History Or HisPol degree?

Hi! I’m currently in Year 12 and thinking about what degree. I want to do at uni so I can link relevant wider reading to this. For A level, I do History, Politics and Art and I am hopefully planning to apply to Cambridge in October. Now initially I was quite set on HisPol as I’m very interested in both History and Politics quite equally and especially in the history of the development of political spheres. I’ve done some research into both degrees but I’m still not sure as some people (and statistics) have shown/said to me that HisPol is a lot more competitive in comparison to a pure degree subject and that I have a lower chance of getting in due to how small the cohorts are, especially in Cambridge. Therefore, can anyone who does History or HisPol give me more of an insight into any/both of the degrees as it would be very helpful and much appreciated. Thank you

Hi, current Cambridge history student here!
You're right that Hispol is slightly more competitive, because of the small cohort size. However, it's still Cambridge, which means that History's competitive as well; ultimately, relying on stats to make your decision is never a good idea, since you'll always have the best chance if you apply for the degree you're most interested in. If you like Hispol more, then just go for it, it won't make that much of a difference application-wise.
If you're still unsure, though, History and Hispol are actually more alike than they are different. I reckon you can find the most differences between the papers in the first year curriculum. Afterwards, if you choose certain papers, you can basically almost do Hispol when actually doing History; for example, you can choose one of the History of Political Thought papers in year 2. I personally enjoy History because you have much more freedom in terms of your curriculum. For example, in year 2 we get to choose whichever 2 topics papers we want, while Hispol students have to take either Topics 1 or Topics 2. In addition, they have to pick between two Politics papers as well. In first year, I believe they don't even have a choice in terms of Politics papers, so do with that information whatever you want lol. I'd advise taking a look at the course outlines on the History faculty webpage.
I hope this helps, and if you have any further questions (mainly about History cause my Hispol knowledge is limited), feel free to let me know!
Good luck on your application!

All joint subject degrees mean a compromise - you wont get the same choice of units as those doing the single subject degree due to timetable restrictions etc. This can get frustrating.
Also - be aware that its usually possible to do many 'political history' units within either a Politics or History degree so check the lists of available options at each Uni, and certainly ask about what is available within each course at Open Days.
There are also degree programs that deliberately focus on inter-disciplinary study -
BA Liberal Arts | University of Southampton
BA American Studies (2026 entry) | The University of Manchester
Middle Eastern Studies and Politics BA | University of Leeds
Etc.

Hi! Thanks so much! I’ve been reading the Tripos for both History and History and Politics and tbh, I love both. I’ve seen some differences in them ofc and I wouldn’t really mind doing either. I was wondering if you could tell me more about the History course at Cambridge as I wanted to get more of an insight from a student there in comparison to what the website/teachers tell me as it’s obviously different when actually studying it.

Of course! I think the tripos webpage is honestly very representative of what it's like doing History. I like that it has a slightly larger cohort size than some other subjects, especially if you also include Hispol and HML students, so you'll have your own little History community within your college! The workload is quite manageable, but some weeks are better than others. We also have exams right after Easter break, which means that you'll spend that entire break revising, but Easter term is supposed to be pretty chill afterwards! I think Introduction to Historical Thinking has been my least favourite part of the degree so far, since you don't get to choose the book you're reading (that's up to your DoS), which means it might not be your thing. However, I'd argue that IHT is only a very small part of your degree in the first year (idk about the other years) and it's fun that it's taught in-college so you get to have seminars with your fellow college Historians and your DoS. Every supervisor/fellow I've met so far has been really friendly and helpful in their feedback. The lectures have been pretty good so far too (you'll get a different lecturer for pretty much each lecture, so of course they vary in quality a bit). As I've mentioned before, my favourite thing about the degree is how much freedom of choice you get. In second year, we can even borrow HSPS or Classics papers for example, which I find very exciting lol. There are also so many seminars, History societies, events, Q&A's, book launches etc that you can attend, we get a newsletter about those events twice a week which is great! History at university will obviously be different than History in high school (A levels or equivalent), but if you enjoy the subject, I think you'd really enjoy the course tbh. Hope this was helpful in any way!

Thank you! That sounds very exciting actually. I was reading the tripos again for history at Cambridge does sound very interesting actually, more so than History and Politics. I’ll definitely look into it more so thanks for being so helpful! May I ask what college you’re currently in?

I'm really glad to hear that, you're welcome! I'm at Homerton!

Ooh! I’ve looked around colleges at Cambridge but to be honest, I’m not sure which one I’d pick if I had to choose 😅
I’m a bit stuck on supercurriculars to add to my personal statement so I was wondering if you have any advice/tips?

No worries, settling on your degree is definitely more important than choosing your college! There are quite a few helpful threads on this forum about how to pick a college, but definitely try to attend an open day or even just visit Cambridge on a regular day. Most colleges are happy to let prospective applicants have a look around!
In terms of supercurriculars, books are of course a go-to, but I'd also suggest looking into documentaries, podcasts or even films; anything that has inspired you to do History. If you could get some (volunteer) work experience related to the subject, this would of course be perfect, but I think most applicants don't manage to arrange that (I was lucky to be able to volunteer at my local museum). Otherwise, I've heard other people going to (online) lecture and seminars series, and mentioning this in their personal statement. Ultimately, everything is fine as long as you can connect it to History and as long as it makes you enthusiastic! They'd much rather have you talk passionately about some blockbuster historical film than rambling about a boring book you found on a reading list and didn't really enjoy. I know people who've talked about the most random things in their PS but managed to connect it to their interest in the subject and their skill set, and this has worked out pretty well.
I'd also advice looking at similarities between your supercurriculars, so you can make connections between them while writing your personal statement. This makes for an easier flow between paragraphs and shows that you know how to structure a piece of writing.
Hope this helps!

hey! sorry to jump in — just thought I’d share this in case it’s relevant.
I’m a second-year at Cambridge + VP of the Cambridge Journal of Political Affairs, and we’ve just launched an essay competition for Y11–13 students. it’s themed around political challenges and open to anyone interested in things like IR, history, political theory etc.
we’re also offering some 1:1 guidance on personal statements + interviews to the winners — might be useful if you're thinking about applying to uni for anything in that area.
link’s here if you’re curious, but no pressure at all: https://cambridgepoliticalaffairs.co.uk/essay-competition

Do you know of any other essay competitions in politics or history?

the RA Butler Prize (Cambridge) and the Julia Wood Prize (Oxford) are the two big ones!