peterhouse cambridge essay competition 2022

Cambridge Essay Competitions

Essay competitions are brilliant for a number of reasons!

You can use them to:

The essay competitions usually become open for submissions after the winter holidays. Be sure to check any eligibility criteria, requirements and deadlines. This page will be updated when new competitions are announced, and when deadlines are passed, so check back regularly! All essay competitions and events at Cambridge (both online and in-person) can be found here 🔗 🌟.

Magdalene College Arts and Humanities Essay Competition 2024 🔗 🌟 Any student in their penultimate year at a state school can enter this competition, which will open in early 2024. Last year, there were 12 questions covering a variety of topics within the arms and humanities - you can read the winning entries here 🔗. To register your interest in this competition for 2024, fill in this form 🔗.

Fitzwilliam College Essay Competitions: various subjects 🔗 🌟 Fitzwilliam College runs a variety of competitions in Ancient World and Classics, Archaeology, History, Land Economy, Medieval World, Architecture, and Economics (this last one is for state-school UK students only). All competitions are open to Year 12 students and are designed to encourage students to pursue their interests in subjects they might not be able to study in depth at school. Last year, the deadline for all competition entries was the 1st of March, so make sure to check back in early 2024 for updates.

Newnham College Woolf Essay Prize 🔗 🌟 The Woolf Essay Competition is focussed on women in literature, history, society and culture. There are also competitions for other subjects - more information these will be coming soon. Webinars to help support your entry can be found here 🔗 . The deadline for the Woolf Prize last year was the 14th of July.

Girton College Humanities Writing Competition 🔗 An opportunity for students interested in pursuing any humanities subject to write creatively! Year 12 students may enter with an essay or piece of creative writing using an object from Girton College’s small antiquities museum, the Lawrence Room, as their prompt.

Robinson College Essay Prize: various subjects 🔗 Year 12 students may submit an essay of up to 2,000 words in response to one of the set questions, which cover a wide variety of academic subjects. The prize did not run in 2023, but may in 2024.

Trinity College Essay Prizes 🔗 These competitions give entrants the opportunity to write an essay of up to 2,000 words in response to the set question/(s). Last year there were competitions for English Literature, Launguages, Linguistics, Philosophy, Politics, Law, and History.

Did you spot a typo or formatting issue? Let us know by emailing us at [email protected] .

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Peterhouse Postgraduate Studentship Competition

Each year Peterhouse awards several Postgraduate Studentships fully funded by the College. Applicants should note that the awards are highly competitive, with fifty or more applications for each studentship we are able to award, and applicants should be of high academic calibre. Successful candidates in the past have generally achieved a good First or a GPA score of at least 3.75 or equivalent in other academic system.

In the 2023-2024 competition, studentships will be offered only for PhD study, covering both fees and maintenance for up to a maximum of three years. These will be "top up" awards, so if a candidate has partial funding from elsewhere, Peterhouse will make this up to a full award. If a successful applicant has no funding from other sources, then their Studentship will cover University and College fees plus maintenance at the same level as Arts and Humanities Research Council awards. In addition, the College will fund the immigration health surcharge and the student visa costs for those international students who need them. Students who already have full funding are not eligible to apply for a Peterhouse Studentship.

Award details

To continue your award from year to year, your Supervisor must provide a satisfactory report of your progress on the ‘Cambridge Supervisor Reporting System’ by the end of July each year.

Eligibility

Applications must be made via the College website.

• To be eligible for a Peterhouse Studentship, applicants must be accepted as postgraduate students by the University of Cambridge.
• Applicants must ensure that the Department or Faculty to which they apply also considers them for all University studentships for which they are eligible.
• PhD students who have already started their doctoral studies are eligible only if they are already members of Peterhouse.

Application Process

Applications must be made online at https://www.pet.cam.ac.uk/graduate-studentships . Applications and all supporting documents must be received by 5pm on Friday 6 January. Successful candidates are informed by 3 April and take up their awards at the beginning of the academic year.

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Year 12 Classics Essay Competitions 2022

As with 2021, here’s a post which will summarise the various year 12 Classics-related essay competitions for the year ahead.

Every year UK universities and colleges run a wide range of essay competitions. The competitions are mainly pitched at year 12 (i.e. lower sixth form) pupils as those pupils begin to think about what they might like to study at university level.

Classics departments do a good job of this. There are plenty of essays to enter for the student who can find them. And doing the essays is a great way to explore new and different subject matter beyond the regular syllabus and to try your hand in a fun competition.

The problem, for teachers as they encourage their students to enter these competitions (unless I am very much mistaken), is that they aren’t all advertised in one place. To help with this, I am collecting all essay competitions I come across here, for ease of finding them. I will update this list as and when new information is made available. Each competition below is either explicitly focussed on Classics or contains essay questions which admit of a classical focus. Alongside the essay competitions, I’ve included the odd reading competition etc.

Please do get in touch/add a comment below if I have missed any competitions which can be added to the list. And good luck to anyone entering!

Oxford Classics and Byzantine Studies Creative Writing Competition

Deadline: not yet announced – 27 May 2021 last year

Newnham College, Cambridge: Woolf Prize, Classics Prize, Archaeology Prize

Details here:  https://www.newn.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduates/newnham-essay-prizes/

nb. girls only , state school only

Woolf: deadline 11th March 2022 (5 entries per school)

Classics: deadline 11th March 2022 (5 entries per school)

Archaeology: 11th March 2022 (5 entries per school)

St John’s College, Oxford: Classics and Ancient History Essay Competition

Details here:  https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/news/classics-and-ancient-history-essay-competition-now-open/

Deadline: 3rd March 2022

New College of Humanities Essay Competition

A lot of prize money available here, but only one topic (art history) of direct classical relevance.

Details here:  https://www.nchlondon.ac.uk/essay/

Deadline: 31st January 2022

Omnibus Sam Hood Translation Prize

Details here:  https://classicalassociation.org/events/omnibus-sam-hood-translation-prize-2022/

Deadline: 8th July 2022

Gladstone Memorial Essay Prize, ICS

Details below, deadline 8th July 2022

St Hugh’s College, Oxford Mary Renault Prize

Details here:  https://www.st-hughs.ox.ac.uk/prospectivestudents/outreach/mary-renault-prize/

Deadline: Not yet announced – 30th July 2021 last year

ARLT Reading competition

Details here:  https://www.arlt.co.uk/event-posts/reading-competition-2022/

Deadline: 25th February 2022

Lytham St Anne’s Branch Classics Competition

Details here:  https://classicalassociation.org/events/lytham-st-annes-branch-classics-competition-final/

Deadline: 6th March 2022, 6pm

Cambridge and District Branch Ancient History and Class Civ Essay competition (Years 10-13)

Deadline: 25th March 2022

Classical Association Creative Writing Competition (11-18)

Deadline: 3rd February 2022

UCL Greek and Latin Essay Competition

Watch this space: last year deadline was 31st August

Trinity College, Cambridge Linguistics Essay Competition

Not available yet

Last year’s details here:  https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/essay-prizes/linguistics/

Last year’s deadline: 2nd August 2021

Trinity College, Cambridge, Robson History Prize

Last year’s details here:  https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/essay-prizes/history/

Last year’s deadline: 1st May

Gonville and Caius, Cambridge Linguistics Challenge

watch this space

Gonville and Caius, Cambridge History essay prize

Last year’s deadline was 5th June

Girton College, Cambridge Humanities Essay Competition

Details here:  https://www.girton.cam.ac.uk/humanities-writing-competition

Deadline: 18th March 2022

Peterhouse, Cambridge Vellacott History Essay Prize

watch this space: cancelled last year!

Corpus Christi, Cambridge Classics Essay Competition

Watch this space: didn’t run last year

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Classics essay Competition

2022 now open!

Details here:  https://www.fitz.cam.ac.uk/study-us/undergraduate/opportunities-prospective-applicants/essay-competitions

Deadline: 1st March 2022

Gilbert Murray Essay Competition

Scottish pupils only

Details of last year’s competition here:  https://cas.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2020/08/13/gilbert-murray-essay-competition/

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2022 Essay Prize in Economics

What Contribution can Heterodox Economics Make to Addressing the Climate Emergency?

The Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF) and the Cambridge Journal of Economics (CJE) intend to award a prize of EUR 7,000 for the best essay on the theme, ‘What contribution can heterodox economics make to addressing the climate emergency?’ Authors are free to choose their topic and title within this wider theme.

Please read these details carefully before contacting the ISRF or the CJE with a query or submitting your essay for consideration .

Essays are invited which explore the potential contribution of any aspect(s) of heterodox economics, broadly construed, to addressing the climate emergency. Possible sub-topics include:

• Ends. What should be the objectives of climate policy, and action more generally by states, institutions and individuals, in addressing the climate emergency? How should the values at stake be conceptualised? 
• Means. Assuming some clear goals or objectives, how should these be pursued? How should we act in the face of economic, scientific, and political uncertainties?
• Discourses and strategies. In addressing the climate emergency, how are our means and ends best described and framed? Are there tensions between well-justified ends which might emerge from ethical, political economic and scientific analysis, and the means available to us?

Essays could discuss theoretical issues in general terms, or focus on specific problems or practical strategies. 

If the scientific consensus is correct, we only have a few years before serious climate damage becomes irreversible. Therefore contributors who focus on long-term structural transformations of the economy, society, or economics, may also wish to discuss how to think and act given the urgency of the situation. 

The winning essay will be selected from submissions received in the submission window commencing 1st September 2021, closing at midnight on 30th September 2021.

The essay will be judged on its originality and independence of thought, its scholarly quality, its potential to challenge received ideas, and the success with which it matches the criteria of the ISRF and the CJE. The successful essay will be intellectually radical, orthogonal to existing debates, and articulate a strong internal critique across the fields of economic research. Its challenge to received ideas will have the potential to provoke a re-thinking of the topic.

The ISRF is interested in original research ideas that take new approaches and suggest new solutions to real world social problems. The full statement of the ISRF’s criteria and goals may be viewed  here .

The CJE provides a forum for theoretical, applied, interdisciplinary, history of thought and methodological work, with strong emphasis on realistic analysis, the development of critical perspectives, the provision and use of empirical evidence, and the construction of policy. More detail about the Journal can be found on the Journal’s website .

The 2015 ISRF Essay Prize in Economics was awarded to Julie Nelson for her essay Husbandry: a (feminist) reclamation of masculine responsibility for care .

The submitted essays will be judged by an academic panel (the ISRF Essay Prize Committee) and the winner will be decided by unanimous vote. The panel’s decision will be final, and no assessments or comments will be made available. The result will be notified to applicants by email by the end of July 2022 and will then be announced by posting on the websites of  the ISRF and of the CJE. The ISRF and the CJE reserve the right not to award the prize, and no award will be made if the submitted essays are of insufficient merit.

Submissions should be made – within the submission window only – online at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cje Queries: Telephone +44 (0) 20 7262 0196 or email [email protected]

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Aidan scoops prestigious essay prize

We would like to congratulate our year 12 student Aidan for submitting a winning essay to the Peterhouse Kelvin Science Essay Prize Competition, run by Peterhouse,  University of Cambridge .

The judges felt that his essay stood out for its clarity of argument, stylish prose, level of research and originality of thought. This commendation puts Aidan in the top 10 out of over 200 entries to this national competition!

Aidan collected his award – and £75 prize - at the Peterhouse Essay Prizes Winners’ Luncheon and Awards Ceremony held at Peterhouse this week. He was also able to have the opportunity to meet Fellows in the subject and to tour the College with a current student of Peterhouse.

Well done Aidan an outstanding achievement!

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Entries encouraged for Peterhouse Essay Prizes

There’s still time to enter the 2013 Peterhouse Essay Competitions, open to all Year 12 or Lower Sixth students at school in the UK.

we hope that as many schools as possible will encourage their high-flyers to have a go. Carrie Boyce, Peterhouse Schools Liaison Officer.

Entries for the Vellacott History Prize , the Kelvin Science Prize and the Thomas Campion English Prize can be submitted until 22 March 2013.

All three competitions have a top prize of £500 and a second prize of £250. Several further essays will be highly commended.

In addition to the cash prize, all winners and highly commended entrants are invited to a presentation and celebration lunch at Peterhouse in the summer, where they will have the opportunity to discuss their essays with leading academics.

The competitions are organised by Peterhouse in order to give students in Year 12 or Lower Sixth an opportunity to write about a subject in which they are personally interested. By researching and writing their chosen essay it is hoped that students will develop and experience the independent study skills which will stand them in good stead at university.

George Thomas won the Kelvin Prize in 2011 when he was in the Sixth Form at Elthorne Park High School in Ealing. He’s now a Peterhouse undergraduate.

“If you're serious about your application to Cambridge, entering an essay competition can only help. There are a number of people at Peterhouse who, even if they didn't win a prize, still applied and got places,” George said.

“I picked for my title: "Suppose you could write a letter back to Sir Isaac Newton just as he becomes president of the Royal Society. Suppose further that the intention of the letter is to advance science by as much as possible. This is a chance to write that letter."

“To anyone thinking of entering this year, I’d say:-

• Don't make the essay a chore to read: remember your audience. Directors of Studies for maths and sciences read and marked my essay. These are leading academics in their fields, so try to be interesting….
• Consideration of details implicit in the question may differentiate you from other candidates. I decided that an important point in writing the letter was convincing its reader that I was not a crackpot (i.e. actually from the future).
• Research well and thoroughly."

“The essay competitions give a preview of the kind of work students would find themselves doing if they came to Cambridge, and a chance to demonstrate their skills in independent research,” said Peterhouse Schools Liaison Officer Carrie Boyce.

“Although we can typically only accept two entries per competition from each school or college, we hope that as many schools as possible will encourage their high-flyers to have a go.”

• Further details are available online at www.pet.cam.ac.uk/prospective-students/essay-prizes or from the Admissions Office on 01223 338223 or email [email protected] .

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence . If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

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Natural Sciences

The strength of the Natural Sciences course at Cambridge is the breadth and variety of subject choice across the physical and biological sciences, allowing students to tailor their programme of study according to their individual interests.

All Natural Sciences students take three experimental science subjects in their first year, plus a maths course. The ‘experimental’ subjects are Physics, Material Sciences, Earth Sciences, Chemistry, Cell Biology, Physiology and Evolution & Behaviour. The maths courses have focuses on the physical/chemical sciences (Maths A and B) or biology (Mathematical Biology); none are ‘easy’ options and should be chosen based on your particular scientific interest. See the University website for more details of the Natural Sciences course .

In the second year, students choose three subjects from nineteen possible options. In the third year, they either specialise in one subject from a choice of fifteen or choose a more broad-based physical or biological sciences course with both "major" and "minor" subjects. Fourth-year courses are also available for eight subjects (Astrophysics, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, History & Philosophy of Science, Materials Science, Physics and Systems Biology).  See the University website for second and third year courses .

Natural Sciences at Peterhouse

Peterhouse has always been a particularly strong college for Natural Sciences. The college has produced five Nobel Laureates in the last 60 years, in the fields of chemistry, molecular biology and biological computing. The college was at the centre of the development of molecular biology and is still at the cutting edge of scientific endeavour, including in particle physics, theoretical chemistry, ecology and synthetic biology. The success of the college in Natural Sciences comes from our focus on the very best teaching, our supportive cohorts of students and the opportunities available for our students through our exceptional links to research institutions and the wide variety of study and travel grants that the college provides.

Most of our first and second year teaching is carried out by Fellows and other supervisors with close links to the college, all highly experienced. Our Directors of Studies are all active in teaching so academic progress is closely supported for all our students. We have some of the best travel grants in the University and these enable many of our students to take advantage of vacation work placements, projects and field-work opportunities . Through these, students are able to investigate the very latest scientific advances, from physics and developmental genetics to studying Darwin’s beetle collection and taking advantage of tropical island ecology internships established specifically for Peterhouse students. The College’s scientific society, the Kelvin Club, is highly active; organising fortnightly talks from top scientists from within Cambridge and elsewhere. In addition to our academic strengths we aim to maintain a Natural Sciences community that everyone enjoys being part of; we are confident that we provide the best social events (dinners, desserts and BBQs) of any college!

Peterhouse has the strongest links of any college to CERN, and this contributes to our outstanding reputation for Physics. Many Peterhouse students have gone on to work in High Energy or Theoretical Physics, and/or have undertaken project work at CERN. Professor Andy Parker  works on the ATLAS experiment at CERN, looking for exotic states of matter. He used to teach physics to first year students at Peterhouse and is now the college's Master. Dr Chris Lester   works on the ATLAS experiment at CERN, looking for invisible particles that might make up dark matter and supersymmetry. He teaches physics and maths and has been known to lecture from one of his unicycles. Dr Ali Mashayek supervises first-year Physics. He researches the physics and biochemistry of climate systems  in the Department of Earth Sciences.

Material Sciences

Our Material Scientists are  Dr Louise Hirst , who works on the development of high efficiency photovoltaics, leading the University’s Space Photovoltaics Group, and  Professor Paul Midgley , who works on bringing electron microscopy to below the nanometre scale thought electron tomography.

For many year Peterhouse’s students have excelled in Chemistry . Dr Dr Tim Dickens  supervises first-year Chemistry and supports our chemists throughout their time in the college. He has a background in industrial chemistry and researches NMR Ring Current calculations on congregate aromatic systems. Professor Sophie Jackson  has a long standing research interest in protein folding and teaches parts of the second and third-year chemistry courses. Dr Alex Thom supervises first and second-year maths courses for Natural Sciences, as well as Theoretical Chemistry courses. Dr Thom is a theoretical chemist and has a keen interest in Oenology. Professor Chris Rogers teachers second-year Physical Chemistry, supervising on topics such as  quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, symmetry and the electronic structure of solid . His research is in developing new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques for medical diagnosis. 

Peterhouse can justly claim to be the most dynamic college for Biology; with regular discussion meetings, termly biodiversity monitoring of the gardens and an annual biological Research Symposium . We are also the best connected college if you are interested in ecology, with Peterhouse students having unique access to tropical island ecology and conservation internships in the Seychelles and Polynesian islands.  Activities of Peterhouse biologists (undergraduates, graduates and Fellows) are summarised in the annual   Peterhouse Biology Newsletter and external links  give further details of  biology at Peterhouse . 

Dr Justin Gerlach   specialises in teaching whole-organismal biology courses that cover evolution, behaviour, ecology and physiology. His goal in teaching is to convey an enthusiasm for all biodiversity and to foster scientific writing of the very highest standard. When not teaching undergraduates, he carries out evolutionary research and conservation projects on everything from tropical snails to giant tortoises. These projects are designed specifically to give exceptional field-work opportunities to Peterhouse students interested in ecology and conservation.

Dr Graham Christie  heads the Molecular Microbiology research group within the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. He supervises cell and biochemistry courses, drawing upon his research interests in bacterial molecular genetics, structural biology and advanced cellular imaging techniques.

For a student's perspective on life as a 'NatSci' at Peterhouse, have a look at the JCR's  ' day in the life of a science student '.

Biological Natural Sciences FAQ with Dr Justin Gerlach

Physical Natural Sciences FAQ with Professor Sophie Jackson

Course requirements.

Physical scientists should be studying Mathematics and at least one of Chemistry or Physics to A level or equivalent, with Further Mathematics and the other of Chemistry or Physics to A level advantageous. 

In   this application round, applicants who are only taking two maths/science subjects at A-level or equivalent, or who are not taking Maths on the Biological stream, can outline any restrictions or constraints on school subject choice in My Cambridge Application. However, such applicants should note that historically the vast majority of students have applied with three maths/science subjects and the success rate of such students has typically been significantly higher. A strong performance in the ESAT will help us to determine whether the application is competitive”

The application process

Candidates are asked to indicate whether this wish to apply as a Physical or Biological scientist, however this does not restrict options at all once at Cambridge and is done to determine how your application will be assessed and which interviews you will receive. If an applicant wishes to specialise in primarily biological sciences but wants to have the option of taking a physics course in their first year, they should inform the Admissions Office of this so that a separate physics interview can be arranged. If you are uncertain whether a Biology or Physics application is more appropriate, it is sensible to discuss this with the Admissions Office. The final choice of first year courses is only confirmed once students arrive in October and some students switch ‘sides’ every year on arrival. This is the advantage of such a flexible course.

Natural Sciences applicants across the University are asked to sit the Engineering and Sciences Admissions Test (ESAT) at their local  testing centre . Pre-registration is required. These will form part of our holistic assessment of candidates' achievements, abilities and potential and are no more, and no less important than any of the other pieces of information considered during the admissions process. Registration for this assessment closes in mid-September. Further information can be found  on the University website .

Four of our Science Fellows conduct the two 30-minute interviews. Interview questions will have a scientific focus, but the interviewers are not expecting candidates to know a "correct answer" but are interested in how candidates respond to new ideas or approach unfamiliar problems.

Typical conditional offers

Our typical conditional offer for Natural Sciences is A*A*A at A level. IB offers are usually for a minimum of 41-42 points, to include 776 or 777 at Higher level in relevant subjects. We would expect the highest grades to be achieved in science or mathematics subjects. Offers are designed to be realistic, taking into account individual circumstances, and to reflect potential and likely levels of achievement. Most of those who receive offers will attain the grades required.

Further resources and reading

If you are interested in studying Natural Sciences we recommend you read around the sciences widely and see what interests you beyond the confines of the school curriculum. Recommended books are:

‘How Chemical Reactions Happen’ by James Keeler & Peter Wothers – a very useful introduction to what is really going on in chemistry

‘Essential Biology’ by  Justin Gerlach - a synthesis of all the biology that is useful background for starting an undergraduate biology course

‘Evolution’ by Mark Ridley – an excellent account of evolutionary biology

‘The  Selfish Gene’ by Richard Dawkins – still the best exposition of the most important concept in biology: the role of the gene

‘Power, Sex, Suicide : Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life' by Nick Lane – a thought provoking aspect of cell biology

‘Spillover’ and other books by David Quamen – well written accounts of aspects of biology you’ve probably not thought about. Similarly, any of the collections of essays by Stephen Jay Gould are very stimulating and models of great science writing.

Fellows & Lecturers

Details of how to apply to Peterhouse: how the process works and what we look for.

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Peterhouse Kelvin Science Essay Competition 2023

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Submissions are now open for the Peterhouse Kelvin Science Essay Competition, which aims to give students the opportunity to explore scientific concepts and topics beyond the classroom, and to engage with scientific research. 

The Kelvin Science Essay Competition is open to students in their  penultimate year of study  (Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland, Year 13 in Northern Ireland, or equivalent) who are educated in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Submissions will close on  Monday 24th April at 23:59 pm GMT . 

For more information and to participate, please visit the competition webpage .

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Peterhouse Essay Competition

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