Key Facts · Oxford
History and Modern Languages at Oxford is a four-year BA with a typical AAA offer and a third year spent abroad through work, a language assistantship, an internship or university study. The registry retains VR19 as an internal identifier, but Oxford lists language-specific UCAS codes, so applicants should check the code for their route.
Section 01
This course is for applicants who want to join historical argument with advanced language study, rather than treat the two subjects as separate interests.
Rankings need careful handling for this page.
How It Ranks Against Peers
| University | Guardian UK | CUG UK | Times UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of St Andrews | — | — | — |
| University of Oxford | — | — | — |
| University of Cambridge | — | — | — |
University of St Andrews
University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
Ranks shown are UK subject-table positions from the three major UK guides. World rankings are not included — UK applicants compare using UK-focused sources.
Section 02
International Applicants
Hover to preview · Click to draw route
Select a highlighted country to see the admissions-test, score, and English-language requirements that apply specifically to applicants from that country.
Section 03
| Qualification | Typical Offer | Key Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| A-Level | AAA | |
| IB Diploma | 38 (including core points) with 666 at HL | |
| Advanced Placement (AP) | Either four APs at grade 5 (including any subjects required for the course) or three APs at grade 5 (including any subjects required for the course) plus ACT 31+ or SAT 1460+. |
Section 04
May–September 2026
Choose the course and college/open-application route, draft the personal statement, organise the academic reference and confirm whether the chosen language route has the required preparation.
Tip:Use the preparation period to align historical reading, target-language work and written-work selection.
15 October 2026
Same Oxford/UCAS deadline for UK and international applicants: submit by 6pm (BST) on 15 October 2026 for 2027 entry.
Tip:Submit early enough to resolve school reference and qualification details before the 6pm BST deadline.
10 November 2026
History and Modern Languages applicants should follow the History written-work requirement: one argument-driven essay on a historical topic, written as normal school or college work, maximum 2,000 words. It should not be a source analysis or commentary requiring the assessor to read source material, should include the question being answered, and must be submitted with the signed written-work certificate/cover process required by the college. Applicants may be asked to discuss it at interview.
Tip:Use normal school or college work and keep the essay argument-driven.
Late November–early December 2026
Oxford's admissions timeline indicates that applicants find out whether they have been shortlisted from the end of November, with interview preparation beginning in November.
Tip:Be ready to discuss written work, personal statement material and short texts at short notice.
Early–mid December 2026
Shortlisted applicants are invited to online interviews in December. Tutors may discuss written work and the personal statement, and applicants may be asked to read or discuss a short text in English and/or the modern language.
Tip:Prepare to explain your thinking aloud rather than recite model answers.
12 January 2027
Oxford's applicant guide states that shortlisted candidates for 2027 entry will be informed of the outcome via UCAS on 12 January 2027, with college follow-up later that day.
Tip:Check UCAS and college email communications on the published decision date.
August 2027
Conditional offer-holders must meet the academic and any English-language or administrative conditions attached to their offer before the place is confirmed.
Tip:International applicants should also keep visa and CAS planning in view once an offer has been made and conditions are being met.
May–September 2026
Choose the course and college/open-application route, draft the personal statement, organise the academic reference and confirm whether the chosen language route has the required preparation.
Tip:Use the preparation period to align historical reading, target-language work and written-work selection.
15 October 2026
Same Oxford/UCAS deadline for UK and international applicants: submit by 6pm (BST) on 15 October 2026 for 2027 entry.
Tip:Submit early enough to resolve school reference and qualification details before the 6pm BST deadline.
10 November 2026
History and Modern Languages applicants should follow the History written-work requirement: one argument-driven essay on a historical topic, written as normal school or college work, maximum 2,000 words. It should not be a source analysis or commentary requiring the assessor to read source material, should include the question being answered, and must be submitted with the signed written-work certificate/cover process required by the college. Applicants may be asked to discuss it at interview.
Tip:Use normal school or college work and keep the essay argument-driven.
Late November–early December 2026
Oxford's admissions timeline indicates that applicants find out whether they have been shortlisted from the end of November, with interview preparation beginning in November.
Tip:Be ready to discuss written work, personal statement material and short texts at short notice.
Early–mid December 2026
Shortlisted applicants are invited to online interviews in December. Tutors may discuss written work and the personal statement, and applicants may be asked to read or discuss a short text in English and/or the modern language.
Tip:Prepare to explain your thinking aloud rather than recite model answers.
12 January 2027
Oxford's applicant guide states that shortlisted candidates for 2027 entry will be informed of the outcome via UCAS on 12 January 2027, with college follow-up later that day.
Tip:Check UCAS and college email communications on the published decision date.
August 2027
Conditional offer-holders must meet the academic and any English-language or administrative conditions attached to their offer before the place is confirmed.
Tip:International applicants should also keep visa and CAS planning in view once an offer has been made and conditions are being met.
Section 05
There is no Oxford admissions test for History and Modern Languages for 2027 entry. Oxford's admissions-test page states that the tested courses in the 2026 application cycle are those using ESAT, TARA or TMUA, and that no other Oxford undergraduate course has an admissions test.
This means applicants should not prepare for the old MLAT as though it were still required for this joint school. The official course page also says Modern Languages written work is no longer required. The written-work requirement that remains is the History piece.
Preparation should focus on language competence, literary/cultural curiosity, historical reading, the submitted History essay and interview discussion. For post-A-level languages, expect tutors to be interested in your oral competence and ability to think about texts or cultural material in or around the language.
Sources: Oxford admissions tests, Oxford History and Modern Languages course page, Faculty of History written work guidance.
Section 06
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Question Types You’ll See
Shortlisted applicants are invited to online interviews in December.
We recommend preparing by practising close reading, oral explanation and argument revision under questioning. The aim is not to memorise model answers, but to show how you handle evidence, language and uncertainty in real time.
Practise with realistic questions from our free History and Modern Languages mock interview bank.
Free Mock Questions →Section 07
Weighting of Admission Factors
100%
Indicative — exact balance varies by college and year.
Oxford’s contextual notes state that grades are considered in the context in which they were achieved.
The same notes say contextual data may include school performance, area-level participation or disadvantage, care experience and eligibility for free school meals.
In reality, no single element should be treated as the whole application. A strong application usually makes the transcript, written work, personal statement and interview point in the same academic direction.
The repaired sidecar uses editorial decision-weight estimates only to keep the visual component renderable; the uploaded does not provide an Oxford-published weighting table for this exact joint course.
Section 08
A good statement should not simply say that you enjoy History and languages. It should show what kind of historical questions you ask, what language material you have engaged with, and how the two interests inform each other.
We recommend choosing two or three examples and treating them seriously. A paragraph on one historical debate, one target-language source and one cultural-memory question is usually stronger than a long list of books, podcasts and trips.
The course-specific evidence matters: the written work is an argument-driven historical essay, while interviews may include discussion of submitted work, the personal statement and a short text in English and/or the modern language.
Reflection matters more than volume. Explain what changed your view, where evidence was difficult, and how language shaped the historical interpretation.
See a full annotated example with line-by-line expert commentary.
History and Modern Languages PS Example →Section 09
A good project for this course should connect historical argument with language, culture or source interpretation. The strongest work is usually small, precise and honest about its limits.
Present a project as a miniature version of the work Oxford is likely to test: an argument-driven historical essay and an interview conversation about evidence, texts and uncertainty.
Other supercurricular work should help you think, write and speak more clearly about historical evidence and target-language culture.
These activities are support, not a substitute for careful reading and argument.
Competitions are not required. They can be useful because they force a focused question, a deadline and a piece of extended written argument.
None are required; one or two done well beats five half-attempted.
Section 10
Foundation work split between History and Modern Language, leading to First University examinations.
Start Final Honour School work at Oxford before the year abroad; the official page groups Years 2 and 4 together.
Year normally spent abroad.
Return to Oxford for final-year History and Modern Languages papers and submitted work.
Section 11
History and Modern Languages applicants should submit one argument-driven essay on a historical topic, written as normal school or college work.
The maximum length is 2,000 words, and the 2027-entry deadline in the uploaded is 10 November 2026.
The essay should not be a source analysis or commentary requiring the assessor to read source material, and it should include the question being answered.
Applicants must submit it with the signed written-work certificate or cover process required by the college, and they may be asked to discuss it at interview.
Section 12
The point is not to consume everything. Build a small set of examples you can discuss in terms of argument, evidence, language and interpretation.
Section 13
36 colleges offer this subject. around 20% of applicants submit an open application. around one-third of successful applicants receive an offer from a college they did not specify of places come through the pool.
Oxford has 36 colleges and three societies at University level, and undergraduate course availability varies by course and language combination.
It is worth choosing a college for day-to-day environment: accommodation, location, facilities, tutors and community.
Section 14
Where graduates of this course head after leaving.
The uploaded does not provide course-only career-sector percentages for History and Modern Languages, and it flags that any sector percentages would come from an Oxford Humanities-wide report rather than a course-only dataset.
This means the page should avoid claiming course-specific destination percentages until a course-level dataset is supplied. In advice terms, applicants should focus on the skills the course actually tests: written argument, language accuracy, cultural interpretation and evidence handling.
Section 15
Oxford states that grades are considered in the context in which they were achieved.
Contextual data may include school performance, area-level participation or disadvantage, care experience and eligibility for free school meals.
For this course, History is highly recommended but not always formally required, and applicants whose schools did not offer History or the chosen language should explain those constraints through the UCAS reference or extenuating-circumstances routes rather than overclaiming.
Oxford recognises that many international applicants will not have GCSEs, and GCSE-style evidence is considered alongside the rest of the application rather than treated as a universal requirement.
Written work can help contextualise school teaching, independent historical thinking and essay craft where curriculum coverage is uneven.
Watch & Learn
Student vlogs, mock interviews, lecture tasters, and admissions advice.
Official Oxford-style History interview demonstration for source discussion and tutor commentary.
Demonstration interview showing how tutors may explore text, language and thinking aloud.
Introductory course film with tutors and students on studying modern languages at Oxford.
Lecture-style outreach video linking historical interpretation, languages and cultural memory.
Student perspective on combining History and Modern Languages at Oxford.
All videos are the property of their respective creators.
Further Reading
Super-curricular reading, websites, and tools recommended by our expert tutors.
by University of Oxford
Primary source for course structure, entry requirements, UCAS deadline, written work, interview and admissions-test status.
by Oxford Faculty of History
Faculty-level applications, shortlisted and offers data for History-related courses.
by University of Oxford
Explains how interviews work and how applicants should approach academic conversation.
by University of Oxford
General process, cover sheet and electronic submission guidance for written work.
by University of Oxford
Defines the History essay requirement used by History and Modern Languages applicants.
by Oxford Modern Languages
Faculty guidance on applications for modern languages courses.
by University of Oxford
Oxford's own collection of ideas for academic exploration beyond schoolwork.
by University of Oxford
Accessible Oxford outreach resource for developing curiosity, argument and critical thinking.
Free Resource
Free Admissions Newsletter
Weekly tips on History and Modern Languages admissions, application deadlines, and interview prep — straight from Oxford graduates.