The Colleges of Oxford University have introduced a History Aptitude Test (HAT) for use in the selection of candidates for all degree courses involving History. This test, which aims to examine the skills and potentialities required for the study of History at university, gives us an objective basis for comparing candidates from different backgrounds, including mature applicants and those from different countries. It is designed to be challenging, in order to differentiate effectively between the most able applicants for university courses, including those who may have achieved or can be expected to achieve the highest possible grades in their examinations.

What is the nature of the test?

The HAT is a two-hour test, which requires candidates to read two extracts and answer a total of four questions about them. One of the extracts will be from a work of History; candidates will be asked questions to test their comprehension of the arguments and ideas in it, their capacity to apply those ideas to historical situations they know about, and their ability to think and make judgements about the extract as a piece of historical writing. The other extract will be from a primary source, and candidates will be asked to offer thoughtful interpretations of its content without knowing anything about its context.

The HAT is a test of skills, not substantive historical knowledge. It is designed so that candidates should find it equally challenging, regardless of what period(s) they have studied or what school examinations they are taking. A specimen paper plus sample answers with tutors’ comments as well as helpful general guidance are available. The following HAT papers and marking schemes are also available:

2004 HAT paper and 2004 marking scheme

2005 HAT paper and 2005 marking scheme

2006 HAT paper and 2006 marking scheme

2007 HAT paper and 2007 marking scheme

2008 HAT paper and 2008 marking scheme

When and where will the test take place?

The test will be sat on the morning of Wednesday 4 November 2009, by all candidates applying to Oxford for History and its joint schools (Ancient and Modern History, History and Economics, History and English, History and Modern Languages, and History and Politics). Most UK candidates in full-time education will be able to take the test at their own schools or colleges. Mature candidates may take the test in Oxford or at a regional test centre of their own choosing. International candidates will normally be able to take the test in their own schools or similar institutions, but may need to contact a local test centre. The tests will be marked anonymously in Oxford and successful candidates will receive invitations to interview within three to four weeks.

How do candidates prepare for the HAT?

Since the HAT is aiming to test skills that candidates will be developing anyway, the best form of preparation is to advise students to get on with their normal work. One question in the paper will ask candidates to apply ideas or propositions from the texts to a historical situation that they know about, and they may therefore find it helpful to refresh their memory of the various topics they have studied in the last year or so. Even so, in answering this question, candidates will not be judged on the depth or detail of their knowledge, but on the skills listed in the formal specification. The test will not look easy – indeed, it will not be easy – but candidates are given plenty of time to read and re-read the texts, to think about them, and to plan their answers. Candidates should not worry, therefore, if the specimen paper looks difficult. It probably looks difficult to everyone else too. We hope that candidates will find the test interesting as well as tough.

For more on the HAT, see also these pages:

	Further Information for Candidates and Teachers
	Arrangements to take the HAT
	Detailed Specification
	2004 HAT Report (PDF format)

 

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