UCL Mechanical Engineering acceptance rate and TARA admissions
For 2026 entry, UCL received 5,882 applications for Mechanical Engineering and made 803 offers: 14%. That is the BEng and MEng together. TARA is new for this course in 2027, so there is no offer calculator for it yet.
There is no offer calculator for UCL Mechanical Engineering yet
We build a calculator only when a university has released how the chance of an offer changes with test score. For Mechanical Engineering there are no scores to work from:
- TARA is new for this course in 2027: UCL calls it a new requirement, and before it there was no admissions test
- so no past year has TARA scores, for applicants or offer holders
- UCL publishes no minimum TARA score, and says only that it will use test scores alongside the rest of the UCAS application
Until UCL releases TARA scores by outcome for its first TARA year, no one outside UCL can work out a chance of an offer from a TARA score for this course. What UCL has released about past applications is below.
Where these figures come from
5,882applications for 2026 entry
8 yearsof UCL's own figures (2019 to 2026 entry)
Noneof UCL's TARA scores by outcome
Sources
Every figure on this page is UCL's own, from its replies to Freedom of Information requests and its course pages.
Counts are of applications to each programme code, so one person who applied to two UCL programmes counts in each. Where UCL changed a programme's code, the old and new codes are added together. UCL shows counts of 5 or fewer as "<5"; those are left out of the totals.
- UCL, reply to Freedom of Information request 3238804: applications, offers and enrolments by programme code, 2019 to 2026 entry.
- UCL, replies on Mechanical Engineering applications by home and overseas (2026 entry), enrolments and offer conditions (2023 to 2025 entry), and interviews (2019 to 2021 entry, replied January 2022).
- UCL course pages for 2027 entry and UCL's tests, tasks and interviews page, read on 28 October 2026.
- UAT-UK, About TARA and Test results pages: modules, scale and scaling.
UCL Mechanical Engineering admissions statistics
What UCL's own figures say about getting into Mechanical Engineering: applications and offers since 2019 for the BEng and MEng, home and overseas applications, how strictly UCL holds offer conditions, and what changes with TARA for 2027 entry.
13.7%
of BEng and MEng applications got an offer for 2026 entry
More detail
803 offers from 5,882 applications, against 48.1% for 2019 entry (764 of 1,587).
635 of 803
offers for 2026 entry were for the MEng
More detail
The BEng offer rate fell to 4.6% (168 of 3,676), from 18.0% for 2025. UCL's figures do not say why.
2027
is the first year UCL requires TARA for this course
More detail
Before it there was no admissions test. UCL said in January 2022 that it made offers on the UCAS application, with no interview, and its 2027 pages describe none.
UCL Mechanical Engineering acceptance rate
13.7% of applications to the BEng and MEng got an offer for 2026 entry: 803 offers from 5,882 applications.
UCL counts applications to each programme, so someone who applied to both the BEng and the MEng counts twice.
Applications rose every year, from 1,587 for 2019 entry to 5,882 for 2026. Offers peaked at 1,065 for 2020 entry and have stayed between 527 and 897 since 2022, so the offer rate has fallen from 48.1% to 13.7%.
- Applications
- Offers
Show the data as a table
| Entry | BEng applications | BEng offers | BEng rate | MEng applications | MEng offers | MEng rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3,676 | 168 | 4.6% | 2,206 | 635 | 28.8% |
| 2025 | 2,784 | 501 | 18.0% | 1,773 | 396 | 22.3% |
| 2024 | 1,799 | 348 | 19.3% | 1,352 | 323 | 23.9% |
| 2023 | 1,430 | 215 | 15.0% | 1,202 | 312 | 26.0% |
| 2022 | 1,124 | 314 | 27.9% | 954 | 323 | 33.9% |
| 2021 | 916 | 233 | 25.4% | 923 | 404 | 43.8% |
| 2020 | 835 | 428 | 51.3% | 905 | 637 | 70.4% |
| 2019 | 685 | 280 | 40.9% | 902 | 484 | 53.7% |
BEng or MEng?
For 2026 entry the MEng offer rate was 28.8% (635 of 2,206) and the BEng rate 4.6% (168 of 3,676).
The BEng (H300) takes three years and the MEng (H301) four. For 2027 entry UCL asks for the same grades and the same test for both.
The MEng had the higher offer rate in every year from 2019. The gap was widest for 2026, when BEng applications rose by 892 and BEng offers fell from 501 to 168.
- BEng
- MEng
UCL's figures do not show whether BEng applicants were offered MEng places, or anything else behind the 2026 change. If you are choosing between the two, a higher offer rate on its own does not show which is easier to get into.
TARA for 2027 entry
2027 is the first year UCL requires TARA for Mechanical Engineering; for 2026 entry there was no admissions test.
UCL's admissions pages list both Mechanical Engineering degrees among the courses that require TARA in the 2027 cycle, and call it a new requirement.
TARA has three modules, all compulsory: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and a Writing Task. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are each scored from 1 to 9 to one decimal place, scaled so the median is 4.5 and the 90th percentile 7.0. The Writing Task is not scored: UAT-UK sends your response to the universities. There is no pass mark.
UCL's admissions pages say it will use test scores alongside the rest of the UCAS application to evaluate each applicant's academic profile.
For more on the test at UCL, see our guide to TARA at UCL.
Home and overseas applications
For 2026 entry, 29% of BEng applications were home applications, against 53% of MEng applications.
UCL split 2026 applications into home and overseas, without offers: BEng 1,077 home and 2,600 overseas, MEng 1,166 home and 1,044 overseas.
UCL said it does not hold 2026 offers split by home and overseas, so these figures cannot show who the BEng offers went to.
Show the table
| Degree | Home | Overseas | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEng (H300) | 1,077 | 2,600 | 3,677 |
| MEng (H301) | 1,166 | 1,044 | 2,210 |
Entry requirements and offer conditions
UCL asks for A*AA at A-level for 2027 entry, including Mathematics and Physics, with the A* in one of them.
IB applicants need 39 points, with 19 across three Higher Level subjects, 7 and 6 in Mathematics and Physics in either order, and no Higher Level score below 5. UCL's contextual offer is A*AB, or 38 IB points.
UCL names Design and Technology, Engineering, Economics, Geography, Chemistry and Biology as preferred third subjects, in that order, but not essential.
UCL said in January 2022 that it did not interview for 2019 to 2021 entry and made offers on the UCAS application only. Its 2027 pages describe no interview.
Some students each year are admitted without meeting every condition of their offer: 13 of 131 BEng enrolments and 18 of 97 MEng enrolments for 2024 entry, and 5 or fewer on each for 2025.
Show the table
| Entry | BEng | MEng |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 or fewer of 151 | 5 or fewer of 118 |
| 2024 | 13 of 131 | 18 of 97 |
| 2023 | 8 of 94 | 14 of 95 |
Questions about UCL Mechanical Engineering admissions
What is the acceptance rate for UCL Mechanical Engineering?
For 2026 entry, 13.7% of BEng and MEng applications got an offer (803 of 5,882): 28.8% for the MEng and 4.6% for the BEng.
Does UCL Mechanical Engineering require TARA?
Yes, from 2027 entry, for both the BEng and the MEng. It is a new requirement: there was no admissions test for 2026 entry.
What TARA score do I need for UCL Mechanical Engineering?
No one knows yet. 2027 is the first year of the requirement, UCL publishes no minimum score, and it says it will use test scores alongside the rest of the UCAS application.
Does UCL interview for Mechanical Engineering?
No. UCL said in January 2022 that it made offers on the UCAS application only, with no interview, and its 2027 pages describe none.
Why did the BEng offer rate fall for 2026 entry?
UCL's figures do not say. BEng applications rose from 2,784 to 3,676 while BEng offers fell from 501 to 168, and MEng offers rose from 396 to 635.
Keep going
Updated 28 October 2026 · GhostPrep is independent of University College London. Figures describe past applicants and are for planning, with no guarantee of any outcome.