Oxford and Cambridge Interviews in December 2026: Dates, Format and How to Prepare

If you applied to Oxford or Cambridge by the 15 October deadline, the next milestone is the interview. Invitations are landing now: Cambridge sends most of its invitations in November, with some arriving in early December, and Oxford begins shortlisting at the end of November. The interviews themselves run from 7 to 18 December 2026 at Cambridge and in early to mid December at Oxford. Here is what the calendar looks like this year, how the two universities differ, and how to use the three weeks you have left.

The December 2026 calendar, subject by subject at Oxford

Oxford has published its interview timetable for 2027 entry. All times are UK time (GMT), and you should receive at least 24 hours’ notice of any additional interview. The main dates for the courses our students apply to most:

• Law (including Law with Law Studies in Europe): Monday 7 and Wednesday 9 December with the first college, additional interviews on Friday 11 December.
• PPE: Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 December, with some additional interviews between Friday 11 and Wednesday 16 December. Some overseas candidates may be interviewed as early as the week of 30 November.
• Economics and Management: Wednesday 9 and Friday 11 December, additional interviews on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 December.
• History (and its joint courses): Monday 7 and Friday 11 December, additional interviews on Monday 14 and Thursday 17 December.
• Medicine: Monday 14 or Tuesday 15 December.
• Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering: Monday 14 and Thursday 17 December, and some colleges may start during the week of 7 December.

Final admissions decisions are released on 12 January 2027.

Cambridge: 7 to 18 December, and no rescheduling

Cambridge holds its main interview period from 7 to 18 December 2026. The university is explicit on two points. First, the timing of your invitation does not reflect your perceived strength as a candidate: a late invitation is not a bad sign. Second, interviews cannot be rescheduled except in exceptional circumstances, and missing yours means you will no longer be considered for a place. Block the whole window in your diary now.

Applicants placed in the winter pool may be invited to an additional interview at a different college in mid to late January 2027, and decisions for October applicants arrive through UCAS in January.

Online or in person: it depends on the university, and on the college

At Oxford, every interview is online, held on Microsoft Teams. The university describes the conversation as similar to a short tutorial: an academic discussion, not an interrogation. Depending on the course, you will need one of three technology setups, so check the requirements for your subject early and test your equipment.

Cambridge decides format college by college. Churchill, Emmanuel, King’s and Selwyn interview everyone in person. A long list of colleges interview everyone online, among them Christ’s, Downing, Fitzwilliam, Girton, Magdalene, Murray Edwards, Newnham, Queens’, St Catharine’s and St John’s. Several others, including Peterhouse, Robinson, Sidney Sussex and Trinity Hall, see UK candidates in person but interview overseas candidates online, while Pembroke and Trinity give overseas candidates the choice. The format is generally set by the college, not the applicant, with exceptions possible at the college’s discretion, for example for a disability or a declined visa.

In practice, if you are applying from outside the UK, you will almost certainly interview from home. That is good news for your budget, and it raises the bar on logistics: a quiet room, a stable connection, a camera at eye level, and a clock set to UK time.

Three weeks to prepare: what actually moves the needle

The interview is an academic conversation about your subject, so the best preparation looks like studying, not scripting.

• Re-read everything you submitted. Your personal statement and any written work are fair game. Interviewers often open with them, and a candidate who cannot discuss a book they claimed to love makes a poor start.
• Practise thinking aloud. Tutors want to see how you reason with material you have never seen, not whether you reach the right answer on the first try. For mathematics, economics or computer science candidates, working through unfamiliar problems while narrating your reasoning is the single most useful exercise. If you sat an admissions test in October, that style of thinking will feel familiar: our TMUA hub explains how those tests fit into the wider process.
• Do at least one full mock interview with someone who will push back on your answers, on camera, at the real time of day. The discomfort you feel in a mock is exactly the discomfort you want to have spent before 7 December.
• Prepare your setup. Test Microsoft Teams in advance for Oxford, charge your devices, and have a phone number to call if the connection drops. Remember that additional Oxford interviews can be announced with 24 hours’ notice, so keep the listed dates for your subject free.

After the interviews

Oxford releases its decisions on 12 January 2027. Cambridge decisions arrive in January, and some strong candidates are placed in the winter pool, where another college may pick them up, sometimes after one more interview in mid to late January. If you want the full picture of the weeks between application and decision, our guide to what happens after 15 October walks through the whole timeline, and our article on choosing an Oxford or Cambridge college explains how the college system shapes these final stages.

How Your Dream School can help

Since 2018, Your Dream School has guided 1,300+ students through their applications, including 12 admitted to Oxford or Cambridge (Your Dream School admissions database, application cycles 2018 to 2026. Minimum figures: a student admitted to several institutions in the same group is counted once). Our coaches run subject-specific mock interviews with former Oxbridge interviewees, rated 5/5 across 160+ Google reviews. Our Oxbridge admissions pack and our UCAS admissions counseling cover every step, from shortlisting to results day. To build your interview plan for December, book a strategy call with our team.

Sources: ox.ac.uk and undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk, consulted 14 November 2026.

Author

About Adam Girsault

With a Bachelor's (LLB) from UCL and Assas, and the Grande Ecole program at HEC Paris, Adam co-founded Your Dream School in 2018. Since then the company has coached more than 1,000 students through university admissions and interview preparation for top global institutions.

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