Typical offers require
A Level: A*AA
IB: 40-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level
For other qualifications, see our main Entrance requirements pages.
Course requirements
Required by all Colleges: no specific subjects
Useful preparation: English (Language or Literature), History, a language (ancient or modern)
See
ASNC: Subject Requirements and Typical Offer by College for College-specific requirements/preferences. All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the Cambridge Colleges. College-specific information on this website has been provided by the individual Cambridge Colleges – please contact the relevant College admissions office if you have any queries about College-specific requirements.
See also Entrance requirements and
The Subject Matters for additional advice about general requirements for entry, qualifications and offers.
Admissions assessments
All applicants are required to take the pre-interview written assessment for ASNC (Arts-Humanities Admissions Assessment - see below for further details) at an authorised centre local to them (for a lot of applicants, this will be their school/college).
Assessment format
- Section 1: Reading Comprehension (60 minutes)
- Section 2: Critical response to text(s) (60 minutes)
Arts-Humanities Admissions Assessment (ASNC) Specification 2019
You must be registered in advance (separately to your UCAS application) to take the assessment – the registration deadline is 15 October 2019. Please note that open centres may set an earlier deadline for accepting entries, and it is your responsibility to check if this applies at your centre. Your assessment centre must register you for the pre-interview assessment; you’re not able to register yourself. See the written assessments page for information about assessment centres and registration.
The pre-interview written assessment for ASNC will be taken on 30 October 2019. Please check the Admissions Testing Service website for scheduled start times.
Please note that your performance in the pre-interview assessment will not be considered in isolation, but will be taken into account alongside the other elements of your application.
Mature students (aged 21 or over) applying to one of the mature Colleges should refer to the relevant information about pre-interview assessments on the written assessments page.
Specimen and past papers
A specimen paper has been produced to allow you to sample the written assessment format and practice under timed conditions. It is not expected that you will answer every question correctly; the written assessment is designed to be challenging. Even some strong candidates may not complete the paper in the time allowed; it is designed to distinguish across our field of high-calibre applicants.
Experience with similar assessments and from trials indicates that, on average, typical applicants to the most highly selective undergraduate courses (who are by definition academically very able) will gain approximately half of the available marks. The best applicants will score more highly, but only relatively few are expected to gain more than 80 per cent of the available marks.
Written assessments help admissions tutors to assess whether candidates have the skills, aptitudes and any required subject knowledge and understanding required to study the relevant course at Cambridge. They are only one of the elements used in the admissions process. Others include a candidate’s academic record and forecast grades in school-leaving examinations; UCAS application form; examples of recent written work submitted to the College to which they are applying; and performance at interview, if invited to attend.
From 2019, the pre-interview written assessment for ASNC will be administered with four other subjects within an Arts-Humanities Admissions Assessment question booklet. Section 1 will have identical questions. Section 2 will have subject-specific questions. Please ensure you answer the appropriate question or questions for your subject in Section 2.
Specimen Papers:
Arts-Humanities Specimen Paper - Section 1: Question Paper
Arts-Humanities Specimen Paper - Section 1: Text Booklet
Arts-Humanities Specimen Paper - Section 1: Answer Sheet
Arts-Humanities Specimen Paper - Section 1: Answer Key
Arts-Humanities Specimen Paper - Section 2: Question Paper
Arts-Humanities Specimen Paper - Section 2: Answer Booklet
Past Papers:
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2018 (papers combined)
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2017 - Section 1: Question Paper
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2017 - Section 1: Text Booklet
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2017 - Section 1: Answer Sheet
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2017 - Section 1: Answer Key
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2017 - Section 2: Question Paper
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2016 - Section 1: Question Paper
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2016 - Section 1: Text Booklet
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2016 - Section 1: Answer Sheet
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2016 - Section 1: Answer Key
ASNC Admissions Assessment 2016 - Section 2: Question Paper
Submitted work
Applicants to the following Colleges are required to submit one or two school/college essays as examples of written work prior to interview. See individual College websites for further details.
- Christ's
- Churchill
- Clare
- Corpus Christi
- Downing
- Emmanuel
- Fitzwilliam
- Girton
- Gonville and Caius
- Homerton
- Hughes Hall
- Jesus
- King's
- Lucy Cavendish
- Magdalene
- Murray Edwards
- Newnham
- Pembroke
- Peterhouse
- Queens'
- Robinson
- St Catharine's
- St Edmund's
- St John's
- Selwyn
- Sidney Sussex
- Trinity
- Trinity Hall
- Wolfson
For further information about studying Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic at the University of Cambridge see the the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic website.