Cambridge International AS and A Level History is a flexible and wide-ranging syllabus covering modern history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The syllabus builds upon skills gained at Cambridge IGCSE or Cambridge O Level and develops lifelong skills including understanding issues and themes within a historical period.
The emphasis is again on both historical knowledge and on the skills required for historical research. Learners develop an understanding of cause and effect, continuity and change, similarity and difference, and use historical evidence as part of their studies. At AS learners can select from topics on European, American or International history.
At A Level learners can select from topics on European, American, African, Southeast Asian and International history. Teachers choose which periods to focus on, allowing them to build a course that reflects their learners' interests and staff specialisms, or which is relevant to the local or regional context.
The last examination series for Cambridge AS & A Level History (9389) will be November 2021. This syllabus will be replaced by the updated syllabus, Cambridge International AS & A Level History (9489) for first examination in 2021.
Syllabuses
The syllabus year refers to the year in which the examination will be taken.
Grade descriptions
For some subjects, the syllabus states that Grade Descriptions will be made available after first assessment in 2020 or 2021.
Publication of grade descriptions for these syllabuses has been delayed. This is to make sure that grade descriptions reflect examination outcomes appropriately and are based on the full range of candidate performance after the 2020 and 2021 series.
School Support Hub
We provide a wide range of support so that teachers can give their learners the best possible preparation for Cambridge programmes and qualifications. For teachers at registered Cambridge schools, support materials for specific syllabuses are available from the School Support Hub (username and password required).