Human, Social and Political Sciences – Cambridge Interview Questions
Subject Interview Guide – HSPS
Our Subject Interview Guides help you to prepare and go into your interview with confidence.
The HSPS guide discusses Cambridge Interview Questions in depth with answers and approaches – along with possible points of discussion to further demonstrate your knowledge. The HSPS Guide also includes the Cambridge General Interview Guide. It has been specially edited for applicants for each subject by a team of Oxford and Cambridge graduates.
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The Cambridge Interview Guide – HSPS
The HSPS Interview Guide discusses the following questions in detail:
HSPS Interview Questions
- What is freedom?
- Should prisoners get a vote? What is the strongest argument for and against? What other groups of people are excluded from getting a vote and why is that?
- How do you measure the success of a political voting system?
- Should a political party define ideology, or should ideology define the party?
- Are there always winners and losers in politics?
- In a democracy, can the majority impose its will on the minority?
- How would you bring a population out of poverty?
- How would you eradicate gender inequalities in society?
- What makes us human?
- How important is social interaction in language acquisition?
- What are your views on nature vs. nurture?
- How would you explain human culture to an alien visiting earth?
General Interview Questions
- What are your top three skills?
- If you could meet anybody from history who would it be and why?
- If you had to choose a new language to learn, which one would it be and how would you go about it?
- What have you found most difficult at A Level and how did you overcome this?
- Why are you here?
- Tell me everything about you in 60 seconds.
- Tell me about a news article you have read recently that you found interesting.
- What do you think you could contribute to college life?
- If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
- Which is more important – art or sciences?
The Cambridge Interview Guide – HSPS
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“How can I prepare when the interviewer could ask me absolutely anything about HSPS?”
By understanding how the interview works and, crucially, what it is that the interviewer is looking for. The interviewer is not looking to catch you out, but rather for you to demonstrate your curiosity, knowledge and passion for HSPS.
“How am I able to do that?”
Demonstrate your enthusiasm and personality
Show that you enjoy studying HSPS independently
The easiest way to demonstrate your enthusiasm for HSPS is to show that you are self-motivated and have studied the subject in your free-time for enjoyment – for example through online lectures and independent reading. If you don’t know where to start, review our suggested reading list below.
Demonstrate your subject knowledge about and passion for HSPS
The key to answering these questions is to always demonstrate your thought process aloud. The interviewer does not expect you to be able to answer every question immediately, but rather wants to determine that you are able to think about and work on unknown topics with confidence, intelligence and clarity – and they won’t be able to do that if you sit in silence! Use the list of questions below to prepare. Perhaps you can have a friend or relative ask you these questions so that you can develop your skills of thinking under time pressure and speaking out loud.
Human, Social and Political Sciences Suggested Reading
Archaeology
Biological Anthropology
Politics
Social Anthropology
Sociology
HSPS Interview Questions
Is there essentially any difference between taxation and the state taking away one of your arms?
Do you really consent to any government given that there is barely anywhere in the world to escape some government or other?
Differentiate between power and authority.
Can you imagine a place without Politics?
Is it a matter of fact or knowledge that time travels in only one direction?
How do you know I exist?
Can God ever be known?
Show the difference between these words: novel, radical, total.
Would you legalise all drugs?
What is the difference between innovation and invention?
Why do we need government?
In a democracy, can the majority impose its will on the minority?
Explain the AV voting system and the positive and negative effects it could have if brought in in the UK?
What is federalism? How does it differ from the current British political system?
How would you bring a population out of poverty?
Are there always winners and losers in politics?
What is freedom and how do you measure it?
Why is there not a global government?
Describe your school from an anthropological perspective
Should there be an intelligence test to decide who could vote?
Is it easier to predict the actions of groups rather than individuals?
Should religious symbols be banned?
What are your views on nature vs. nurture?
How important is social interaction in language acquisition?
How would you eradicate gender inequalities in society?
Are sociological theories just evaluations of one another or can they stand alone?
If all countries have nuclear weapons, would there still be wars?
How do you measure the success of a political voting system?
Instead of politicians, why don’t we let the managers of IKEA run the country?
Should obese people have free NHS treatment?
Does the welfare state trap people into poverty?
Distinguish between a society, a state and an economy?
Should museums be free?
Do you like Birmingham?
Is someone who risks their own life (and those of others) in extreme sports or endurance activities a hero or a fool?
What do you think about the current British school system?
Does a girl scout have a political agenda?
If you were an anthropologist what aspects of British society would you study?
Where do you think the Elgin Marbles should be: London or Athens?
Why do humans have cultures?
How does studying History link with Archaeology?
How would you explain human culture to an alien visiting earth?
If you had £500,000 to find out more about the origins of language, how would you spend it?
What are the differences between Neanderthals and Homo-Sapiens?
What is the significance of ceramics in present society?
How would you define an archaeological layer?
How would you conduct research on Aboriginal people in Australia?
How does studying History link with Archaeology?
What is the role of archaeologists and museums?
Can we ‘know’ anything?
Can you imagine a place without Politics?
Differentiate between power and authority.
Distinguish between a society, a state and an economy.
Do you think perception of colour is culturally specific?
Does the welfare state trap people into poverty?
Give me an example of material culture in contemporary society.
How are national borders drawn?
How do you know I exist?
How many people are in this room?
How would you begin to decipher these cave paintings?
If a psychopath gains true happiness from murdering people, should we allow him to kill people that truly want to die?
Instead of politicians, why don’t we let the managers of IKEA run the country?
Is it a matter of fact or knowledge that time travels in only one direction?
Should a chimpanzee have human right.?
Should a political party define ideology, or should ideology define the party?
Should happiness be the basis for morality?
Should we leave the EU?
Some Neoliberals say that poor people are poor because they are lazy to work, what are your thoughts?
What is current affair at the moment that you find particularly indicative of a world issue?
What are the similarities between the Roman Empire and the UN?
What are your views on the aid budget, and is it helping developing countries?
What can we learn from it?
What did you think of the most recent budget? If you were George Osborne, what would you have done differently?
What do you first look for when deciphering a symbol?
What do you think constitutes love?
What is free will and how does that relate to the concept of the state of nature?
Which is more influential – economics or politics?
What is something you find interesting about the place you’re from and why?
What is the difference between race and ethnicity?
What is the difference between state and society?
What makes us human?
Which area of the world would you want to learn more about and why?
Why do we need government
Why has nationalism has strengthened in Europe in recent years?
Will “Help to Buy” lead to the next credit crunch?
Would you legalise all drugs?
The Cambridge Interview Guide – HSPS
The HSPS Interview Guide discusses the following questions in detail:
HSPS Interview Questions
- What is freedom?
- Should prisoners get a vote? What is the strongest argument for and against? What other groups of people are excluded from getting a vote and why is that?
- How do you measure the success of a political voting system?
- Should a political party define ideology, or should ideology define the party?
- Are there always winners and losers in politics?
- In a democracy, can the majority impose its will on the minority?
- How would you bring a population out of poverty?
- How would you eradicate gender inequalities in society?
- What makes us human?
- How important is social interaction in language acquisition?
- What are your views on nature vs. nurture?
- How would you explain human culture to an alien visiting earth?
General Interview Questions
- What are your top three skills?
- If you could meet anybody from history who would it be and why?
- If you had to choose a new language to learn, which one would it be and how would you go about it?
- What have you found most difficult at A Level and how did you overcome this?
- Why are you here?
- Tell me everything about you in 60 seconds.
- Tell me about a news article you have read recently that you found interesting.
- What do you think you could contribute to college life?
- If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
- Which is more important – art or sciences?
The Cambridge Interview Guide – HSPS