Dr Susan Bayly is overall Director of Studies in HSPS at the College. She specialises in Anthropology and Archaeology. Dr Duncan Bell is Director of Studies for International Relations, Politics and Sociology.

Number of students admitted each year: 4 – 6

University Website: www.hsps.cam.ac.uk

If you want to study  Anthropology, Archaeology, International Relations, Politics, or Sociology at Cambridge this is the course for you. It offers several popular subject combinations, as well as specialist options, including Assyriology and Egyptology.

No particular subjects at A level (or equivalent) are required. It may be helpful if your subjects relate to the area of the course in which you are hoping to specialise, eg Biology for Biological Anthropology, History or Sociology for Social Anthropology, Geography for Archaeology etc. However, most subjects are relevant and a mix of science and arts subjects is positively welcomed.

Study of a modern or ancient language might be desirable for applicants wishing to study ancient Egyptian or Akkadian language options but is not a requirement.

 

Explore the subjects you like and experience new ones

The flexibility of Human, Social, and Political Sciences (HSPS) at Cambridge allows you to explore a variety of subjects, many of which may be new to you, like International Relations, Politics or Social or Biological Anthropology, before pursuing advanced study in either one or two specific subjects in your second and third years. Alternatively, if you already know the subject(s) in which you want to specialise, you can tailor the course to suit your interests right from the start while retaining the option to take individual options in other subjects as well.

 

You'll graduate from Cambridge having specialised in one or two subjects but will also have the advantage of a broad background in the human, social, and political sciences.

 

Why choose Cambridge?

 

Cambridge offers a world-class undergraduate education. We have excellent teachers and teaching resources. The course is supported by two dedicated subject libraries and excellent teaching resources including the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, computing facilities, multi-media equipped teaching rooms, purpose-built laboratories and a rare collection of ethnographic films.

 

And after Cambridge?

 

The analytical and critical skills, intellectual versatility, multicultural sensitivity and international outlook you develop through this course are widely sought after by employers. Recent graduates have pursued careers in research (both academic and policy research), the Civil Service (including the Foreign Office), journalism, management consultancy, museums, conservation and heritage management, national and international NGOs and development agencies, the Law, teaching, publishing, health management, and public relations.

 

Course outline

 

Teaching is provided through lectures, supervisions, and seminars. Some subjects also include practical or laboratory classes and fieldwork. In the first year, you have around eight lectures and one or two supervisions a week.

Assessment takes place at the end of each year. In most cases this takes the form of a three-hour written examination for each paper, though some are assessed by coursework. In the final year, you can choose to substitute one paper for a dissertation of up to 10,000 words.

Year 1 (Part I)

In the first year, with guidance from your Director of Studies and ample time to choose the combination that is right for you, you choose four subjects from: 

• Politics

• International Relations

• Sociology

• Social Anthropology

• Biological Anthropology

• Archaeology

• Cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia

• Egyptian language

• Akkadian language

• Psychology

Here are four possible combinations, but others are also possible:

• Politics, Social Anthropology, International Relations, Sociology

• Social Anthropology, Sociology, Archaeology, Politics

• Biological Anthropology, Archaeology, Psychology, Social Anthropology

• Cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia, Akkadian language, Egyptian language, Archaeology

Years 2 and 3 (Part II)

For your second and third years, you can EITHER choose one of five single-subject courses, each of which enables you to take optional papers from other subjects; OR you can choose one of six two-subject courses.

The single-subject courses are:

• Politics and International Relations

• Social Anthropology

• Sociology

• Archaeology (including Assyriology and Egyptology)

• Biological Anthropology

You take four papers in both Years 2 and 3. If you choose a single-subject you can replace one optional paper with a paper from another HSPS subject, an interdisciplinary research methods paper, or a paper borrowed from another degree course.

The two-subject courses are:

• Politics and Sociology

• Sociology and Social Anthropology

• Social and Biological Anthropology

• Archaeology and Social Anthropology

• Biological Anthropology and Archaeology

• Assyriology and Egyptology

 

You take two papers from a number of options available in each subject in each year. In Year 3, you can offer a dissertation as your fourth paper.

Please note that it's not possible to change pathway between Years 2 and 3, unless you're switching from a two-subject pathway to one of the single subjects within it. Some Year 3 papers may only be available if you've taken the relevant paper in your second year.

 

Single-Subject Courses

 

 

 

Politics and International Relations

 

Politics and International Relations engages with the nature of the political world within countries and between them. It asks questions about how and why national and international politics have developed as they have and how people have imagined that they might be changed. It explores issues from human rights and democracy, to financial crisis and international conflict.

 

Year 2

 

You take the following three papers:

• Comparative Politics

 

• International Relations

 

• The History of Political Thought

 

Plus one of the following options:

• two 5,000 word essays on an aspect of Politics and/or International Relations

 

• a paper offered in another HSPS subject

 

• a paper in History or History and Philosophy of Science

 

 

Year 3

 

You study a general paper in Politics and International Relations plus:

• three optional papers chosen from a range of Politics and International Relations subjects, one of which can be a dissertation

 

• or two optional Politics and International Relations papers plus one chosen from the other HSPS subjects.

 

 

 

 

Social Anthropology

 

Anthropologists address 'what it is to be human' by doing in-depth participatory studies ('fieldwork') on the amazingly varied ways people live, think, and relate to each other in every part of the modern world: from love and intimacy in online worlds, to how Amazonian communities respond to deforestation, how globalization affects factory workers in India, and experiences of citizenship and democracy in African cities.

 

Year 2

 

You take three core papers covering politics, economics, kinship, religion, and anthropological theory and methods, and one optional paper.

 

Year 3

 

Your two core papers explore: cross-cultural unities and diversities in human thinking, emotions, and moralities; and diverse forms and responses to the global political economy. You also choose a region (eg Latin America, South Asia, Africa, Europe) to study in depth. Your two optional papers may include a dissertation, which you can base on your own ethnographic fieldwork.

Optional papers include the anthropology of: city life, colonialism, law, development, medicine and health, and film and the arts; and also choices from the other HSPS subjects.

 

Sociology

 

Sociology focuses on the nature of modern societies, how they are organized and how they are changing. It examines social institutions and the changing forms of power and inequality among other things, and it develops theories and conducts empirical research in order to deepen our understanding of the processes that shape social life.

 

Year 2

 

You take the following three papers:

• Social Theory

 

• Modern Societies II

 

• Concepts and Arguments in Sociology or a paper in statistics and methods

 

Your fourth paper can be in sociology or can be chosen from a range available in the other HSPS subjects, History and Philosophy of Science, Psychological and Behavioural Sciences and History.

 

Year 3

• You choose three papers from a range of subjects in sociology and social theory. If you wish, you can offer a dissertation in place of one of these.

• Your final paper can be another in sociology, one taken from the other HSPS subjects, or from Psychological and Behavioural Sciences.

 

 

Archaeology

 

 

Archaeology uses material culture to explore the diversities and commonalities of the human past. It's geared equally to students with humanities, social science, and science backgrounds and you learn field archaeology by joining staff research projects in all parts of the world.

 

Year 2

 

You take core papers in Archaeological Thought and Archaeology in Action (a mix of lab and fieldwork) and two papers from a range of options allowing you to specialise in the archaeology of a particular period (eg Early Prehistory, the Roman Empire, Medieval Europe), or region (eg Europe, Africa, South Asia), or in Archaeological Science.

 

One of these papers can be substituted for one chosen from the other HSPS subjects, History and Philosophy of Science, History, or Classics.

 

Year 3

 

You take an advanced paper in Archaeological Thought and either two archaeology papers from a number of specialist options, or one further archaeology paper and a dissertation. Your fourth paper is chosen from a range available in the other HSPS subjects.

 

 

Biological Anthropology

 

Biological Anthropology explores human biology and evolution, with an emphasis on the interaction between biology and culture. It includes the study of the place of humans in nature and the pattern of human diversity, and investigates our evolutionary history, adaptations, genetics, behaviour, and health and disease throughout the past and among modern societies.

 

Year 2

 

The second year includes three papers which explore broad themes within biological anthropology; humans in a comparative perspective, human evolution, and life history and health. Your remaining paper is chosen from a range offered in the other HSPS subjects or History and Philosophy of Science.

 

Year 3

 

The third year emphasises current issues and advanced methods within the different branches of the subject. You take:

• a theory and practice paper

 

• two further biological anthropology papers, one of which may be substituted for a dissertation

 

• either a fourth biological anthropology paper, or one chosen from a selection offered in the other HSPS subjects

 

Egyptology and Assyriology

 

Assyriology is the study of the languages (Akkadian and Sumerian), literature, history and archaeology of ancient Mesopotamia - the location of the world's first urban and literate society and some of the earliest empires. Egyptology is the study of the languages, literature, history, archaeology and religion of Pharaonic Egypt.  In years 2 and 3, students study written sources, architecture, art and material culture.  Each year of study combines a language paper and an Archaeology paper, with papers on culture and history.

 

Year 2

 

• one additional paper chosen from Archaeological Thought, Archaeology in Action or a further archaeology paper

 

 

Year 3

 

• a paper chosen from Archaeological Thought, a second Mesopotamian language paper, a further archaeology paper, or a dissertation.