2027 entry
What replaced the TSA?
TARA. Oxford's last TSA sitting was October 2025, and every Oxford course that used it now requires TARA.
TARA took over every Oxford TSA course.
Oxford's 2027-entry test list names ESAT, TARA and TMUA, plus UCAT for Medicine and LNAT for Law. The TSA appears against no course. All six Oxford courses that used the TSA now require TARA, and History and Politics joins them.
What actually changed
| Part | TSA | TARA |
|---|---|---|
| PartReasoning | TSASection 1: 50 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes. | TARACritical Thinking and Problem Solving: 22 questions in 40 minutes each, scored separately. |
| PartEssay | TSA30 minutes, sat by PPE applicants only. | TARA40 minutes, up to 750 words, sat by every candidate. |
| PartSitting | TSAOctober 2025 was the last one, for 2026 entry. | TARA12 to 16 October 2026, for 2027 entry. |
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving receive separate 1.0–9.0 scores. The Writing Task is unscored and a copy goes to the universities you apply to.
What this changes for you
Your TSA past papers still count
UAT-UK publishes TSA Section 1 papers from 2008 to 2023 on its own TARA preparation page, and Oxford's Experimental Psychology department says the TSA and BMAT past papers are the most suitable preparation for TARA. Section 2 is a different task and UAT-UK does not publish it.
Everyone writes the essay now
Under the TSA only PPE applicants wrote one. Every TARA candidate picks one prompt from three and writes up to 750 words in 40 minutes, so a Psychology or Human Sciences applicant is preparing for something the old test never asked of them.
October booking closes 28 September 2026
The sitting runs from 12 to 16 October 2026 and booking closes on 28 September at 18:00 UK time. Oxford's UCAS deadline is 15 October 2026 at 18:00 UK time, and results are published on 16 November 2026.
If you miss it, January booking opens on 26 October 2026 for testing from 4 to 8 January 2027, but Oxford applicants must sit in October unless they are applying for the PPE Foundation Year. You can sit TARA once per admissions cycle, and you book it with UAT-UK.
Questions applicants ask
Is the TSA still used anywhere?
Oxford's last TSA sitting was October 2025, for 2026 entry, and its 2027-entry test list does not include the TSA. At Cambridge, Environment, Law, and Economics, which replaced Land Economy, has no admission assessment. Check the course page you are applying to.
Did Oxford drop the TSA for 2024 entry?
No. Pages across the web say the last sitting was November 2023, and that is wrong. The TSA ran in October 2025, for 2026 entry. What changed around 2023 was delivery moving to Pearson VUE test centres.
Is TARA the TSA under a new name?
No. UAT-UK says TARA's Critical Thinking and Problem Solving components share a common history with BMAT Section 1 and the TSA. The format changed: TARA has two separately scored 40-minute modules instead of one 90-minute section, and a longer essay that every candidate writes.
Which Oxford courses need TARA for 2027 entry?
Economics and Management, History and Economics, History and Politics, Human Sciences, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Psychology (Experimental), and Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics. PPE with Foundation Year (Astrophoria) also lists it. Confirm on your own course page.
Primary sources
Course requirements and test dates can change. These pages are the final check.