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Complete Admissions Guide

Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford

Our students' Oxford acceptance rate

65%

Overall Oxford offer rate (latest published cycle)

17%

Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford is among the most selective courses in the UK. Get 1-to-1 admissions coaching from Oxford graduates who have been through the process themselves.

Last updated: June 2026

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Key Facts

  • AAATypical Offer
  • 2:1Applicants / Place
  • #1UK Ranking
  • 12Places / Year
  • Q8T9UCAS Code

Overview

Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford

Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford is a BA with an AAA typical offer, no written admissions test, and two pieces of written work due by 10 November 2026. The degree lasts 3 or 4 years, with Q8T9/T9Q8 routes depending on whether Classics or Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is the main two-thirds of the course.

Why study Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford?

Oxford lists this course as Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. It lets you combine an Asian or Middle Eastern language and culture with Latin and/or Greek and the study of the ancient world.

A university lecture hall from the back, students taking notes

Section 01

International Applicants

Click your country on the map below for country-specific entry guidance — accepted qualifications, expected scores, English-language requirements, and any local context worth knowing before you apply.

International Applicants

Country-specific admissions requirements

CanadaUnited States of AmericaSouth KoreaIndiaChinaUnited KingdomMalaysiaJapan

Pick a highlighted country to see the admissions-test, score, and English-language requirements that apply for applicants from that country.

Section 02

Entry Requirements

  • A-LevelAAA (with As in Latin and Greek, if taken)
  • IB Diploma39 (including core points) with 666 at HL, including 6s at HL in Latin and Greek if taken
  • Advanced Placement (AP)Either four APs at grade 5, including any subjects required for the course, or three APs at grade 5 including any required subjects plus ACT 31 or above or SAT 1460 or above.
    Latin, Ancient Greek, Classical Civilisation, Ancient History, A modern language recommended. SAT/ACT: Required only if offering three APs rather than four: ACT 31 or above, or SAT 1460 or above. The optional essay is not required..Oxford lists Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies as AAA at A-level, with A grades in Latin and Greek if taken. Latin, Ancient Greek, Classical Civilisation, Ancient History, or a modern language are relevant preparation.
Admissions test
No pre-registered admissions test for 2027 entry. Oxford retired the legacy written test for this course family, applicants are assessed on UCAS application, predicted grades, personal statement and interview alone.
Written work
Submit one or two pieces of recent marked school work in the subject (or a closely related humanities subject), normally with the teacher's comments visible. Standard Oxford written-work deadline is 10 November 2026, each course's admissions page confirms the exact rules.
Interview
Two college interviews of around 25 minutes each. Subject-specific discussion or problem-solving interviews typical of Oxford tutorial teaching. Most interviews are in person at the college; many colleges still offer online interviews for international applicants.

Section 03

Application Process & Key Deadlines

  1. May 2026

    Start preparing UCAS materials

    Applications open in May; choose your course and college/open application route, plan your personal statement, and organise the academic reference.

  2. Early September 2026

    UCAS submission opens

    Applicants can submit the UCAS application from early September.

  3. October 2026

    UCAS deadline

    15 October 2026 (6pm UK time)

  4. November 2026

    Written work deadline

    10 November 2026

  5. December 2026

    Interview period

    Early to mid-December 2026; exact subject-specific timetable not yet published when checked

  6. January 2027

    Decisions released

    12 January 2027

Section 04

Admissions Test

Student working through problems at a desk with timed papers

Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at University of Oxford does not require a written admissions test for 2027 entry. Applications are assessed on academic record, personal statement, submitted written work (where requested), and interview performance.

Always verify on the official Oxford admissions tests page.

Section 05

The Interview: What to Expect

Invitation → Decision: the interview timeline

Interview Invitation

Late Nov

Arrival to Interview

Early Dec

Technical Question

Mid Dec

Decision

Early Jan

Question Types You’ll See

Discussion of personal-statement readingUnseen-passage commentary or unfamiliar problemSubject reasoning under guidance

Shortlisted applicants are invited to online interviews in December. The format is recorded as an academic discussion with a tutorial-style subject focus, but the detailed duration information is partial rather than fully verified on current Oxford pages.

Joint-course applicants should expect tutors representing each subject, and the panel size is typically recorded as 2 interviewers.

The interview window is early to mid-December 2026, though the exact subject-specific timetable had not yet been published when checked.

Preparation should emphasise close reading, language explanation, and comparative thinking out loud. Strong answers tend to show how you notice detail, test an interpretation, and revise it when the interviewer gives you new information.

Do not script speeches about why the ancient world matters. It helps more to practise turning a short passage, image, inscription, or linguistic puzzle into a structured academic conversation.

Practise with realistic questions from our free mock interview question bank.

Free Mock Questions →
Two people in academic discussion across a table

Section 06

How Decisions Are Actually Made

Selection is best understood as a holistic judgement across interview performance, written work, academic record and predicted or achieved grades, subject fit, personal statement or reference, and contextual information.

The visual weighting model on this page is editorial; Oxford does not publish numerical weights for these criteria.

That means no single component should be treated as a guaranteed route in or out. A strong application is usually coherent across grades, written work, subject motivation, and interview discussion.

For this course, coherence matters because the degree is explicitly combined. The connection between Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies should be visible, but not forced.

Our recommendation · weighting of admission factors

0102030405041%
Interview
27%
Predicted grades
14%
Personal statement
11%
Submitted written work
7%
Contextual factors
% of decisionFactor

Oxbridge Mentors recommendation, drawn from observed offer patterns. University of Oxford does not publish official weightings — exact balance varies by college, course and year.

Section 07

Personal Statement Tips

Handwritten notes and a laptop open to a draft document

Your personal statement should explain why this combination makes academic sense. Avoid writing one paragraph on Classics and one unrelated paragraph on Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

A stronger structure is usually a chain of questions: a text, language, region, period, or historical contact point that led you from one side of the degree to the other. Reflection matters more than name-dropping.

Because the first-named subject makes up about two-thirds of the degree and the second subject about one-third, it is worth being precise about the route you are applying for.

Include one or two moments where your thinking changed. That could be a translation choice, a historical assumption you corrected, or a comparison that became more complicated as you read more.

See a full annotated example with line-by-line expert commentary.

Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies PS Example →

Section 08

Projects

  1. 01Justification
  2. 02Project Brief
  3. 03Explain Exactly What You Did
  4. 04Difficulties
  5. 05Solutions
  6. 06Reflection

A good project for this course should make you handle evidence closely. That might mean comparing translations, tracing a concept across cultures, or examining how a text changes when read through language, material culture, or historical context.

Project examples should be presented as editorial suggestions, not Oxford requirements. Possible directions include a close comparison of two translations, a short language-learning log with reflections on grammar, or a focused study of one object, text, or historical contact point.

Open books, a notebook, and a coffee on a wooden desk

Section 08

Other Supercurriculars

It helps to build evidence that you can read carefully, think across cultures, and sustain independent study.

These are support, not substitute. They only help if they sharpen the academic case you are making.

  • Keep a reading notebook that records questions, not just summaries.:

  • Practise explaining grammatical or translation decisions.:

  • Visit museum collections with a specific research question.:

  • Compare a primary source with a modern scholarly interpretation.:

  • Write short reflections after lectures, talks, or documentaries.:

Section 08

Competitions

Competitions are not required for this course.

Only include a competition if it genuinely developed the academic case you are making. One or two meaningful experiences are more useful than a long list of thin claims.

  1. Fitzwilliam College Essay Competitions: Ancient World and Classics — essay competition covering ancient history and classical culture; directly relevant to the Classics component
  2. St John's College, Oxford Classics and Ancient History Essay Competition — essay competition run by St John's College Oxford on Classics and ancient history
  3. Stephen Spender Prize — poetry translation prize; directly relevant to applicants working across ancient and modern language texts
  4. Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators — national translation competition; develops precision across languages
  5. International Linguistics Olympiad — linguistics problem-solving competition; builds script analysis and language-structure skills relevant to this joint degree
  6. John Locke Institute Essay Competition — global essay prize; History and Philosophy tracks are strong fits for extended comparative argument

Section 09

Course Structure

  1. Year

    01 / 04

    1

    Year 1

    Route-specific foundations: Classics-led students follow the Classics course; AMES-led students select a main Asian or Middle Eastern language.

  2. Year

    02 / 04

    2

    Year 2

    Pathways diverge: Classics-led students continue Classics and begin the chosen AMES language; AMES-led students may undertake a year abroad if their language route requires it.

  3. Year

    03 / 04

    3

    Year 3

    Advanced study combines the main subject with the additional subject, with options depending on route and language choice.

  4. Year

    04 / 04

    4

    Year 4

    Final-year study applies where the route/language-year structure makes the course four years rather than three.

Section 10

Written Work Requirements

A bound essay on a tutor desk beside a fountain pen

Written work is required for this course.

Oxford requires 2 pieces of written work, due by 10 November 2026.

At least one piece should be relevant to Classics where possible.

Choose work that shows how you analyse evidence, not just how much you know. A marked school essay can work well if it gives tutors something specific to discuss at interview.

Section 11

Building Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Knowledge

Build knowledge around three habits: close reading, language attention, and comparison. Keep notes on how a primary source is translated, what assumptions a historian makes, and where a cultural comparison becomes more difficult than it first looked.

Good preparation might include reading primary sources in translation, comparing different translations, exploring museum collections, and following introductory faculty material where available. These are preparation strategies, not formal Oxford requirements.

Use the official course page as the final check for course identity and admissions requirements.

For the Classics component, Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford Publishes department lectures on ancient history, language and literature. The Ancients Podcast gives well-researched popular episodes on Greek and Roman history, useful for breadth without sacrificing intellectual seriousness.

For the Asian and Middle Eastern component, SOAS University of London publishes academic lectures on Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, Persian and regional histories. In Our Time Has authoritative episodes on Buddhism, Islamic theology, and major historical periods relevant to Middle Eastern and Asian routes.

For structured courses, Greek and Roman Mythology On Coursera (University of Pennsylvania) gives a rigorous route into classical narrative tradition. For language preparation, Getting started on classical Latin On FutureLearn provides a structured entry into Latin grammar.

A study planner, highlighters and a stack of revision cards

Section 12

College Choice & Reallocation

39 colleges offer this subject. Around 20% of applicants submit an open application. ~27.7% of places come through the pool.

Oxford is collegiate for this course, with 39 colleges in the recorded college-choice data.

Around 20% of Oxford applicants make open applications.

Oxford uses reallocation rather than a Cambridge-style pool.

A course-level reallocation figure of about 27.7% is not fully verified; Oxford general guidance is often expressed more broadly as around a third. Do not use either figure as a tactical college-choice shortcut.

Choose a college for sensible reasons: course availability, accommodation preferences, location, and whether you would be happy being taught there. Do not try to game the system using small-number admissions statistics.

Stone college quadrangle viewed through an archway

Section 13

Career Prospects

No official course-level graduate sector percentage table was verified for this course, so this page should not show invented sector percentages or employer lists.

The safer framing is that this degree develops close reading, language learning, historical analysis, and argument-building.

Those skills can support routes into further study, education, museums and heritage, public policy, publishing, law, consulting, and international-facing work. Treat that as guidance, not a course-level destination statistic.

Section 14

Contextual Circumstances

Context can matter where it explains subject availability, school offering, disruption, or uneven access to language teaching. Relevant context should normally be made clear through the UCAS reference or formal channels.

For this course, subject availability is particularly important. If your school did not offer Latin, Greek, or relevant Asian and Middle Eastern languages, the application should show what you did have access to and how you used it.

Watch & Learn

Helpful Videos for Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford

Student vlogs, mock interviews, lecture tasters, and admissions advice.

Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford University

Asian and Middle Eastern Studies undergraduate course overview

Meet the Interviewers | Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

All videos are the property of their respective creators.

Further Reading

Recommended Resources

Super-curricular reading, websites, and tools recommended by our expert tutors.

Frequently Asked Questions

No written admissions test is required for 2027 entry.
Two pieces by 10 November 2026; where possible, at least one should be relevant to Classics.
Q8T9 for Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and T9Q8 for Asian and Middle Eastern Studies with Classics.
No portfolio requirement was verified.
Oxford states students are not expected to have studied an Asian or Middle Eastern language before.

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