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Home / Information for applicants / What to expect in your subject / Chinese or Japanese

Chinese or Japanese interviews

Thank you for applying to Oxford to study Chinese or Japanese.

For Chinese or Japanese, you will have two interviews. One will be with interviewers from the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies who will include language teachers of your chosen language and specialist academics. These will take place on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 December. The other college interview will take place between Wednesday 6 December and Thursday 8 December.

Both interviews will last for about 25 minutes. We usually start with broad questions about the degree and your interest in it. Further discussion will likely be based on points from your personal statement and your academic background (subjects you study/studied at school). In the course of the first interview, you may be presented with a short text or text extract to discuss with the interviewers. During the second interview, we may ask about the written work you have submitted, so make sure to look at that before the interview. It sometimes happens that you will have a third interview with another college. That is perfectly normal, so don’t be surprised if that happens. If it does, it would most likely be on Thursday 7 December and Tuesday 12 December.

We understand that interviews may be a daunting prospect and that you may be nervous. However, bear in mind that we are not trying to catch you out – there are no ‘trick questions’ – or to test you on factual knowledge specific to the course you are applying for (Chinese or Japanese). Rather, we would like to engage you in a conversation about your interest and motivation for the subject; and to get to know you. So please try to relax and to be yourself. We are very much looking forward to meeting you.

You will need a device with access to Microsoft Teams, a microphone and webcam to take part in the interviews. Take a look at our Online Interviews Technology page to find out more and watch an introductory video. If you have any questions or concerns about the technology set-up, you should email undergraduate.admissions@hertford.ox.ac.uk and we’ll do our best to help.

Meet some of our interviewing tutors

Professor Bjarke Frellesvig
Tutor for Graduates & Tutorial Fellow in Japanese
Professor Jieun Kiaer
Senior Research Fellow & Dean of Degrees
Junko Hagiwara
College Lecturer in Japanese

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