Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge
CHAPTER IV
pp. 336–338
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS AND TRIPOS EXAMINATIONS

The Ordinances contained in this Chapter are Ordinances of the General Board

In this section

TRIPOS EXAMINATIONS

GEOGRAPHICAL TRIPOS

Amended by Notice (Reporter, 2011–12, p. 387)

Three Parts.

1. The Geographical Tripos shall consist of three Parts: Part Ia, Part Ib, and Part II.

Standing of candidates.

2. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part Ia:

  1. (a)a student who has not obtained honours in another Honours Examination, provided that he or she has kept one term and that three complete terms have not passed after his or her first term of residence;
  2. (b)a student who has obtained honours in another Honours Examination, in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that he or she has kept four terms and that nine complete terms have not passed after his or her first term of residence.

3. A student may be a candidate for honours in Part Ib in the year after obtaining honours either in Part Ia or in another Honours Examination, provided that he or she has kept four terms and that twelve complete terms have not passed after his or her first term of residence.

4. A student may be a candidate for honours in Part II:

  1. either(a)in the year next after obtaining honours in Part Ib of the Geographical Tripos,
  2. or(b)in the year next or next but one after obtaining honours in another Honours Examination, other than Part Ia of the Geographical Tripos;

provided that he or she has kept seven terms and that twelve complete terms have not passed after his or her first term of residence.58

5. No student shall be a candidate for more than one Part, or for any Part and also for another Honours Examination, in the same term.

6. No student who has been a candidate for any Part shall again be a candidate for the same Part.

Supplementary regulations.

7. The Faculty Board of Earth Sciences and Geography shall have power to issue from time to time supplementary regulations defining or limiting all or any of the subjects of examination. Due care shall be taken that sufficient notice is given of any alterations of such supplementary regulations.

Examiners.

8. The Faculty Board shall nominate for each Part of the Tripos such number of Examiners as they shall deem sufficient. There shall be two separate bodies of Examiners, one for Part Ia and Part Ib, and one for Part II. There shall be a separate Chairman of Examiners for each body of Examiners.

Assessors.

9. The Faculty Board shall have power to nominate one or more Assessors to assist each body of Examiners. An Assessor may be summoned to meetings of the Examiners for the purpose of consultation and advice, but shall not be entitled to vote.

10. The questions proposed by each Examiner and Assessor shall be submitted to the whole body of Examiners for approval.

11. The Examiners shall have regard to the style and method of candidates’ answers, and shall give credit for excellence in these respects.

Class-lists.

12. In the class-list for each Part of the Tripos the names of those who obtain honours shall be arranged in three classes, of which the second shall be divided into two divisions.

13. For special excellence in each Part of the Tripos a mark of distinction may be awarded.

14. In the examination for each Part of the Tripos the Examiners may take account of the laboratory and field work done by candidates during the courses leading to the examination.

Notice of subjects.

15. Notice of prescribed areas shall be published by the Faculty Board in the Reporter before the end of the Easter Term next preceding the examination to which they apply; provided that the Board shall have the power of subsequently issuing amendments if they have due reason for doing so and if they are satisfied that no student's preparation for the examination would be adversely affected.

Part Ia

Scheme of examination for Part Ia.

16. The examination shall consist of two papers as follows:

 Paper  1.

Human geography

 Paper  2.

Physical geography

17. Each paper shall be set for three hours. A candidate for Part Ia shall

  1. (a)offer both papers; and
  2. (b)submit to the Examiners, in accordance with arrangements to be specified by the Head of the Department of Geography and by a date or dates to be announced not later than the end of the first quarter of the Michaelmas Term, records of five practical exercises undertaken by the candidate, together with a declaration as specified in Regulation 25.

The Examiners shall have power to examine candidates viva voce on their submitted work.

Part Ib

[Please note, amendments to this section, effective from 1 October 2012, are detailed here]
 

18. The papers for Part Ib shall be as follows:

Section A

 Paper 1.

Living with global change

Section B

 Paper 2.

Human geography I

 Paper 3.

Human geography II

 Paper 4.

Human geography III

 Paper 5.

Physical and environmental geography I

 Paper 6.

Physical and environmental geography II

 Paper 7.

Physical and environmental geography III

The paper in Section A shall consist of a written paper of three hours’ duration. Each paper in Section B shall consist of a written paper of two hours’ duration together with the submission of course-work; details of the course-work required of candidates, and the arrangements for the submission of the course-work shall be published by the Faculty Board not later than the division of the Easter Term next preceding the examination.

19. A candidate for Part Ib shall offer

  1. (a)Paper 1,
  2. (b)three papers from Section B, and
  3. (c)submit to the Examiners, in accordance with arrangements to be specified by the Head of the Department of Geography and by a date or dates to be announced not later than the end of the first quarter of the Michaelmas Term,
  4. (i)an essay, of not more than 4,000 words, on a topic chosen by the candidate from a list of topics announced by the Examiners which fall within the field of Geographical Ideas,
  5. (ii)a record of a practical exercise or exercises undertaken by the candidate, and
  6. (iii)a record of a practical exercise undertaken by the candidate and based on fieldwork.

All items in section (c) shall be submitted together with a declaration as specified in Regulation 25.

Part II

Scheme of examination for Part II.

20. The papers for Part II shall be as follows:

 Paper  1.

A prescribed topic or topics in human geography I

 Paper  2.

A prescribed topic or topics in human geography II

 Paper  3.

A prescribed topic or topics in human geography III

 Paper  4.

A prescribed topic or topics in human geography IV

 Paper  5.

A prescribed topic or topics in physical geography I

 Paper  6.

A prescribed topic or topics in physical geography II

 Paper  7.

A prescribed topic or topics in physical geography III

 Paper  8.

A prescribed topic or topics in physical geography IV

 Paper  9.

A prescribed topic or topics in geography I

 Paper 10.

A prescribed topic or topics in geography II

 Paper 11.

A prescribed topic or topics in geography III

 Paper 12.

A prescribed topic or topics in geography IV

Each paper shall consist of either a written paper of three hours’ duration or a written paper of two hours’ duration together with the submission of course-work; the mode of examination of each paper, details of the course-work required of candidates, and the arrangements for the submission of the course-work shall be published by the Faculty Board not later than the division of the Easter Term next preceding the examination.

21. A candidate for Part II shall offer any four papers from the papers specified in Regulation 20.

Dissertation.

22. Except as provided in (a) and (b) below, every candidate for Part II shall send to the Chairman of Examiners so as to arrive not later than the first Tuesday of the Full Term in which the examination is to be held, for submission to the Examiners, a dissertation on some geographical subject. This regulation shall not apply to:

  1. (a)an Affiliated Student who is a candidate for Part II in the first, second, or third term after his or her first term kept;
  2. or(b)a student who has not obtained honours in either Part Ia or Part Ib of the Geographical Tripos and who is a candidate for Part II in the year next after obtaining honours in another Honours Examination; such a student shall submit in place of the dissertation a critical review essay of dissertation length.

23. Every candidate submitting a dissertation or a critical review essay under Regulation 22(b) shall obtain the approval of the Head of the Department for the subject of the proposed dissertation not later than the end of the Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination.

24. A dissertation shall be of not less than 8,000 words and not more than 10,000 words in length, shall be word-processed, unless previous permission has been obtained from the Chairman of Examiners through a candidate's Tutor to present the dissertation in manuscript, and shall be accompanied by a declaration as specified in Regulation 25. The dissertation shall be taken into consideration by the Examiners, who shall have power to examine a candidate upon it viva voce.

25. When submitting records of practical exercises for Part Ia (Regulation 17(b)), or course-work, essays and records of practical exercises, and dissertation proposals for Part Ib (Regulations 18 and 19(b)), or course-work or a dissertation for Part II (Regulations 20 and 24), or a critical review essay for Part II (Regulation 22(b)), a candidate will be required to sign a declaration that the work submitted is his or her own work, unaided except as may be specified in the declaration (full and proper acknowledgement being given of the work of others), and that it does not contain material that has already been used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose; if two or more candidates have undertaken practical exercises in collaboration, they will each be required to indicate the extent of their contribution.

Footnotes

  1. 58. See also the regulations for Affiliated Students.a