What a Cambridge economics interview is like, and how to practise for it
Cambridge Economics interviews take place between 7 and 18 December 2026, and most invitations arrive in November. Applicants have already sat the TMUA in October. The interview tests how you reason through an unfamiliar problem, often with some maths, while the interviewer pushes back.
How the interview works
- Length: most applicants have one or two interviews, totalling 35 minutes to an hour, usually with two or three interviewers.
- Online or in person: each college decides. Cambridge publishes a table by college.
- Reading in advance: some colleges send material to read before the interview. At Trinity, for example, an article read in advance takes up about half the discussion, alongside maths problems that need only first-year A-level maths.
- Results: 27 January 2027.
What interviewers look for
Cambridge says interviewers look for understanding of the subject, readiness to study it, critical and independent thinking, curiosity and enthusiasm. In economics that means setting up a problem clearly, stating your assumptions and changing your answer when a new fact makes it wrong.
Two practice questions
Water keeps us alive and diamonds do not. Why do diamonds cost more?
Most applicants have met this one, so the first answer matters less than what follows. Pin the question down, use the follow-up (“what if you were lost in a desert?”) rather than repeat a rehearsed line, and end on a view you can defend.
A shop sells 100 units a day at £10. Each £1 rise in price loses 8 sales. What price maximises revenue, and why might the shop not choose it?
Write revenue as price times quantity, (10 + x)(100 − 8x), and maximise it: the answer is about £11.25. The second half is the economics: costs, competitors and customers who never come back all mean revenue is not the right target.
How to practise
- Answer out loud, every time. Thinking silently and then speaking is a different skill.
- Get someone to interrupt you with a hint or an objection.
- Do some A-level maths without a calculator each week: algebra, graphs, simple calculus.
- After each question, check your answer against what the interviewer was looking for, not just the final number.
Guide to Oxbridge Economics Interviews
The method for answering any interview question, what each course’s interview is like, and worked examples, written by a Cambridge economist. Read it before you start practising.
Interview guides by course
- Oxford PPE interview
- Oxford Economics and Management interview
- Cambridge Land Economy interview
- Cambridge HSPS interview
- Oxford and Cambridge interview dates
Weighing up tutors, courses and mock interviews? Interview preparation compared.
Questions people ask
When are Cambridge Economics interviews in 2026?
The main interview period is 7–18 December 2026. Invitations mostly arrive in November.
Is there maths in the Cambridge Economics interview?
Often, yes. Some colleges set maths problems that need only A-level maths.
Is there a test at the interview?
The University-wide test for Economics is the TMUA, sat in October. Some colleges use their own reading or problems in the interview itself.
Should I pay for interview coaching?
Cambridge says paid preparation is not endorsed and providers have no inside information. Practice on unseen questions with honest feedback is what helps.
Sources: Cambridge interviews; Cambridge Economics; Trinity College Economics; Cambridge dates. Checked 21 October 2026.
Practise with questions that come with a mark scheme
Interview questions for Economics, E&M, PPE, HSPS, Land Economy and History and Politics, each with what the tutor is looking for, plus an AI interviewer that asks follow-ups.
Designed by a Cambridge Economics graduate. Original questions and guidance; none are official university questions. contact@econcoaching.com