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Courses:

Cambridge: History / History & Politics / History & Modern Languages

Oxford: History / History & English / History & Economics / History & Politics / Ancient & Modern History / History & Modern Languages

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Format:

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Cambridge:

• Either one longer interview (35-50 minutes), or two shorter interviews (20-30 minutes each)
• Some colleges may provide pre-reading: Christ’s, Churchill, Downing, Emmanuel, Girton, Homerton, Lucy Cav, Peterhouse, Selwyn, Sidney Sussex, St. Catherine’s, Trinity </aside>

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Oxford:

• Standard interview: 30 minutes with two tutors
• Some candidates will be called for a second interview, which will be held at a different college.
• Joint honours students usually have one interview, roughly 30 minutes </aside>

Content:

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Cambridge:

• Potential discussion of written work
• May involve pre-reading
• Potential personal statement questions </aside>

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Oxford:

• May involve pre-reading, or potentially a source given to you on the spot
• Potential questions from written work (more likely) and personal statement
• Potential wider questions about history in a wider context </aside>

Be aware: Although many tutoring websites claim that you will be asked questions such as “why Oxford/Cambridge?” or “why X college?”, these questions almost never come up. this is not a job interview.

How to prepare?

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• read widely in your areas of historical interest
• know your personal statement front and back
• review your written work → know your content
• practice thinking out loud </aside>

Advice from current students:

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1. How was your interview experience like?

I had a 30-minute interview, and I was given a book chapter about an hour in advance as pre-reading on the subject of medieval French peasants and the concept of agency. I was interviewed by two tutors, who asked me questions on the pre-reading, such as basic interpretation questions and deducing key arguments, and discussions on whether I agreed with the arguments. I disagreed and picked out specific pieces of evidence that the author used, arguing that it was insufficient to support their claims, as it involved a lot og guesswork and deductions. I used similar concepts from another historical period I was more familiar with, as the evidence was not relevant. They asked me about another period in history where the concept of peasant agency also applied. They moved on to discussing my written work, but most of the interview was centered around the pre-reading. I was asked two simple questions on my written work, including one on what I found most surprising during my research. They were more interested in how my written work led to my interests in history rather than in interrogating my ability to form arguments.

For those applying for joint honours, you may be asked on whether or not you’re willing to accept a place on a single honours course.

1. Any advice for interviewees?

Practise interpreting and arguing unseen sources. Oxford specifically mentioned phasing out pre-reading, but it means they are likely to give you an unseen source on the spot, similar to an oral version of the HAT exam. I would suggest using past HAT papers as a starting point in preparing for mock interviews, reading the sources, interpreting them and deducing the arguments and limitations. Definitely prepare for any potential questions on your written work and anything mentioned in your personal statement, understand the core arguments of the books you’ve listed, remember a few key pieces of evidence, and look for academic reviews. For the written work, try to understand the historiography behind it or the wider argument around it. Be prepared to defend your arguments.

1. What’s something you wish you knew before you were interviewed?

The fact that for unseen sources you cannot prepare in terms of content, so try not to think of this as a test of your knowledge, but rather as a question of your skills as a historian.

(from anon, History & Economics (Oxford), 2nd year)

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• there are no expectations regarding previous knowledge for caah (since almost no applicants will have had proper education on the subject in secondary school), so there is no particular set of "information" to learn/dates
• with that said there are some things that if you know could be more helpful: e.g. knowing how different greek/roman gods are represented such as poseidon having a triton... etc this can help, but is not completely necessary

instead what is important are your skills: when having to describe an object go in phases-

1. what is the object? a wall painting, vase, grave stele, monument, architectural plan

2. what is on the object? is there some sort of sculptural or painted element? is there is an inscription?

3. if yes, what could these inscriptions or representations tell us about the object? make that lead on to the society/culture as a whole

• the picture questions are not primarily identification tests, just slowly and systematically describe what is there
• similarly for the text questions if presented with a text firstly talk about content, then about significance, questions arising from it etc
• do not be shy to say anything out loud, the interviewers are more than happy to help you to structure your questions
• you may be asked about your personal statement so make sure any of your points on your personal statement are ones you could develop in an interview setting

(from 1st year CAAH student)

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What are admissions tutors looking for?

• An ability to articulate your ideas and think conceptually
• Intellectual curiosity
• A voracious appetite for historical reading