Number 1 in the UK for History (The Complete University Guide 2025)
History and Politics at Cambridge
This course balances a strong grounding in history and politics. You'll explore the ways that historical and political understanding illuminate the modern world.
Our course covers a range of subjects from our history, politics and international relations courses. These include:
- political science
- history of political thought
- a wide variety of modern British, European, American and world history
- conceptual issues in political science
- quantitative methods
Teaching and facilities
Teaching
You’ll be taught by some of the most eminent academics in the world.
Staff in the Faculty of History and in the Department of Politics and International Studies have a wide range of shared interests in political and international history, and the historical origins of contemporary domestic and international politics and political ideas.
Facilities
You will have access to both Faculty of History and Department of Politics and International Studies facilities. They include:
- Faculty of History’s Seeley collection, with 95,000 books, periodicals, theses and an audio-visual collection
You'll also have access to the impressive Cambridge University Library, one of the world’s oldest university libraries.
Course costs
When you go to university, you’ll need to consider two main costs – your tuition fees and your living costs (sometimes referred to as maintenance costs).
Your living costs will include costs related to your studies that are not covered by your tuition fees. There are some general study costs that will apply for all students.
Find out more about general study costs.
Other additional course costs for History and Politics are detailed below. If you have any queries about these costs, please contact the Department.
Books and set texts
There is no expectation to buy any set books as these are available at the University and College libraries, but you might find it useful to buy your own copies of a small number of core texts. These will not usually exceed £100 in total.
Field trips
You may have additional costs as you pursue your dissertation research (eg travel), but travelling is not necessary in order to prepare an outstanding dissertation. Funding is sometimes available to cover these expenses. Please visit the Department website for more details.
Your future career
When you graduate you’ll be able to work independently, evaluate and discriminate between evidence, and present arguments clearly and persuasively. These skills are attractive to employers.
Recent graduates have progressed to careers in:
- media
- law
- public administration
- finance
- teaching
- the charity sector
