The route into policy analyst

Science and health policy, where the scientific literacy is the qualification.

Three to four years, with a laboratory or research year common and worth taking.

Public administration and economic development bodies, particularly in the Kingdom.

Four years in the Kingdom and the US, three to four in the UK, frequently with an internship or placement.

Economic and public policy, where the econometrics is the qualification.

Three to four years, with a placement or exchange year common.

Climate, water and environmental policy, an expanding field in the Kingdom specifically.

Three to four years, usually with fieldwork and often a placement.

Legislative and regulatory policy, where legal training is close to a prerequisite.

Three to four years for the LLB, plus one to three years of professional training and examinations. In the US, law is a graduate degree taken after a first bachelor's.

Communications and public affairs roles in government and institutions, which are larger and more stable than newsrooms.

Three to four years, with placements and student media effectively compulsory in practice if not on paper.

Health policy, regulation and system design, where a clinical background carries real weight.

Five to six years undergraduate outside North America; four years of medical school after a first degree in the US and Canada. Then residency, which is where the real length is.

Health policy and workforce planning, where clinical experience is treated as evidence rather than background.

Three to four years, roughly half of it spent on clinical placement rather than in lectures, plus an internship year in the Saudi system.

Energy policy and regulation, an expanding field as the transition is negotiated.

Four to five years, with a preparatory year common and industrial placement standard.

The most direct destination — government, think tanks and international organisations.

Three to four years, often with a language, an exchange or an internship year.

Behavioural insight and evidence work in government, which has grown into a real field.

Three to four years for the degree. Clinical practice requires postgraduate training on top, typically three or more further years and highly competitive.

Evidence-based policy work, where the scarce skill is knowing what the evidence will not support.

Three to four years for the bachelor's, plus a master's that is close to an entry requirement rather than an advantage.

Food security and animal health policy, both explicit priorities in the Kingdom.

Five to six years undergraduate outside North America; four years after a first degree in the US and Canada.

Cambridge natural sciences; most universities require no test for biology.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

The Saudi admission composite for science and health colleges.

• Several periods across the yearQudurat (General Aptitude Test), open from Grade 11. Computer-based and paper sittings both run.
• Final months of the school yearTahsili (Scholastic Achievement Test), sat near the end of Grade 12 once the syllabus is covered.
• Spring and summer of Grade 12University applications through the unified admission portals and each university's own portal.

For US applications, and business is often a separately competitive admission within the university.

• March, May, JuneSpring sittings. The standard first attempt, in Grade 11.
• August, October, November, DecemberAutumn sittings. The second attempt, and the last one that reaches early US deadlines is usually the October or November date.
• Two to four weeks after each sittingScores released; sending them to universities is a separate step with its own timing.

Required almost everywhere for international admission.

• Weekly, year-roundIELTS and TOEFL both run frequently at centres across the Kingdom; Duolingo and PTE can be sat at very short notice.
• 3 to 13 days after the testResults, depending on the test. IELTS computer-delivered is among the fastest; paper-based is slower.
• Autumn of Grade 12 at the latestWhen to have sat it by, leaving room for one repeat before offers are decided.

Required or advantageous for economics at Cambridge, LSE, Warwick and Durham among others.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

Oxford PPE and Economics and Management.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

Environmental science rarely requires a subject admissions test anywhere, which makes this one of the least administratively demanding science applications.

Required by Oxford, UCL, LSE, KCL, Bristol, Durham, Glasgow, Nottingham and SOAS among others. Nothing to revise and a great deal to practise; the official practice materials are free.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

The US graduate-entry route, and years away from a school decision.

Not required by every programme and required by every employer. School newspaper, a blog, a podcast, published pieces — start at fifteen, because this is the only credential the industry reliably reads.

Required by most UK medical and dental schools, and several rank applicants on it directly. Booking closes in September, weeks before the mid-October application deadline.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

Frequently the heaviest single component of the Saudi health-college admission composite.

• Several periods across the yearQudurat (General Aptitude Test), open from Grade 11. Computer-based and paper sittings both run.
• Final months of the school yearTahsili (Scholastic Achievement Test), sat near the end of Grade 12 once the syllabus is covered.
• Spring and summer of Grade 12University applications through the unified admission portals and each university's own portal.

Sit it early; the best score counts and an early attempt is diagnostic.

• Several periods across the yearQudurat (General Aptitude Test), open from Grade 11. Computer-based and paper sittings both run.
• Final months of the school yearTahsili (Scholastic Achievement Test), sat near the end of Grade 12 once the syllabus is covered.
• Spring and summer of Grade 12University applications through the unified admission portals and each university's own portal.

The US graduate-entry route. Nothing you do at seventeen prepares for it directly, and it is worth knowing the road has this on it.

Nursing regulators in the UK, Australia and the Gulf often require a higher English score than the university did — check the regulator's requirement, not just the university's.

• Weekly, year-roundIELTS and TOEFL both run frequently at centres across the Kingdom; Duolingo and PTE can be sat at very short notice.
• 3 to 13 days after the testResults, depending on the test. IELTS computer-delivered is among the fastest; paper-based is slower.
• Autumn of Grade 12 at the latestWhen to have sat it by, leaving room for one repeat before offers are decided.

KFUPM teaches in English and runs a preparatory year for those below the bar.

• Weekly, year-roundIELTS and TOEFL both run frequently at centres across the Kingdom; Duolingo and PTE can be sat at very short notice.
• 3 to 13 days after the testResults, depending on the test. IELTS computer-delivered is among the fastest; paper-based is slower.
• Autumn of Grade 12 at the latestWhen to have sat it by, leaving room for one repeat before offers are decided.

Not a test, and the real gate for clinical training. Assistant psychologist and support work posts are what competitive applicants have, and they take years to accumulate.

The real gate for this profession. Around seven in ten statisticians hold a master's or doctorate, so plan the bachelor's with that in mind.

Not a test, and a harder requirement than any test on this page. Most veterinary schools want weeks of experience across more than one setting — practice, farm, kennels, stables — and will not consider an application without it. It cannot be acquired in the month before the deadline.

Frequently multiple mini-interviews, and heavily weighted.