The Examinations

The Main Tripos Examinations
The Part I and Part II examinations are in late May and early June. Each examination paper has equal weighting in the assessment. Each paper is of three hours' duration. For each Part I option and Part II Specified Subject, candidates take one paper and answer three questions. For Special Subjects, they sit one of the papers as a three-hour exam, and write a long essay for the other one. For the Historical Argument and Practice examination, candidates sit one paper and answer only one question.

The compulsory Themes and Sources Long Essay constitutes an examination paper, submitted in the January before Part I. Optional Part II dissertations are submitted at the beginning of the Easter Term. The Special Subject long essay paper is also submitted at the beginning of the Easter Term of the final year. Therefore candidates will be examined in both parts of the Tripos partly on work done outside the examination room.

The Preliminary Examination
There is also a Preliminary Examination to Part I, held at the beginning of the Easter Term of the first year. This is not classed, and does not count towards Part I. It is intended to provide candidates with informal guidance about their progress to date. Candidates sit an examination in the first two of the Part I outline papers that they have studied. Most colleges enter candidates for it, but not all do so, preferring to set their own 'mock' examinations at other times.

In the Preliminary Examination, colleges also have the option of entering candidates for a General Historical Problems paper and (at the time of writing) a translation paper in various foreign languages. The purpose of these papers is to encourage candidates to pursue courses of study that will broaden their skills as historians. Colleges arrange their own teaching for General Historical Problems.

Two-year Part II candidates sit a Preliminary Examination to Part II, at the end of the first year of the course.