ESAT Modules by Course: Cambridge, Imperial, Oxford and UCL (2027)

Most ESAT courses fix the modules you sit, and the rules differ in ways that catch people out. Cambridge Engineering requires Maths 1, Maths 2 and Physics; Imperial Chemical Engineering takes Chemistry as its third module but Oxford Chemical Engineering takes Physics; Imperial's Life Sciences want Biology and Chemistry; and several courses leave the choice to you. Book the wrong modules and you must cancel and re-book. This guide gives the 2027-entry rule for every ESAT course at the four universities, each module rule checked on the university's own page on 24 October 2026, with a chooser that combines them and links to practice in your modules.

UAT-UK Course List 2027 entry; Technical Report 2025-26 (Table 4).

Practise one module at a time in the ESAT practice set: Mathematics 1 · Mathematics 2 · Physics · Chemistry · Biology. Each module there is 27 questions in 40 minutes, the real length, and four questions are free.

Oxford joins the ESAT for 2027 entry; Oxford Physics calls the Physics Aptitude Test (PAT) its "previously used" test. Oxford's admissions-tests page says all applicants for its undergraduate courses must take their test in October 2026; the one exception is the Astrophoria Foundation Year, whose applicants "can take their test in either October 2026 or January 2027". For Biomedical Sciences the course page says "ESAT results will be considered when shortlisting candidates for interview". The Physics department is blunt about the weight the score carries: "The primary shortlisting criterion is the ESAT score, interpreted in the light of contextual data about candidates", and it warns that "the syllabus and difficulty level of the October 2026 ESAT will be different from those of the previously used Physics Aptitude Test".

Cambridge Natural Sciences, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and Veterinary Medicine, Oxford Biomedical Sciences and UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering all let you choose any two modules after Maths 1. The rules on these pages allow any two and state no preferred pair. Our suggestion is to follow your subjects: Physics and Maths 2 (or Chemistry) for physical sciences, Chemistry and Biology for biological ones. What you should not do is pick a module you have not studied because it looks easier: each module is scaled separately, and UAT-UK says scaled scores are not comparable across modules.

You cannot choose who sees your ESAT score. It is sent automatically to every UCAS choice whose course lists the test — compulsory or optional — once UAT-UK matches your test record to your UCAS application, and a university sees it only if that course uses the ESAT. Matching uses the details in your UAT-UK account: you can add your UCAS Personal ID, and your full name, date of birth and email address must match exactly what you gave to UCAS. There is no way to withhold a score from one university and show it to another.

If one course gives a free choice and another fixes modules, the fixed ones decide (with Design Engineering's two fixed modules, you still add a third of your choice). If two courses both require Maths 1 and Maths 2 but fix different third modules — Imperial Chemical Engineering (Chemistry) and Cambridge or Oxford Engineering (Physics), for example — you need four modules. UAT-UK approves that only "when they are required", after a review of up to two working days, and says: "Taking four modules when you do not need them does not improve your application." Ask before booking: modules cannot be changed afterwards, and if you have to cancel and re-book, your preferred time or test location may no longer be available.