History

The Cambridge History Faculty is one of the largest History departments in the world.

The Faculty has consistently obtained the highest ratings in official evaluations for teaching and research. Its work spans three millennia, straddles the globe and exemplifies the rich variety of sub-disciplines that constitutes history today.

History has always been a major part of the intellectual life of Magdalene College. Although Magdalene is one of the smaller colleges, there are a number of Fellows teaching in History or related disciplines, and their research interests reflect many of the areas of historical studies in Cambridge.

At any one time we normally have around 18 undergraduates reading History in the College across all years, in addition to a varying number of graduate students embarked on MPhil or PhD study. It is a diverse and cosmopolitan community of scholars. We believe that a college environment provides unique conditions in which students can best develop their own intellectual interests in discussion with people with similar enthusiasms. At Magdalene, our students especially benefit from the facilities and collections of our wonderful New Library.

Although individual study is the principal foundation of the course, in College we supplement Faculty and supervision teaching with seminars, guest speakers and social events. 

Magdalene has an active History Society, open to all Magdalene historians - Fellows, graduates and undergraduates – as well as undergraduate students in other subjects. It meets multiple times a Term and organises talks, excursions and social events. We also usually hold an Annual Dinner in Lent Term. In addition to the core teaching staff listed, the College has a few Research Fellows in History and some active retired or Life Fellows (Professor Eamon Duffy, Professor James Raven, and Dr Christina Skott), as well as scholars working in cognate subject areas, such as Dr John Patterson (Classics/Ancient History), Professor Amira Bennison (Middle Eastern Studies), Dr John Munns (History of Art), and Dr Peter Asimov (Musicology and the History of Music).

Language teaching

Magdalene is very committed to the ongoing development of students' language skills. Every historian is  encouraged to study a language of their choosing if they wish. Some keep up those they have studied at school; others tackle something entirely new. Knowledge of one or more languages helps with many historical papers, and is particularly useful for some Part II courses, especially certain special subjects and dissertation topics. The most popular choices are French, Latin, German, and Spanish.

The Centre of History and Economics at Magdalene College

From 2010, The Joint Centre for History and Economics has been based at Magdalene College and King's College, Cambridge, and at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University. It was established in 1991 to promote research and education in fields of importance for historians and economists. Its aim is to provide a forum in which scholars can address some of their common concerns, whether through the application of economic concepts to historical problems, through the history of economic and social thought, or through economic history.

The objective of the Centre is to encourage fundamental research in each of the two disciplines. It also encourages the participation of historians and economists in addressing issues of public importance. In cooperation with its counterpart Centre at Harvard, the Cambridge Centre undertakes research projects and organizes workshops, seminars and exchanges of faculty and graduate students.

More details of the course and the optional papers available can be found on the University’s Undergraduate Study pages and the Faculty of History website.

The best preparation for applying to Magdalene, and for interview, is to read as widely as you can. This can be both in History and in related fields such as literature and current affairs. There are no ‘set texts’ that we prescribe, but try and extend your reading around what you may have studied at school, and look beyond it to other periods and places. Follow your own interests and develop them. An enthusiasm for the subject is vital to studying History at university, and, when you apply for a place, reading is the best way of demonstrating this. There is excellent advice on how to go about this on the Faculty of History Virtual Classroom.

Candidates should have or be on course to obtain History at A-level or equivalent (such as Higher Level in the IB). In terms of other subjects, Languages, English, Mathematics and Social Sciences are all particularly useful, but almost anything you study will have relevance.

Minimum Offer

A-level: A*AA

IB: 41-42 points overall, with 7, 7, 6 at Higher Level. 

Occasionally we may ask for an A* (or 7 at IB Higher Level) in History specifically. 

Other qualifications: Check which other qualifications we accept 

Candidates will normally have two interviews of around 20-25 minutes each.

The interview process aims to assess your intellectual ability, potential, and commitment to the subject.

We also usually ask for two samples of written work (such as school essays) to be submitted with the application.

There is no admissions assessment for History at Magdalene.

More information is available on the Interviews, Written Work and Assessments page.