The University of Oxford is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. With 20,000+ applicants each year competing for a very limited number of places, we know that the average chance of getting a place is very low compared to other universities.
This information is measured through rates for offers and acceptances, something we like to call success rates. These rates give us an amazing insight into which courses at Oxford are the easiest and most difficult to get into, as well as understanding how many applicants got their place in general. Our Oxford Interview Rates Guide offers detailed insights into interview statistics — including the number of applicants interviewed across all Oxford courses — complementing the data presented here to give you a more complete picture of the Oxford admissions.
In this guide, we’ll be exploring Oxford’s Admissions Statistics report to understand the acceptance rates of every undergraduate course taught there. Let’s get started!
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University of Oxford Acceptances Rates - overall
For those who don’t know, a university’s “acceptance rate” is the percentage of applicants who are admitted to study at said university in a given year. This is calculated as:
Number of admitted applicants/Total number of applicants
While acceptance rates are important, it’s also important to consider a university’s offer rate, being the percentage of applicants who receive an offer. This figure will always be a bit higher, as applicants who receive an offer may not actually attend the university if they reject their offer or do not meet the required grades.
When it comes to Oxbridge applications (Oxford & Cambridge), many find the offer rates more important, as actually getting your offer is usually the hardest part of the application. You can learn more about how to use this information in our dedicated guide to making the most of university admissions data. As you’ll see in the data below, most applicants who receive their offer will end up getting their place.
With that in mind, let’s first take a look at the overall acceptance rates at Oxford for the past few years:
Oxford Acceptance Rates (2020 - 2025)
2025
Applicants: 23,329
Offers: 3,891
Acceptances: 3,302
Offer Rate: 16.7%
Acceptance Rate: 14.2%
2024
Applicants: 23,061
Offers: 3,793
Acceptances: 3,245
Offer Rate: 16.4%
Acceptance Rate: 14.1%
2023
Applicants: 23,211
Offers: 3,721
Acceptances: 3,219
Offer Rate: 16.0%
Acceptance Rate: 13.9%
2022
Applicants: 23,819
Offers: 3,645
Acceptances: 3,271
Offer Rate: 15.3%
Acceptance Rate: 13.7%
2021
Applicants: 24,338
Offers: 3,555
Acceptances: 3,298
Offer Rate: 14.6%
Acceptance Rate: 13.6%
2020
Applicants: 23,414
Offers: 3,932
Acceptances: 3,695
Offer Rate: 16.8%
Acceptance Rate: 15.8%
As we can see, Oxford’s applications peaked in 2022, while the number of offers and have steadily risen during this time. This has led to an increased offer rate, while the acceptance rate has increased at a slower pace. All of this indicates that it has been getting easier to get into Oxford for the last few years (although 2020 still had the highest success rates of the decade so far). If you want to learn more about the gender ratios for these stats, our guide to the Oxbridge Gender Gap explains everything you need to know.
What Are Cambridge's Acceptance Rates?
Compared to Oxford, the University of Cambridge usually has a higher offer and acceptance rate in general as the tend to admit more students. This means that Cambridge is slightly less competitive. Here are the statistics for the 2025 Entry admissions cycle:
2025
Applicants: 22,513
Offers: 4,947
Acceptances: 3,716
Offer Rate: 22.0%
Acceptance Rate: 16.5%
The acceptance rate at Cambridge was approximately 2.3% higher in 2025. The university typically sees around 1,000 fewer applicants than Oxford and sends over 1,000 more offers, so its admissions rates always look more favourable.
You can see all of the important statistics for Cambridge in our Cambridge Acceptance Rates Guide. We’ve also covered the success rates at Imperial College London, UCL and LSE, which you can find here.
These statistics cover all admissions at Oxford, so they don’t necessarily represent your chances of success on your specific course. Acceptance rates tend to be very different across different degrees, so let’s review the 5 courses at Oxford with the most applicants.
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Oxford Admissions Statistics - Top Five Subjects
These are the five most popular courses taught at Oxford, ranked by the number of applicants (based on 2024 Entry admissions). How difficult are they to get into? Let’s find out:
Oxford Mathematics Acceptance Rate
Although Mathematics has consistently been a popular degree at Oxford, it became the most applied for course in 2024 and kept the title in 2025. Due to its popularity, it could potentially be a difficult degree to get an offer for, so let’s look at the admissions statistics (as well as the figures from the previous admissions cycle):
2025
Applicants: 1,931
Offers: 202
Acceptances: 180
Offer Rate: 10.5%
Acceptance Rate: 9.3%
2024
Applicants: 1,959
Offers: 205
Acceptances: 187
Offer Rate: 10.5%
Acceptance Rate: 9.5%
While below average, Mathematics is far from the most competitive degree at Oxford. There was a slight drop in all metrics, which led to the acceptance rate dropping by 0.2%.
Oxford PPE Acceptance Rate
PPE stands for Philosophy, Politics & Economics and is one of Oxford’s most iconic courses due to the amount of famous alumni it has produced. It was previously the most popular Oxford degree in 2023, but has since fallen to 2nd place. However, it’s still extremely popular, so let’s see how competitive it is:
2025
Applicants: 1,895
Offers: 274
Acceptances: 235
Offer Rate: 14.5%
Acceptance Rate: 12.4%
2024
Applicants: 1,774
Offers: 270
Acceptances: 227
Offer Rate: 15.2%
Acceptance Rate: 12.8%
PPE is actually fairly average in terms of competitiveness, at least by Oxford’s standards, and became less competitive in 2024. However, a significant increase in applicants in 2025 made the course harder to get into once again.
Oxford Law Acceptance Rate
Law is another of the most popular courses in the UK, generally seeing more applicants than Medicine overall. However, at Oxford, it’s in second place, but is it more competitive?
2025
Applicants: 1,818
Offers: 239
Acceptances: 194
Offer Rate: 13.1%
Acceptance Rate: 10.7%
2024
Applicants: 1,872
Offers: 216
Acceptances: 182
Offer Rate: 11.5%
Acceptance Rate: 9.7%
Once again, these success rates are fairly average for an Oxford course. These rates are also significantly lower than Cambridge Law, which boasts an 18.0% offer rate and 14.7% acceptance rate from a cohort of over 230 students, noticeably bigger than Oxford’s.
Oxford Physics Acceptance Rate
In 2023, Physics missed out on a spot in the Top 5 most popular courses at Oxford. However, in 2024, it was able to overtake it to become the 4th most popular, and retained it in 2025. Is it competitive, though?
2025
Applicants: 1,626
Offers: 191
Acceptances: 170
Offer Rate: 11.7%
Acceptance Rate: 10.5%
2024
Applicants: 1,518
Offers: 184
Acceptances: 173
Offer Rate: 12.1%
Acceptance Rate: 11.4%
Physics saw another year of significant growth in terms of applications in 2025, but offers increased only slightly and acceptances fell. This led to a drop in both success rates, with the acceptance rate falling by nearly 1%.
Oxford Economics & Management Acceptance Rate
Economics is another of the most popular courses in the UK, and Oxford’s take has a unique spin, being both an Economics and Management course. How difficult is it to get onto this course?
2025
Applicants: 1,543
Offers: 92
Acceptances: 79
Offer Rate: 6.0%
Acceptance Rate: 5.1%
2024
Applicants: 1,517
Offers: 93
Acceptances: 83
Offer Rate: 6.1%
Acceptance Rate: 5.5%
Economics & Management is one of the most competitive courses at Oxford due to its very small cohort size of under 100 students. This is unusual for a major course like this, but it goes to show that your application is going to have to really stand out to be a part of the those 5% of successful applicants.
All of these courses are pretty competitive, meaning applicants need to work hard to stand out from the 1,000+ other prospective students in a given year. But what about the other courses Oxford offers? Some of these have far fewer applicants, so are they less competitive? Let’s take a look!
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Oxford Acceptance Rates - A-Z
There are over 40 more courses to cover, so let’s go through them from A – Z:
Oxford Ancient & Modern History Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 109
Offers: 31
Acceptances: 27
Offer Rate: 28.4%
Acceptance Rate: 24.8%
2024
Applicants: 101
Offers: 27
Acceptances: 26
Offer Rate: 26.7%
Acceptance Rate: 25.7%
Oxford Archaeology & Anthropology Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 107
Offers: 26
Acceptances: 15
Offer Rate: 24.3%
Acceptance Rate: 14.0%
2024
Applicants: 123
Offers: 27
Acceptances: 19
Offer Rate: 22.0%
Acceptance Rate: 15.4%
Although these success rates are fairly high by Oxford standards, Cambridge’s Archaeology course had a 43% offer rate and a 26% acceptance rate, although there were 40 fewer applicants.
Oxford Asian & Middle Eastern Studies Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 108
Offers: 51
Acceptances: 39
Offer Rate: 47.2%
Acceptance Rate: 36.1%
2024
Applicants: 113
Offers: 45
Acceptances: 33
Offer Rate: 39.8%
Acceptance Rate: 29.2%
Oxford Biochemistry Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 951
Offers: 120
Acceptances: 100
Offer Rate: 12.6%
Acceptance Rate: 10.5%
2024
Applicants: 886
Offers: 121
Acceptances: 103
Offer Rate: 13.7%
Acceptance Rate: 11.6%
Oxford Biology Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 770
Offers: 148
Acceptances: 117
Offer Rate: 19.2%
Acceptance Rate: 15.2%
2024
Applicants: 731
Offers: 130
Acceptances: 109
Offer Rate: 17.8%
Acceptance Rate: 14.9%
Oxford Biomedical Science Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 608
Offers: 52
Acceptances: 49
Offer Rate: 8.6%
Acceptance Rate: 8.1%
2024
Applicants: 494
Offers: 49
Acceptances: 43
Offer Rate: 9.9%
Acceptance Rate: 8.7%
Oxford Chemistry Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 1,094
Offers: 213
Acceptances: 180
Offer Rate: 19.5%
Acceptance Rate: 16.5%
2024
Applicants: 1,070
Offers: 214
Acceptances: 185
Offer Rate: 20.0%
Acceptance Rate: 17.3%
Oxford Classical Archaeology & Ancient History Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 111
Offers: 27
Acceptances: 22
Offer Rate: 24.3%
Acceptance Rate: 19.8%
2024
Applicants: 169
Offers: 37
Acceptances: 26
Offer Rate: 21.9%
Acceptance Rate: 15.4%
Oxford Classics Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 338
Offers: 130
Acceptances: 109
Offer Rate: 38.5%
Acceptance Rate: 32.2%
2024
Applicants: 287
Offers: 121
Acceptances: 103
Offer Rate: 42.2%
Acceptance Rate: 35.9%
Oxford Classics & English Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 42
Offers: 14
Acceptances: 12
Offer Rate: 33.3%
Acceptance Rate: 28.6%
2024
Applicants: 56
Offers: 18
Acceptances: 15
Offer Rate: 32.1%
Acceptance Rate: 26.8%
Oxford Classics & Modern Languages Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 15
Offers: 5
Acceptances: 5
Offer Rate: 33.3%
Acceptance Rate: 33.3%
2024
Applicants: 24
Offers: 11
Acceptances: 9
Offer Rate: 42.8%
Acceptance Rate: 37.5%
Oxford Computer Science Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 710
Offers: 68
Acceptances: 58
Offer Rate: 9.6%
Acceptance Rate: 8.2%
2024
Applicants: 881
Offers: 66
Acceptances: 56
Offer Rate: 7.5%
Acceptance Rate: 6.4%
Computer Science was one of the top five most popular subjects for applicants in 2024 at Cambridge, seeing over 1,800 applications. Despite this, the success rates for the course at each university remain consistently low, though the significant drop in applications in 2025 led to improved success rates.
Oxford Computer Science & Philosophy Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 131
Offers: 18
Acceptances: 15
Offer Rate: 13.7%
Acceptance Rate: 11.5%
2024
Applicants: 135
Offers: 15
Acceptances: 14
Offer Rate: 11.1%
Acceptance Rate: 10.4%
It’s a strange combination on the surface, but applicants for this version of Computer Science were generally more likely to be admitted, although the actual number of offers and acceptances were very low.
Oxford Earth Sciences Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 187
Offers: 45
Acceptances: 37
Offer Rate: 24.1%
Acceptance Rate: 19.8%
2024
Applicants: 172
Offers: 42
Acceptances: 34
Offer Rate: 24.4%
Acceptance Rate: 19.8%
Oxford Engineering Science Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 1,302
Offers: 213
Acceptances: 184
Offer Rate: 16.4%
Acceptance Rate: 14.1%
2024
Applicants: 1,137
Offers: 204
Acceptances: 176
Offer Rate: 17.9%
Acceptance Rate: 15.5%
Engineering was Cambridge’s most popular course in 2025 and had a lower acceptance rate of 10%. Although Oxford’s Engineering Sciences degree isn’t quite as revered, it’s still a great option if you’re not as confident in your application.
Oxford English Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 1,039
Offers: 246
Acceptances: 212
Offer Rate: 23.7%
Acceptance Rate: 20.4%
2024
Applicants: 869
Offers: 237
Acceptances: 206
Offer Rate: 27.3%
Acceptance Rate: 23.7%
Oxford’s English Literature & Language course is a bit more in-demand than Cambridge’s offering, which only received 652 applicants in 2024 and only admitted 192.
Oxford English & Modern Languages Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 93
Offers: 33
Acceptances: 31
Offer Rate: 35.5%
Acceptance Rate: 33.3%
2024
Applicants: 102
Offers: 26
Acceptances: 24
Offer Rate: 25.5%
Acceptance Rate: 23.5%
Oxford’s English & Modern Languages course saw a large increase in its success rates in 2025, with 2024 having only a 25% offer rate and 23% acceptance rate. This came down to a decrease in applicaions and an increase in offers and acceptances.
Oxford European & Middle Eastern Languages Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 29
Offers: 16
Acceptances: 14
Offer Rate: 55.2%
Acceptance Rate: 48.3%
2024
Applicants: 30
Offers: 15
Acceptances: 13
Offer Rate: 50.0%
Acceptance Rate: 43.3%
Oxford Experimental Psychology Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 490
Offers: 67
Acceptances: 50
Offer Rate: 11.8%
Acceptance Rate: 9.9%
2024
Applicants: 402
Offers: 69
Acceptances: 55
Offer Rate: 17.2%
Acceptance Rate: 13.7%
Oxford Fine Art Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 272
Offers: 32
Acceptances: 27
Offer Rate: 11.8%
Acceptance Rate: 9.9%
2024
Applicants: 248
Offers: 33
Acceptances: 28
Offer Rate: 13.3%
Acceptance Rate: 11.3%
Oxford Geography Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 382
Offers: 99
Acceptances: 77
Offer Rate: 25.9%
Acceptance Rate: 20.2%
2024
Applicants: 290
Offers: 98
Acceptances: 80
Offer Rate: 33.8%
Acceptance Rate: 27.6%
Oxford History Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 856
Offers: 263
Acceptances: 231
Offer Rate: 30.7%
Acceptance Rate: 27.0%
2024
Applicants: 951
Offers: 248
Acceptances: 209
Offer Rate: 26.1%
Acceptance Rate: 22.0%
Oxford History & Economics Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 132
Offers: 18
Acceptances: 18
Offer Rate: 13.6%
Acceptance Rate: 13.6%
2024
Applicants: 131
Offers: 17
Acceptances: 15
Offer Rate: 13.0%
Acceptance Rate: 11.5%
Oxford’s History & Economics course was around 17% more competitive than the standard course despite having just over 15% of the applicants. It’s the most competitive variant of History that Oxford offers.
Oxford History & English Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 95
Offers: 10
Acceptances: 9
Offer Rate: 10.5%
Acceptance Rate: 9.5%
2024
Applicants: 97
Offers: 19
Acceptances: 15
Offer Rate: 19.6%
Acceptance Rate: 15.5%
Oxford History & Modern Languages Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 67
Offers: 17
Acceptances: 16
Offer Rate: 25.4%
Acceptance Rate: 23.9%
2024
Applicants: 87
Offers: 25
Acceptances: 22
Offer Rate: 28.7%
Acceptance Rate: 25.3%
Oxford History & Politics Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 373
Offers: 54
Acceptances: 47
Offer Rate: 14.5%
Acceptance Rate: 12.6%
2024
Applicants: 340
Offers: 53
Acceptances: 43
Offer Rate: 15.6%
Acceptance Rate: 12.6%
Oxford History Of Art Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 93
Offers: 17
Acceptances: 13
Offer Rate: 18.3%
Acceptance Rate: 14.0%
2024
Applicants: 98
Offers: 18
Acceptances: 14
Offer Rate: 18.4%
Acceptance Rate: 14.3%
Oxford Human Sciences Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 167
Offers: 36
Acceptances: 29
Offer Rate: 21.6%
Acceptance Rate: 17.4%
2024
Applicants: 161
Offers: 34
Acceptances: 29
Offer Rate: 21.1%
Acceptance Rate: 18.0%
Oxford Law/LSE Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 313
Offers: 30
Acceptances: 28
Offer Rate: 9.6%
Acceptance Rate: 8.9%
2024
Applicants: 331
Offers: 34
Acceptances: 31
Offer Rate: 10.3%
Acceptance Rate: 9.4%
Law with LSE (meaning Law Studies in Europe) is slightly more competitive than the standard course and is taught to a much smaller cohort.
Oxford Material Science Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 225
Offers: 50
Acceptances: 44
Offer Rate: 22.2%
Acceptance Rate: 19.6%
2024
Applicants: 211
Offers: 46
Acceptances: 42
Offer Rate: 21.8%
Acceptance Rate: 19.9%
This degree saw a sharp decrease in its success rates thanks to an increase in applications in 2024, which only improved slightly in 2025. While it still has favourable chances of success (compared to many other Oxford courses), it’s now harder than ever to get a spot on this course, although more places may be made available in future cohorts to account for the increased demand.
Oxford Mathematics & Computer Science Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 611
Offers: 80
Acceptances: 68
Offer Rate: 10.5%
Acceptance Rate: 9.3%
2024
Applicants: 610
Offers: 68
Acceptances: 57
Offer Rate: 11.1%
Acceptance Rate: 9.3%
Oxford Mathematics & Philosophy Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 170
Offers: 24
Acceptances: 22
Offer Rate: 14.1%
Acceptance Rate: 12.9%
2024
Applicants: 173
Offers: 17
Acceptances: 12
Offer Rate: 9.8%
Acceptance Rate: 6.9%
Oxford Mathematics & Statistics Acceptance Rate
2023
Applicants: 142
Offers: 5
Acceptances: 3
Offer Rate: 3.5%
Acceptance Rate: 2.1%
Mathematics & Statistics was omitted from Oxford’s 2024 and 2025 admissions tables for currently unknown reasons. The course is still advertised on Oxford’s website and is available for application in the next admissions cycle. This course was also the most competitive G5 course to get into in 2023.
Oxford Medicine Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 1,164
Offers: 173
Acceptances: 155
Offer Rate: 14.9%
Acceptance Rate: 13.3%
2024
Applicants: 1,500
Offers: 170
Acceptances: 160
Offer Rate: 11.3%
Acceptance Rate: 10.7%
Medicine was previously the 4th most popular degree, but it has since become less popular. With this drop in demand, success rates have also increased consistently since 2021, making Oxford less and less competitive as medical school.
For more medicine admissions statistics, including medicine at all G5 universities, check our G5 Medical School Acceptance Rates – 2025 Guide.
Oxford Modern Languages Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 296
Offers: 160
Acceptances: 136
Offer Rate: 54.1%
Acceptance Rate: 45.9%
2024
Applicants: 357
Offers: 174
Acceptances: 143
Offer Rate: 48.7%
Acceptance Rate: 40.1%
Oxford Modern Languages & Linguistics Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 110
Offers: 52
Acceptances: 41
Offer Rate: 47.3%
Acceptance Rate: 37.3%
2024
Applicants: 89
Offers: 42
Acceptances: 33
Offer Rate: 47.2%
Acceptance Rate: 37.1%
Oxford Music Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 175
Offers: 97
Acceptances: 77
Offer Rate: 55.%
Acceptance Rate: 44.0%
2024
Applicants: 212
Offers: 94
Acceptances: 73
Offer Rate: 44.3%
Acceptance Rate: 34.4%
Oxford Philosophy & Modern Languages Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 48
Offers: 18
Acceptances: 14
Offer Rate: 37.5%
Acceptance Rate: 29.2%
2024
Applicants: 54
Offers: 23
Acceptances: 22
Offer Rate: 42.6%
Acceptance Rate: 40.7%
Oxford Philosophy & Theology Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 137
Offers: 29
Acceptances: 25
Offer Rate: 21.2%
Acceptance Rate: 18.2%
2024
Applicants: 154
Offers: 32
Acceptances: 25
Offer Rate: 20.8%
Acceptance Rate: 16.2%
Oxford Physics & Philosophy Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 174
Offers: 18
Acceptances: 15
Offer Rate: 10.3%
Acceptance Rate: 8.6%
2024
Applicants: 154
Offers: 16
Acceptances: 16
Offer Rate: 10.4%
Acceptance Rate: 10.4%
With roughly 10% of the applicants and 9% of the available places of Physics, this variant has slightly lower success rates.
Oxford PPL Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 282
Offers: 45
Acceptances: 38
Offer Rate: 16.0%
Acceptance Rate: 13.5%
2024
Applicants: 245
Offers: 43
Acceptances: 34
Offer Rate: 17.6%
Acceptance Rate: 13.9%
PPL stands for Psychology, Philosophy & Linguistics and had fairly average success rates in 2025 despite the small cohort.
Oxford RAMES Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 16
Offers: 4
Acceptances: 1
Offer Rate: 25.0%
Acceptance Rate: 6.3%
2024
Applicants: 14
Offers: 3
Acceptances: 3
Offer Rate: 21.4%
Acceptance Rate: 21.4%
RAMES stands for Religion & Asian & Middle Eastern Studies and has been by far the least popular course at Oxford for the past 3 years. The course had previously seen just 3 applicants in 2023, but has since seen an increase in demand. However, only one student was accepted in 2025, leading to a sharp drop in acceptance rate. Despite these admissions statistics, the course continues to be open for applications.
Oxford Theology & Religion Acceptance Rate
2025
Applicants: 124
Offers: 44
Acceptances: 37
Offer Rate: 35.5%
Acceptance Rate: 29.8%
2024
Applicants: 132
Offers: 44
Acceptances: 38
Offer Rate: 33.3%
Acceptance Rate: 28.8%
That’s the acceptance rate for every undergraduate course at Oxbridge. We’ve also covered the undergraduate acceptance rates from each Oxford college, so discover the stats here. However, now it’s time to unpack this information and see what we can learn.
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Oxford Admissions Statistics - What Can We Learn?
Before we continue, it’s important to note that all of this data and more can be found in the Oxford Admissions Statistical Report for 2024 admissions, as well the corresponding public Tableau page. If you want to explore all the data further, be sure to check out these documents.
With that in mind, let’s look at some of the most important and interesting details we can learn from the Oxford Admissions Statistics.
Oxford's Most Competitive & Least Competitive Courses
If you’re undecided about what you want to study, you may be keen to learn which courses are the easiest and hardest to get into. Bear in mind that no course at Oxford is “easy” to get into, but some certainly are less competitive due to fewer applicants or more places.
You should apply to the subject that you’re most interested in, but having a better understanding of these things may still influence your decision somewhat, so let’s take a look:
Hardest Oxford Courses To Get Into
Firstly, let’s look at the courses with lowest offer and acceptance rates:
Lowest Offer Rates At Oxford 2025
| Course | Applicants | Offers | Offer Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economics & Management | 1,543 | 92 | 6.0% |
| Biomedical Sciences | 608 | 52 | 8.6% |
| Law/LSE | 313 | 30 | 9.6% |
| Computer Science | 710 | 68 | 9.6% |
| Physics & Philosophy | 174 | 18 | 10.3% |
Lowest Acceptance Rates At Oxford 2025
| Course | Applicants | Acceptances | Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economics & Management | 1,543 | 79 | 5.1% |
| RAMES | 16 | 1 | 6.3% |
| Biomedical Sciences | 608 | 49 | 8.1% |
| Computer Science | 710 | 58 | 8.2% |
| Physics & Philosophy | 174 | 15 | 8.6% |
This data shows that Economics & Management is the most competitive course at Oxford, with a staggeringly low 6.0% offer rate and 5.1% acceptance rate – the lowest of any Oxbridge course in 2025.
Many of the other courses on these lists are far more popular than this one, including Biomedical Sciences, Computer Science and Mathematics & Computer Science. The biggest suprise on these lists is the inclusion of Religious and Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (RAMES), which was also Oxford’s least popular degree of 2025.
Easiest Oxford Courses To Get Into
On the opposite end, let’s look at the courses with the highest offer and acceptance rates:
Highest Offer Rates At Oxford 2025
| Course | Applicants | Offers | Offer Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music | 175 | 97 | 55.4% |
| European & Middle Eastern Languages | 29 | 18 | 55.2% |
| Modern Languages | 296 | 160 | 54.1% |
| Modern Languages & Linguistics | 110 | 52 | 47.3% |
| Asian & Middle Eastern Studies | 108 | 51 | 47.2% |
Highest Acceptance Rates At Oxford 2025
| Course | Applicants | Acceptances | Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| European & Middle Eastern Languages | 29 | 16 | 48.3% |
| Modern Languages | 296 | 160 | 45.9% |
| Music | 175 | 97 | 44.0% |
| Modern Languages & Linguistics | 110 | 52 | 37.3% |
| Asian & Middle Eastern Studies | 108 | 51 | 36.1% |
Typically, courses with higher success rates are more niche with fewer applicants. This is certainly true here, with none of the entries hitting more than 300 applicants.
It’s worth noting that there aren’t any STEM subjects featured here, showing that those degrees are generally more competitive (the easiest STEM course at Oxford was Earth Sciences with a 20% acceptance rate.
This information is incredibly useful for those planning on applying to any of these subjects, but let’s look at a few more general data points to see what we can learn about how Oxford tackles their admissions process.
Oxford Admissions Statistics: State Vs Private School
One major talking point surrounding Oxbridge admissions has been the differences between admissions of students from State/Maintained Schools and Private/Independent Schools, as well as the proportionality compared to student numbers in the UK. Previously there were complaints about how many applicants from state schools were being admitted, but it’s now standard to see a much higher percentage of state school applicants being admitted over private school.
Oxford State School Application Statistics 2025
Applicants: 9,959
% of Total Applicants: 69.4%
Offers: 1,971
% of Total Offers: 65.6%
Offer Rate: 19.1%
Acceptances: 1,671
% of Total Acceptances: 64.0%
Acceptance Rate: 16.3%
Oxford Private School Application Statistics 2025
Applicants: 3,706
% of Total Applicants: 25.8%
Offers: 932
% of Total Offers: 31.0%
Offer Rate: 24.2%
Acceptances: 842
% of Total Acceptances: 32.3%
Acceptance Rate: 22.1%
This data only covers home applicants and excludes 4.7% of applicants from other backgrounds. From the data, we can see that state school applicants outnumber private schools in each metric. This is to be expected since state school applicants far outnumber private schools in the UK, but it is also worth noting that private school applicants had a nearly 6% higher acceptance rate overall and have larger proportional representation in offers and acceptances when compared to the percentage of applicants.
There are a number of reasons as to why this may be the case, but at least we can dispel the myth that “No one at Oxbridge is from State Schools” (even if Private School students have a slightly better chance of success). Also, bear in mind that, of the top 80 schools for Oxbridge admissions in 2025, 30 of these were private, which is a significant amount.
Oxford Application Statistics: International Applications
Although there’s a financial incentive for universities to admit more international applications, overseas applicants are generally in for a rougher time when applying to Oxbridge. This could be for a number of reasons, but it seems that both universities generally have a preference to admit those living in the UK.
Below are the overall figures for UK, EU and Non-EU applicants in 2024:
Oxford UK Applications 2025
Applicants: 14,340
% of Total Applicants: 61.5%
Offers: 3,006
% of Total Offers: 77.3%
Offer Rate: 21.0%
Acceptances: 2,609
% of Total Acceptances: 79.0%
Acceptance Rate: 18.2%
Oxford EU Applications 2025
Applicants: 1,389
% of Total Applicants: 6.0%
Offers: 101
% of Total Offers: 2.6%
Offer Rate: 7.3%
Acceptances: 82
% of Total Acceptances: 2.5%
Acceptance Rate: 5.9%
Oxford Non-EU Applications 2025
Applicants: 7,600
% of Total Applicants: 32.6%
Offers: 784
% of Total Offers: 20.1%
Offer Rate: 10.3%
Acceptances: 611
% of Total Acceptances: 18.5%
Acceptance Rate: 8.0%
Here, we can see that UK applicants made up the vast majority of applications offers and acceptances. When combining all international applicants, they made up 38.6% of applicants, 22.7% of offer holders and 21.0% of accepted students, just over 1/5. These statistics are all up from 2025, though this growth was reduced by a drop in EU applications.
We can see this disparity most in the difference in acceptance rates, with UK applicants having an acceptance rate of 18.2% and non-UK applicants having roughly 7.7%. We’ve already explored which colleges at Oxford had the highest and lowest success rates for international applicants, with that data lining up well with this figure. While Oxford accepts applicants from most countries in the world, there are a few that stand out on top in terms of applicants and admissions:
Top 10 Countries For International Oxford Admissions (2022 - 2024) - Applications
| Country | Applications (2022-2024) |
|---|---|
| China | 6,372 |
| USA | 2,629 |
| India | 1,757 |
| Singapore | 1,754 |
| Hong Kong | 1,257 |
| Canada | 848 |
| Germany | 762 |
| Malaysia | 679 |
| France | 591 |
| Spain | 517 |
Top 10 Countries for International Oxford Admissions (2022 - 2024) - Admitted Students
| Country | Admitted Students (2022-2024) | Acceptance Rate (2024-2024) |
|---|---|---|
| China | 566 | 8.9% |
| Singapore | 257 | 14.7% |
| USA | 172 | 6.5% |
| Hong Kong | 148 | 11.8% |
| India | 74 | 4.2% |
| Australia | 58 | NA (Data Unavailable) |
| France | 51 | 8.6% |
| Germany | 48 | 6.3% |
| Canada | 36 | 4.2% |
| Turkey | 33 | NA (Data Unavailable) |
As you can see, over this 3-year period, the countries with the most applicants and admitted students are roughly the same, with a few outliers.
The countries at the top are all ones that you would expect to see bringing in lots of applications, including China and the United States of America, although Singapore is also a major contributor to Oxbridge applications (Singapore’s applicants had the best success rate for both Oxford and Cambridge applicants, according to the data available).
One thing that remains consistent between Oxford and Cambridge international applications is that these larger countries that bring in the most applications usually have very low success rates, as the number of admitted students doesn’t tend to be proportional to how many apply. This goes to show just how competitive international Oxford applications can be.
The countries with the lowest success rates on this list were India and Canada, with just 4,2% of their applicants being admitted. While applicants from these countries should still apply to Oxford if they are certain that they want to study there, it’s important to consider these success rates so that you can work to make your application truly stand out or seek support from an external source.
Now that you have a better sense of the success rates at Oxford, you should use this data to help you in the application process. While it may be helpful to consider when choosing your course, it’s always a better idea to choose the course that you’re more interested in as having a genuine desire to study will elevate your application, especially during the interviews.
No matter how high or low the acceptance rate is on your chosen course, it’s still important that you put as much effort as you can into your application, as it’s still highly competitive to get into any Oxford or Cambridge course. Even in the least competitive courses at Oxbridge, you have a less than 50% chance to be admitted, so your application needs to be up to the Oxbridge standard either way. Also, keep in mind that Oxford is a part of the Russell Group, whose members have extremely varied acceptance rates.
If you want to learn more about the Oxford admissions process, be sure to explore our huge selection of guides that cover everything from college selection to interviews. If you want to go even further, explore our Oxbridge Full-Blue Programmes to learn how you can enrol and receive the most comprehensive and effective Oxbridge application support around. We’ve achieved a 67% success rate, meaning we can more than triple your chances of success. Either way, we wish you the best of luck with your Oxford application!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Oxford's overall acceptance rate in 2025 was 14.2%, continuing a gradual recovery from a low of 13.6% in 2021. Since 2020, the rate has held relatively steady between 13.6% and 15.8% — so roughly one in seven applicants receives an offer. That headline figure varies considerably by subject though, so always check course-specific data before drawing conclusions about your own chances.
Subjects like Classics and some Modern Languages tend to have higher acceptance rates than the university average, often exceeding 20%. This is partly due to lower application volumes rather than a less rigorous process — the academic bar remains high regardless of subject.
It can help at the margins, but it's not a reliable strategy. Oxford's pooling system means that strong applicants who don't receive an offer from their first-choice college are considered by others. Admissions tutors are very aware of college-shopping tactics, and a weak application won't be saved by a strategic college choice.
The two are closely matched. Cambridge's overall acceptance rate sits at around 15–17%, making it marginally less selective on paper. In practice, both universities admit students of a very similar academic profile, and the difference in overall rates is less meaningful than the variation between subjects at each institution.
Yes, in most cases. Oxford sets minimum academic requirements for each course, and applicants who fall short of those predictions are typically screened out before interview. That said, contextual data and access schemes mean that personal circumstances are considered — a lower prediction with a strong contextual background is treated differently to a straightforwardly weak academic profile.
