Discontinued test
Thinking Skills Assessment — Discontinued
The TSA is no longer in use. Below: the active test that replaced it, the discontinuation context, and the next steps for current applicants.
The TSA was discontinued in 2024 (last sitting for 2024 entry).
Oxford retired the TSA. Only the courses listed in the official TARA cohort have moved to TARA; other former TSA courses must be verified separately. Do not assume TSA was replaced by TARA across the board.
Now replaced by: TARA
01Section 01
Overview — what changed and the test you sit now
Section 01
Overview — what changed and the test you sit now
The Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) is no longer a current Oxford admissions test for 2027 entry. For some former TSA courses (PPE, E&M, History & Economics, History & Politics, Human Sciences, Experimental Psychology, PPL), applicants now sit TARA. For other former TSA courses, the replacement varies — verify the current test for your specific course on the official Oxford admissions page.
The Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) is no longer a current Oxford admissions test for 2027 entry.
For some Oxford courses that previously used the TSA — Economics and Management, Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), History and Economics, History and Politics, Human Sciences, Experimental Psychology, and Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics — applicants now sit TARA. See the TARA guide for the current requirement.
For other courses that previously used the TSA, the replacement varies. Do not assume the TSA was replaced by TARA across the board — confirm the current test for your specific course on the official Oxford admissions page.
Past TSA papers remain useful as historic critical-thinking practice, but they are not preparation for a current admissions test in their own right.
We do not offer a TSA question bank or 1-to-1 sessions for TSA preparation — the test is no longer in use. For the active replacement test (or to confirm whether your course requires any admissions test at all), contact us or open the replacement guide linked at the top of this page.
02Section 02
How the TSA compares to its replacement
Section 02
How the TSA compares to its replacement
Side-by-side with the TARA that replaced the TSA — what changed, and what to prepare for now.