TMUA Overview

The TMUA, or Test of Mathematics for University Admission, is a test that focuses on the mathematical thinking and reasoning skills needed for a degree in maths or a maths-related course such as computer science or economics.  Questions are based on topics taught at Higher Level GCSE and the first year of A Level, but also includes ‘Sequences and Series’ which is usually taught at the start of Year 13.

There are 2 papers, taken consecutively on the same day in either October or January.  Dates for the 2026/27 academic year are 12th-16th October 2026, and 4th-8th January 2027. Note that you can only take the exam at one of these sittings, and most Cambridge/Oxford applicants must take the exam in October.

Each paper is 75 minutes long and consists of 20 multiple choice questions.

Paper 1 focuses on application of mathematical knowledge to new situations - while the subject content should be familiar, it is very likely that the style of questions will be new. For example a question might require you to sketch the graph of two different functions in order to work out how many solutions there are to an equation (by counting the number of intersections). You may be able to sketch these graphs but may not realise that this technique could be helpful in this question.

Paper 2 tests mathematical reasoning and ability to deal with simple ideas using elementary logic. This is often an area that students have not had much experience of, and they will need to learn some new terminology and practise analysing mathematical arguments and thinking ‘logically’.