Applying for Modern Languages at Oxford involves submitting your UCAS form and, for most courses, registering for the Modern Languages Admissions Tests (MLAT) sitting the MLAT in your school or at a registered test centre; and submitting schoolwork. You can find the timeline for all elements of the admissions process here.
What is the entrance procedure like?
The starting point for finding out about the entrance procedure is at: www.ox.ac.uk/study. A guide on how to apply is available at www.ox.ac.uk/apply.
General guidance on the submission of written work is available at www.ox.ac.uk/writwork.
All candidates must submit one piece of marked classwork written in each language which you plan to study and in which you will have A2 (or an equivalent standard) before university. This will demonstrate to interviewers how you are developing in your use of the target language(s) in work you have completed in the normal course of your A2 (or equivalent) study. If you are applying for a language in which you will not have reached this standard before university, you do not need to submit anything in that language. All candidates must also submit one piece only of marked writing in English (perhaps on literature, or history, or some other subject you are studying at school or college). This piece will show how you construct an argument and express your ideas in English. So, for example, if you are applying to study French and German, you will need to submit three pieces of written work: one in French, one in German and one in English. If you are applying to study Spanish and Beginners' Russian you will need to submit two pieces of work: one in Spanish and one in English. Please see further guidance on the submission of written work.
You will have one or more interviews, depending on the college to which you apply. Because different colleges have different practices, it is hard to generalise about interviews. But because we want to find out as much as possible about your intellectual interests and academic potential, you may be asked, for instance, about your reading, your interest in the culture of the relevant country, or the work you have submitted. You may also be given the opportunity to speak in the relevant foreign language(s) or asked questions about a short passage in English or the relevant foreign language(s). As far as possible, interviewers will try to let you show your strengths, interest in the subject(s) you intend to study, and reasons for applying to Oxford.
If you apply for one of the Joint Degrees, you will be interviewed by tutors in both subject areas.
For a variety of reasons, you may be interviewed by more than one college.
Not all colleges accept students for all the languages listed here. Go to the Coursefinder page to discover which colleges accept which languages and language combinations.
Full information on the application process is available from Oxford University's Admissions website: