Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge
CHAPTER IV
pp. 321–325
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS AND TRIPOS EXAMINATIONS

The provisions contained in this Chapter are Regulations of the General Board

In this section

TRIPOS EXAMINATIONS
(New Regulations)

EDUCATION TRIPOS

NEW REGULATIONS1

Three Parts.

1. The Education Tripos shall consist of three Parts: Part Ia, Part Ib, and Part II; a separate class-list shall be published for each Part.

Standing of candidates.

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

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

3. The following may present themselves as candidates for Part Ib:

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

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

  1. (a)a student who has obtained honours in Part Ib of the Education Tripos, in the year next after so obtaining honours;
  2. (b)a student who has obtained honours in any Honours Examination other than Part Ib of the Education Tripos, in the year next or next but one after so obtaining honours.

5. No student shall be a candidate 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. For any parts of the Tripos, no candidate shall offer any paper, dissertation, or other exercise that he or she has previously offered in any University examination.

Supplementary regulations.

7. The Faculty Board of Education shall have power to issue from time to time supplementary regulations defining or limiting all or any of the subjects of examination, and to modify, alter, or withdraw such supplementary regulations as occasion may require, provided that due care is taken to give sufficient notice of any change.

Notice of variable subjects.

8. Public notice of any variable subjects for the examinations in any year shall be given by the Faculty Board of Education before the end of the Easter Term in the year 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 is adversely affected.

9. Not later than the first day of Full Michaelmas Term each year the Faculty Board of Education shall publish by Notice in the Faculty, details of the coursework, performances, workshops, and practical examinations to be undertaken by candidates for each Part of the Tripos during the ensuing academical year.

Examiners and Assessors.

10. The Faculty Board shall nominate such number of Examiners as they deem sufficient to conduct the examinations. The Faculty Board shall also have power to nominate one or more Assessors to assist the Examiners in any subject of the Tripos. Assessors shall propose questions in the papers or parts of papers assigned to them by the Examiners, shall mark the answers of the candidates in those papers or parts of papers, and shall advise the Examiners on the performance of candidates in the examination. Assessors may be summoned to meetings of the Examiners for the purpose of consultation and advice. At the discretion of the examiners, the examination may include an oral examination on any coursework submitted.

Class-lists.

11. In the class-lists for each Part of the Tripos, the names of the candidates who obtain honours shall be arranged in three classes, of which the second shall be divided into two divisions. In addition the Examiners may affix a mark of distinction to the names of candidates placed in the first class whose work is of special merit. The names in the first and third classes and each division of the second class shall be arranged in alphabetical order.

Part Ia

Examination requirements for Part Ia.

12. The Examination for Part Ia shall comprise two sections as set out below. Each candidate shall offer the examination requirements set out in Section I and the examination requirements for a single pathway as set out in Section II. At the discretion of the Examiners the examination may include an oral examination on the coursework submitted under Section I.

Section I. Education

Section I consists of two papers, examined by a two-hour written paper and the submission of coursework as shall from time to time be determined by the Faculty Board of Education. Details of the work required shall be published by the Faculty Board of Education not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination.

Paper 1

Critical debates in education: an introduction

Paper 2

Language, communication, and literacies

Section II. Pathway-specific papers

Scheme of examination.

Candidates must offer the requirements from only one pathway. The scheme of examination shall be as specified in Regulation 13, except for borrowed papers where a candidate is examined in accordance with the requirements as set out in the regulations for that Tripos. Where stated, some papers are examined by means other than a single written paper. For papers offered by the Faculty of Education, the Faculty Board of Education shall specify arrangements for the submission of coursework, the sitting of practical examinations, or performances or workshops not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination.

Education, psychology, and learning pathway

All candidates shall offer the following two papers:

Paper 3

Learning and human development (also serves as Paper 5 of Part Ib of the Education Tripos)

and

 

Paper 4

Introduction to psychology (also serves as Paper PBS1 of the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Tripos)

Education, policy, and international development pathway

All candidates shall offer the following paper:

Paper 5

Education, global inequalities, and social justice (also serves as Paper 4 of Part Ib of the Education Tripos)

and

 

One paper chosen from the following list, which shall be examined in accordance with the examination requirements as set out in the regulations for that Tripos:

Human geography (also serves as Paper I of Part Ia of the Geographical Tripos)

Introduction to sociology: Modern societies I (also serves as Paper SOC1 of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)

Social anthropology: the comparative perspective (also serves as Paper SAN1 of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)

International conflict, order, and justice (also serves as Paper POL2 of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)

The modern state and its alternatives (also serves as Paper POL1 of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)

Education, English, drama, and the arts pathway

All candidates shall offer the following paper:

Paper 6

Poetics, aesthetics, and criticism

and

One paper from the following two options:

Paper 7

Drama production and its contexts

or

 

Paper 8

Literature and culture

13. Each paper in Section II of Part Ia shall consist of a two-hour written examination and the submission of coursework as shall from time to time be determined by the Faculty Board of Education, except for borrowed papers. Details of the work required shall be published by the Faculty Board of Education not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination. The exceptions to this are Paper 4, Paper 5, Paper 6, and Paper 8 which shall consist of one three-hour examination. Details of the work required shall be published by the Faculty Board of Education not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination.

Part Ib

Scheme of examination for Part Ib.

14. The examination for Part Ibshall comprise three sections, as set out below. The scheme of examination shall be as specified in Regulations 14 and 15, except for borrowed papers where a candidate is examined in accordance with the requirements as set out in the regulations for that Tripos. Candidates shall offer:

  1. (a)the examination requirements set out in Section I;
  2. (b)one paper taken from the examination requirements for Section II;
  3. (c)two papers from the requirements relating to their pathway, as set out in Section III.

Section I

Paper 1

Designing education research

Paper 2

Emergence of educational thinking and systems

Section II

Paper 3

Modernity, globalization, and education

Paper 4

Education, global inequalities, and social justice (also serves as Paper 5 of Part Ia of the Education Tripos)

Paper 5

Learning and human development (also serves as Paper 3 of Part Ia of the Education Tripos)

Paper 6

International literatures, arts, and cultures (also serves as a choice in Section III for students on the Education, English, drama, and the arts pathway)

Paper 7

Statistics and methods (also serves as Paper SOC5 of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)

Section III

Education, psychology, and learning pathway

Paper 8

Formal and informal contexts of learning

and

One paper chosen from a list for the pathway to be published by the Faculty Board by the end of the Easter Term next preceding the examination

Education, policy, and international development pathway

Paper 9

International issues in inclusion and diversity in education

and

One paper chosen from a list for the pathway to be published by the Faculty Board by the end of the Easter Term next preceding the examination

Education, English, drama, and the arts pathway

Each candidate shall offer two papers from the following:

Paper 6

International literatures, arts, and cultures

Paper 10

Theatre, practice, and production

One paper chosen from a list for the pathway to be published by the Faculty Board by the end of the Easter Term next preceding the examination

A candidate in the Education, English, drama, and the arts pathway may offer a dissertation on a topic in the fields of film, drama, or English literature in place of either of these papers. Any dissertation shall be offered under the conditions specified in Regulation 15.

Project portfolio.

15. Paper 1 shall be examined by submission of a project portfolio of between 5,000 and 6,000 words in total, structured according to the instructions published by the Faculty Board from time to time. The portfolio shall be submitted by candidates through the Undergraduate Office to the Secretary of the Faculty Board by a date specified by the Faculty Board not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination.

Dissertation.

A candidate submitting a dissertation in place of one of the Education, English, Drama, and the Arts specialist papers shall submit the proposed title through the Undergraduate Office to the Secretary of the Faculty Board by the end of the 21st day of Full Lent Term. The submitted dissertation shall be of not less than 5,000 words and not more than 7,000 words inclusive of notes and appendices. Dissertations shall be submitted by candidates through the Undergraduate Office to the Secretary of the Faculty Board by a date specified by the Faculty Board not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination.

Each portfolio/dissertation shall be in typescript, unless previous permission has been obtained from the Faculty Board to present it in manuscript; it shall bear the candidate’s examination number and shall be accompanied by a brief synopsis.

Candidates will be required to declare that the portfolio/dissertation is their own work and that it does not contain material already used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose. At the discretion of the Examiners, a candidate may be examined viva voce on her or his portfolio/dissertation.

Examinations and coursework.

16. Papers 2, 3, 6, and 8 shall be examined by one three-hour written examination. Papers 4, 5, and 9 shall be examined by one two-hour written examination and the submission of coursework as specified by the Faculty Board from time to time. Details of the work required shall be published by the Faculty Board of Education not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination. Paper 10 shall consist of coursework as specified by the Faculty Board from time to time.

Part II

Scheme of examination for Part II.

17. The examination for Part II shall comprise four sections, as set out below. The scheme of examination shall be as specified in Regulations 18 and 19, except for borrowed papers where a candidate is examined in accordance with the requirements as set out in the regulations for that Tripos. Candidates shall offer five papers in total, as follows:

  1. (a)the examination requirements set out in Section I;
  2. (b)two or three papers taken from Section II;
  3. (c)the examination requirement for the relevant pathway set out in Section III;
  4. (d)candidates offering four papers under Regulation 15(a) to (c) shall offer one further paper from the requirements for their pathway as set out in Section IV.

Section I

Dissertation

Candidates shall submit a report on a topic related to the investigation and analysis of an educational problem. The report shall be submitted under the conditions set out in Regulation 19. At the discretion of the Examiners, a candidate may be examined viva voce on her or his dissertation

Section II. Issues in education

Paper 1

Experience of childhood and youth

Paper 2

Social theory and education

Paper 3

Play, creativities, and imagination

Paper 4

Children’s literature (also serves as Paper 12 of the Education, English, drama, and the arts pathway in Section III of Part II of the Education Tripos)

Paper 5

A dissertation in a topic relating to the pathway specialism

Additional papers may be offered as announced by the Faculty Board from time to time. Examination requirements for such papers shall be announced simultaneously. Details of the work required shall be published by the Faculty Board of Education not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination.

Section III

Education, psychology, and learning pathway

Paper 10

Education, neuroscience, and society

Education, policy, and international development pathway

Paper 11

Critical debates in education, policy, and international development

Education, English, drama, and the arts pathway

Paper 12

Children’s literature (also serves as Paper 4 in Section II of Part II of the Education Tripos)

and/or

 

Paper 13

Performance, education, and society

and/or

 

Paper 14

Shakespeare

Section IV

For each pathway, a list of borrowed papers will be published annually by the Faculty Board by the end of the Easter Term next preceding the examination.

18. Papers 1, 2, 10, 11, and 14 shall be examined by one three-hour examination. Papers 3, 4, and 13 shall be examined by one two-hour examination and the submission of coursework as specified by the Faculty Board from time to time.

Dissertation.

19. Each candidate shall submit the proposed topic of their dissertation under Section I and II of Part II through the Undergraduate Office to the Secretary of the Faculty Board, by a date announced by the Faculty Board not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination. The Secretary shall communicate the approval or rejection of the proposed topic to the candidate no later than the end of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination.

The submitted report shall be of not less than 8,000 words and not more than 10,000 words, excluding notes and appendices. The report shall be submitted by candidates through the Undergraduate Office to the Secretary of the Faculty Board by a date specified by the Faculty Board not later than the beginning of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination. Each report shall be in typescript, unless previous permission has been obtained from the Faculty Board to present it in manuscript; it shall bear the candidate’s examination number and shall be accompanied by a brief synopsis.

Candidates will be required to declare that the report is their own work and that it does not contain material already used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose. At the discretion of the Examiners, a candidate may be examined viva voce on her or his report.

20. Any dissertation submitted for Section IV shall be submitted under the rules relating to the Tripos from which the paper is taken.

21. Candidates may not offer more than one dissertation in total under Sections II, III, and IV.

Temporary Regulation

22. The examinations for the Education Tripos (New Regulations) shall be held for the first time as follows:

Part Ia in 2018

Part Ib in 2019

Part II in 2020

Footnotes

  1. 1. These regulations will come into effect in accordance with the timetable in Temporary Regulation 22, p. 325.a