Typical offers require
A Level: A*A*A
IB: 40-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level
For other qualifications, see our main Entrance requirements pages.
Course requirements
Required by all Colleges: A Level/IB Higher Level Mathematics*.
See
Economics: Subject Requirements and Typical Offer by College for College-specific requirements/preferences. All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the 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.
* IB applicants starting the new IB Mathematics syllabus are expected to take IB Higher Level 'Analysis and Approaches' for any course where Mathematics is a requirement. If this option is not available at your school, please contact the College that you wish to apply to directly for further advice and guidance.
Admission assessment
For 2021 entry, applicants for Economics are required to take a pre-interview written assessment on 5 November 2020, at an authorised centre local to them (for a lot of applicants, this will be their school/college). You need to be registered by 15 October 2020 to take the assessment, and your assessment centre must do this for you. See admission assessments for full details.
Assessment format
The format for the 2020 assessment will be as follows:
- Section 1: Multiple choice questions in mathematics (60 minutes)
- Section 2: Essay (60 minutes)
Economics Admissions Assessment Specification 2020
In addition to the pre-interview assessment, applicants to the following Colleges are required to take a College-set written assessment at interview (see individual College websites for details): Gonville & Caius.
Mature students (aged 21 or over) applying to one of the mature Colleges aren’t required to take the pre-interview assessment, and will instead sit an at-interview assessment. See the written assessments page for more details.
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.
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.
When using the specimen and past papers below, please note the following changes to the 2020 Economics admissions assessment:
Economics Admission Assessment
|
In 2020
|
In previous years
|
---|
Section 1
|
- 60 minutes
- Multiple-choice assessment comprising approximately 20 Mathematics and 20 advanced Mathematics questions.
|
- 80 minutes
- Multiple-choice assessment comprising approximately 20 problem solving questions and 15 advanced Mathematics questions.
|
Section 2
|
- 60 minutes
- Extended essay
|
- 40 minutes
- Extended essay
|
Specimen Papers:
Economics 2020 - Section 1 Question Paper
Economics 2020 - Section 1 Answer Sheet
Economics 2020 - Section 1 Answer Key
Economics 2020 - Section 1 Explained Answers
Economics 2020 - Section 2 Question Paper
Past Papers:
Economics Admissions Assessment 2019 (papers combined)
Economics Admissions Assessment 2018 (papers combined)
Economics Admissions Assessment 2017 - Section 1: Question Paper
Economics Admissions Assessment 2017 - Section 1: Answer Sheet
Economics Admissions Assessment 2017 - Section 1: Answer Key
Economics Admissions Assessment 2017 - Section 2: Question Paper
Economics Admissions Assessment 2016 - Section 1: Question Paper
Economics Admissions Assessment 2016 - Section 1: Answer Sheet
Economics Admissions Assessment 2016 - Section 1: Answer Key
Economics Admissions Assessment 2016 - Section 2: Question Paper
Submitted work
Applicants to some Colleges are required to submit one or two School/college essays as examples of written work prior to interview. See
Economics: Subject Requirements and Typical Offer by College for a list of Colleges that require submitted work and visit individual College websites for further details.
For further information about studying Economics at the University of Cambridge see the Faculty of Economics website.