Elizabeth Foyster, College Teaching Officer and Director
of Studies (Part I). She specialises in British Social History
from the 17th century to the mid-19th century.
,
University Lecturer in Celtic History in the
Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic. She teaches the
history of the Brittonic-speaking and the Gaelic-speaking peoples
and is particularly interested in contacts between areas of
the Insular world.
Dr
Andrew Preston, University Lecturer in
History. He teaches Twentieth Century American History, especially
the histories of diplomacy, politics, and religion.
The Master of Clare College,
Professor
Tony Badger, is also a historian working in the field
of American History.
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The
Cambridge History Course
Back
to undergraduate admissions
Professor
Tony Badger
Professor John Guy
Dr Elizabeth Foyster
Dr Andrew Preston
Dr Hubertus Jahn
Dr Fiona Edmonds
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