University of Oxford · UCAS LN12
TARA for Oxford Economics and Management (LN12)
Economics and Management at the University of Oxford (UCAS code LN12) requires every applicant for 2027 entry to sit all three modules of the TARA, and Oxford accepts the October sitting only. The TARA, or Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions, is run by UAT-UK and taken on screen at Pearson VUE test centres. It runs for 120 minutes in total: Critical Thinking (40 minutes, 22 multiple-choice questions), Problem Solving (40 minutes, 22 multiple-choice questions) and the Writing Task (40 minutes, one essay chosen from three prompts, 750 words maximum). The two multiple-choice modules are scored from 1.0 to 9.0 and reported to one decimal place; the Writing Task is not scored by UAT-UK, which sends your response on to the universities you applied to. Oxford's course page for Economics and Management carries a note that most Oxford TARA course pages do not: the Writing Task will not be used by Oxford in admissions selection for this course. The October sitting runs from 12 to 16 October 2026, with candidates in China, Hong Kong and Macau taking the TARA on 14 October 2026, and results are released on 16 November 2026.
- 18
- Papers
- 810
- Questions
- 2
- Free to try
01
Which courses require the TARA, and what LN12 has to sit
Sixteen courses require the TARA for 2027 entry: ten at Oxford and six at UCL.
Oxford (all ten sit all three modules)
- LN12 Economics and Management
- LV11 History and Economics
- LV21 History and Politics
- L0V0 Philosophy, Politics and Economics
- L0VF Philosophy, Politics and Economics with Foundation Year
- BCL0 Human Sciences
- C830 Experimental Psychology
- CV85 Psychology and Philosophy
- CQ81 Psychology and Linguistics
- VQ51 Philosophy and Linguistics
UCL (six): G400 / G402 Computer Science (BSc / MEng), G430 Computer Science and Mathematics MEng, H300 / H301 Mechanical Engineering (BEng / MEng), H700 Robotics and Artificial Intelligence MEng.
Every Oxford TARA course page carries the same instruction: all Oxford applicants must take all three modules (Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and the Writing Task). Only two of the ten add a further note that the Writing Task will not be used by Oxford in admissions selection for that course, and LN12 is one of them; the other is LV11 History and Economics. PPE, Philosophy and Linguistics, Experimental Psychology, Human Sciences and History and Politics all lack that sentence.
Three claims made frequently elsewhere are simply wrong, so it is worth stating them plainly:
- Oxford Computer Science requires the TMUA (Paper 1 and Paper 2), not the TARA. The word TARA does not appear on that course page at all.
- Oxford single-honours History requires no written test. Its course page states that you do not need to take a written test as part of an application for the course; only the joint courses LV11 and LV21 use the TARA.
- UCL's European and international social and political studies routes moved to UCL's own Thinking Skills Test for 2027 entry and no longer use the TARA. UCL adopted the TARA from 2026 entry, and Mechanical Engineering is newly included for the 2027 cycle.
Oxford publishes no cut-off score for the TARA and no weighting for it within selection.
02
What each module means for LN12
Critical Thinking gives you 22 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, roughly 109 seconds each, on identifying conclusions, assumptions and flaws in short argument passages.
Problem Solving gives you 22 questions in 40 minutes with no calculator and no dictionary, covering numerical, spatial and logical reasoning on data compact enough to handle in your head or on paper. It does not test a particular A-level syllabus; it tests selection and speed under time pressure.
Neither module carries negative marking and there is no pass mark, so nothing should be left blank. Scores run from 1.0 to 9.0 and are reported to one decimal place.
The Writing Task is still compulsory: 40 minutes, one prompt out of three, 750 words maximum. UAT-UK does not mark it and sends your response to every university you applied to. Oxford will not use it in selection for LN12, but if your UCAS form also carries a course that does use it (any of the other eight Oxford TARA courses, for instance), that department will still read what you wrote, so it is not a section to abandon on the day.
03
How to practise when there are no past papers
The official preparation set is small: the TARA Specification, the TARA Question Guide, and two practice tests on Pearson VUE (a specimen with worked explanations and a sample with an answer review, both covering all three modules). UAT-UK has never released past TARA papers. Its own advice is to practise with BMAT Section 1 papers from 2003 to 2023 and TSA Section 1 papers from 2008 to 2023, which it hosts on its site.
That leaves an obvious gap between the format you will actually sit and the material available to rehearse it in. The BMAT and TSA question types are close relatives, but the pacing, the question count and the switch between modules are not the shape of a TARA sitting.
FrontierVUE closes that gap with 18 Frontier Original parallel papers built to the live structure: 45 questions each (22 Critical Thinking, 22 Problem Solving and one Writing Task) across 120 minutes, 810 questions in total. A separate 350-question topic bank lets you drill single question types. All 1250 questions carry worked explanations and Chinese translations, and Papers 1 and 2 are free to attempt. These are papers we write ourselves, not official past papers, because no official past papers exist.
04
Key dates and fees for 2027 entry
October sitting (the only one Oxford accepts)
- Registration opens: 1 June 2026, 3pm BST
- Booking opens: 20 July 2026, 3pm BST
- Access arrangements deadline: 14 September 2026, 6pm BST
- Bursary deadline: 21 September 2026, 6pm BST
- Booking closes: 28 September 2026, 6pm BST
- Test window: 12-16 October 2026, with candidates in China, Hong Kong and Macau sitting the TARA on 14 October 2026 (ESAT on the 12th and 13th, TMUA on the 15th and 16th)
- Results: 16 November 2026
January sitting (not accepted by Oxford)
- Booking opens 26 October 2026, 3pm GMT; booking closes 21 December 2026, 6pm GMT; test window 4-8 January 2027, with China, Hong Kong and Macau sitting the TARA on 7 January 2027; results 8 February 2027.
Fees: £78 for candidates in the UK and Ireland, £133 elsewhere.
Two things worth flagging. The booking deadline is for securing a seat, not for taking the test. Access arrangements and bursary applications both close in September, ahead of the booking deadline, so deal with those first if either applies to you. Calculators and dictionaries are not permitted at any point in the test.
SAME UNIVERSITY
Other University of Oxford courses that require the TARA
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does Economics and Management at Oxford require the TARA?
Yes. For 2027 entry, every applicant to Economics and Management at the University of Oxford (UCAS LN12) must sit all three TARA modules: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and the Writing Task, 120 minutes in total. Oxford accepts the October sitting only, which runs from 12 to 16 October 2026, with candidates in China, Hong Kong and Macau sitting the TARA on 14 October 2026. Results are released on 16 November 2026 and booking closes at 6pm BST on 28 September 2026.
Does Oxford use the TARA Writing Task for LN12?
No. Oxford's course page for Economics and Management states that the Writing Task will not be used by Oxford in admissions selection for this course, and LN12 is one of only two Oxford TARA courses carrying that note (the other is LV11 History and Economics). It remains a compulsory module, so you sit it on the day: 40 minutes, one prompt out of three, 750 words maximum. UAT-UK does not score it and sends your response to every university you applied to, so any other course on your UCAS form that does use it will still see what you wrote.
Are there past TARA papers for Economics and Management?
No. UAT-UK has published a specification, a question guide and two practice tests on Pearson VUE (a specimen with explanations and a sample with an answer review, both covering all three modules), and it has never released past papers. Its own recommendation is to practise with BMAT Section 1 papers from 2003 to 2023 and TSA Section 1 papers from 2008 to 2023. FrontierVUE adds 18 Frontier Original parallel papers written to the live format (45 questions in 120 minutes, 810 questions in all) plus a 350-question topic bank, with explanations and Chinese translations across all 1250 questions. Papers 1 and 2 are free.
What TARA score do I need for Oxford Economics and Management?
Oxford publishes no cut-off score, no average score for successful applicants and no weighting for the TARA, and the test itself has no pass mark and no negative marking. Scores run from 1.0 to 9.0 and are reported to one decimal place. Since nothing has been published officially, treat any number quoted online as an LN12 threshold with suspicion. Working for a stable performance across the two multiple-choice modules is more useful than chasing a threshold that does not exist.
FrontierVUE is an independent practice platform. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by UAT-UK, Pearson, OCR, the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, or any official admissions-test owner.
FrontierVUE 是独立的备考练习平台，与 UAT-UK、Pearson、OCR、剑桥大学、 帝国理工学院或任何官方入学考试主办方均无隶属或背书关系。
Start preparing for the TARA for Economics and Management
18 Frontier Original TARA papers and 810 questions, every one with a worked solution. The first 2 papers are free to try.