University College London Medical School Guide

University College London (UCL) Medical School is ranked 6th in the World for Medicine and No.1 in London (QS World University rankings by Subject 2024). Located in the heart of London, the MBBS at UCL is a six-year integrated programme of study. The UCL Medical School is one of the largest in the country, with a yearly intake of 334 undergraduate students on the MBBS programme. Read on to find out if UCL is the Medical school for you!

University College London Medical School Entry Requirements

Academic

GCSE	All candidates must offer GCSE (or IGCSE, O-level, IB or EB equivalent) at grade B/6 or above in both English Language and Mathematics. Candidates may re-sit GCSE subjects in order to meet the GCSE requirements.
GCE A-levels	Three A-levels, including Chemistry and Biology, studied at the same time (Must be completed within two years). Grades must be A*AA to include A*A in Chemistry and Biology, either order. Examinations for the three A levels must be sat at the same time. Qualification re-sits are not accepted, including re-starting Year 12. The student’s third subject is up to themselves; can be any subject other than General Studies or Critical Thinking.
Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)	Students are encouraged to consider taking an EPQ if it is offered at their school, and if this is not offered then students should try to develop the relevant research skills through independent learning.
International Baccalaureate (IB)	Must offer three subjects including Chemistry and Biology at Higher Level, plus three subjects at Standard Level. Standard conditional offer will be 39 points out of 45 overall; the grades for the three Higher subjects must make up at least 19 points and must include Biology and Chemistry, with scores 6 and 7, either order. Scores below 5 in any subject are unacceptable.

To access entry requirements for other qualifications such as European Baccalaureate, Scottish Advanced Highers and Highers, and Welsh Baccalaureate, please see full details of other accepted qualifications for this course.

Admissions Test

Students applying for Medicine must take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) in the year of application. The application cycle 2024/2025 is the first year that UCL is using the UCAT to shortlist candidates, so no cut-off scores are currently known.

Work Experience

The university is aware that the opportunities open to you have been affected by COVID-19 and will take this into account when assessing applications. UCL Medical School has never required clinical work experience or a specific duration of time spent completing work experience. Despite this, it is always useful to have some sort of experience to talk about during the interview stage.

Personal Statement

UCL Medical School does not score personal statements to select candidates for interview.

Interview

UCL Medical School runs Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) on campus for Home fee-paying candidates. Overseas students will attend on-line interviews. MMI involves candidates being asked a series of structured questions and then receiving a score for their responses. The interview season runs from December to March, with invitations sent out on a rolling basis. Applicants are typically given at least one week’s notice before their interview date.

Graduate Entry at UCL Medical School

UCL considers graduates or students in their final year of degree studies who have obtained or are expected to obtain, at least an upper second-class Honours (2.1) UK degree. Degrees awarded by universities outside the UK are not acceptable. Students should note that UCL Medical School does not consider applications from candidates who have started but not finished their degree.

Graduates should offer at least ABB grades in A-levels taken prior to their first degree (or 34 Overall points in IB with a minimum of 16 Higher Level points and scores of 6, 5, 5.

Graduates who re-sat A levels or an accepted equivalent will also be considered, otherwise no re-sits are accepted.

Science and non-science graduates are considered equally. However, all graduate applicants must offer A-level Chemistry and Biology (or IB equivalent). Please note that linear A-levels taken from 2017 should include the science practical. 

Graduate Medicine students will complete the course in five years instead of six as the iBSc year (Year 3) is waived.

International Student Entry at UCL Medical School

The entry requirements for international students are the same as home students, and the English language level for this programme is Level 4.

How many places are there for Home and International students at UCL Medical School?

There are 334 places at UCL Medical School, however, they do not clarify the difference in space availability between Home and International students, they just explain that International Student places are capped by Government regulations.

UCL Medical School ranking

UCL is ranked 6th in the world for Medicine and No.1 in London (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024)

UCL Medical School fees

Home: £9,250

International: £53,400

UCL Medical School acceptance rate

The approximate total amount of applicants received each year is 3800 per year with a total of 334 places; up to 950 students may be selected for an interview.

UCL Medicine course structure

The MBBS at UCL is a six-year integrated programme of study with each year comprising a number of themes integrated modules with Clinical and Professional Practice modules running vertically through the programme and Student Selected Components in Years 1, 2 and 6.

Year 1: Fundamentals of Clinical Science 1

Year 2: Fundamentals of Clinical Science 2

Year 3: Integrated BSc

Year 4: Integrated Clinical Care

Year 5: The Life Cycle and Specialist Practice

Year 6: Preparation for Practice

UCL Medical School Term Dates

Term dates 2024-2025: In MBBS 4,5 and 6 these term dates may change.

Term	Date
First term	Monday 23rd September 2024 to Friday 13th December 2024
Second term	Monday 13th January 2025 to Friday 28th March 2025
Third term	Monday 28th April 2025 to Friday 13th June 2025

Monday, 4th November 2024 and Monday,17th February 2025

UCL Medical School Hospitals

There are three central clinical campuses at UCL Medical School. The Bloomsbury campus has its clinical facilities at University College Hospital (UCH), the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the Heart Hospital and the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital. The new sixteen-story UCH building provides excellent healthcare facilities, as well as being a centre of international important for clinical teaching and research.

The Royal Free Campus in Hampstead is the site of the Royal Free Hospital.

The Whittington Campus in Archway is the site of the newly refurbished Whittington Hospital, with a new Undergraduate Education Centre.

UCL Medical School elective

In Year 6 of the MBBS programme students will be encouraged to integrate their prior learning in biomedical and human sciences with all their clinical experience and apply it to management during longer attachments.

UCL Medical school’s final year will place patient-based student led learning at its heart. Incorporating assistantships, it will be intellectually demanding and ‘hands-on’.

This 6th Year is designed to ensure you have the opportunities to think and act like a doctor and practise and reflect on the areas that will be of use to you on becoming an FY1 doctor.

UCL Medical School Interview format

UCL Medical School uses the MMI for their interviews, due to the growing evidence in literature surrounding the validity, reliability and acceptability of the MMI format.

UCL’s MMI will consist of up to 8 ‘stations’ that students will rotate around, and each station will be 5 minutes in length. You will have one minute before the station begins to read some basic instructions relating to the content of the station, and you will then be instructed to enter the station and begin. The interviewer will ask you 2-3 questions during the 5 minutes. For some stations, you may finish early and for some stations you may have more that you wish to say – this is ok! The interviewers are aware that you are nervous and that some stations will suit you better than others, and so just try your best, put each station behind you once you have finished and move onwards!  

The interviewers are from a wide range of backgrounds, many are clinical staff and others are professional services staff working in the medical school, medical students; all interviewers will introduce themselves to you at the start.

UCL Medical School interview questions

Interviewers at UCL score the candidate for the following qualities:

• Academic curiosity and interest in healthcare
• Motivation for and understanding of a career in medicine (including robustness for the course)
• Problem solving and reasoning ability
• Professional attitudes and values (factors such as flexibility, integrity, empathy, honesty, conscientiousness and compassion)
• Team work, leadership, resilience and individual strengths
• Communication skills (including verbal ability, listening skills, eye contact)

Some interview questions relating to these themes may be:

• Why do you want to study Medicine?
• Tell me about a time where you have learnt something
• How would you deal with the stresses of being a doctor?
• What are the most significant aspects of communication?

UCL Medical summer school

UCL offers a Y12 LondonMed Summer school programme where four of London’s medical schools (King’s College London, Queen Mary, St George’s and University College London) are brought together to give 75 Year 12 students from across England an opportunity to find out what it is like to study Medicine in London.

This week-long virtual summer school will breakdown the essentials to consider when applying for medicine, provide insight into the degree course, and give students a taste of what it might be like to study medicine in London.

The main programme will take place from Monday 15th July to Friday 19th July on Zoom.

Queen Mary, University of London are the lead institution this year. You can find the full eligibility criteria and details of how to apply. Applications will close at 09:00am on Friday 19^th April.

Life as a Medical student at UCL

Social life at UCL

UCL has many student bars and nightlife, there is always something on, every day of the week. London has so much to offer with its rich culture. UCL also offers fantastic ranges of student groups from sports clubs, both competitive, recreational and intramural, as well as all types of social and cultural clubs where you can join and meet like-minded individuals.

FAQ’s

Does University of UCL Medical School offer a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Degree?

Yes, University College London Medical School offers an integrated Bachelor of Science degree as part of its MBBS program. UCL’s medical curriculum includes an intercalated BSc year, typically taken after the third year of medical school. UK graduates will finish the program in five years and are excluded from the integrated BSc. Over the course of six years, other students study the course leading to the Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degrees.

How much of UCL’s Medical degree is pre-clinical vs clinical?

Undergraduate students complete 2 pre-clinical years, followed by a compulsory year of an intercalated iBSc, before entering 3 clinical years of medicine.

Does UCL offer scholarships?

UCL Offers an Undergraduate Bursary for students whose household income is below £42,875. External iBSc students who join UCL for the iBSc year who meet eligibility criteria will also be considered for the UCL Undergraduate Bursary.

Is UCL Medical School a Good Medical School?

Yes, UCL Medical School is considered one of the top medical schools in the UK and internationally. It consistently ranks highly for its academic excellence, research contributions, and comprehensive medical curriculum.

Support with getting into UCL Medical school

UCAT Tutoring

As UCL Medical School has competitive entry requirements, it’s a good idea to get a UCAT tutor to help you exceed the UCAT threshold. When looking for a good tutor, it’s wise to consider someone who has recently achieved an excellent UCAT score themselves and who has experience with tutoring. Your tutor should be able to assess your strengths and weaknesses to focus your lesson time on improving the areas you need improvement in.

Medicine Interview Tutoring

With an acceptance rate under 9% in 2023, entry to UCL is competitive. A large part of the admissions process is the MMI, which you’ll need to thoroughly prepare for if you’re serious about getting into UCL. We recommend booking in with a medicine interview tutor at UCL to get the most realistic preparation for the interview. An interview tutor can help you to gain interview confidence, competence, and the knowledge-base you need to stand out from the crowd.