Guides · Updated 1 November 2026

Oxford and Cambridge online interviews: what to expect and how to set up

All Oxford interviews are online, on Microsoft Teams. Most subjects need only a computer with a camera and microphone; some add a shared Miro whiteboard, and maths-heavy subjects also need a touchscreen device and a basic stylus. At Cambridge, whether you're online depends on your College: 14 interview everyone online for 2027 entry.

The format changes the practicalities, not what tutors want: to hear you think. Below is Oxford's technology tier for each subject, Cambridge's online Colleges, the rules you agree to, a setup checklist and how to practise for a video interview.

Oxford's three technology tiers

Oxford says no candidate or school is expected to buy a touchscreen device: for tier 3, colleges will work out a practical solution with you. A computer with its own touchscreen of at least 11 inches can replace the second device if it can run Teams and Miro side by side. The stylus doesn't need to be a "smart" one like an Apple Pencil.

Which Cambridge interviews are online?

For 2027 entry, Christ's, Downing, Fitzwilliam, Girton, Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, Magdalene, Murray Edwards, Newnham, Queens', St Catharine's, St Edmund's, St John's and Wolfson interview everyone online. Churchill, Emmanuel, King's and Selwyn interview everyone in person. Several Colleges interview UK-based applicants in person and those outside the UK online. You usually can't choose. See the full list in what to expect at a Cambridge interview.

For online science and maths interviews, Cambridge says you may need a stylus and tablet to annotate a shared document or whiteboard, and some Colleges run a tech check.

The rules you agree to at Oxford

Accepting an Oxford interview means agreeing to a code of conduct. In short, you agree not to:

• share the content of interviews or any materials, with anyone
• research online any material from a pre-interview task, unless told you may
• use assistive technology, including AI and automatic transcription tools, beyond what your subject needs (unless agreed as a reasonable adjustment)
• record the interview, or let anyone else record or observe it
• let anyone else take the interview for you

Oxford warns that breaking the code puts any offer at serious risk. Its technology page also says to switch off any automatic transcription in Teams.

Setup checklist

1. Pick the room early. Oxford suggests school, home or similar: quiet, free from distraction, with reliable internet. Agree it with your school as soon as you're invited.
2. Test Teams in advance. You don't need a Microsoft account. Chrome or Edge can join from a browser. Accept each calendar invitation.
3. If you're tier 2 or 3, practise on Miro. Oxford suggests making a free Miro account and practising with the draw and text tools before the day.
4. Frame yourself properly. Oxford's tip: make sure your head isn't cut off and you can look straight at the screen.
5. Keep pen and paper nearby. Cambridge suggests this for rough working, plus the College's phone number in case the connection drops.
6. Know what happens if it fails. Oxford says it will rearrange an interview that can't continue. Cambridge asks you to have your College's contact details to hand. Either way, tell your interviewers straight away.

A worked example: thinking aloud on a whiteboard

Online, the tutor can't see your notepad. Say a Chemistry tutor asks how many different molecules can be made from six carbon atoms and twelve hydrogen atoms (one of Oxford's published questions).

• What a strong answer does online: draws the first structure on the shared whiteboard while saying each step ("each carbon makes four bonds, so..."), then checks whether two drawings are really the same molecule.
• Weak answer: working silently on paper off camera, then announcing a number.
• Why it matters: the tutor who set this question says they watch how you respond to prompting. They can only prompt what they can see and hear.

What to wear

Whatever you're comfortable in. Oxford says you won't be judged on what you wear, and Cambridge says the same.

AdmitMock is an AI mock interview app for Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL and US college alumni interviews: an AI interviewer asks the questions out loud, follows up, and shows you what to fix.

AdmitMock is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge or any of their colleges. We use published guidance, not insider information.