T Levels and UCAS points: how the tariff works
Checked: 2026-08-30. Funding, entry requirements and tariff points move — verify before relying on them.
A T Level carries UCAS Tariff points in the same way A-Levels and BTECs do, and it's officially sized as the equivalent of three A-Levels. Neither fact on its own answers the question most students actually have, which is whether a specific university course will take it. The points are fixed and published; acceptance is set course by course and still varies a lot. Both parts are covered below, with the real numbers and the real sources.
The UCAS Tariff points table for T Levels
These are the points UCAS currently allocates to each overall T Level grade, taken directly from UCAS's own T Levels page:
| UCAS Tariff points | T Level overall grade | A level (as shown by UCAS) |
|---|---|---|
| 168 | Distinction* (A* on the core and distinction in the occupational specialism) | AAA* |
| 144 | Distinction | AAA |
| 120 | Merit | BBB |
| 96 | Pass (C or above on the core) | CCC |
| 72 | Pass (D or E on the core) | DDD |
Source: UCAS, "What Are T Levels? Your Questions Answered".
Points are only awarded for the overall T Level grade, not for individual components, and a full fail carries none. A student who completes the core component or the occupational specialism but not both may be classed "Partially Achieved" and can still receive some Tariff points — the exact number depends on how that particular T Level splits time between core and specialism, so it's worth checking the specific figure via UCAS rather than assuming one (UCAS).
"Equivalent to three A-Levels" — what that covers
UCAS states plainly that "T Levels are two-year courses equivalent to three A levels" (UCAS), and the Department for Education's own T Levels site headlines the same point: "Equivalent to 3 A Levels and awarded UCAS points" (T Levels, gov.uk).
That equivalence is about size and Tariff points, not about how every admissions team reads the qualification. A T Level produces one overall grade rather than three separate subject grades, built around a single occupational specialism rather than three separate A-Level subjects. For a course that asks for a specific A-Level subject — further maths for an engineering degree, chemistry for pharmacy — a T Level in an unrelated route can match the points total without supplying what the course is actually asking for.
How universities actually treat T Levels
Acceptance is real but uneven, and it's set at course level, not fixed nationally. The Department for Education publishes a list of higher education providers that accept T Levels for entry onto at least one course, last updated 17 August 2026 — but the government is explicit that the list "is not exhaustive or an official register of all higher education providers that accept T Levels," so a provider's absence doesn't automatically mean rejection.
Checking that list against the 24 Russell Group universities shows a clear split: 18 appear on it for at least one course, but six don't — Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, the London School of Economics, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow. Oxford's own admissions pages are explicit: "T-Levels are not considered appropriate preparation for courses at Oxford and are therefore not accepted for entry" (University of Oxford). Cambridge is equally direct: "T-Levels are not accepted for our undergraduate degree courses" (University of Cambridge). Imperial's own list of accepted qualifications does not mention T Levels at all (Imperial College London).
Being on the DfE's list doesn't mean every course at that university accepts a T Level either. Queen Mary University of London appears on it, but its Dentistry BDS entry requirements page names only A-Levels and international qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate — no T Level route is listed among them (Queen Mary University of London). That's worth expecting from other medicine- and dentistry-adjacent courses too, even at a university that accepts T Levels elsewhere: a general acceptance policy doesn't automatically carry across to a specific competitive course, so the course page itself is the one that matters.
Check the actual course before relying on any of this
Because acceptance is set by course and can change between application cycles, the reliable check is a direct one: look up the specific course on UCAS's course search or the university's own admissions page, rather than assuming a Tariff points total or a T Level's "equivalent to three A-Levels" status settles the question. Where a course does list T Levels, check whether it names a particular route and a minimum overall grade, since a Pass and a Distinction are not the same offer. Where a course doesn't mention T Levels at all, that's worth putting to admissions directly, rather than assuming either way. UCAS's own Tariff calculator converts an achieved or predicted T Level grade into a points total, but that total is only useful once it has been checked against what a specific course actually asks for.