HSPS/Politics & Social Sciences
A comprehensive guide to studying HSPS/Politics & Social Sciences at university.
- - It’s very multifaceted so irrespective of there being a module that you don’t fancy i.e. Political theory, the odds are that you will have a module that you really do like and excel in or even perhaps a topic within a module such is the variety of things that you learn.
- - You can effectively learn anything to do within the disciplines as from second year, and especially in third year, you have the freedom to take an array of different papers and/or write a dissertation which can be on anything that you’re passionate for and which you can take anywhere intellectually speaking.
- - You ultimately build knowledge on a wide array of different cultures across time, increasing your cultural capital in conversation! This is especially true for social anthropology where you mainly (or only) look at other cultures and matters within those cultures.
- - Due to there being a lot of modules (4) and there being such a diverse range of things to know, it can sometimes feel a bit too disconnected and for those people that like connecting the dots across what they learn, which HSPS will in some sense allow but not greatly, it may be difficult come exam season.
- - You are expected to be VERY independent. Reading, writing your termly essays, revising, revision sessions and thinking is all down to you. Supervisors and lectures are there to stimulate your thoughts, not to make up all your knowledge. And supervisions are there to stimulate thought based on what you’ve written about in essays. Therefore, you can expect to be worked hard when it comes to ideas, arguments and claims.
- - The demand to think expansively and take your mind to places where they probably haven’t, especially with anthropology, will be an initial challenge and how you go about it will ultimately come down to the work that you put in. As mentioned, academics will help but they won’t necessarily resolve.
NO, HSPS is not ‘PPE at Cambridge’ or a ‘PPE at Oxf*rd knock-off’ and NO, HSPS is not a ‘science’ (well, by my understanding of a science). Number one, it’s at the better university ;), and number two, it is versatile and can either be the furthest thing away from study of cells and abstract numbers, at least if you want to make it, but the opposite may be true also if you opt for some modules including biological anthropology, psychology and the philosophy of science (from second year). Therefore, in my opinion at least, the funnest, and most rewarding subject experience that Cambridge has to offer is a HSPS degree.
On the other hand, if you’ve seen somewhere that HSPS is quite a bit of work though, this is not a misconception, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all consuming or anywhere near impossible. And if you’re fond of essay subjects and love politics, society’s big questions and want nothing more than a better understanding of the world, then HSPS is the subject for YOU!
HSPS is about critical thinking...it’s ALL about critical thinking. I know this may sound cliche, but your ability to think critically is crucial if you want to be a HSPS student (let’s say ‘HSPSer’ from now on shall we?) and this means that ‘HSPSers’ need to know how to define questions in a way they see fit which enables critical engagement, counter-arguments and voice. This means that the skills that you pick up in A-level essay subjects, such as structure and counter-arguing are extremely valuable when it comes to a degree like this, which is guaranteed to be essay-heavy throughout.
HSPS also requires you to read. Leaders are readers right?? And you wouldn’t expect an essay-based degree at Cambridge (let alone one that actually raises leaders such as a Political Science course) to not require its students to read. But with that being said, the reading is not 20 whole books a term, in fact it's not anywhere near that. Most reading, especially for International Relations & Sociology, are articles, academic essays, book reviews and even videos. Don’t get me wrong, you will have to read books, even within these modules if you take them, but the good news is you are not expected to be a juggernaut that churns out 300-pages of reading a day whilst still being expected to have your ‘university experience’.
P.S. HSPSers do go on to do things other than teach or work in offices!
For those that take A-level Sociology and the Global Politics module within Politics A-Level, there will be some things which you will have studied at an equal, or slightly less, level of detail. However, the learning style at university, especially for essay-based subjects, does differ. Naturally, the expectation is that you are independent in your learning and go beyond what is taught in the lecture to find answers and ideas to potential questions and topics. The writing style, although more demanding in ways relating to detail and personal voice, is similar to A-level long essays in that you are expected to engage critically, counter-argue and have a clear structure that flows. If you are a top student A/A* student (which if you’re applying to Cambridge my guess is that you are), then the transition to HSPS from ANY essay based subject at A-level shouldn’t prove too much of a challenge. Although, the way in which you learn and may sometimes have to write with reference to your detail may be the biggest learning curve.
Most interesting/enjoyable topics you’ll study & why: For those of you that didn’t know how to spell ‘Anthropology’ before applying for HSPS at Cambridge let alone know what it is, or if you looked at the admission tests and saw the daunting anthropology-based essay questions on ritual, eating or symbolism and gasped to yourself, or was ‘Anthropologised’ out of existence by the academic sitting in front of you in your interview, then I think anthropology may be the thing that you enjoy the most. Having no expectations about what anthropology would be like served me well and made the experience of studying it very worthwhile. It’s different to the Politics, International Relations and Sociology in that they all want to understand the world or theories of the world in ways that look at society on a predominantly macro level with less attention given to things that shape one’s understanding in any given moment or place. Cultural history, culture, symbols, communication, and the general understanding of the self are all things that need to be questioned before the question ‘how can we understand the world’ (which is ultimately what all social sciences seek to answer through their lens) can even be asked. For this reason, learning about things within anthropology such as ritual, protests, exchange, symbolism, power relations, human-animal relations, colonial depictions, work and cultural relativism provided me with the most all round academic experience of any module within HSPS. For the inquisitive minds out there, I can guarantee that (social) anthropology will be one that you enjoy.
Least interesting/enjoyable topics you’ll study & why: Contrastingly, my huge expectations for political theory (political philosophy essentially) due to my love for philosophy more generally perhaps made me expect a bit too much. I mean, all the signs were there, Hobbes, Marx, Arendt and democratic theory all on this paper!! - But it wasn’t to be. I wouldn’t say I didn’t enjoy the paper, it was more so the case that this paper was the most difficult for me and that is probably down to the fact that it differs largely from every other paper. It is abstract yet contemporary in some areas, which means that it is similar to anthropology but different by virtue of the fact that they’re totally different subjects. Whereas it’s different to sociology and international relations because the latter parts of the sociology module (which is what I took) was only contemporary and lacked any theoretical exploration on a primary level. However, if you love Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan and think his (lack of) theory of human nature is convincing then this is the one for you! ;) P.S. You’ll also have a bit of good old Karl Marx in there - as is the case with essentially every other paper except they do so on a lesser level, excluding sociology.
HSPSers end up doing all sorts. There is really no ‘typical’ career-path for HSPSers, many go into banking & finance, public policy, academia, the civil service, foreign office, business & start-ups, politics, consulting, law, teaching.
A common misconception is that ‘with a HSPS degree you can only become a teacher, academic or work in an office your whole life.’ This is a common misconception that many people have about social science degrees generally but it really isn’t the case. In fact, the versatility in a HSPS degree means that you can take your career, in the same way you can your degree, anywhere you like.
The finance and consultancy industries are open to graduates with any degree, though being quantitatively able will help. Those who want to pursue a career in law can do so by taking a Graduate Diploma in Law (if they want to practice as a barrister in any field). Alternatively, those who want to be commercial lawyers can secure a training contract during their time in university which means that they will go to law school (paid for by the law firm) and train with their firm for 2 years after the completion of their law conversion course.
In terms of concrete skills, studying a HSPS degree builds proficient reading and writing skills, critical thinking, an eye for attention to detail, logical reasoning, research skills and communication skills.