Free Interview Resources
Free practice questions, preparation advice, and expert insights for Asian and Middle Eastern Studies interviews at Oxford.
Real Asian and Middle Eastern Studies interview questions in the style Oxford asks. Try answering each one aloud before you reveal the hint.
Discuss the poem or article you were given before the interview. What is your first interpretation, and what might challenge it?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Choose between the prose passage and the poem you have been given, then explain why you chose it and how you would analyse it.
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Look at this Chinese artwork and describe what you notice before making any historical claims.
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Translate or interpret the traditional Chinese characters provided, explaining your reasoning rather than just the answer.
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Use the source you have been given to infer something about Chinese history, culture or language, then say what the source cannot tell us.
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Tutorial-style interviews with subject-specific problems, often involving unfamiliar material.
Oxford interviews typically take place at the college you applied to. You will usually have two or three interviews of around 20-30 minutes each, sometimes at different colleges if you are pooled. The atmosphere is meant to resemble a tutorial: the interviewer gives you a problem and watches how you reason through it.
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
What are the advantages of studying a foreign culture from the perspective of an outsider?
What is the difference between a language and a dialect?
How does culture influence our lives today?
How filial is Western society?
Do you think Chairman Mao would be proud of China today?
How many cultures are grouped under China?
How can China be so materialistic and have such a large Buddhist population if Buddhism teaches non-attachment?
Can archaeology prove or disprove the Bible?
Why do the words God and I have capital letters?
Give me a brief case study of Middle Eastern politics in recent years.
What can we learn from Pompeian excavations about ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultures?
How would life in the Gulf be transformed if its oil supplies ran out?
Why did the Cultural Revolution not happen in England?
What is your favourite dictionary?
Why do you want to study Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford?
What part of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies excites you most?
What skills do you have that would make you a good fit for Asian and Middle Eastern Studies?
Summarise a book that is relevant to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and explain your opinion of it.
What current news story relates to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and why does it matter?
What is the point of studying Asian and Middle Eastern Studies?
Why do you think Chinese students obey their parents more than UK students?
12+ weeks
8-12 weeks
4-6 weeks
1-2 weeks
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The Complete Oxford Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Interview Guide
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Practice with a Oxford Asian and Middle Eastern Studies graduate who's been through it.
Book Mock Interview →Watch & Learn
Official Oxford admissions overview for the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
Short student perspective on studying Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford.
Language taster useful for applicants exploring Chinese study.
Subject taster introducing Egyptology and ways of thinking about ancient material.
Academic lecture-style resource on medieval Islam and language, useful for broader subject knowledge.
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Further Reading
by University of Oxford
Official Oxford collection of subject resources for prospective applicants.
by University of Oxford
Faculty guidance on applying, useful for checking course and admissions context.
A broad academic association site for exploring Asian studies topics and publications.
A broad academic association site for exploring Middle Eastern studies topics and scholarship.
Podcast archive with episodes on history, religion, literature, and culture relevant to wider preparation.