Studying Philosophy: What's It Like?

Stay tuned as Emlyn, a third-year Philosophy student, discusses what it’s like to study Philosophy at Cambridge, alongside advice on the application process, including interviews.00:00 Introductions03:00 When did you start considering applying for Philosophy?04:00 What A levels did you take?04:40 Can science A levels prepare you well for studying Philosophy at Cambridge? Is Philosophy a humanities subject?07:35 What made you want to apply to Cambridge?09:40 Why did you choose Cambridge over free university education in Scotland?18:40 What are the differences between Theology and Philosophy at Cambridge?21:40 How did you find the Cambridge application process?25:10 What were your Philosophy interviews like? What advice do you have?39:40 Does knowing theories get in the way of working things out for yourself?41:40 How have you found the course so far?42:40 The General Paper – an exam where you write the questions49:40 What is life like outside of studying at Cambridge?51:40 The music scene at Cambridge – how do you keep up your music to a high standard?55:35 The music scene at Trinity Hall56:40 Life after Cambridge57:30 Final words of advice for Philosophy applicants

Stay tuned to hear Andrea, a Maths PhD student, talk about postgraduate life at Cambridge and the postgraduate application process. You can find a list of topic discussions below:00:00 Introductions01:30 When did you know you were going to apply to Cambridge?02:30 The history of maths at Cambridge — why you shouldn’t be daunted04:30 What was the postgraduate application process like?06:30 What do you wish you had known during your application?08:00 Choosing a college (Trinity Hall Virtual Tour - link can be found here: https://www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/study-with-us/next-steps/trinity-hall-virtual-tour/)09:20 Funding tied to colleges09:45 How was the PhD application different from the MPhil application?13:00 How have you found life at Cambridge so far?13:45 Life outside of studying15:30 What are colleges?17:00 What’s it like moving to Cambridge from a small town? What advice do you have for applicants in a similar situation?

Stay tuned to hear Ramji Venkataramanan, our postgraduate tutor, go over the most frequently asked questions on postgraduate funding. You can find a list of topic discussions below:00:00 Introductions00:30 When should you start looking into funding? When is the deadline?02:00 Who provides the funding?04:00 Does the UK government provide any loans/grants?04:40 What kinds of funding are available? (e.g. partial/full tuition/maintenance)06:00 Is it easier to get funding for a Master’s degree than it is for a PhD?07:10 Is there funding support for unexpected hardship for postgraduates at Cambridge and Trinity Hall?08:40 Does funding availability differ between departments and faculties?09:30 Does funding availability differ between colleges?11:00 Postgraduate funding search tool (seeing what funding colleges have provided)12:40 What happens if your PhD overruns? Do you get extended funding?14:10 What things should applicants consider when choosing a college?16:10 How do departments and colleges allocate funding? How do they choose who should get funding?17:30 What factors go into applicant's scores?19:00 What makes a good research proposal?21:00 How are the scores used?22:00 How is funding allocated at the college level?26:00 Are socioeconomic/contextual factors taken into account when providing funding?29:00 Is your PhD funding dependent on the academic performance you maintain during your PhD?31:10 If a student had to take time out of their studies for health reasons, do they get extra funding?32:40 What are Postgraduate Tutors at Cambridge?34:30 If an applicant is unsuccessful in getting funding from the University, what are their options?For external funding and loans listed on the Cambridge Postgraduate website - check out the link below:https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/funding/external-funding-and-loansPostgraduate Funding Search (to compare opportunities between the colleges) check out the link below:https://www.student-funding.cam.ac.uk/For funding opportunities at Trinity Hall, check out the link below:https://inthnet.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/students/financial-information/financial-support-graduates/ The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding is a popular database of alternative funding opportunities from charities and trusts. Applicants can email [email protected] for an access pin. You can find the site in the link below:https://www.postgraduate-funding.com/

Stay tuned to hear May, a third-year VetMed student, discuss what sport and societies are like at the University Cambridge. A list of discussion topics can be found below.00:00 Introductions00:40 What does your typical day look like?01:30 How different is Vet Med from other sciences?01:50 What is an intercalation year?03:20 What do you do outside of studying?04:20 What is the Boat Club?05:00 Do you need to have rowed before to join the boat club?06:20 When do societies and sports clubs host their events and training sessions?07:15 Wednesday inter-university sports matches08:30 What’s the difference between college and university societies?10:00 Founding a society (college-run club) and getting funding from the JCR12:00 JCR committee and the JCR explained13:45 What is Trinity Hall’s Induction Week?17:30 Getting out of the college bubble19:00 Funding support and grants for sport and travel20:30 How do you fit all of your societies around your workload?27:30 Off-site accommodation explained — Trinity Hall accommodation 30:00 Has Cambridge been what you expected?32:00 FOMO (fear of missing out) explained — how to deal with FOMO35:00 Not comparing yourself to others, but to your past and future selves39:00 Spending more time at your desk does not necessarily mean getting more work doneA link to the Trinity Hall accommodation Virtual tour can be found below: https://www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/study-with-us/next-steps/trinity-hall-virtual-tour/

Stay tuned to hear Jess, a third-year Architecture student, discuss what it's like balancing studying and extra-curricular activities at Cambridge. A list of discussion topics can be found below.00:00 Introductions00:20 What is a society?01:30 Societies Jess has been a part of04:00 Social events for sporting societies05:15 How do you balance the workload?07:50 What does a typical day look like?09:50 How sport can help with studying13:20 The difference between college and university societies20:30 Discipline vs Freedom: the overlaps between learning a sport/skill and studying26:00 Different ways of teaching and learning31:00 Doing your degree on your own terms

Stay tuned as Bethany, a fourth-year Law student, shares what it's like studying Law at Cambridge and everything you need to know about the Law Year Abroad. A full list of discussion topics can be found below.00:00 Introductions 00:25 What is a typical day like for a law student? No02:20 Course structure for Law 03:25 Modules Bethany has chosen 04:20 What are supervisions?05:20 Both problem solving and essay writing in Law07:00 Life outside of studying/Law societies 08:45 Careers after Law09:05 MOOTS explained 10:30 What makes you suited for a law degree? 11:40 Why Cambridge and not Oxford? 12:40 Law Year Abroad explained 13:30 Bethany’s year abroad 17:40 Advice for upcoming Law applicantsFind out more about the Law Year Abroad in the link below:https://www.ba.law.cam.ac.uk/studying-law-cambridge/year-abroad

Stay tuned to hear our Director of Admissions, Dr Marcus Tomalin, explain everything you need to know about Results Day and what to do if you've missed your offer. A list of topic discussions can be found below:00:00 Introductions 00:50 What percentage of offer holders miss their offer? 02:50 What should you do on results day if you’ve missed your offer? 04:00 Can colleges still take an applicant who has missed their offer? 06:20 What happens if an applicant receives a successful remark? 07:20 If an applicant miss their offer, can they be selected by another college? 09:00 The difference between the Summer Pool and the August Reconsideration Pool11:30 Can successful applicants change their course? 16:00 What happens if you do IB/other qualifications where you receive your results before A Level students? 18:35 What advice do you have for applicants who want to reapply? 23:30 How you can always study at Cambridge for postgraduate studiesAdd podcasts about summer pool and better gradesA link to the podcast covering the Summer Pool can be found below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z-bs-cTcFYA link to the podcast on Post-A Level applications can be found below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgAg_Slbh0I

Stay tuned to hear Dr Ola Osman, Assistant Professor of African Politics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow at Trinity Hall, share everything you need to know about studying Politics at Cambridge. Ola explores both the Human, Social, and Political Sciences (HSPS) and History & Politics courses in depth.You can find more about Dr Ola Osman in the link below:https://www.polis.cam.ac.uk/people/ol...A list of topic discussions can also be found below:00:00 Introductions00:30 How can you study Politics at Cambridge?01:00 What does HSPS stand for? What do you study?02:00 What are the main differences between HSPS and History & Politics?02:45 Which course should you choose if you're interested in both contemporary politics and its historical context?03:50 What is the structure of the HSPS course?04:50 What's the difference between studying Politics elsewhere and studying HSPS?07:00 What is critical theory?09:30 Is it more important to study politics with an understanding of sociology and social anthropology, or with an appreciation of historical context?10:30 What's the difference between HSPS at Cambridge and PPE at Oxford?13:20 Can you study philosophy within HSPS?14:50 Ola's research interests17:20 Siam's trip to Nepal and diasporic identity19:20 Studying African and Caribbean politics in HSPS20:40 Studying individual countries in Africa through HSPS21:20 If an applicant wants to study cutting-edge contemporary politics and political theory - not just the Western canon - would Cambridge be a good fit?

Stay tuned to hear Ramji Venkataramanan, our postgraduate tutor, go over the most frequently asked questions postgraduate applicants have about the Cambridge admissions process and what life is like at Cambridge.00:00 Introductions01:30 When should applicants start thinking about their postgraduate application?03:00 Avoiding missing funding deadlines04:00 The application process for applying for a master’s05:20 Should you reach out to a supervisor/academic before applying for a master’s degree?07:00 Differences between a research-based master’s and a PhD09:00 Differences between a PhD and a DPhil09:30 The application process for applying for a PhD10:30 What does a day in the life of a PhD scientist look like? And how integral are PhD students to a science group?13:30 Should PhD applicants reach out to potential supervisors/academics before applying?14:00 Centres for Doctoral Training explained16:30 Are there interviews for master’s and PhD programmes?18:10 How important is networking in making a successful application?19:30 Are places for master’s courses first come, first served?21:00 How to get funding24:30 Making sure you know the relevant funding deadlines25:30 What are colleges? How do postgraduates take part in college life?26:45 Postgraduate accommodation at Trinity Hall Cambridge28:00 What are Cambridge postgraduate tutors? What support is there for students’ wellbeing?The university's Postgraduate homepage can be found below:https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/Check out Trinity Hall's Virtual Tour below, including Postgraduate accommodation:https://www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/study-with-us/next-steps/trinity-hall-virtual-tour/

Stay tuned to hear Professor Louise Haywood, Director of Studies in MML and History & Modern Languages, share everything you need to know about studying languages at Cambridge! A full list of discussion points can be found below.00:00 Introductions01:30 What degree options are available for someone who wants to study languages at Cambridge?04:00 Do students study a language degree solely to become fluent in the language?05:30 What kinds of things can you learn on an MML course?08:00 Reading classical texts in their original language09:30 Can a text ever be fully translated?11:00 Learning about a culture through language12:30 The MML year abroad explained14:00 Why study Spanish and Portuguese?16:30 How are MML students taught? What does a typical day look like?20:30 Teaching critical theory21:20 Differences between college and faculty teaching25:20 What are MML supervisions like at Trinity Hall?27:00 Developing your own voice28:00 Career pathways after studying languages31:00 Becoming a lawyer without a law degree32:40 Why is there a gender skew in MML applications?35:00 More on careers after studying languages37:40 Louisa's research interests48:30 What is there to gain from studying the humanities?49:30 Portfolio careers53:40 Advice for prospective MML applicants