University of OxfordUCAS VQ51
Oxford Philosophy and Linguistics (VQ51): the TARA Admissions Test
Philosophy and Linguistics at the University of Oxford (UCAS code VQ51) requires all three modules of the TARA for 2027 entry, and Oxford accepts only the October sitting, whose test window runs from 12 to 16 October 2026 (with fixed regional dates for China, Hong Kong and Macau, where TARA is sat on 14 October 2026). The TARA (Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions) is run by UAT-UK and taken on screen at Pearson VUE test centres. It lasts 120 minutes in total, organised as three 40-minute modules: Critical Thinking (22 multiple-choice questions), Problem Solving (22 multiple-choice questions) and the Writing Task (one title from three, up to 750 words). Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are scored from 1.0 to 9.0 and reported to one decimal place; the Writing Task is not scored by UAT-UK, and your response is passed on to the universities you applied to. There is no pass mark and no negative marking, no calculator or dictionary is permitted, and the fee is £78 in the UK and Ireland and £133 elsewhere. Sixteen courses require the TARA for 2027 entry, 10 at Oxford and 6 at UCL, and results are released on 16 November 2026.
- 18
- Papers
- 810
- Questions
- 2
- Free to try
Oxford Philosophy and Linguistics (VQ51): TARA at a Glance
- What Oxford requires for VQ51
- The TARA is required, and all three modules must be taken
- The three modules
- Critical Thinking + Problem Solving + Writing Task, 40 minutes each, 120 minutes in total
- Sitting (Oxford accepts October only)
- 12 to 16 October 2026; 14 October 2026 for China, Hong Kong and Macau
- Registration and booking
- Registration opens 1 June 2026; booking opens 20 July and closes 28 September 2026, 6pm BST
- Results and fee
- Results on 16 November 2026; £78 in the UK and Ireland, £133 elsewhere
The line that all applicants must take all three modules comes from Oxford's own course page for this subject; the remaining rows are the 2027-entry dates and fees for the TARA. Oxford publishes no cut-off score, no average score and no weighting.
4 sections1,311 words7 min read
01
Why VQ51 applicants sit the TARA
Philosophy and Linguistics is one of the 16 courses across Oxford and UCL that require the TARA for 2027 entry. The official UAT-UK course list carries VQ51 as a UCAS code in its own right, while Oxford's own website presents it on a shared page with Psychology and Linguistics (CQ81) and Psychology and Philosophy (CV85). Either way, a VQ51 application is a TARA application.
VQ51
Philosophy and Linguistics (this page)
Listed as a UCAS code in its own right on the UAT-UK course list for 2027 entry
CQ81
Psychology and Linguistics
Oxford's website presents it on the same Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics page as VQ51
CV85
Psychology and Philosophy
Also presented alongside VQ51 on Oxford's Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics page
Courses requiring the TARA for 2027 entry
16 in total
10 at Oxford and 6 at UCL
Oxford's course page states that all applicants must take all three modules (Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and the Writing Task). The test is not subject-specific: it examines no philosophy and no linguistics content, and rewards candidates who can isolate a conclusion, test an assumption and read unfamiliar data quickly.
| Oxford Economics and Management (LN12) and History and Economics (LV11) | Oxford Philosophy and Linguistics (VQ51) | |
|---|---|---|
| Does the course page say the Writing Task is not used in selection? | Yes, the note is there | No such note |
| Does UAT-UK score the Writing Task? | No; the script itself is passed to the universities you applied to | No; the script itself is passed to the universities you applied to |
UAT-UK scores the Writing Task for no course; among Oxford's TARA courses, only LN12 and LV11 carry the note that it will not be used in selection. Oxford does not publish what part, if any, the essay plays in assessing Philosophy and Linguistics.
Oxford publishes no TARA cut-off score, no average score for offer-holders and no weighting, and the test itself has no pass mark. Any specific threshold quoted online is not an official figure.
02
What each module asks of a Philosophy and Linguistics candidate
The TARA (Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions) is run by UAT-UK and taken on screen at Pearson VUE test centres. It lasts 120 minutes in total, organised as three 40-minute modules, and each one asks something different of a Philosophy and Linguistics candidate.
| Critical Thinking | Problem Solving | Writing Task | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length and questions | 40 minutes, 22 multiple-choice questions | 40 minutes, 22 multiple-choice questions | 40 minutes, one title from three, no more than 750 words |
| What it asks for | Identify the conclusion, name the flaw, decide what an argument actually commits itself to | Numerical, spatial and logical reasoning, with no calculator | Write one response to the title you choose |
| How it is scored | 1.0 to 9.0, reported to one decimal place | 1.0 to 9.0, reported to one decimal place | Not scored by UAT-UK; the script is passed to the universities you applied to |
The three modules total 120 minutes, taken on screen at a Pearson VUE test centre.
Critical Thinking gives you under two minutes a question. It is the module closest to the analytic work a Philosophy course asks for, and the one candidates most often underestimate, because the wrong options are written to be attractive rather than obviously wrong. In Problem Solving the arithmetic stays light; pulling the right figures out of a dense stimulus does not. The Writing Task is not marked by UAT-UK, and the script itself is sent to the universities you applied to, which for VQ51 means the tutors reading your file.
Score scale
1.0 to 9.0, one decimal place
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are each reported separately
Wrong answers
No negative marking
Leaving a question blank gains you nothing
Pass mark
None
The test sets no pass or fail
In the test centre
No calculator, no dictionary
Applies throughout, Problem Solving included
03
How to practise when there are no past papers
No official TARA past papers have ever been published. What you can actually practise on falls into three groups, set out below.
Official material: two documents and two practice sets
Official preparation material amounts to three things: the TARA Specification, the TARA Question Guide, and two practice sets on Pearson VUE (a specimen with worked solutions and a sample with an answer review, both covering all three modules). Beyond that, no official TARA past papers have ever been published.
UAT-UK's suggested substitutes: past BMAT and TSA papers
UAT-UK's own advice is to practise on BMAT Section 1 papers (2003 to 2023) and TSA Section 1 papers (2008 to 2023), which it hosts on its site. Those archives share the question types, but they run down quickly once you are working to the clock.
FrontierVUE's Frontier Original parallel papers
18 Frontier Original parallel papers, each with 45 questions (22 Critical Thinking, 22 Problem Solving, one Writing Task) on the same 120-minute timing, 810 questions across the papers, plus a 350-question topic bank for drilling a single flaw type or one Problem Solving pattern. That is 1,160 TARA questions in total, every one with a worked explanation and a Chinese translation. Papers 1 and 2 are free to attempt.
The order below is our suggestion, not an official requirement.
01Step 1
Start with timed single-module practice at 40 minutes
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are 22 questions in 40 minutes each, so settle that rhythm one module at a time. The 350-question topic bank exists for exactly this: drilling a single flaw type or one Problem Solving pattern.
02Step 2
Then move to full mock papers
Each of the 18 Frontier Original papers runs 45 questions across all three modules on the same 120-minute timing, Writing Task included. Papers 1 and 2 are free to attempt.
Frontier Original papers are FrontierVUE's own original parallel papers, not official past papers. No official TARA past papers have ever been published, and the 18 papers and the 350-question topic bank named on this page are our own material.
04
Key dates, fees and booking for 2027 entry
Registration and booking are separate steps, and no Pearson VUE seat is confirmed until the booking itself goes through. Here is the timeline for the October sitting in the 2027 entry cycle.
2026Timeline
Jun 26
Jul 26
Aug 26
Sep 26
Oct 26
Nov 26
Registration opens1 Jun 2026, 3pm BST
Registration opens
1 Jun 2026, 3pm BST
Registration comes first; booking a test is a separate step that follows it.
Booking window20 Jul 3pm to 28 Sep 6pm BST
Booking window
20 Jul 3pm to 28 Sep 6pm BST
Booking opens on 20 July 2026 at 3pm BST and closes on 28 September at 6pm BST. Book as soon as booking opens.
Access arrangements deadline
14 Sep 2026, 6pm BST
Bursary deadline
21 Sep 2026, 6pm BST
Booking closes28 Sep 2026, 6pm BST
Booking closes
28 Sep 2026, 6pm BST
28 September is a hard close.
October test window12 to 16 Oct 2026
October test window
12 to 16 Oct 2026
For candidates in China, Hong Kong and Macau the TARA is fixed on 14 October 2026. Oxford accepts the October sitting only.
Results released
16 Nov 2026
Hard deadline Event WindowThese are the 2027-entry October sitting dates, with all times in BST.
| October sitting | January sitting | |
|---|---|---|
| Booking opens | 20 July 2026, 3pm BST | 26 October 2026, 3pm GMT |
| Booking closes | 28 September 2026, 6pm BST | 21 December 2026, 6pm GMT |
| Test window | 12 to 16 October 2026 | 4 to 8 January 2027 |
| Date for candidates in China, Hong Kong and Macau | 14 October 2026 | 7 January 2027 |
| Results released | 16 November 2026 | 8 February 2027 |
| Accepted for Oxford Philosophy and Linguistics (VQ51)? | Yes, and Oxford accepts this sitting only | No |
The January sitting does exist, but Oxford accepts the October sitting only, so a VQ51 applicant has a single attempt in the cycle. The January column is here only so you can confirm that it does not apply to a VQ51 application.
The fee is paid at booking: £78 for candidates in the UK and Ireland and £133 elsewhere. Calculators and dictionaries are not permitted in the test centre. Book as soon as booking opens, because 28 September is a hard close.
SAME UNIVERSITY
Other University of Oxford courses that require the TARA
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does Oxford Philosophy and Linguistics need the TARA?
Yes. Philosophy and Linguistics (UCAS VQ51) is on the UAT-UK course list for 2027 entry, and Oxford requires all three modules: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and the Writing Task. The test lasts 120 minutes and is taken at a Pearson VUE test centre. Oxford accepts the October sitting only, whose window runs from 12 to 16 October 2026 (14 October 2026 for candidates in China, Hong Kong and Macau), with results on 16 November 2026.
Does the TARA Writing Task count for VQ51?
UAT-UK does not score the Writing Task for any course; instead your response of up to 750 words is passed on to the universities you applied to. Among Oxford's TARA courses, only Economics and Management (LN12) and History and Economics (LV11) state that the Writing Task is not used in selection. Philosophy and Linguistics carries no such statement, and Oxford's page says all applicants must take all three modules. Oxford does not publish how much weight, if any, the essay carries.
What TARA score do I need for Philosophy and Linguistics?
Oxford does not publish a cut-off score, an average score or a weighting for the TARA, and the test has no pass mark. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are each reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place, and those scores are read alongside your grades, predicted results, academic reference and personal statement. Any specific threshold quoted online is not an official figure.
Are there TARA past papers for Philosophy and Linguistics?
No. No official TARA past papers have ever been published, and official material is limited to the TARA Specification, the TARA Question Guide and two practice sets on Pearson VUE. UAT-UK advises candidates to practise on BMAT Section 1 (2003 to 2023) and TSA Section 1 (2008 to 2023) papers. FrontierVUE provides 18 Frontier Original parallel papers (810 questions) plus a 350-question topic bank, 1,160 questions in total with explanations and Chinese translations; Papers 1 and 2 are free. These are our own original parallel papers, not official past papers.
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 Philosophy and Linguistics
18 Frontier Original TARA papers and 810 questions, every one with a worked solution. The first 2 papers are free to try.