TMUA score: how the 1 to 9 scale works and how universities use it
The TMUA (Test of Mathematics for University Admission) gives a single overall score from 1.0 to 9.0, to one decimal place. According to UAT-UK, the organization that runs the test, the scale is designed so that a typical candidate scores around 4.5, and around 10% of candidates score above 7.0. There is no pass mark and no official grade boundaries. This page explains how the score is calculated, when it is released, how universities use it, and why you should treat “converters” that turn correct answers into a score with caution.
For the test format, the universities that require it and the dates, see our complete TMUA guide. To practice, try our TMUA past papers with worked solutions.
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The TMUA score at a glance
| Item | What UAT-UK says |
|---|---|
| Scale | From 1.0 (low) to 9.0 (high), to one decimal place; scores cannot go below 1.0 or above 9.0. |
| Number of scores | A single overall score: Paper 1 and Paper 2 are not scored separately. |
| Typical score | Around 4.5. |
| Top of the distribution | Around 10% of candidates above 7.0. |
| Pass mark | None. UAT-UK provides neither grade boundaries nor a pass threshold. |
| October 2026 session results | November 16, 2026. |
| January 2027 session results | February 8, 2027. |
| Sending to universities | Automatic, to the universities on your UCAS application that use the TMUA, course by course. |
| Retakes | Only one sitting per application cycle. |
Sources: TMUA Explanation of Results, October 2025 and January 2026 sessions, UAT-UK results page, UAT-UK calendar, UAT-UK FAQ.
How the score is calculated
The TMUA score is not a simple total of marks. UAT-UK analyzes responses using a Rasch model, an item response theory model that takes the difficulty of each question into account. The two papers are equated and scaled together to produce a single score. In practice, this means two things.
Not every correct answer is worth the same. Your score depends on the difficulty of the questions you get right, not just how many. Two candidates with the same number of correct answers may therefore get slightly different scores depending on the version of the test they sat.
Sessions are comparable with one another. The point of the model is that a 6.0 in October and a 6.0 in January reflect the same level, even though the questions are different. This is what allows universities to compare candidates who did not sit the same paper.
Why there is no official conversion table
“TMUA score conversion” is a common search, and several websites offer a table that turns a number of correct answers into a score out of 9. UAT-UK publishes no such table and states that it provides neither grade boundaries nor a pass mark. With a Rasch model, a fixed table makes little sense anyway: the conversion depends on the questions in each paper.
These tables are tempting because past papers only give you a number of correct answers. Our advice: track that number from one paper to the next, for Paper 1 and Paper 2 separately, and watch how it moves. It is an honest measure of your progress; an “estimated score” adds a precision that does not exist.
What is a good TMUA score?
The only official benchmarks come from UAT-UK: around 4.5 for a typical candidate, and around 10% above 7.0. UAT-UK’s “Explanation of Results” document also shows the full score distribution for the October 2025 and January 2026 sittings as a chart.
None of the seven universities that use the TMUA (Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London, LSE, UCL, Warwick and Durham, according to the list published by Imperial) publicly commits to a threshold. UAT-UK explains that most universities use the result alongside the rest of your UCAS application. So be wary of any page claiming to give “the minimum score for Cambridge”: that figure does not come from an official source.
What can honestly be said is this: the more selective the course, the more the score matters, especially where the test is compulsory. On a course where it is only recommended, such as several of the mathematics and data programmes at LSE, a good score strengthens your application without being its centrepiece.
How universities receive and use your score
You don’t send anything yourself. UAT-UK automatically passes your results to the universities on your UCAS application that use the TMUA, matching your score to each course application individually. One test therefore covers all your choices.
When your score is released depends on the sitting. For the October 2026 sitting, which is compulsory for most Oxford and Cambridge applicants, results are released on 16 November 2026, before the interview period. For the January 2027 sitting, they are released on 8 February 2027. LSE, for example, states that either sitting is fine for its applicants, and makes the TMUA compulsory for the BSc Economics and the BSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics.
Finally, you can take the TMUA only once per application cycle. There is no second chance in the same year: your choice of sitting and the preparation you do beforehand determine your score.
October or January: which sitting for which score?
Your score carries the same weight whichever sitting you take, since both are scaled in the same way. Your choice of sitting therefore depends mainly on the universities you are aiming for and how much preparation time you have.
- Cambridge. Cambridge states that applicants submitting their application by the 15 October deadline must take the test in the first sitting.
- Oxford. According to UAT-UK, the January sitting is not valid for most Oxford applicants.
- LSE. Both sittings are accepted, with a stated preference for the first, which offers the most slots.
- Imperial, UCL, Warwick, Durham. Check each course page to see which sitting is accepted before you book.
If you are not applying to Oxford or Cambridge, the January sitting gives you roughly twelve more weeks to prepare. Booking opens on October 26, 2026, and closes on December 21, 2026, at 6 pm UK time; the test takes place from January 4 to 8, 2027. The fee is £78 in the UK and Ireland and £133 elsewhere.
How to raise your score
Your score depends on two levers, which you work on separately.
- Paper 2 (reasoning). Logic, necessary and sufficient conditions, proof: this is where candidates educated outside the British system lose the most marks, and where practice pays off the most. Start with UAT-UK’s Notes on Logic and Proof.
- Speed without a calculator (Paper 1). Twenty questions in 75 minutes leaves you less than four minutes per question. Timed past papers, and looking for the shortest route in the worked solutions, are the best practice.
Our one-to-one TMUA preparation, delivered by video call, costs €1,500 incl. VAT for 10 hours, €2,800 incl. VAT for 20 hours and €3,900 incl. VAT for 30 hours. It starts with a diagnostic on an official paper and tracks your number of correct answers from one paper to the next, with no promise of a particular score.
TMUA score: frequently asked questions
How is the TMUA scored?
The TMUA gives a single overall score from 1.0 to 9.0, to one decimal place. The two papers are not scored separately: they are scaled together to produce this score. There is no pass mark, and there are no published grade boundaries.
What is a good TMUA score?
According to UAT-UK, the scale is designed so that a typical candidate scores around 4.5, and around 10% of candidates score above 7.0. No university publishes an official threshold: a score should be read in light of the course you are applying for and the rest of your application.
Is there a table converting correct answers into a TMUA score?
No. UAT-UK calculates the score using a statistical model (Rasch) and publishes neither a conversion table nor grade boundaries. Any conversion you find online is an unofficial estimate.
When are TMUA results released?
On November 16, 2026, for the October 2026 sitting and on February 8, 2027, for the January 2027 sitting, in the candidate’s UAT-UK account. The universities concerned receive them automatically.
Can you retake the TMUA to improve your score?
Not in the same application cycle: UAT-UK states that you can only sit the test once per cycle, so choose your sitting (October or January) based on the universities you’re applying to.
Sources accessed on October 15, 2026: TMUA Explanation of Results (UAT-UK), results (UAT-UK), FAQ (UAT-UK), test dates (UAT-UK), TMUA overview (UAT-UK), Imperial College London’s TMUA page, Cambridge’s TMUA page, the LSE’s TMUA page.