TMUA is compulsory for Cambridge Computer Science, Economics and Mathematics applicants for 2027 entry.
Standard-deadline applicants sit between 12 and 16 October 2026 and must book by 28 September. Applicants in China, Hong Kong and Macau sit TMUA on 15 or 16 October.Choose the course before reading the advice
Computer Science · G400
TMUA must be registered for in advance. Applicants to Peterhouse or Trinity also need the Computer Sciences Aptitude Test, known as CSAT. That additional assessment does not replace TMUA.
Economics · L100
All applicants are required to take TMUA at an authorised assessment centre. The course also requires Mathematics at A level, IB Higher Level or an accepted equivalent. TMUA is part of a broader academic application, not a standalone offer.
Mathematics · G100
TMUA is the pre-registration admissions test. STEP is separate and is used in almost all conditional offers for Mathematics and Mathematics with Physics. You do not take STEP before applying; it is normally sat in the summer after an offer.
Cambridge dates that matter
Request by 6pm BST for the October sitting. Apply earlier where possible.
Booking closes at 6pm BST. Late registrations are not accepted by UAT-UK.
China, Hong Kong and Macau candidates use 15 or 16 October for TMUA.
The standard Cambridge application deadline is 6pm UK time.
Results are released through the UAT-UK account and matched to participating courses.
The January exception is narrow
Mature applicants applying in Cambridge's January round may be able to sit TMUA from 4 to 8 January 2027. Cambridge's mature-applicant guidance ties this to the January application route and mature colleges with the relevant deadline.
Do not choose January simply because you are over 21. Check the application round, the college and the course. If you are applying by the standard 15 October deadline, Cambridge says you must take the first sitting.
How Cambridge uses the score
Cambridge states that tests taken before interview help Colleges decide whom to invite. If shortlisted, the test score is then considered with the rest of the application before an offer decision. There is no pass or fail mark, but Cambridge says strong performance is usually needed to progress to interview.
Course, academic record, reference and wider application evidence.
A common measure of mathematical thinking across applicants.
Colleges use the result with the rest of the application.
Interview and all available evidence are considered together.
What TMUA score does Cambridge require?
Cambridge does not publish one universal 2027 cut-off for Computer Science, Economics and Mathematics. College, course, cohort and the rest of the application matter. A number quoted online as a guaranteed interview score should not be treated as a Cambridge rule unless Cambridge publishes it.
The official distribution still provides context: typical candidates score around 4.5 and approximately 10% score higher than 7.0. That helps you understand relative performance, but it cannot predict a College decision.
Preparation priorities for Cambridge applicants
- Finish the official content early. Use the specification to remove avoidable knowledge gaps.
- Study Paper 2 language precisely. Conditions, quantifiers, proof and counterexamples reward exact reading.
- Use the October clock. Your full-paper phase must begin early enough to stabilise by mid-October.
- Keep subject study alive. TMUA supports the application; it should not replace the deeper mathematics relevant to interview or STEP.
- Review decisions, not only marks. Write down what unlocked each difficult question and what made each wrong option tempting.
Primary sources
Build backwards from 12 October.
Cover the content, integrate the papers and rehearse complete test conditions before the first window opens.
Plan Cambridge TMUA preparation