Humanities
Cambridge IGCSE History
Syllabus topics
40 topics and subtopics in the 2027-2028 syllabus, examined from 1 Jan 2027.
- A
Core content Option A: The nineteenth century: the development of modern nation states, 1848-1914Optional
Candidates study EITHER Option A OR Option B of the Core content (Paper 1 Section A and Paper 2).
- A1 Were the revolutions of 1848 important?
- A2 How was Italy unified?
- A3 How was Germany unified?
- A4 Why was there a civil war in the United States and what were its results?
- A5 Why, and with what effects, did nations gain and expand their overseas empires in the nineteenth century?
- A6 What caused the First World War?
- B
Core content Option B: The twentieth century: international relations since 1919Optional
Candidates study EITHER Option A OR Option B of the Core content (Paper 1 Section A and Paper 2).
- B1 Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?
- B2 To what extent was the League of Nations a success?
- B3 How far was Hitler's foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939?
- B4 Who was to blame for the Cold War?
- B5 How effectively did the United States contain the spread of communism?
- B6 How secure was the USSR's control over Eastern Europe, 1948-c.1989?
- DS-A
Depth study A: The First World War, 1914-18Optional
Candidates study at least one depth study (Paper 1 Section B; Component 3 or Paper 4).
- DS-B
Depth study B: Germany, 1918-45Optional
Candidates study at least one depth study (Paper 1 Section B; Component 3 or Paper 4).
- DS-C
Depth study C: Russia, 1905-41Optional
Candidates study at least one depth study (Paper 1 Section B; Component 3 or Paper 4).
- DS-D
Depth study D: The United States, 1919-41Optional
Candidates study at least one depth study (Paper 1 Section B; Component 3 or Paper 4).
- DS-E
Depth study E: The Second World War in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, 1939-c.1945Optional
Candidates study at least one depth study (Paper 1 Section B; Component 3 or Paper 4).
- AO3
Historical skills: using sources as evidence
Not a content section of the syllabus: this node is ours, from assessment objective AO3 (understand, interpret, evaluate and use a range of sources as…
About this syllabus
Cambridge IGCSE History studies world history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Candidates take one Core content option: Option A, the development of modern nation states 1848-1914 (the 1848 revolutions, the unification of Italy and of Germany, the American Civil War, nineteenth-century imperialism and the causes of the First World War), or Option B, international relations since 1919 (the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations, the road to war in 1939, the origins of the Cold War, American containment in Korea, Cuba and Vietnam, and Soviet control of Eastern Europe). They also study at least one depth study: the First World War, Germany 1918-45, Russia 1905-41, the United States 1919-41, or the Second World War in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.
How you are assessed
All candidates take Paper 1 Structured Questions (2 hours, 60 marks, 40%: two core-content questions and one depth-study question, each in three parts) and Paper 2 Document Questions (1 hour 45 minutes, 40 marks, 30%: one question with up to seven sources on the prescribed topic of the candidate's option). They also take either Component 3 Coursework (an essay of up to 2,000 words, 40 marks, 30%) or Paper 4 Alternative to Coursework (1 hour, 40 marks, 30%: one two-part question on a depth study).
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