If you are applying for Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, you will be required to register for and book to take the Ancient History and Classical Archaeology Admissions Test (AHCAAT).
The AHCAAT aims to test two skills crucial for CAAH students: the ability to engage with and criticise academic argument and the ability to describe and analyse material evidence from the ancient world.
The test consists of two questions. In the first, you will be given a short passage from an academic publication of the kind you will be likely to be asked to read in your first two terms in Oxford, and will be asked to evaluate the coherence of the argument, whether the author supplies sufficient evidence for their claims and in what ways their argument can be criticised. In the second, you will be asked to look at an image of an artefact from the ancient world (statue, relief, vase etc.), for which some contextual information will be supplied, and asked to describe it in detail and reflect on the ways in which it can be used for writing history.
Answers need to be in a short essay format. Both questions are weighted equally (50 marks for each). You will have 90 minutes for the entire test, and we suggest spending about 15 minutes reading and looking and about 30 minutes writing on each question.
This Oxford admissions test is computer-based, and you will need to arrange to take it at a Pearson VUE authorised test centre. Instructions on how to do this can be found under the How do I register? tab on this page.
A test preparation guidance video and practice test hosted by the online test platform will be made available for candidates soon. In the meantime, you may find useful this 2024 video sharing a tutor's insights on the AHCAAT when it was introduced last year.
Admissions tutors will receive the results of all candidates' tests directly before shortlisting decisions in November.
Test scores will be automatically distributed to all applicants after college decision letters are sent in January. Applicants will still be able to write to their college to request feedback.
As the AHCAAT is a new test, it will still be running in its pilot phase in 2025. This means that while it will be used for additional information on a candidate's application, no one applying in the 2025 admissions round will not be shortlisted for interview or not selected for a place at Oxford based on the results of the test.
