History with Politics

History with politics at Cambridge provides a rigorous grounding in two disciplines that are deeply intertwined: the study of how the past has shaped the present, and the study of how power is organised and contested in modern societies. History develops the ability to interrogate evidence critically, to understand the context and contingency of events, and to construct well-reasoned arguments about the past and its legacies. Politics offers systematic frameworks for understanding the institutions, ideologies, and processes through which modern states and international systems operate.

Together they illuminate the modern world from two complementary angles.

This three-year, full-time programme at Cambridge offers the distinctive educational experience of the Cambridge system, including small-group supervisions with specialist academics that push your thinking and writing to a high standard. You will study history across a range of periods and themes, and politics across theory, institutions, comparative government, and international relations. Cambridge's exceptional library resources, research culture, and community of scholars in both disciplines provide an academic environment that shapes ambitious graduates who go on to significant roles in public life, academia, and the professions.

History with politics graduates from Cambridge pursue careers across an exceptionally wide range of fields. Law, the civil service, journalism, international organisations, academia, finance, consulting, and political life itself are all common destinations. The combination of historical perspective and political understanding is valued wherever the ability to see patterns in events, to understand institutional dynamics, and to communicate clearly about complex questions matters.

Further postgraduate study in history, politics, law, or public policy is a natural extension for those who wish to develop specialist expertise or pursue academic careers.