Applying
Prepare for your interview.
Most UK courses do not interview. Those that do are usually competitive, vocational or portfolio-based — and they are assessing how you think, not what you have memorised.
Practise your interview
Pick the course closest to yours and work through the questions. Write each answer as you would say it aloud, then review it against what the interviewer is actually assessing.
Which course are you interviewing for?
Pick the closest match and we’ll give you questions for that subject, plus the ones almost every interview asks.
How to prepare
Why universities interview
An interview tests things an application cannot: whether you can think aloud, respond to a challenge, and hold a conversation about the subject. Most courses do not interview at all — those that do are usually competitive, vocational, or portfolio-based.
They are not trying to catch you out
Interviewers are largely assessing whether you would be good to teach. Being stuck is normal; saying nothing is not. Talk through your reasoning and say when you are unsure.
Know your personal statement
Anything you wrote is fair material. If you claimed to have read something, expect to be asked what you made of it.
Preparing for an online interview
Test your camera, microphone and connection beforehand. Sit somewhere quiet with light in front of you rather than behind. Have water and a copy of your statement nearby, and allow for a delay before you answer.
Group interviews and tasks
Used mostly in healthcare and business. They assess how you work with others, so contributing thoughtfully matters more than dominating or staying silent.
Portfolio interviews
For art, design and architecture. Be ready to explain your process, not just show the outcome — including work that did not go well and what you learned.
Questions to ask them
Have two ready. Ask about how the course is taught, how students are supported, or what previous graduates went on to do. Avoid anything answered on the first page of the website.
Common questions
How do I know if my course interviews?
The course page usually says, and you will normally be told after you apply rather than before. Medicine, dentistry, nursing, teaching, and art and design courses interview most often, as do Oxford and Cambridge across almost all subjects.
What should I wear?
Smart but comfortable. Nobody is assessing your clothes, but feeling underdressed is a distraction you do not need. For online interviews the same applies from the waist up, and dress fully anyway in case you need to stand.
What if I do not know the answer?
Say so, then think aloud about how you would approach it. Interviewers frequently ask questions with no expected answer precisely to see how you reason when you are out of your depth.
Can I ask for a question to be repeated?
Yes, always. Asking for clarification is treated as a good sign, not a weakness — it is what you would do in a tutorial.