University of Oxford · UCAS LV11
TARA for Oxford History and Economics (UCAS LV11)
History and Economics at the University of Oxford (UCAS code LV11) requires all three modules of the TARA for 2027 entry, and Oxford accepts only the October sitting, held in the 12 to 16 October 2026 window. The TARA, or Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions, is organised by UAT-UK and sat on computer at Pearson VUE test centres. It runs to 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 titles, 750 words maximum). Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are the scored parts, reported on a scale of 1.0 to 9.0 to one decimal place, with no pass mark and no negative marking. The Writing Task is not marked by UAT-UK; your script is passed on to the universities you applied to. One point separates LV11 from most other Oxford TARA courses: Oxford states that the Writing Task will not be used in admissions selection for History and Economics. You still have to sit it. Calculators and dictionaries are not permitted.
- 18
- Papers
- 810
- Questions
- 2
- Free to try
01
Why LV11 sits the TARA, and why single-subject History does not
Oxford's admissions testing for this group of courses now runs through UAT-UK, and for 2027 entry 16 courses require the TARA: 10 at Oxford and 6 at UCL. History and Economics is one of the Oxford 10. Three points are worth fixing in your head, because competing guides get them wrong:
- Single-subject History at Oxford requires no admissions test at all. Oxford's History course page states that applicants do not need to take a written test for that course. Among the History routes, only the joint degrees sit the TARA: History and Economics (LV11) and History and Politics (LV21).
- Oxford Computer Science does not sit the TARA. It sits the TMUA, Paper 1 and Paper 2. The word TARA does not appear anywhere on that course page, and confusing the two is one of the most common errors online.
- UCL's six TARA courses for 2027 entry are all computing and engineering: Computer Science BSc (G400) and MEng (G402), Computer Science and Mathematics MEng (G430), Mechanical Engineering BEng (H300) and MEng (H301), and Robotics and Artificial Intelligence MEng (H700). UCL's ESPS and ISPS social science routes moved to UCL's own Thinking Skills Test for 2027 entry and no longer use the TARA.
If the advice in front of you still sends Economics applicants to Section 1 of the TSA, it is out of date: the TSA Section 1 archive stops at 2023, and UAT-UK now lists those papers as practice material rather than as a live test. You register once and sit once, and the same scores can be read by every UAT-UK course you have applied to. Because Oxford accepts only the October sitting, there is no second attempt inside the same admissions cycle.
02
What each module means for History and Economics
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are each 22 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, just under two minutes a question, and they are the scored parts of the test. For LV11 they are also the parts Oxford actually uses to choose between applicants. Problem Solving is numerical and spatial reasoning rather than A-level Mathematics content, but it rewards candidates who are quick and accurate with figures under time pressure. Critical Thinking is argument analysis: locating conclusions, unstated assumptions and flaws in short prose passages, work that sits close to the source criticism the History half of the degree expects.
The Writing Task remains compulsory and your script is still sent to Oxford, but Oxford states it will not be used in selection for this course. The practical reading of that is simple: sit it properly, then put your preparation time into the two scored modules. If you are also applying to a course that does use the Writing Task, the calculation changes. Oxford adds the "not used in selection" note only to History and Economics (LV11) and Economics and Management (LN12); it does not appear on the pages for PPE (L0V0), History and Politics (LV21) or the other TARA courses.
One thing nobody can tell you is what score you need. Oxford has published no TARA threshold, no minimum score and no weighting against the rest of the application, and neither has UCL. Treat any specific cut-off quoted online as somebody's guess rather than an official figure.
03
How to practise when there are no past papers
UAT-UK has never released a past TARA paper, which means TARA past papers do not exist, from us or from anyone else. The official material is the TARA Specification, the TARA Question Guide and two practice sets hosted on Pearson VUE: a specimen with explanations and a sample with an answer review, covering all three modules. UAT-UK's own recommendation is to supplement these with the archived BMAT Section 1 papers (2003 to 2023) and TSA Section 1 papers (2008 to 2023), and it hosts those PDFs on its own site.
Those archives are free, but they carry no Chinese translation and they are not assembled into full 120-minute sittings in the current three-module format. FrontierVUE fills that gap with 18 Frontier Original parallel papers, written by us rather than reproduced from any official source. Each is 45 questions (22 Critical Thinking, 22 Problem Solving, one Writing Task) under the real 120-minute clock, 810 paper questions in all, alongside a 350-question topic bank for drilling one skill at a time. Every question carries a worked explanation and a Chinese translation, and Paper 1 and Paper 2 can be sat free.
04
Key dates and costs for 2027 entry
Registration opens on 1 June 2026 at 3pm BST. Booking opens on 20 July 2026 at 3pm BST and closes on 28 September 2026 at 6pm BST, and a seat at your preferred Pearson VUE centre is not guaranteed if you leave it to the closing week. Two earlier deadlines matter if they apply to you: requests for access arrangements close on 14 September 2026 at 6pm BST, and bursary applications close on 21 September 2026 at 6pm BST.
The October sitting runs from 12 to 16 October 2026, with fixed days in some regions: candidates in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau sit the TARA on 14 October 2026. Results are published on 16 November 2026. A January sitting also exists (booking opens 26 October 2026 at 3pm GMT and closes 21 December 2026 at 6pm GMT, testing runs from 4 to 8 January 2027, with 7 January 2027 the fixed TARA day for mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, and results on 8 February 2027), but Oxford accepts only the October sitting, so an LV11 applicant cannot use it.
The fee is £78 for candidates in the UK and Ireland and £133 everywhere else. Calculators and dictionaries are not permitted at any point. Plan backwards from your own test day: once you are inside the final six weeks, full 120-minute timed sittings are worth more than untimed question drills.
SAME UNIVERSITY
Other University of Oxford courses that require the TARA
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does Oxford History and Economics require the TARA, and when is it sat?
Yes. For 2027 entry, every applicant to History and Economics (UCAS LV11) must sit all three TARA modules: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and the Writing Task. Oxford accepts only the October sitting, held in the 12 to 16 October 2026 window, with candidates in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau sitting the TARA on 14 October 2026. Results are published on 16 November 2026. Registration opens on 1 June 2026 at 3pm BST; booking opens on 20 July 2026 at 3pm BST and closes on 28 September 2026 at 6pm BST. The fee is £78 in the UK and Ireland and £133 elsewhere.
Is the TARA Writing Task used to select for LV11?
No. Oxford's course page for History and Economics adds a note stating that the Writing Task will not be used in admissions selection for this course. It is still compulsory: you must write one essay from three titles in 40 minutes, 750 words maximum, and a copy of your script is still sent to Oxford. Only two Oxford course pages carry that note, Economics and Management (LN12) and History and Economics (LV11); PPE, History and Politics and the rest do not. As for how well you need to do on the scored modules, Oxford has published no TARA score threshold and no weighting.
Does single-subject History at Oxford need an admissions test?
No. Oxford's History course page states that applicants do not need to take a written test for that course, and single-subject History does not appear on the UAT-UK course list for 2027 entry. The TARA applies to the joint courses instead: History and Economics (LV11) and History and Politics (LV21). A related correction worth making: Oxford Computer Science sits the TMUA, Paper 1 and Paper 2, not the TARA.
Are there past TARA papers I can practise on?
No official past papers exist. UAT-UK has never released one. It publishes the TARA Specification, the TARA Question Guide and two practice sets on Pearson VUE, and recommends practising on the archived BMAT Section 1 (2003 to 2023) and TSA Section 1 (2008 to 2023) papers. FrontierVUE adds 18 Frontier Original parallel papers, written by us to the current 22 + 22 + Writing Task format, 810 paper questions in total, plus a 350-question topic bank, each question with an explanation and a Chinese translation. Papers 1 and 2 are free.
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 History and Economics
18 Frontier Original TARA papers and 810 questions, every one with a worked solution. The first 2 papers are free to try.