The Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic (ASNC) Tripos is concerned with the history, languages, and literatures of the different peoples of the British Isles between the departure of the Romans and the coming of the Normans. It is therefore strongly interdisciplinary in character. The languages offered are Old English, Old Norse, Latin, Medieval Welsh, and Medieval Irish, and the areas covered include not only Anglo-Saxon England and the Celtic regions of the British Isles but also Brittany and Viking-Age Scandinavia. But within these disciplines students have a large degree of choice, so that they can either go for an evenly balanced diet of literary and historical subjects, or opt to specialise mainly in languages or mainly in history.

The ASNC Tripos is divided into two Parts. In the first year of ASNC, a student selects a combination of four papers which will be assessed at the end of the year by means of a written exam, and two more which will be assessed by means of a more informal test, from the ten options available. The options comprise four historical papers (Anglo-Saxon England, Viking-Age Scandinavia, Ireland & Scotland, and Brittany & Wales), five language papers (Old English, Old Norse, Latin, Medieval Irish, and Medieval Welsh), and one on manuscript studies (palaeography and codicology). Part I is taken at the end of the second year, and involves offering a combination of six papers. All six of these may be the same six taken in the first year, from the ten core ASNC papers, but a student can also replace up to three of the six with alternative options, chosen from a wider range (including a dissertation). In Part II, taken at the end of the third year, a student is able to pursue his or her interests in particular areas of the subject as a whole, offering a combination of four papers (chosen from a larger selection), plus a dissertation.