Microsoft Office Specialist Certification

Registration for the current session will close on 25 July 2025.

The opportunity to gain a recognised qualification in Microsoft Office is available to all staff and students at the University of St Andrews for the 2024-25 session through our certification programme. See the side panel for links to the programme registration page. (External candidates wanting to sit MOS exams through our testing centre should contact it-training@st-andrews.ac.uk for further details.)

Find out more about MOS
Next drop-in session: 14 July 2025, 13:00-14:00 (Teams). Missed the briefings? Pop into a drop-in using the embedded link, with any questions about the MOS programme, exam preparation or to see resources demonstrated; you can join anytime during the session (open to University staff/student only).
Next briefing session: Briefing sessions are held during term time. Betweeb briefings, there are frequent MOS drop-in sessions on Teams for all MOS related queries, see drop-in information for the next scheduled session.

Exam Dates and Times (2025)

Exams are held on-campus. Each session allows up to two exams.

The time listed for each date is the start-time for a 2-hour exam session. Exams are delivered throughout the year (session dates later in the year will be posted as they become available).

Upcoming Dates:
July: 9 (9:00), 23 (14:00)
Aug: 4 (15:00), 27 (12:00)
Sept: 3 (12:00)

Book your exam using the link provided in your Certification Pack.

MOS Roll of Honour

Celebrate our top performers — including recent finalists in the MOS World Championships on our MOS Roll of Honour page.

What is Microsoft Office Specialist Certification (MOS)?

Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) is an industry-standard certification that validates your skills in Microsoft Office applications. The University of St Andrews is an authorised testing centre, offering invigilated, task-based exams approved by Microsoft.

  • Exams are based on Microsoft 365 Apps for Windows
  • Each exam lasts 50 minutes
  • Certifications available at Associate and Expert levels
  • Aggregate certifications awarded for passing multiple exams

Associate level

  • Word
  • Excel
  • PowerPoint
  • Outlook*

Expert level

  • Excel Expert
  • Word Expert
  • Access Expert**

* Outlook 365 Apps not yet released, offered as 2019 version   
** Access Expert available in the 2019 version only

 

MOS exams and MacOS: Exams are based on Microsoft Office for Windows and are not available for Mac Office. Exam preparation using the GMetrix practise test software must be carried out on a Windows platform and cannot be run on a Mac (unless you are running Windows on your Mac through a VM or Bootcamp partition). However the GMetrix practise test software is available in all the PC classrooms across the University and can be effectively used for exam preparation.

Information from Microsoft about the certifications, including the specific skills examined in each certification is available on Microsoft's Certification webpage.

Who is eligible to register for MOS exams?

The MOS exam program is open to all University of St Andrews staff and students. The exams are provided free of charge and are administered by IELLI (formerly CEED). This represents very good value as most other institutions offering this qualification charge a fee upwards of £125.

External candidates may register to sit MOS exams at our testing centre with the purchase of a voucher issued by our MOS program. Contact it-training@st-andrews.ac.uk for more information about sitting exams as an external candidate.

What is the process?

There is no formal training associated with this programme but offers self-directed and self-led learning resources so that you have maximum flexibility to prepare as and when you have time. The certification route is generally a 3-stage process:

Skills Analysis

When you join the MOS programme, skills evaluation software is made available that delivers practise tests similar to the actual MOS exams. These tests are used to evaluate your skill level and determine your training requirements.

Exam Preparation

Once you determine your weak skill areas, the required training can be undertaken through self-led learning using provided online resources, including Microsoft online courses. The skills evaluation software GMetrix is itself also a training tool as it includes an assisted training mode where detailed instructions are given for required tasks.

MOS training resources: We have a subscription to the Microsoft Imagine Academy offering MOS-targeted self-led learning courses for each of the MOS exams. See the exam resources page for more information.

Certification through Examination

When confident, you then book onto an advertised exam date to sit a task-based exam in an invigilated session. Each exam has a 50-min completion time.  Exam results are displayed on screen immediately on completing the exam. All MOS exam results are stored in the candidate's exam account and may be accessed through your candidate portal. Authorised transcripts may be requested from the exam authority, Certiport, to be sent directly to specified addresses (eg employers) and certificates can be printed on demand.

MOS Certifications and your University transcript: The Associate and Expert aggregate certification awards will be listed in the HEAR section of your University transcript.

Please see more information on each stage of the MOS Certification process.