Map Oxbridge Applications, 58 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1E 6AJ

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive from Oxbridge applicants is “what are my chances of making a successful application to Oxford?”  

Our first response is always this: the answer varies depending on course choice, as well as your grades and personal strengths and weaknesses; there is no certain statistic that can tell you whether or not you will be accepted to a certain course or university.  

That said, understanding Oxford University acceptance rates—by examining admissions statistics, can be a helpful starting point. Examining admissions statistics offers insights into how competitive a course might be but should only form one part of your decision-making process.

In this article we have compiled the success rates for all undergraduate courses at Oxford University. We recommend looking through the metrics for the course(s) you are interested in and weighing them up alongside your personal reasons for/against each course.  

For more advice on how to use these statistics to your advantage, our expert consultants are available 9am-5pm every weekday to discuss your individual situation. Call them on +44 (0) 20 7499 2394 or email [email protected] 

Introduction to the Metrics

Introduction to the Metrics:

Applications is the number of applications made to the course.

Shortlisted is the number of people invited to interview.

Shortlisting Rate is the percentage of applicants who were shortlisted for interview.

Offers is the number of people given an offer for the course.

Offer Rate is the percentage of applicants who were given an offer.

Acceptances is the number of people who were accepted onto the course (i.e. who fulfilled the terms of their offer and formally accepted their place on the course).

Acceptance Rate is the percentage of applicants who fulfilled their offers and accepted their place.

Pre-Interview Admissions Test is an admissions test for which applicants must pre-register and sit prior to shortlisting for interview (other than STEP for Cambridge Mathematics, which is sat in the summer after application).

College Admissions Assessment is an admissions assessment sat by shortlisted applicants, usually just before or on the day of the interview, for which applicants do not need to pre-register.

Written Work refers to short- or medium-length samples of writing that applicants are required to submit as part of their application. Some courses require alternative forms of work to essays, such as musical notation or drawing portfolios.

A-Z of Courses

Course  Applications  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate  Pre-interview Admissions Test?  Written Work Typically Required? 
Archaeology and Anthropology   125  68  54%  25  20%  22  18%  No  Yes 
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)  109  97  89%  46  42%  35  32%  No  Yes 
Biochemistry  875  366  42%  115  13%  100  11%  No  No 
Biology  742  343  46%  128  17%  109  15%  No  No 
Biomedical Sciences  490  117  24%  46  9%  41  8%  BMSAT (Biomedical Sciences Admissions Test)  No 
Chemistry  1015  658  65%  207  20%  175  17%  No  No 
Classical Archaeology and Ancient History (CAAH)  152  142  93%  32  21%  25  16%  AHCAAT (Ancient History and Classical Archaeology Admissions Test)  Yes 
Classics  313  302  96%  118  38%  100  32%  CAT (Classics Admissions Test)  Yes 
Classics and English  60  53  88%  15  25%  13  22%  CAT (Classics Admissions Test)  Yes 
Classics and Modern Languages  23  22  96%  10  43%  10  43%  CAT (Classics Admissions Test); MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test)  Yes 
Computer Science  866  155  18%  59  7%  52  6%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test)  No 
Computer Science and Philosophy  129  47  36%  15  12%  12  9%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test)  No 
Earth Sciences (Geology)  163  144  88%  42  26%  34  21%  No  No 
Economics and Management  1542  271  18%  91  6%  83  5%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1  No 
Engineering Science  1031  417  40%  196  19%  163  16%  PAT (Physics Admissions Test)  No 
English Language and Literature  975  631  65%  249  26%  212  22%  No  Yes 
English and Modern Languages  91  80  88%  37  41%  35  38%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test)  Yes 
European and Middle Eastern Languages  40  35  88%  15  38%  13  33%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test)  Yes 
Fine Art  255  52  20%  31  12%  28  11%  No  Yes (Portfolio) 
Geography  339  247  73%  90  27%  70  21%  No  No 
History  958  664  69%  254  27%  214  22%  HAT (History Admissions Test)  Yes 
History (Ancient and Modern)  98  69  70%  23  23%  20  20%  HAT (History Admissions Test)  Yes 
History and Economics  158  61  39%  19  12%  18  11%  HAT (History Admissions Test); TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1  Yes 
History and English  104  52  50%  13  13%  12  12%  HAT (History Admissions Test)  Yes 
History and Modern Languages  72  56  78%  19  26%  18  25%  HAT (History Admissions Test); MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test)  Yes 
History and Politics  381  142  37%  54  14%  48  13%  HAT (History Admissions Test)  Yes 
History of Art  107  49  46%  16  15%  14  13%  No  Yes 
Human Sciences  193  92  48%  32  17%  26  13%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1  No 
Law   1858  606  33%  219  12%  192  10%  LNAT (Law National Admissions Test)  No 
Materials Science  148  112  76%  48  32%  44  30%  PAT (Physics Admissions Test)  No 
Mathematics  1807  544  30%  193  11%  179  10%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test)  No 
Mathematics and Computer Science  593  150  25%  65  11%  51  9%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test)  No 
Mathematics and Philosophy  163  62  38%  20  12%  19  12%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test)  No 
Mathematics and Statistics  142  23  16%  5  4%  3  2%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test)  No 
Medicine  1712  428  25%  162  9%  149  9%  UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test)  No 
Modern Languages  309  290  94%  171  55%  145  47%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test)  Yes 
Modern Languages and Linguistics  91  85  93%  41  45%  39  43%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test)  Yes 
Music  169  153  91%  91  54%  81  48%  No (Students will be asked to submit a video-recorded performance)  Yes 
Philosophy and Modern Languages  56  52  93%  24  43%  21  38%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test)  Yes 
Philosophy and Theology  146  58  40%  28  19%  25  17%  PhilAT (Philosophy Admissions Test)  Yes 
Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)  1864  718  39%  265  14%  229  12%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment)  No 
Physics  1494  470  31%  190  13%  174  12%  PAT (Physics Admissions Test)  No 
Physics and Philosophy  139  28  20%  15  11%  12  9%  PAT (Physics Admissions Test)  No 
Psychology (Experimental)  379  139  37%  56  15%  43  11%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1  No 
Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics (PPL)  275  99  36%  48  17%  38  14%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1  No 
Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies  3  1  33%  1  33%  1  33%  No  Yes 
Theology and Religion  116  85  73%  54  47%  46  40%  No  Yes 
Total  23211  9621  41%  3721  16%  3219  14%     

Oxford in Recent Years

 

Year of Application  Applicants  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate  Trends 
2019  23,026  3,895  16.92%  3,286  14.27%   
2020  23,414  3,932  16.79%  3,695  15.78%  Relatively stable statistics across the board, with a 1.5% increase in acceptance rate despite increased applicants. 
2021  24,338  3,555  14.61%  3,298  13.55%  An increase in applicants paired with decreased offers and acceptances; resulted in noticeable decrease in both offer and acceptance rate.  
2022  23,819  3,645  15.30%  3,271  13.73%  Slight decrease in applicants, but relatively stable offer and acceptance rates. 
2023  23,211  3,721  16.03%  3,219  13.87%  A drop in applications paired with a slight increase in offers/offer rate, but little change in acceptance rate.  

 

Oxford’s application statistics in 2023 do very little to depart from the precedent of previous years. Offer rates continue their slight but steady increase since 2021, but this rate of increase is not matched by acceptance rates, which decreased by 2% in 2021 and have remained at a similar level since.  

Most Competitive Oxford Courses

By Shortlisting Rate

Subject  Shortlisting Rate  
Mathematics and Statistics  16% 
Computer Science  18% 
Economics and Management  18% 
Fine Art  20% 
Physics and Philosophy  20% 
Biomedical Sciences  24% 
Mathematics and Computer Science  25% 
Medicine  25% 
Mathematics  30% 
Physics  31% 
Average   41% 

By Offer Rate

Subject  Offer Rate  
Mathematics and Statistics  4% 
Economics and Management  6% 
Computer Science  7% 
Biomedical Sciences  9% 
Medicine  9% 
Physics and Philosophy  11% 
Mathematics and Computer Science  11% 
Mathematics  11% 
Fine Art  12% 
Law   12% 
Average  16% 

By Acceptance Rate

Subject  Acceptance Rate  
Mathematics and Statistics  2% 
Economics and Management  5% 
Computer Science  6% 
Biomedical Sciences  8% 
Medicine  9% 
Physics and Philosophy  9% 
Mathematics and Computer Science  9% 
Computer Science and Philosophy  9% 
Mathematics  10% 
Law   10% 
Average  14% 

 

The three tables above list the top ten most competitive courses at Oxford in terms of getting through to interviews, receiving an offer, and being accepted onto the course (i.e. meeting the terms of the offer and beginning the degree course).  

Mathematics and Statistics is the most competitive course across the board, with Computer Science and Economics and Management variously taking second and third places.  

Particularly when it comes to Computer Science and Economics, this is a common theme across UK university application statistics in recent years. Computer science is also the most competitive course at Cambridge University.  

One theme to notice is that there is consistency across the different figures, with three subjects appearing in the top ten for all three metrics (shortlisting rate, offer rate, and Oxford University acceptance rate). This means that, generally speaking, the subjects for which shortlisting is more ruthless are also those which are more competitive when it comes to receiving an offer and being accepted onto the course.  

Another trend is that most of the top ten most competitive subjects are sciences. Of the twelve subjects featured across the tables, three are humanities, two are joint sciences with humanities, and the remaining seven are sciences.  

Least Competitive Oxford Courses

By Shortlisting Rate

Subject  Shortlisting Rate  
Classics  96% 
Classics and Modern Languages  96% 
Modern Languages  94% 
Classical Archaeology and Ancient History (CAAH)  93% 
Modern Languages and Linguistics  93% 
Philosophy and Modern Languages  93% 
Music  91% 
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)  89% 
Earth Sciences (Geology)  88% 
English and Modern Languages  88% 
Average   41% 

 

By Offer Rate

Subject  Offer Rate  
Modern Languages  55% 
Music  54% 
Theology and Religion  47% 
Modern Languages and Linguistics  45% 
Classics and Modern Languages  43% 
Philosophy and Modern Languages  43% 
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)  42% 
English and Modern Languages  41% 
Classics  38% 
European and Middle Eastern Languages  38% 
Average  16% 

By Acceptance Rate

Subject  Acceptance Rate  
Music  48% 
Modern Languages  47% 
Modern Languages and Linguistics  43% 
Classics and Modern Languages  43% 
Theology and Religion  40% 
Philosophy and Modern Languages  38% 
English and Modern Languages  38% 
European and Middle Eastern Languages  33% 
Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies  33% 
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)  32% 
Average  14% 

 

Again, there is a lot of consistency in the lists for each metric here, with seven of the subjects appearing in all three of the lists. In an opposite trend to the more competitive courses, almost all of the least competitive courses are arts and humanities subjects; only one science subject (Earth Sciences) appears in the lists, and only in terms of shortlisting rate rather than offer or acceptance rates.  

This tells us that, in general terms, humanities subjects appear to be less competitive than sciences at Oxford.  

The far higher shortlisting rates for the less competitive courses (almost all of which are humanities) also suggests that admissions tutors in arts and humanities departments tend to interview a far higher proportion of applicants. This could be because essay-based humanities courses tend to be more interpretive than hard sciences, making interviews a more decisive or useful element in evaluating the applicant’s potential.  

In terms of specific subjects, Modern Languages (and various of its joint courses) appear most consistently towards the top of all three lists, with Music performing highly in terms of Offer and Acceptance rates in particular.  

This is reflected in the Cambridge 2023 statistics, where Modern and Medieval Languages also topped the list for least competitive courses. Music, Theology, Classis, and AMES also appeared in the Cambridge top ten.  

Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Versus Sciences

Subject Category  Applications  % of Total Applications  Shortlisted  % of Total Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  % of Total Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  % of Total Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences  10,789  46.5%  5,240  54.5%  65%  2,099  56.4%  28%  1,807  56.1%  25% 
Joint Humanities and Sciences Courses  461  2%  167  1.7%  35%  62  1.7%  13%  50  1.6%  10% 
Sciences  11,620  50.1%  4,128  43%  40%  1,532  41.2%  15%  1,336  41.5%  13% 

Whilst Sciences narrowly make up the majority of applications to Oxford, Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences take over when it comes to the number of Shortlisted, Offers, and Acceptances. Combination humanities/sciences degrees (encompassing only three courses: Human Sciences, Physics and Philosophy, and Computer Science and Philosophy) make up a very small percentage of all applicants, consistently measuring between 1.6 and 2 percent of the total for all metrics.  

The first big difference between the Humanities and the Sciences is the Shortlisting Rate – Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences shortlist on average 65% of applicants, whilst the Sciences and combined degrees shortlist 40% and 35% respectively.  

The higher shortlisting percentage amongst humanities could be due to their being more discursive or essay-based topics, making interviews a more fruitful exercise for admissions tutors. It also suggests that perhaps other aspects, such as the admissions test, might be more valuable in the eyes of Science admissions tutors, thereby whitling down shortlisted applicants.  

The Oxford University acceptance rates and offers for Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences are also consistently just under twice as high as those for Science courses. This is a considerable difference. We see then that Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences are across the board less competitive on average than Science courses.  

The three combination courses demonstrated in the table consist of only 461 applicants, so they should be taken with a grain of salt. However, we can see overwhelmingly that their statistics are at the low end of the spectrum, measuring below both Sciences and Humanities overall throughout.  

Do not, however, take this as a reflection necessarily on all joint honours courses, which we discuss in further detail below.  

 

Difference Between Oxford University Acceptance Rates and Offer Rate 

 

Why are offer rates and acceptance rates different? In short, offer rate refers to the percentage of applicants who receive an offer in the January, whilst acceptance rate refers to the percentage of applicants who are accepted onto the course in the summer (almost all of whom, barring exceptional circumstances, begin the course in October).   

What influences a student with an offer to not be eventually accepted? The prime reason for an applicant with an offer not to be accepted is that they have not fulfilled the terms of their offer. This usually means that they did not get sufficient grades in their A-level or equivalent exams.  

It also accounts for applicants who chose to pursue another course and withdrew their application between receiving their offer and attending university (although, this being the University of Oxford, this tends not to be very common).  

Let’s briefly explore the subjects with the largest differences between offer rate and acceptance rate (i.e. with the most applicants who received an offer but did not then begin the degree course). The ‘percentage of offers not accepted’ is the main metric we are using here; it indicates the percentage of applicants offered a place who were not then accepted onto the course. 

Subject  Offers  Acceptances  Percentage of offers not accepted 
Mathematics and Statistics  5  3  40.0% 
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)  46  35  23.9% 
Psychology (Experimental)  56  43  23.2% 
Geography  90  70  22.2% 
Classical Archaeology and Ancient History (CAAH)  32  25  21.9% 
Mathematics and Computer Science  65  51  21.5% 
Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics (PPL)  48  38  20.8% 
Computer Science and Philosophy  15  12  20.0% 
Physics and Philosophy  15  12  20.0% 
Earth Sciences (Geology) 

 

42 

 

34 

 

19.0% 

 

Overall Totals  3721  3219  13.5% 

The first thing to point out is that the course topping the list, Mathematics and Statistics, only handed out a very small number of offers, so it is a little dangerous to extrapolate or draw too firm a conclusion about the result. We caution against heeding this too much since it is almost double the percentage of all the other courses in the top ten.  

What’s interesting is that there is a mix of sciences and humanities, including combination humanities/sciences courses, in the top ten list. This means we cannot reach a conclusive answer as to either Sciences or Humanities being ‘harder’ to fulfil the terms of the offer.  

One interesting observation is that of the courses we have labelled as combining humanities and sciences (Computer Science and Philosophy, Physics and Philosophy, Human Sciences, and Mathematics and Philosophy), three appear in the top ten, and another (Human Sciences) appears eleventh on the list.  

Whilst these are all courses giving a small number of offers, so we shouldn’t read too much into any one of them independently, taken together this may suggest that students for whom it is advantageous to take a combination of sciences and humanity degrees may find it trickier to fulfil their offers.  

Ultimately, these figures rely on individual applicants being able to fulfil the terms of their offers. So while we think it is useful to have a look at this metric for the course in which you are interested, we recommend focusing more on the grade requirements on the course webpage here and determining whether you personally could fulfil such an offer.  

 

Subject Size

Subjects with the Largest Number of Offers 

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)  1864  718  39%  265  14%  229  12% 
History  958  664  69%  254  27%  214  22% 
English Language and Literature  975  631  65%  249  26%  212  22% 
Law   1858  606  33%  219  12%  192  10% 
Chemistry  1015  658  65%  207  20%  175  17% 
Engineering Science  1031  417  40%  196  19%  163  16% 
Mathematics  1807  544  30%  193  11%  179  10% 
Physics  1494  470  31%  190  13%  174  12% 
Modern Languages  309  290  94%  171  55%  145  47% 
Medicine  1712  428  25%  162  9%  149  9% 
Average       49%    20.6%    17.7% 

 

Subjects with the Smallest Number of Offers

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies  3  1  33%  1  33%  1  33% 
Mathematics and Statistics  142  23  16%  5  4%  3  2% 
Classics and Modern Languages  23  22  96%  10  43%  10  43% 
History and English  104  52  50%  13  13%  12  12% 
Classics and English  60  53  88%  15  25%  13  22% 
European and Middle Eastern Languages  40  35  88%  15  38%  13  33% 
Physics and Philosophy  139  28  20%  15  11%  12  9% 
Computer Science and Philosophy  129  47  36%  15  12%  12  9% 
History of Art  107  49  46%  16  15%  14  13% 
History and Economics  158  61  39%  19  12%  18  11% 
Average       51%    21%    19% 

 

Here we have used number of offers as the key metric to determine the largest and smallest course, since it’s largely indicative of how many places are available on the course (although slightly inflated to account for people missing their offers).  

Looking at the averages at the bottom of both tables, we see that the numbers work out very similar for the largest and the smallest courses available at Oxford. This leads us to conclude that your chances of being shortlisted, receiving an offer, or being accepted onto any course at Oxford is impacted by the overall course size.  

Joint Versus Single Honours

One question we are asked a lot is whether applying for single or joint honours is a better strategy for Oxbridge acceptance. In this section, we have compared the joint subjects with their equivalent single-honours subjects (and collated averages across the board) to see if there are any notable differences.  

Each table below compares the joint courses for a certain subject, collates their averages, and then compares them with the single honours version of the subject.  

 

Classics Joint Courses

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
Classics and English  60  53  88%  15  25%  13  22% 
Classics and Modern Languages  23  22  96%  10  43%  10  43% 
Average across joint courses      92% 

 

  34% 

 

  33% 

 

Classics   313  302  96%  118  38%  100  32% 

 

For Classics joint courses, there is a mixed bag of results. Shortlisting rates are relatively similar across the board. However, when it comes to Offer and Acceptance rates, Classics and Modern Languages are quite significantly less competitive than Classics single honours, whilst Classics and English is more competitive than Classics single honours.  

 

English and Joint Courses

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
Classics and English  60  53  88%  15  25%  13  22% 
English and Modern Languages  91  80  88%  37  41%  35  38% 
History and English  104  52  50%  13  13%  12  12% 
Average across joint courses      75%    26% 

 

  24% 

 

English Language and Literature  975  631  65%  249  26%  212  22% 

 

English joint honours are similar, if not slightly less competitive, than English single honours, but the individual courses differ from one another. Joint degrees with Classics and Modern Languages have significantly higher shortlisting rates than History and English or the English single honours, but whilst the Offer and Acceptance rate for English and Modern Languages remains higher than the other courses, the Offer and Acceptance rate for Classics and English are similar to the single honours English course.  

History and English, despite being the most popular of the joint courses for applicants, gave out the fewest offers and therefore has a far lower offer and acceptance rate compared to all other English joint and single honours courses.  

 

History and Joint Courses

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
History and Economics  158  61  39%  19  12%  18  11% 
History and English  104  52  50%  13  13%  12  12% 
History and Modern Languages  72  56  78%  19  26%  18  25% 
History and Politics  381  142  37%  54  14%  48  13% 
Average across joint courses      51% 

 

  16% 

 

  15% 

 

History  958  664  69%  254  27%  214  22% 

 

The average shortlisting, offer, and acceptance rates for the joint courses are lower than the history single honours courses, making them more competitive on average.  

This being said, one joint course actually has a higher shortlisting rate and acceptance rate compared with History single honours: History and Modern Languages. However, this higher shortlisting rate can be attributed to the admissions tutors’ need to assess language capacity, but the similar Offer and Acceptance rate compared to the single honours course means it isn’t any less competitive than History sole. However, it is still far and away the least competitive of the History joint honours courses.  

History and Economics and History and Politics are both significantly more competitive than History joint honours, so are worth considering seriously before selecting as the course for application.  

 

Maths Joint Courses

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
Mathematics and Computer Science  593  150  25%  65  11%  51  9% 
Mathematics and Philosophy  163  62  38%  20  12%  19  12% 
Mathematics and Statistics  142  23  16%  5  4%  3  2% 
Average across joint courses      26% 

 

  9% 

 

  8% 

 

Mathematics  1807  544  30%  193  11%  179  10% 

 

There are two different stories when it comes to Maths joint courses. Although there are differences in shortlisting rates for interview, when it comes to offer and acceptance rates, Mathematics and Computer Science and Mathematics and Philosophy are roughly similar to the single honours Maths course.  

Mathematics and Statistics, however, is the most competitive course across all Oxford subjects last year, and therefore the offer and acceptance rates are far lower than the other single and joint honours courses.  

We can characterise Maths joint courses, then, as being generally no more or less competitive than Maths single honours, with Mathematics and Statistics as an anomaly and very highly competitive indeed.  

 

Modern Languages (European Languages) Joint Courses

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
Classics and Modern Languages  23  22  96%  10  43%  10  43% 
English and Modern Languages  91  80  88%  37  41%  35  38% 
European and Middle Eastern Languages  40  35  88%  15  38%  13  33% 
History and Modern Languages  72  56  78%  19  26%  18  25% 
Modern Languages and Linguistics  91  85  93%  41  45%  39  43% 
Philosophy and Modern Languages  56  52  93%  24  43%  21  38% 
Average across joint courses      89% 

 

  39% 

 

  37% 

 

Modern Languages  309  290  94%  171  55%  145  47% 

 

Modern Languages and its joint courses demonstrate high figures across the board, making them very favourable options for applicants. The only general exception to this is History and Modern Languages, which sits below the rest of the joint and single honours courses. All joint courses, however, are more competitive than Modern Languages single honours (which is the least competitive course at Oxford in terms of offer rate).   

Overall, other than History and Modern Languages, combined language courses are more competitive across the board compared with Modern Languages single honours, but are all still very favourable compared to the overall average success rates.  

 

Philosophy Joint Courses

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
Computer Science and Philosophy  129  47  36%  15  12%  12  9% 
Mathematics and Philosophy  163  62  38%  20  12%  19  12% 
Philosophy and Modern Languages  56  52  93%  24  43%  21  38% 
Philosophy and Theology  146  58  40%  28  19%  25  17% 
Physics and Philosophy  139  28  20%  15  11%  12  9% 
Average across all joint courses      45% 

 

  19% 

 

  17% 

 

 

Philosophy is an interesting case, since one cannot study Philosophy at Oxford as a single honours course (although it forms parts of both the PPE and PPL degree courses). Additionally, it is combined with both humanities and science subjects, meaning there is vast differences in the shortlisting, offer, and success rates.  

In general terms, Philosophy combination courses are more competitive when paired with competitive single-honours subjects (such as Computer Science or Physics), and less competitive when paired with less competitive single-honours subjects (such as Modern Languages).  

We recommend comparing your joint honours course with the specific single honours course in which you are interested to get a better picture.  

 

Theology/Religion Joint Courses

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
Philosophy and Theology  146  58  40%  28  19%  25  17% 
Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies  3  1  33%  1  33%  1  33% 
Average across joint courses      37% 

 

  26% 

 

  25% 

 

Theology and Religion  116  85  73%  54  47%  46  40% 

 

Theology joint honours courses are more competitive than the Theology and Religion degree, with significantly lower shortlisting rates across the board and big differences in offer and acceptance rates. Philosophy and Theology is the far more competitive subject here, although Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies only received three applications, so it is difficult to draw conclusions from this set of results.  

 

Asian and Middle Eastern Languages Joint Courses  

Subject  Applicants  Shortlisted  Shortlisting Rate  Offers  Offer Rate  Acceptances  Acceptance Rate 
European and Middle Eastern Languages  40  35  88%  15  38%  13  33% 
Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies  3  1  33%  1  33%  1  33% 
Average across joint courses      61% 

 

  36% 

 

  33% 

 

Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)  109  97  89%  46  42%  35  32% 

 

In general, combining another course with Asian or Middle Eastern Studies does not impact success rates significantly at all. Again, Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is a very small applicant pool, so we would caution against drawing too solid a conclusion from the results there.  

 

Overall Trends

In general terms, combination courses are smaller than the single honours, and can be more demanding in terms of their offer requirements. The results above demonstrate how we are unable to make a single rule about joint honours courses being more competitive than their single honours equivalent.  

In many cases, the joint course success rates are remarkably similar, if not slightly more favourable, than the single honours course, whereas for others, they are a lot more difficult to get into. We therefore recommend applicants check the specific courses before deciding whether to apply to joint honours, rather than avoiding it on principle.  

One theme we can point out is that combination courses where each element is a single honours course in its own right tend to have rates between the two single honours equivalents.  

We see this most strongly in Modern Languages joint honours courses, where each are more competitive than Modern Languages single honours, but similarly or less competitive than the single honours equivalent of the other side of the course. For example, where Modern Languages has an acceptance rate of 47% and Classics an acceptance rate of 32%, Classics and Modern Languages joint honours has an acceptance rate of 43%.  

Therefore, if you are coming from a Modern Languages background and considering adding Classics, then you are lowering your chances, but if you are a Classics applicant considering an additional Modern Language, then you are upping your chances by going for the joint honours course.  

In short, for applicants considering adding Modern Languages to their degree course, check the statistic as it might be a great option for increasing your chances of a successful application! 

Do Admissions Tests Have an Impact on the Figures?

Another question we are frequently asked is to what extent sitting an admissions test may or may not impact an applicant’s chances. In the tables below we have split the subjects into those with and without admissions tests to compare their average rates.  

Do note that for courses with a new test this year (CAAH and Biomedical Sciences), we have left them out since last year’s applicants did not sit any admissions test. 

 

Courses with Admissions Tests

Subject  Shortlisting Rate  Offer Rate  Acceptance Rate  Admissions Test 
Classics and English  88%  25%  22%  CAT (Classics Admissions Test) 
Classics  96%  38%  32%  CAT (Classics Admissions Test) 
Classics and Modern Languages  96%  43%  43%  CAT (Classics Admissions Test); MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test) 
History and English  50%  13%  12%  HAT (History Admissions Test) 
History and Politics  37%  14%  13%  HAT (History Admissions Test) 
History  69%  27%  22%  HAT (History Admissions Test) 
History (Ancient and Modern)  70%  23%  20%  HAT (History Admissions Test) 
History and Modern Languages  78%  26%  25%  HAT (History Admissions Test); MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test) 
History and Economics  39%  12%  11%  HAT (History Admissions Test); TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1 
Law   33%  12%  10%  LNAT (Law National Admissions Test) 
Computer Science and Philosophy  36%  12%  9%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test) 
Mathematics and Computer Science  25%  11%  9%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test) 
Mathematics and Philosophy  38%  12%  12%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test) 
Mathematics and Statistics  16%  4%  2%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test) 
Computer Science  18%  7%  6%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test) 
Mathematics  30%  11%  10%  MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test) 
English and Modern Languages  88%  41%  38%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test) 
European and Middle Eastern Languages  88%  38%  33%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test) 
Modern Languages and Linguistics  93%  45%  43%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test) 
Philosophy and Modern Languages  93%  43%  38%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test) 
Modern Languages  94%  55%  47%  MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test) 
Physics and Philosophy  20%  11%  9%  PAT (Physics Admissions Test) 
Engineering Science  40%  19%  16%  PAT (Physics Admissions Test) 
Materials Science  76%  32%  30%  PAT (Physics Admissions Test) 
Physics  31%  13%  12%  PAT (Physics Admissions Test) 
Philosophy and Theology  40%  19%  17%  PhilAT (Philosophy Admissions Test) 
Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)  39%  14%  12%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) 
Economics and Management  18%  6%  5%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1 
Human Sciences  48%  17%  13%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1 
Psychology (Experimental)  37%  15%  11%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1 
Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics (PPL)  36%  17%  14%  TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) Section 1 
Medicine  25%  9%  9%  UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) 
Average   53%  21%  19%   

 

 

Courses without Admissions Tests

Subject  Shortlisting Rate  Offer Rate  Acceptance Rate  Admissions Test 
Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies  33%  33%  33%  No 
Archaeology and Anthropology   54%  20%  18%  No 
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)  89%  42%  32%  No 
Biochemistry  42%  13%  11%  No 
Biology  46%  17%  15%  No 
Chemistry  65%  20%  17%  No 
Earth Sciences (Geology)  88%  26%  21%  No 
English Language and Literature  65%  26%  22%  No 
Fine Art  20%  12%  11%  No 
Geography  73%  27%  21%  No 
History of Art  46%  15%  13%  No 
Theology and Religion  73%  47%  40%  No 
Music  91%  54%  48%  No (Students will be asked to submit a video-recorded performance) 
Averages  58%  25%  21%   

 

The tables above give us one key finding: Admissions Tests at Oxford do not impact the shortlisting, offer, or acceptance rate in any discernible way. This makes sense since at Oxford Admissions Tests are used across most of the courses, not just the most competitive ones, meaning there is no defining factor that means a course is either given or not given an admissions test.  

Additionally, most course groups at Oxford have the same admissions test, meaning chances are you won’t have the chance to choose between courses within your field of interest based on their having or not having an admissions test.  

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