Third Year Students
In your third year in Politics and International Relations, you may choose to offer four papers, or three papers and a dissertation. HSPS students who are taking Part II over two years take POL 9, while History and Politics students take Theory and Practice. There are separate guidelines for those taking HSPS Part II in one year. The choices available in both Triposes enable you to extend your knowledge of political thought, certain themes of modern world politics, such as gender or international security, and to study the politics of a particular region such as the Middle East or Africa.
Paper Guides for 2024-25
POL9: Conceptual Issues in Politics and International Relations
POL10: The History of Political Thought from c.1700 to c.1890
POL11: Political Philosophy and the History of Political Thought since c.1890
POL12: The Politics of Conflict and Peace
POL13: British Politics
POL14: International Security
POL15: The Politics of Africa
POL16: The Politics of China
POL17: Politics and Religion
POL18: The Politics of the International Economy
POL19: Themes and Issues in Politics and International Relations
POL20: The Politics of Latin America
POL21: Politics of the Future
POL22: Politics and Public Policy
Dissertations
The deadline for submitting the dissertation is Thursday 30 April 2026 at 12.00 noon.
- Each year the Department publishes a guide to dissertations which sets out the expectations of content, layout, and submission. It is important that you read this guide whilst working on your dissertation and before submitting
- Dissertation application, deadline to be submitted for 25-26 is Wednesday 15 October 2025
- Ethical approval form, deadline to be submitted for 25-26 is either 4th July 2025 (required if wanting to do research that requires Ethical Approval over the summer) or 24th October 2025
- Further information about Ethics, Risk and Fieldwork: a quick guide is available here
Penalty system for the HSPS Tripos, 2024/25 (Applicable for Part I, Part IIA and Part IIB)
Penalties for Late Submission
- 1 point per hour or part thereof – up to 3 points (1 point per the first hour, another point for the second hour, and a third point for any further delay up to 12 noon the next day)
- Next 10 days or part of thereof – 3 points per day
- Any work submitted after 10 days is marked 0
- Electronic submission is mandatory
- Hand-in times are standardised as 12 noon on the due date, with daily penalties applied every 24 hours from the due time.
- The policy is valid for all assessed work (except assessed tests), including essays and dissertation
Dissertation examples:
For reference when writing your own dissertation please see below for a couple of examples of first class dissertations written by POLIS students in previous years of the HSPS tripos.
- Example #1:The US Constitution and debates on the expansion of federal power, 1932-2013
- Example #2: Global Justice and indeterminacy - the boundaries of the cosmopolitan premise
Student Guides
- Guide to supervisions. This document gives you a sense of what to expect from supervisions, and guidance on essay writing in Politics & International Relations.
- Guide to exams. This site sets out how examining works, explains the marking system, and gives guidance on how to write essays under exam conditions.
- Options Guide for students entering their third year in 2024-25
Examinations
- Marking and Classing Criteria
- Past papers are available on Moodle. Please write to ugradadmin@polis.cam.ac.uk for details.
- Part II Examiners' Reports 2023-24
- Part II Examiners' Reports 2022-23
- Part II Examiners' Reports 2021-22
- Part II Examiners' Reports 2020-21
- Part II Examiners' Reports 2019-20
- Part II Examiners' Reports 2018-19
Other Useful Information
- Lecture List 2024-25
- Timetable
- Generative AI
- Feedback and Complaints
- For more information on POLIS undergraduate studies please email ugradadmin@polis.cam.ac.uk