Eligibility and Priority
Our courses focus on training from the social sciences, but students attend from across the University of Cambridge, and beyond.
We aim to provide enough series of our most popular modules to accommodate everyone who wants a place. In the rare cases where a module is oversubscribed, students are given priority according to the following criteria:
Who can study with us?
The short answer? Anyone - subject to the rules, below.
Priority Departments
These are the Departments which contribute to the SSRMP by providing teaching for our programme:
- Criminology (School of Humanities and Social Sciences)
- Education (School of Humanities and Social Sciences)
- Geography (School of Physical Sciences)
- History (School of Humanities and Social Sciences)
- Land Economy (School of Humanities and Social Sciences)
- Linguistics (School of Arts and Humanities)
- Music (School of Arts and Humanities)
- Politics and International Studies (School of Humanities and Social Sciences)
- Social Anthropology (School of Humanities and Social Sciences)
- Psychology (School of Biological Sciences)
- Sociology (School of Humanities and Social Sciences)
Postgraduates
Most postgraduate students who book onto SSRMP modules simply choose to take our courses because they look interesting or relevant to their studies. Other students may have to take one of our modules as a mandatory part of their degree. Make sure you know which group you fall into, and consult your handbook or departmental Graduate Administrator if necessary.
Undergraduates
Exceptional undergraduates may attend SSRMP modules by special arrangement. If this applies to you, please get your supervisor to email us to confirm that they are happy for you to attend.
Staff
Staff are welcome to attend SSRMP modules.
Non-Participating Departments and Organisations within the University of Cambridge
To attend SSRMP modules, staff and students from non-participating departments and organisations at the University of Cambridge must pay a fee for each module that they take.
Non-participating departments and organisations include those which are not affiliated to a Cambridge University academic school, as well as all departments within the School of Clinical Medicine. If you are a member of one of these non-affiliated organisations and wish to enrol on an SSRMP module, please check with your department, organisation, or funding body to make sure the funds are available to cover the fee, and that you have a way of paying for the course.
Should you wish to attend one of our modules, you should make a booking in the usual way, but should also note that we will be in touch for payment and that your booking will be cancelled if they do not make that payment within the time-frame specified.
External participants
A limited number of places are available for participants from outside Cambridge University; the exact number of places varies from module to module. Your booking may initially be accepted on a provisional basis; in such cases, your place will be confirmed no later than two weeks before the start of the module.
Oversubscribed modules
If you try to make a booking for a module which is full, you will get an email saying you are on the waiting list. If a space becomes available, you will get another email offering you a place. You must accept the place by clicking on the link in the email within 24 hours; if you don’t confirm within this time, you will lose the place and it will go to the next person on the waiting list.
Students and staff affiliated with Priority Departments (see below) have priority over those from other Departments. In the unlikely event that we need to use prioritisation among students and staff from Priority Departments, we will focus on students for whom the module is a compulsory part of their course of study; priority is then given on the basis of course of study, and then a first-come-first served basis.
The SSRMP reserves the right to remove non-Priority Department participants to a waiting list even if their booking has previously been confirmed.