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REGULATIONS FOR EXAMINATIONS: NOTICE BY THE GENERAL BOARD

The General Board give notice that, on the recommendation of the Faculty Board or other authority concerned, the regulations for certain University examinations have been amended as follows:

Oriental Studies Tripos

The regulations for the Oriental Studies Tripos (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 380) have been amended as set out below. The purpose of these amendments is as follows:

(a) to restructure the regulations which give details of the examination requirements, so as to present the information in a more readily comprehensible way;
(b) to impose certain constraints on candidates' choice of options, and in particular to require the approval of the Faculty Board for certain combinations of subjects;
(c) to revise the detailed requirements for certain options, and to discontinue a small number of options which attract very few candidates, in particular the one-year options in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies for Part II;
(d) to reduce the workload for candidates combining an Oriental language with a modern European language, which has become excessive as a result of recent changes in the structure of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos.

The regulations have been amended, with effect from 1 October 1999, as follows:

Regulations 3, 8, and 9.

By amending the regulations so as to read:

3. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part II,1 provided that they have kept seven terms and that twelve complete terms have not passed after their first term of residence:

(a) a student who has previously obtained honours in Part I or in another Honours Examination, in the year next but one after so obtaining honours, if he or she takes the examination under Regulation 15;

provided that

(i) no student shall be a candidate for Part II under Regulation 15 offering option (2) Chinese Studies (whole subject) unless he or she has, since matriculation, spent a period of at least six months in East Asia, under conditions approved for this purpose by the Faculty Board;2
(ii) no student shall be a candidate for Part II under Regulation 15 offering one of the options specified below unless he or she has, since matriculation, spent a period of at least eight months in a Middle Eastern country or in India or in East Asia, as appropriate, under conditions approved for this purpose by the Faculty Board:2
(5)(i) Hebrew and Israeli Studies (whole subject);
(6)(i) Hindi and Indian Studies (whole subject);
(7) Japanese Studies (whole subject);
(8) Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (whole subject);
(iii) no student shall be a candidate for Part II under Regulation 15 offering one of the options specified below unless he or she has, since matriculation, spent a period of at least three weeks in a Mediterranean or Near Eastern country or in Egypt, as appropriate, under conditions approved for this purpose by the Faculty Board:2
(3) Early civilizations of the Aegean and Near East (whole subject);
(4) Egyptology (whole subject);
(iv) no student shall be a candidate for Part II under Regulation 15 offering any combination of half-subjects from Schedule IIB or Schedule IIC which includes one or more of the options specified below unless he or she has, since matriculation, spent a period of at least eight months in a country or countries deemed appropriate by the Faculty Board, under conditions approved for this purpose by the Board;2
(9) Arabic;
(10) Hebrew and Israeli Studies;
(11) Hindi;
(13) Persian;
(b) a student who has previously obtained honours in Part I or in another Honours Examination, in the year next after so obtaining honours, if he or she takes the examination under Regulation 16.

8. The Examiners shall have regard to the style and method of candidates' answers and shall give credit for excellence in these respects. They shall give due credit for the performance of candidates in the oral examinations.

The Examiners shall be empowered to examine any candidate viva voce.

9. (a) A candidate shall be deemed to have obtained honours in Part I if he or she has reached the standard for honours either in one of the options specified in Schedule IA (whole subjects) of Regulation 14 or in two of the options specified in Schedules IB and IC (half-subjects) of that regulation.

(b) A candidate shall be deemed to have obtained honours in Part II if he or she has reached the standard for honours as follows:

either (i) in one of the options specified in Schedule IIA (whole subjects) of Regulation 15 or Schedule IIF (whole subjects) of Regulation 16;
or (ii) in two of the options specified in Schedules IIB, IIC, IID, and IIE (half-subjects) of Regulation 15;
or (iii) in two of the options specified in Schedules IIG and IIH (half-subjects) of Regulation 16.

(c) For the purposes of this regulation a candidate may substitute for any of the options specified in Regulations 14, 15, or 16 a combination of papers (and oral and practical examinations, if appropriate) authorized by the Faculty Board in a subject approved by the Board under Regulation 18.

Regulation 11.

Indian Studies

By renumbering Papers In. 4-9 as In. 3-8.

Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies

By amending the list of papers so as to read:

Is. 1. Arabic language, 1.
Is. 2. Arabic language, 2.
Is. 3. Middle Eastern and Islamic literatures.
Is. 4. Arabic literature, 1.
Is. 5. Persian language, 1.
Is. 6. Persian literary texts.
Is. 7. Persian literature, 1.
Is. 8. Middle Eastern and Islamic history, 1
Is. 9. Middle Eastern and Islamic history, 2.
Is. 10. Middle Eastern and Islamic history, 3.
Is. 11. Arabic language, 3.
Is. 12. Arabic language, 4.
Is. 13. Middle Eastern and Islamic culture.3
Is. 14. Arabic literature, 2.3
Is. 15. Arabic literature, 3.3
Is. 16. Persian language, 2.
Is. 17. Persian language, 3.
Is. 18. Persian literature, 2.3
Is. 19. Persian literature, 3.3
Is. 20. Middle Eastern and Islamic history, 4.3
Is. 21. Middle Eastern and Islamic history, 5.3
Is. 22. Middle Eastern and Islamic history, 6.3
Is. 23. Middle Eastern and Islamic history, 7.3

Regulations 14-19.

By amending the regulations so as to read:

14. Except as provided in Regulation 18, a candidate for Part I shall offer either one of the whole subjects or two of the half-subjects listed below, and shall take the written papers and oral examinations specified; provided that

(i) a half-subject from Schedule IB or Schedule IC may be combined only with another half-subject from the same Schedule, except in the case of option (8) Arabic, which may be combined with any option from either Schedule IB or Schedule IC;
(ii) no candidate shall offer a paper that he or she has previously offered in another Honours Examination.

Schedule Ia (Whole subjects)

(1) Chinese Studies
C. 1-7, Chinese oral.
(2) Early civilizations of the Aegean and Near East
(a) Two papers chosen from As. 3, E. 7, N. 3;
(b) two papers chosen from As. 4, E. 1, N. 1, 2, 4, 5; provided that no candidate shall offer both N. 1 and N. 2.
(3) Egyptology
(a) E. 1, 2;
(b) either (i) E. 3, 4, 7;
  or (ii) E. 5, 6, 7.
(4) Hebrew Studies
H. 1, 2, 4, 5; two papers chosen from H. 3, H. 6, Am. 1; Hebrew oral.
(5) Indian Studies
  Six papers chosen from In. 1-8; provided that a candidate who offers In. 3 or In. 4 shall offer Hindi oral.
(6) Japanese Studies
J. 1-4; two papers chosen from J. 5-8; Japanese oral.
(7) Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
(a) Two papers chosen from Is. 1, 2, 5, 6;
(b) four papers chosen from Is. 3, 4, 7-10;
(c) an oral examination in each language offered under (a) above.

Schedule Ib (Half-subjects)

(8) Arabic
  Is. 1; either Is. 4 or Is. 9; one paper chosen from Is. 3, 8-10; Arabic oral.
(9) Hebrew
  Three papers chosen from H. 1-6, Am. 1; provided that a candidate who offers H. 4 or H. 5 shall also offer Hebrew oral.
(10) Hindi
  In. 3; two papers chosen from In. 4-8; Hindi oral.
(11) A modern European language
  Papers and other exercises set for the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos, as follows:
(a) Paper B3 in any of the modern languages set for Part IB of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos;
(b) one paper chosen from among the papers not marked with an asterisk in Schedule IB of that Tripos.
(12) Persian
  Is. 5, 7; one paper chosen from Is. 6, 8-10; Persian oral.

Schedule Ic (Half-subjects)

(13) Aramaic
  Am. 1-3.
(14) Assyriology
  As. 1-3.
(15) Greek
  The following papers of Part I of the Classical Tripos:
(a) either Paper 1 or Paper 2;
(b) either Paper 4 or Paper 5;
(c) one paper chosen from Papers 7-10.
(16) Hebrew
(a) H. 1;
(b) two papers chosen from H. 2-6; provided that a candidate who offers H. 4 or H. 5 shall also offer Hebrew oral.

Part II

15. Except as provided in Regulation 18, a candidate for Part II who takes the examination under Regulation 3(a)4 shall offer either one of the whole subjects or two of the half-subjects listed below, and shall take the written papers and oral examinations specified, provided that

(i) no half-subject from Schedule IIE may be offered without the approval of the Faculty Board; a candidate who wishes to offer a half-subject from that Schedule shall apply to the Secretary of the Faculty Board not later than the division of the Easter Term in the academical year next but one before the year of the examination, specifying the two half-subjects that he or she wishes to offer in the examination;
(ii) a half-subject from Schedule IIB or Schedule IIC may be combined only with a half-subject from the same Schedule or from Schedule IIE, except in the case of option (9) Arabic, which may in addition be combined with any of the following options from Schedule IIC: (15) Assyriology, (16) Coptic, (17) Egyptology;
(iii) a half-subject from Schedule IID may be combined only with a half-subject from Schedule IIE;
(iv) no candidate shall offer more than one half-subject from Schedule IIE;
(v) no candidate shall offer a paper that he or she has previously offered in another Honours Examination;
(vi) no candidate shall offer more than one dissertation.

Schedule IIa (Whole subjects)

(1) Assyriology
(a) Either As. 11, 12 or As. 1, 2;
(b) As. 13, 14, 16, 17, 18;
(c) either As. 15 or a dissertation.
(2) Chinese Studies
(a) C. 11-14;
(b) either C. 15, 16 or C. 17, 18;
(c) a dissertation;
(d) Chinese oral.
(3) Early Civilizations of the Aegean and Near East
(a) N. 6;
(b) one of the following combinations:
(i) Greek option: N. 7, 8, 11; one paper chosen from N. 9, 10, 12; one paper chosen from E. 18, 20, 21, As. 13, 14, 16, 17;
(ii) Egyptian option: E. 18-21; one paper chosen from N. 7-10, As. 13, 14, 16, 17;
(iii) Mesopotamian option: As. 13, 14, 16, 18; one paper chosen from E. 18, 20, 21, N. 7-10;
(c) either one further paper chosen from N. 12, E. 22, As. 15 or a dissertation.
(4) Egyptology
(a) E. 11, 12;
(b) either (i) E. 13-15, 18-19;
  or (ii) E. 18-22.
(5) Hebrew
Either (i) Hebrew and Israeli Studies
(a) H. 11, 15;
(b) Hebrew oral;
(c) five papers chosen from H. 12-14, 16-19, Am. 11;
(d) a dissertation.
or (ii) Hebrew and Jewish Studies
(a) H. 11, 12, 15;
(b) Hebrew oral;
(c) four papers chosen from H. 13, 14, 16-18, Am. 11;
(d) a dissertation.
(6) Indian Studies
Either (i) Hindi and Indian Studies
(a) seven papers chosen from In. 11-29, including at least three papers chosen from In. 16-19;
(b) a dissertation;
(c) Hindi oral;
  provided that
  (1) not more than three papers shall be chosen from In. 20-29;
(2) a candidate who offers In. 28 shall also offer In. 29 and vice versa.
or (ii) Sanskrit and Indian Studies
(a) seven papers chosen from In. 11-29, including at least three papers chosen from In. 11-15;
(b) a dissertation;
  provided that
  (1) not more than two papers shall be chosen from In. 16-19, and not more than three papers from In. 20-29;
(2) a candidate who offers any of In. 16-19 shall also offer Hindi oral;
(3) a candidate who offers In. 28 shall also offer In. 29 and vice versa.
(7) Japanese Studies
  J. 10, 11; two papers chosen from J. 12-14; one paper chosen from J. 15-18; a dissertation; Japanese oral.
(8) Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
(a) Either (i) two papers chosen from Is. 11, 12, 16, 17;
  or (ii) Is. 11 and one paper chosen from Is. 13-15, 20-23;
  or (iii) Is. 16 and one paper chosen from Is. 13-15, 18-23;
(b) either (i) three further papers chosen from Is. 13-15, 18-23;
  or (ii) two further papers chosen from Is. 13-15, 18-23, and one paper chosen from Schedule A;
(c) an oral examination in each language offered under (a) above;
(d) a dissertation.

Schedule IIb (Half-subjects)

(9) Arabic
(a) Is. 11;
(b) either (i) two papers chosen from Is. 13-15, 20-23;
  or (ii) one paper chosen from Is. 13-15, 20-23, and a dissertation;
(c) Arabic oral.
(10) Hebrew and Israeli Studies
(a) H. 15;
(b) either (i) two papers chosen from H. 11-14, 16-18;
  or (ii) one paper chosen from H. 11-14, 16-19, and a dissertation;
(c) Hebrew oral.
(11) Hindi
(a) In. 16 or 17;
(b) In. 18;
(c) one paper chosen from In. 20-26;
(d) Hindi oral.
(12) A modern European language
  Papers and other exercises set for the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos, as follows:
(a) either Paper C1 or Paper C2 in the relevant language;
(b) either (i) two papers chosen from Schedule II of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos;
  or (ii) one paper chosen from Schedule II of that Tripos and a dissertation.
(13) Persian
(a) Is. 16;
(b) either (i) two papers chosen from Is. 18-23;
  or (ii) one paper chosen from Is. 18-23, and a dissertation;
(c) Persian oral.

Schedule IIc (Half-subjects)

(14) Aramaic and Syriac
Either (i) Am. 11-14;
or (ii) Am. 11-13, and a dissertation.
(15) Assyriology
(a) As. 11, 12;
(b) either As. 13, 14;
  or one paper chosen from As.13, 14, and a dissertation.
(16) Coptic
  E. 14-17.
(17) Egyptology
  E. 11-12, 18.
(18) Hebrew
(a) H.11;
(b) two papers chosen from H. 12-18, Am. 11;
(c) either one further paper chosen from H. 12-18, Am. 11,
  or a dissertation;
  provided that
(i) a candidate who offers H. 16 shall also offer H. 15 and vice versa;
(ii) a candidate who offers H. 15 shall also offer Hebrew oral.

Schedule IId (Half-subjects)

(19) Chinese
(a) One paper chosen from C. 11-13;
(b) either (i) C. 15, 16;
  or (ii) C. 17, 18.
(20) Japanese
  Two papers from J. 11-14; one paper chosen from J. 15-18.
(21) Sanskrit
  Four papers chosen from In. 11-15, 20, 23, including at least three papers from In. 11-15.

Schedule IIe (Half-subjects)

(22) Arabic
  Is. 1; either Is. 4 or Is. 9; one paper chosen from Is. 3, 8-10; Arabic oral.
(23) Aramaic
  Am. 1-3.
(24) Assyriology
(a) As. 1, 2;
(b) either As. 13, 14;
  or one paper chosen from As. 13, 14, and a dissertation.
(25) Chinese
  Three papers chosen from C. 1-5; either C. 6 or C. 7; Chinese oral.
(26) Hebrew
  Four papers chosen from H. 1-6, Am. 1; provided that a candidate who offers H. 4 or H. 5 shall also offer Hebrew oral.
(27) Hindi
(a) In. 3;
(b) Two papers chosen from In. 4-8;
(c) Hindi oral.
(28) Japanese
  J. 1-3; one paper chosen from J. 4, 6-8; Japanese oral.
(29) Persian
  Is. 5, 7; one paper chosen from Is. 6, 8-10; Persian oral.
(30) Sanskrit
(a) In. 1, 2, 5;
(b) one paper chosen from In. 6-8.

16. Except as provided in Regulation 18, a candidate for Part II who takes the examination under Regulation 3(b)5 shall offer either one of the whole subjects or two of the half subjects listed below, and shall take the written papers and oral examinations specified; provided that

(i) a half-subject from Schedule IIG or Schedule IIH may be combined only with another half-subject from the same Schedule, except in the case of option (6A) Arabic and option (6B) Persian, either of which may be combined with any half-subject from Schedule IIG or Schedule IIH;
(ii) no candidate shall offer a paper that he or she has previously offered in another Honours Examination;
(iii) no candidate shall offer more than one dissertation.

Schedule IIf (Whole subjects)

(1) Hebrew Studies
(a) H. 11, 12, 15;
(b) three papers chosen from H. 13-14, 16-18, Am. 11;
(c) Hebrew oral.
(2) Hebrew and Israeli Studies
(a) H. 15;
(b) five papers chosen from H. 11-14, 16-18, Am. 11;
(c) Hebrew oral.
(3) Indian Studies
  Six papers chosen from In. 11-29; provided that
(1) not more than two papers shall be chosen from In. 20-29;
(2) a dissertation may be offered in place of one paper from In. 20-29;
(3) a candidate who offers any of In. 16-19 shall also offer Hindi oral;
(4) a candidate who offers In. 28 shall also offer In. 29 and vice versa.
[(3A) Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
(a) Either (i) two papers chosen from Is. 11, 12, 16, 17;
  or (ii) Is. 11 and one paper chosen from Is. 13-15, 20-23;
  or (iii) Is. 16 and one paper chosen from Is. 13-15, 18-23;
(b) either (i) three further papers chosen from Is. 13-15, 18-23;
  or (ii) two further papers chosen from Is. 13-15, 18-23, and a dissertation;
(c) either (i) one further paper chosen from Is. 13-15, 18-23;
  or (ii) one paper chosen from Schedule A;
(d) an oral examination in each language offered under (a) above.]6

Schedule IIg (Half-subjects)

(4) Hebrew and Israeli Studies
  H. 11, 15, 16; Hebrew oral.
(5) Hindi
  Two papers chosen from In. 16-19; one paper chosen from In. 20-26; Hindi oral.
(6) A modern European language
  Papers set for the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos, as follows:
(a) either Paper C1 or Paper C2 in the relevant language;
(b) two papers from Schedule II of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos.
[(6A) Arabic
(a) Is. 11;
(b) either two papers chosen from Is. 13-15, 20-23;
or one paper chosen from Is. 13-15, 20-23, and a dissertation;
(c) Arabic oral.]6
[(6B) Persian
(a) Is. 16;
(b) either (i) two papers chosen from Is. 18-23;
  or (ii) one paper chosen from Is. 18-23, and a dissertation;
(c) Persian oral.]6

Schedule IIh (Half-subjects)

(7) Aramaic
  Am. 11-13.
(8) Assyriology
  As. 11, 12; one paper chosen from As. 13-14.
(9) Hebrew
(a) H. 11;
(b) two papers chosen from H. 12-18; provided that
  (i) a candidate who offers H. 16 shall also offer H. 15;
(ii) a candidate who offers H. 15 shall also offer Hebrew oral.

17. A candidate who wishes, or is required, to submit a dissertation in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 15 or Regulation 16 shall submit the proposed title, together with a statement of the papers to be offered in the examination, to the Secretary of the Faculty Board so as to arrive not later than the division of the Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination. Each candidate must obtain the approval of the proposed title by the Board not later than the end of that term. A dissertation, which shall be of not more than 12,000 words in length (inclusive of notes and appendices), should show evidence of reading, judgement, and power of exposition, but not necessarily evidence of original research, and must give full references to the sources used. Two copies of each dissertation, marked with the candidate's name and College, shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Faculty Board so as to arrive not later than the third day of the Full Easter Term in which the examination is to be held. The Examiners shall have power, if they consider that a dissertation is not sufficiently legible, to require that it be resubmitted in typescript. Each copy of the dissertation shall be accompanied by a summary of not more than 300 words in English, except that a candidate in Chinese Studies shall furnish instead a summary in Chinese of not less than 600 characters.

Parts I and II

18. The Faculty Board shall have power to grant permission to a candidate for either Part of the Tripos to offer in the examination an Oriental subject or language other than those specified in Regulations 14, 15, and 16, provided that the Board are satisfied

(a) that any language which is thus offered possesses a literature adequate for the purposes of examination;
(b) that the general scope of a subject which is thus offered is similar to that of the subjects specified in Regulations 14, 15, and 16;
(c) that the requisite teaching can be provided.

Applications for such permission shall be made through the candidate's Tutor to the Secretary of the Faculty Board at the earliest possible date and in no circumstances later than the following dates:

the division of the Easter Term in the year next preceding the examination, for a candidate taking Part I or a candidate taking Part II under Regulation 16;

the division of the Easter Term in the year next but one preceding the examination, for a candidate taking Part II under Regulation 15.

For subjects offered under this regulation the Faculty Board shall have power (i) to determine the papers to be set, in general conformity with the provisions of Regulations 14, 15, and 16, and (ii) to specify whether such a subject is to be taken as a whole subject or as a half-subject.

19. Not later than the division of Full Michaelmas Term each year the Secretary of the Faculty Board shall inform the Registrary of any subjects for which permission has been granted under Regulation 18, together with the names of the candidates to whom such permission has been granted.

1 See also the regulations for Affiliated Students.

2 During the period spent abroad students will normally be required either to follow an appropriate course of study or to undertake some suitable form of employment; in either case the Faculty Board's approval will be required.

3 These papers are also available to candidates for Part II of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos; see p. 000.

4 i.e. in the year next but one after last obtaining honours.

5 i.e. in the year next after last obtaining honours.

6 The options in square brackets will be deleted with effect from 1 October 2001.

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Cambridge University Reporter, 3 June 1999
Copyright © 1999 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.