Cambridge HSPS interview: how it works and sample questions
Human, Social, and Political Sciences (HSPS) interviews at Cambridge take place between 7 and 18 December 2026. You may also sit a short college assessment. The interview is a conversation about ideas, and it is not a test of what you already know.
How the HSPS interview works
- Interviewers: expect people from more than one HSPS subject (for example politics, sociology or anthropology).
- Length: one or two interviews, totalling 35 minutes to an hour. Most HSPS interviews are online.
- Written work: you submit two pieces, and they are likely to come up in the discussion.
- College assessment: arranged by the interviewing college after you are invited. You do not register for it in advance.
- Results: 27 January 2027.
What interviewers look for
The HSPS department says interviews are not testing your knowledge. Interviewers want curiosity, reading beyond school texts and the ability to analyse critically.
Three sample questions
These are original questions in the style of an HSPS interview, with what an interviewer would be listening for.
Why do people in some countries trust their government much more than people in others?
Offer more than one explanation (history, corruption, inequality, how well services work) and say how you would test which one matters most.
Is a photograph ever neutral evidence?
Think about who took it, what was left out of the frame and who it was for. Interviewers want you to question a source without dismissing it.
Choose an object in the room you are in. What does it tell us about the society that made it?
This invites you to think like an anthropologist or sociologist. Make specific links: who made it, who can afford it and what it is for.
How to prepare
- Re-read both pieces of written work and think about what you would change now.
- Read one book or long article beyond the syllabus in the HSPS subject you are most drawn to.
- Practise discussing an unfamiliar text or image out loud.
Guide to Oxbridge Economics Interviews
The method for answering any interview question, what each course’s interview is like, and worked examples, written by a Cambridge economist. Read it before you start practising.
Interview guides by course
- Oxford PPE interview
- Oxford Economics and Management interview
- Cambridge Economics interview
- Cambridge Land Economy interview
- Oxford and Cambridge interview dates
Weighing up tutors, courses and mock interviews? Interview preparation compared.
Questions people ask
Is there an HSPS admissions test?
There is no test you register for in advance. The interviewing college may set its own assessment after inviting you.
Are HSPS interviews online?
Most are. Cambridge colleges decide whether to interview online or in person.
When are Cambridge HSPS interviews?
The main interview period is 7–18 December 2026, and decisions come out on 27 January 2027.
Sources: Cambridge HSPS interviews; Cambridge interviews; HSPS course page. Checked 21 October 2026.
Practise with questions that come with a mark scheme
Interview questions for Economics, E&M, PPE, HSPS, Land Economy and History and Politics, each with what the tutor is looking for, plus an AI interviewer that asks follow-ups.
Designed by a Cambridge Economics graduate. Original questions and guidance; none are official university questions. contact@econcoaching.com