- Reread the two submitted written-work pieces and mark the claim, evidence and assumptions in each paragraph.
- Choose two personal-statement topics and prepare one limitation and one counterargument for each.
- Build a short reading log across politics and international relations, social anthropology and sociology.
Free Interview Resources
Cambridge HSPS Interview Questions
Free practice questions, preparation advice, and expert insights for HSPS interviews at Cambridge.
1-2 interviews · supervision-styleFormat
Sample Cambridge HSPS Interview Questions
Real HSPS interview questions in the style Cambridge asks. Try answering each one aloud before you reveal the hint.
01Read this paragraph from a political speech. What assumptions about citizens does it make?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Read this paragraph from a political speech. What assumptions about citizens does it make?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
02A short extract argues that culture is more important than institutions. What is the strongest inference you can draw, and what would be overclaiming?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
A short extract argues that culture is more important than institutions. What is the strongest inference you can draw, and what would be overclaiming?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
03Look at this description of a ritual. What might an anthropologist notice that a journalist might miss?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Look at this description of a ritual. What might an anthropologist notice that a journalist might miss?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
04A passage describes trust in government declining over time. What explanations would you want to test?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
A passage describes trust in government declining over time. What explanations would you want to test?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
05Read this extract about social class. Which terms need defining before the argument can be assessed?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Read this extract about social class. Which terms need defining before the argument can be assessed?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Supervision-style interviews with problem-solving and academic discussion, often with two interviewers.
Cambridge interviews usually happen at your first-choice college. Most applicants have two interviews, with some subjects requiring a third at the pooled college. Cambridge interviews tend to involve two interviewers and may include a written assessment or pre-interview task sent on the day.
20-45 minutes per interview2 interviews at first-choice college, possibly 1 more if pooled
- -Cambridge often sends a pre-reading or stimulus material 20-30 minutes before the interview. Use that time wisely.
- -At Cambridge, you may be given a piece of paper and asked to work through a problem. Write clearly and explain as you go.
- -The supervision system at Cambridge is about collaborative learning, so interviewers want to see if you can be "taught" during the session.
Invitation → Decision: the interview timeline
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
1 questions01A paragraph claims that online communities are replacing local communities. What evidence would help you evaluate that claim?
Interpretive Discussion
7 questions01Is democracy best understood as a set of institutions or as a culture of participation?
02What makes a social explanation different from an individual explanation?
03Can a society be modern and traditional at the same time?
04Why might two researchers interpret the same protest in different ways?
05Is political power mainly visible in decisions, or in the rules that shape what can be decided?
06How would you distinguish identity from interest in political behaviour?
07When does comparison clarify a social question, and when can it distort it?
Evidence & Argument
5 questions01A survey reports that young people trust political parties less than older voters. What can this evidence show, and what can it not show?
02How would you compare interview evidence with statistical evidence when studying inequality?
03What evidence would persuade you that nationalism is primarily an economic response?
04If a case study contradicts a general theory, how should a social scientist respond?
05A graph shows rising protest participation but falling turnout. What further evidence would you need before explaining the pattern?
Counterfactual Reasoning
3 questions01If social media had existed during an earlier revolution, what might have changed and what might have stayed the same?
02If voting were compulsory, how might that change the meaning of political participation?
03If a society had no formal political parties, where else might political power appear?
Personal Statement
4 questions01Which claim in your personal statement would you most want to revise now, and why?
02Tell us about a book or article you mentioned. What is its central argument, and where is it weakest?
03You wrote about a political or social issue. What would someone from another HSPS discipline add to your analysis?
04What topic in your written work would you like to investigate further at Cambridge?
Ethical & Political Judgement
3 questions01Should governments ever restrict harmful speech, and what counts as harm?
02Is equality more important than freedom when the two appear to conflict?
03When researchers study vulnerable communities, what responsibilities do they have beyond producing accurate knowledge?
- Practise explaining one argument aloud in two minutes, then answering follow-up questions without notes.
- Use short articles, graphs or extracts to practise separating observation from interpretation.
- Ask a teacher or peer to challenge your definitions of key terms such as democracy, culture, power, inequality and identity.
- Run one mock discussion that uses a short unseen passage or data point.
- Review College instructions, interview format and any practical arrangements for the day.
- Prepare calm first-response habits: define the issue, state what you know, and identify what you need to clarify.
- Reread your annotations rather than trying to add large amounts of new material.
- Keep examples flexible so they can be adapted to politics, anthropology, sociology or international relations questions.
- After each practice answer, ask what evidence would change your mind.
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- The full HSPS question bank, by category, with hints
- A week-by-week preparation roadmap
- The common mistakes that cost offers - and how to avoid them
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Cambridge HSPS Interview Videos
Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) explained: a unique course only found at Cambridge
Human, Social, and Political Sciences (HSPS) at Cambridge
Follow Eve through a day in the life of a HSPS student
HSPS Open Day course presentation
Preparing for Interview
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Further Reading
Recommended Resources
Link
Democracy for Realists
Link
Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea
Link
Think Like an Anthropologist
Link
Thinking Sociologically
Link
Black Feminist Thought
Link
Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) explained: a unique course only found at Cambridge
Link
Human, Social, and Political Sciences (HSPS) at Cambridge
Link
Follow Eve through a day in the life of a HSPS student
Link
HSPS Open Day course presentation
Link
Preparing for Interview
Link
Talking Politics
Link
Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology
Link
The Cambridge Anthropology Podcast
Link
HSPS subjects overview
Link
HSPS suggested reading for prospective students
Frequently Asked Questions
Most applicants have 1 or 2 interviews, and the HSPS format is recorded as 1-2 interviews.
Each interview typically lasts 20-30 minutes.
It is likely to inform the discussion, so reread both pieces and prepare to explain the argument, evidence and limits of each one.
Interviews may be online or in person depending on the College assessing the application.
They assess enthusiasm, course fit, wider reading, critical analysis and the ability to use new complex information.
No. For 2027 entry, Hughes Hall, King’s and Newnham ask HSPS applicants to take an assessment, and applicants do not register for those assessments in advance.