Oxbridge Interview / The Cambridge interview / Psychological and Behavioural Sciences
Cambridge Psychological and Behavioural Sciences interview: evidence, not opinions
Eight applicants per place and a science requirement at A level. Tutors want you to treat claims about people the way you'd treat claims about anything else: with evidence.
Updated September 2026Cambridge's Psychological and Behavioural Sciences course had 8 applications per place in the 2025 cycle and accepted 79. A science subject or mathematics to A level or IB Higher Level is now required. Written work is requested by some colleges (one piece at Robinson; two at Magdalene, Murray Edwards, Pembroke and St Edmund's) and Selwyn and St Edmund's set an admission assessment after shortlisting. Interviews are run by the college assessing you: main period 7 to 18 December 2026, online or in person depending on the college, most applicants having one or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour with two or three interviewers. Cambridge says it assesses your understanding of the subject, readiness for high-level study, critical and independent thinking, curiosity and enthusiasm. As a science-based course, Cambridge notes you may be asked to share your workings if interviewers set a problem-solving question.
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS.
Merra: practise it out loud before it counts
Merra's Cambridge PBS practice is a spoken mock in the college-interview style: five questions about evidence, experiments and behaviour, one follow-up each, about fifteen minutes, then spoken feedback and a written report. No data sheets, no workings, one interviewer.
- 1Sign up free — no card, 2 free coaching sessions available until used.
- 2Practise out loud — answer unseen discussion questions with an AI tutor.
- 3Get readiness feedback — see how you reasoned and how you handled the push, with a recording and transcript.
No card details required. Your first 2 coaching sessions are free.
Practise an Cambridge-style Psychological and Behavioural Sciences interview
An AI tutor asks an unseen discussion question out loud, pushes once with a follow-up, then moves on — the same shape as the real thing, minus the science problems on paper.
Practise an Cambridge-style Psychological and Behavioural Sciences interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscriptionHow this interview works
- 1Written work: one piece at Robinson; two at Magdalene, Murray Edwards, Pembroke and St Edmund's; not usually elsewhere. Selwyn and St Edmund's set an admission assessment after shortlisting.
- 2Invitations mostly in November. Main interview period 7 to 18 December 2026; winter pool mid to late January. Online or in person by college.
- 3One or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour, two or three interviewers; possibly material to read beforehand.
- 4Expect questions that give you a finding or a study and ask you to explain, critique or design; you may be asked to share workings.
- 5Cambridge assesses understanding of the subject, readiness for high-level study, critical and independent thinking, curiosity and enthusiasm.
- 6Outcomes 27 January 2027.
Interview questions
Cambridge does not publish interview questions for this course. The questions below are Merra practice questions written to the course as Cambridge describes it and to what Cambridge says interviews assess; they are not Cambridge's.
“A study says people who exercise are happier. Give me three explanations other than 'exercise makes you happy', and how you'd rule each one out.”
“How would you find out whether babies prefer faces to other shapes, given they can't tell you?”
“Why do people keep doing things they know are bad for them? Give me a psychological account, not a moral one.”
“If a personality test tells you what you already think about yourself, is that evidence it works?”
“What can brain scans tell us about a thought, and what can't they?”
“Why do people in groups do things they'd never do alone?”
“What's a question about the mind you'd want to run an experiment on, and what would the control group be?”
“Why a psychological and behavioural sciences degree rather than a pure psychology one?”
Pricing
FAQs
How competitive is Cambridge PBS?
In the 2025 cycle there were 8 applications per place and 79 students were accepted.
Is written work required for PBS?
At some colleges: one piece at Robinson; two at Magdalene, Murray Edwards, Pembroke and St Edmund's.
Is there an admission assessment?
At Selwyn and St Edmund's, after shortlisting.
Do I need a science A level?
Yes. Cambridge's course page says a science subject or mathematics to A level or IB Higher Level is now a requirement.
When is the interview?
Main period 7 to 18 December 2026, one or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour, online or in person by college.
Official information
For the official course page and admissions details.
More Oxbridge interview guides
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS. Merra’s feedback is advisory only — it is not a guarantee of any offer or admission outcome.
The Oxbridge interview is spoken. Practise it that way.
Your first mock takes about 15 minutes: an unseen question, a follow-up, and feedback on how you reasoned. Free, no card.
Practise an Cambridge-style Psychological and Behavioural Sciences interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscription