Oxbridge Interview / The Cambridge interview / History and Politics
Cambridge History and Politics interview: 49 places, two essays, one December conversation
Forty-nine places and seven applicants for each. Two essays go ahead of you, then tutors test whether you can move between the past and the present without losing the argument.
Updated September 2026Cambridge History and Politics had 7 applications per place in the 2025 cycle and accepted 49. It balances a grounding in history with politics and international relations, covering political science, the history of political thought and a wide range of modern British, European, American and world history. All applicants submit two pieces of written work, and Hughes Hall and St Edmund's set an admission assessment after shortlisting. Interviews are run by the college assessing you: main period 7 to 18 December 2026, online or in person depending on the college, most applicants having one or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour with two or three interviewers. Cambridge says it assesses your understanding of the subject, readiness for high-level study, critical and independent thinking, curiosity and enthusiasm.
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS.
Merra: practise it out loud before it counts
Merra's Cambridge History and Politics practice is a spoken mock in the college-interview style: five questions across both halves, one follow-up each, about fifteen minutes, then spoken feedback and a written report. One interviewer, no pre-reading.
- 1Sign up free — no card, 2 free coaching sessions available until used.
- 2Practise out loud — answer unseen discussion questions with an AI tutor.
- 3Get readiness feedback — see how you reasoned and how you handled the push, with a recording and transcript.
No card details required. Your first 2 coaching sessions are free.
Practise an Cambridge-style History and Politics interview
An AI tutor asks an unseen discussion question out loud, pushes once with a follow-up, then moves on — the same shape as the real thing, minus the science problems on paper.
Practise an Cambridge-style History and Politics interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscriptionHow this interview works
- 1Submit two pieces of written work. Hughes Hall and St Edmund's set an admission assessment after shortlisting.
- 2Invitations mostly in November. Main interview period 7 to 18 December 2026; winter pool mid to late January. Online or in person by college.
- 3One or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour, two or three interviewers; joint courses may see tutors from both sides.
- 4Expect questions on your essays and personal statement, on developments in politics and history, and on applying your thinking to unfamiliar examples.
- 5Cambridge assesses understanding of the subject, readiness for high-level study, critical and independent thinking, curiosity and enthusiasm.
- 6Outcomes 27 January 2027.
Interview questions
Cambridge does not publish interview questions for this course. The questions below are Merra practice questions written to the course as Cambridge describes it and to what Cambridge says interviews assess; they are not Cambridge's.
“Pick a political institution. Does knowing its history help you predict what it does next? Give me a case where it didn't.”
“Why should anyone obey a government they didn't vote for?”
“What's an event from the last hundred years that you think is misunderstood, and how?”
“What did one of your essays argue? Was it a historical claim or a political one?”
“'Elections don't change much.' How would you test that?”
“Why do countries cooperate when they could cheat?”
“What political question would you most like to study with historical evidence?”
“Why history and politics together rather than HSPS or History alone?”
Pricing
FAQs
How competitive is Cambridge History and Politics?
In the 2025 cycle there were 7 applications per place and 49 students were accepted.
Is written work required?
Yes, two pieces at all colleges.
Is there an admission assessment?
At Hughes Hall and St Edmund's, taken after shortlisting.
What does the course cover?
Political science, the history of political thought and a wide variety of modern British, European, American and world history.
When is the interview?
Main period 7 to 18 December 2026, one or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour, online or in person by college.
Official information
For the official course page and admissions details.
More Oxbridge interview guides
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS. Merra’s feedback is advisory only — it is not a guarantee of any offer or admission outcome.
The Oxbridge interview is spoken. Practise it that way.
Your first mock takes about 15 minutes: an unseen question, a follow-up, and feedback on how you reasoned. Free, no card.
Practise an Cambridge-style History and Politics interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscription