Graduate Entry Medicine
All 22 Routes, Tests & Funding
There are 22 four-year graduate-entry medicine courses in the UK for 2027 entry: 7 at graduate-only medical schools and 15 run alongside a standard course. Which you can apply to depends on your degree subject and class, your fee status and whether you sit the UCAT, the GAMSAT or both.
- Tests
- UCAT, GAMSAT or either
- UCAS deadline
- 15 Oct 2026
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What graduate entry medicine is
Graduate entry medicine compresses the early, science-heavy part of a medical degree for people who already hold a degree. You qualify after four years with the same primary medical qualification as students on a standard course. Some medical schools take only graduates; the rest run a graduate stream beside their five- or six-year course, usually under the UCAS code A101.
The routes differ more than the label suggests. Some accept any degree subject while others want a life-science or health degree or recruit from named feeder degrees, many are closed to international applicants, and the admissions tests split three ways: UCAT, GAMSAT or either.
This guide lists every route with its test, its degree rule and the points that most often rule applicants out, then covers the tests, funding and the timeline. For interview formats and published places, see every graduate entry medicine course in one table.
Graduate entry medicine in numbers (2027 entry)
All 22 UK graduate entry medicine routes
Every route is four years long, and each name links to the university’s own page for the graduate route.
| University | Admissions test | Degree needed | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate-only medical schools (7) | |||
| Chester A101 | UCAT or GAMSAT MCAT also accepted | 2:1, any subject (2:2 with a master’s) | 70 hours of healthcare experience in the last 3 years |
| Pears Cumbria (Imperial) A102 | UCAT or GAMSAT | 2:1 in biosciences or an allied health subject | Home fees only Taught in Carlisle; Imperial College London degree |
| Surrey A101 | UCAT or GAMSAT UCAT only with a named science degree | 2:1, any subject | GAMSAT is the general route |
| Swansea A101 | UCAT or GAMSAT Minimum UCAT 1900 or GAMSAT 50 (2026 entry) | 2:1, any subject (or 2:2 plus a postgraduate degree) | International applicants may also offer the MCAT |
| Ulster A101 | GAMSAT Sittings from March 2023 accepted | 2:1, any subject (or a master’s at 60%) | Course starts in August, at Magee in Derry~Londonderry |
| Warwick A101 | UCAT | 2:1, any subject | At least 70 hours of health or social care work The largest graduate-entry course in the UK |
| Worcester (Three Counties) A101 | UCAT or GAMSAT | 1st or 2:1, any subject (2:2 with a master’s) | Casper for shortlisted applicants Non-science graduates need two GCSE sciences |
| Alongside a standard course (15) | |||
| Barts and The London (QMUL) A101 | UCAT Below the 4th decile or SJT Band 4 is rejected | 2:1 in a listed biomedical subject, or any subject plus A-level sciences | Home fees only 39 places |
| Cambridge A101 | UCAT Cognitive score only; SJT not used | Degree plus A-level Chemistry at A and another science | Home fees only Four colleges only About 6 applications per place (2025 cycle) |
| Cardiff A101 | UCAT | 1st or 2:1 from a named feeder degree | Feeders: Cardiff, Bangor and South Wales science degrees |
| City St George's A101 | GAMSAT At least 50 in each section, plus a yearly overall cut-off | 2:1, any subject | Home fees only |
| King's College London A102 | UCAT No threshold set | 2:1 in biosciences with biology and chemistry content | Home fees only Graduate/Professional Entry Programme |
| Liverpool A101 | GAMSAT At least 50 in each section, then ranked on the overall score | 2:1 (or 2:2 plus a master’s or PhD) | Home fees only Weighted towards applicants with paid healthcare work |
| Manchester A101 | UCAT SJT Band 1 or 2 needed | 2:1 in a life science or health profession | After year 1 you join the 5-year cohort in its year 3 |
| Newcastle A101 | UCAT Ranked for interview on UCAT total | 1st or 2:1, any subject; or a registered healthcare professional | A100 and A101 together use two of your four choices |
| North Wales (Bangor) A101 | UCAT No minimum score | 2:1 from a feeder degree or a medically relevant degree | Start within 3 years of graduating Non-feeder graduates sit Bangor’s own exam if shortlisted |
| Nottingham A101 | UCAT Replaces GAMSAT from 2027 entry; SJT Band 4 rejected | 2:1, any subject (or 2:2 plus a Merit master’s) | You cannot apply to both A100 and A101 |
| Oxford A101 | UCAT | 2:1 in an applied or experimental science | |
| ScotGEM (St Andrews and Dundee) A101 | GAMSAT | 1st or 2:1, any subject | Home or rest-of-UK fees only £4,000-a-year bursary in return for NHS Scotland service |
| Sheffield A101 | UCAT Minimum 1800 for 2027 entry, then ranked | 2:1 in a listed life science, plus BBB at A-level | Home fees only Widening-participation route: you must meet at least two criteria 24 places |
| Southampton A101 (BM4) | UCAT Ranked for selection day on UCAT | 2:1, any subject | Home fees only Southampton graduates are ranked separately on the UCAT |
| UEA (Norwich) A101 | UCAT or GAMSAT UCAT only with a biomedical degree from the last 5 years | 2:1, any subject | Home fees only 30 places for 2027 No GAMSAT cut-off; SJT Band 4 rejected |
UCAT, GAMSAT or either
Choose your routes before you book a test: a GAMSAT-only route ignores a UCAT score, and the reverse is true for UCAT-only routes. The Admissions test column in the table shows which test each route uses. Graduates applying to standard courses mostly sit the UCAT; ACER lists Brunel, Exeter, Keele, Liverpool, Plymouth and Sunderland as taking GAMSAT for their standard course.
UCAT only: 12 routes
The UCAT has been scored out of 2,700 since 2026 entry, across three subtests, plus a Situational Judgement band. A result counts only for the cycle in which you sit it.
GAMSAT only: 4 routes
City St George's, Liverpool, ScotGEM (St Andrews and Dundee) and Ulster. City St George’s and Liverpool ask for at least 50 in each section (City St George’s also sets a yearly overall cut-off; Liverpool ranks on the overall score), and Ulster accepts sittings back to March 2023.
Either test: 6 routes
Two of these attach conditions to the UCAT: Surrey takes it only from graduates in biochemistry, biology, biomedical science, chemistry or natural sciences, and UEA only from graduates with a biomedical degree from the last five years.
How the GAMSAT works
ACER’s test starts with a remote Written Communication section (two tasks, 65 minutes). About three weeks later come two multiple-choice reasoning sections at a test centre. Each section is scored 0 to 100, and the overall score counts biological and physical sciences twice. For 2027 entry most UK routes accept sittings from March 2025 to September 2026; UEA takes them only from September 2025. Dates and fees are in the GAMSAT guide.
The rules that rule applicants out
Four checks decide whether a route is open to you at all. Run them for every route on your list before you compare scores.
Degree subject
14 routes take any subject, 6 want a science or health degree and 2 recruit mainly from named feeder degrees. Barts also accepts other subjects with A-level sciences, and Sheffield’s accepted list excludes biochemistry, biology and psychology.
Degree class
A 2:1 is the usual minimum. 7 routes consider a 2:2, or an alternative such as a master’s, each on its own terms. Cambridge links its A-level grades to your degree class.
Fee status
9 routes take home-fee applicants only, and ScotGEM home or rest-of-UK applicants. Sheffield’s route is also a widening-participation route: you must meet at least two of its criteria.
Experience and the age of your degree
Warwick asks for at least 70 hours of health or social care work in the last three years, across two or more organisations and roles; Chester asks for 70 hours in the three years before you apply. At Newcastle a degree more than five years old needs evidence of continued study, and Bangor expects you to start within three years of graduating.
How graduate medicine is funded
If you are from England and start in September 2027, your tuition loans come through the Lifelong Learning Entitlement. GOV.UK has not yet published how it treats the graduate-entry first year, and 2027/28 NHS Bursary rates are not out, so the table shows the current model: 2026/27 Student Finance England rules with 2025/26 NHS Bursary rates.
| Year of study | Four-year graduate-entry course | Standard course as a graduate |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Tuition Fee Loan up to £6,125; you pay the first £3,665 of a £9,790 fee | No Tuition Fee Loan: you pay the fee |
| Years 2–4 | NHS Bursary pays part of the fee (up to £3,830 in 2025/26); the rest can be borrowed | No Tuition Fee Loan: you pay the fee |
| Year 5 onwards | Not needed: the course has finished | NHS Bursary pays the fee (up to £9,535 in 2025/26) |
| NHS help with living costs | From year 2: a £1,052 grant plus a means-tested bursary of up to £3,356 in London or £2,780 elsewhere (2025/26) | The same support, from year 5 |
The table does not cover the routes in Wales and Scotland (Swansea, Cardiff, North Wales and ScotGEM), and students from England at Ulster get a different NHS Bursary rate (up to £4,047 in 2025/26). Students from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are funded by their own nation. Full tables: the guide for mature and graduate applicants.
The application timeline for 2027 entry
Sit the GAMSAT if your list needs it
Results from the September sitting arrive in mid-November, after the UCAS deadline, so you apply without your score.
Sit the UCAT
Take it in the summer you apply, and check each route’s rule for it in the table.
UCAS deadline
Graduate routes share the medicine deadline, and your four medicine choices can mix graduate and standard courses.
Send your GAMSAT results
In your ACER account, tick UK and add your UCAS Personal ID and course choices by midnight GMT, or your results may not reach the universities.
Interviews
Several routes use MMIs, among them Chester, Newcastle, Pears Cumbria (Imperial), Sheffield, Surrey, UEA (Norwich) and Ulster. Warwick runs a Selection Centre, Swansea three face-to-face stations and Southampton a selection day with an interview and a group task, while Worcester adds Casper for shortlisted applicants. Formats elsewhere are on each course page. Prepare with the MMI guide.
Apply for funding
Apply to Student Finance England for year 1, then to the NHS Bursary each year from year 2, within nine months of the start of that academic year. The rules are under Funding above.
Three mistakes graduate applicants make
Graduate entry medicine: frequently asked questions
Sources
Each route in the table links to the university’s own course page. Rules change between cycles, so confirm them there before you commit a UCAS choice.
Planning a graduate medicine application?
A one-to-one consultation can look at your shortlist, your admissions test and your interview preparation; then practise with a mock interview.