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UK Medicine · 2027 Entry

Graduate Entry Medicine4-Year GEM Programmes for Graduates

Routes 21 cataloguedCourse 4 years, acceleratedTests UCAT or GAMSATNHS Bursary years 2–4
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Photo: Sarah Cossom · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped

Overview

There are 21 four-year graduate-entry medicine courses in the UK for 2027 entry: 7 at schools that exist to run graduate entry and 14 accelerated routes at schools that also run a standard course. 17 accept UCAT and 9 accept GAMSAT, and every one wants an existing degree, usually a 2:1 or above. This page lists each route with its test, published graduate cut-off and interview, then covers NHS Bursary funding from year 2 and how to choose between GEM and a 5-year course.

GEM (also called "A101") covers the same GMC-approved content as a 5-year MBBS, by compressing pre-clinical material into year 1 and starting clinical placements earlier. Standard 5-year courses (A100) are open to school leavers and graduates alike — GEM specifically requires a prior degree.

The routes split into two kinds. 7 schools exist primarily to run graduate entry — Chester Medical School (GEM), Pears Cumbria (GEM), Surrey (GEM), Swansea (GEM), Ulster University Medical School, Warwick (GEM) and Worcester Medical School. Another 14 run an accelerated graduate route alongside their standard course — Barts and The London (Queen Mary), Cambridge, Cardiff, King's College London (KCL), Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, North Wales (Bangor), Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield, Southampton, St Andrews and St George's.

Definition used. A UK graduate-entry medicine course here means a dedicated, accelerated four-year medical degree open only to applicants who already hold a degree — the courses UCAS lists under codes such as A101 or A102 and the Medical Schools Council labels "Graduate Entry". Five-year A100 courses that also accept graduates are not counted, and neither are six-year foundation or extended programmes. Membership was checked against the Medical Schools Council graduate-entry course listings on 14 September 2026.

The trade-off: 4-year GEM is faster and funded by the NHS Bursary from year 2; 5-year A100 is less competitive per place and available at far more schools. Many UK applicants apply to a mix of both to maximise their offer probability.

Key facts

UK Graduate Entry Medicine at a glance

Graduate routes
21 catalogued
Dedicated GEM schools
7 of 21
Course length
4 years (accelerated)
NHS-funded years
3 of 4 (years 2–4)
Accept GAMSAT
9 routes

Every route wants a 2:1 or above, in almost any subject. Cut-offs are the published or best-estimated graduate-tier thresholds held in our UK medical school dataset — 7 of the 21 routes publish one, the lowest being 1800/2700 and the median 1960. Schools that select on GAMSAT alone have no UCAT figure.

Step 1

All 21 UK graduate routes into medicine (2027 entry)

Every UK medical school that runs an accelerated graduate route, with the test it accepts, the degree it wants and the published graduate cut-off where there is one. Filter by route or test, sort by cut-off, or type your UCAT score to see which thresholds you already clear. Open any card for that school's full how-to-get-in guide.

Route
Test
Nation
Sort
out of 2700 — marks the cut-offs you clear

Showing 21 of 21 programmes

  • Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — Queens' Building

    Barts and The London (Queen Mary)

    London

    2:1 or above · Panel interview

    UCATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — how to get in
  • Cambridge — King's College Chapel from the Front Court lawn

    Cambridge

    Cambridge

    2:1 or above plus A-level Chemistry; four colleges only

    UCATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    Cambridge — how to get in
  • Cardiff — The Main Building of Cardiff University

    Cardiff

    Cardiff

    1st or 2:1 from a named feeder degree only (e.g. Cardiff Biomedical Sciences)

    UCATA101 (C21) graduate route
    How to get in
    Cardiff — how to get in
  • Chester Medical School (GEM) — Senate House

    Chester Medical School (GEM)

    Chester · ~30-50 places per year

    2:1 or higher in any honours degree from a UK or recognised international institution

    UCAT or GAMSATDedicated GEM school
    How to get in
    Chester Medical School (GEM) — how to get in
  • King's College London (KCL) — The Maughan Library courtyard

    King's College London (KCL)

    London

    2:1 or above in a biosciences degree

    UCATA102 graduate route
    How to get in
    King's College London (KCL) — how to get in
  • Liverpool — The Victoria Building

    Liverpool

    Liverpool

    Home-fee graduates only; GAMSAT 50+ overall and in each section

    GAMSATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    Liverpool — how to get in
  • Manchester — The Whitworth Building main tower and the Queen's Arch of the University of Manchester on Oxford Road
    UCAT2080

    Manchester

    Manchester

    A 2:1 honours degree or above, plus a minimum of BBB at A-level at the first sitting

    UCATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    Manchester — how to get in
  • Newcastle — Newcastle University campus quad

    Newcastle

    Newcastle

    A 2:1 honours degree at minimum

    UCATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    Newcastle — how to get in
  • North Wales (Bangor) — Main Arts Building

    North Wales (Bangor)

    Bangor

    2:1 or above in any honours degree (A101 graduate-entry route)

    UCATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    North Wales (Bangor) — how to get in
  • Nottingham — Trent Building clock tower

    Nottingham

    Nottingham

    Degree required — see the school guide

    UCATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    Nottingham — how to get in
  • Oxford — The Radcliffe Camera in Radcliffe Square

    Oxford

    Oxford

    2:1 or above in an applied or experimental science; about 30 places

    UCATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    Oxford — how to get in
  • Pears Cumbria (GEM) — University of Cumbria
    UCAT/GAMSAT1960

    Pears Cumbria (GEM)

    Carlisle · ~58 places per year. Imperial reported an 11:1 applications-to-places ratio for 2025

    2:1 or above in a biosciences or allied healthcare degree — e.g

    UCAT or GAMSATDedicated GEM school
    How to get in
    Pears Cumbria (GEM) — how to get in
  • Sheffield — Firth Court, the historic red-brick main building of the University of Sheffield, viewed from the Octagon lawn
    UCAT1800

    Sheffield

    Sheffield

    Degree required — see the school guide

    UCATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    Sheffield — how to get in
  • Southampton — Highfield Campus

    Southampton

    Southampton

    2:1 or above · Selection day

    UCATBM4 graduate route
    How to get in
    Southampton — how to get in
  • St Andrews — St Salvator's Quadrangle

    St Andrews

    St Andrews

    1st or 2:1 in any discipline; run with Dundee (ScotGEM)

    GAMSATA101 (ScotGEM) graduate route
    How to get in
    St Andrews — how to get in
  • St George's — St George's Hospital / St George's
    GAMSAT2100

    St George's

    London

    2:1 or above in any discipline

    GAMSATA101 graduate route
    How to get in
    St George's — how to get in
  • Surrey (GEM) — University of Surrey lake and fountain with Senate House and AZ Building

    Surrey (GEM)

    Guildford · ~30-50 places per year

    Minimum 2:1 UK honours degree (or equivalent) in any subject

    UCAT or GAMSATDedicated GEM school
    How to get in
    Surrey (GEM) — how to get in
  • Swansea (GEM) — Singleton Abbey at Singleton Park Campus
    UCAT/GAMSAT1900

    Swansea (GEM)

    Swansea · ~70 home + ~10 international places per year

    Minimum 2:1 in any subject; OR a Merit in an integrated master's; OR a 2:2 combined with a Pass in a postgraduate higher degree

    UCAT or GAMSATDedicated GEM school
    How to get in
    Swansea (GEM) — how to get in
  • Ulster University Medical School — The historic Gothic main building of the Magee campus

    Ulster University Medical School

    Londonderry · ~70 places per year

    2:1 or above in any honours degree

    GAMSATDedicated GEM school
    How to get in
    Ulster University Medical School — how to get in
  • Warwick (GEM) — Central Campus of the University of Warwick
    UCAT2080

    Warwick (GEM)

    Coventry · ~190 home + ~15 international places per year

    2:1 or above in any honours degree

    UCATDedicated GEM school
    How to get in
    Warwick (GEM) — how to get in
  • Worcester Medical School — Public building commissioned by Worcestershire County Council and the University of Worcester
    UCAT/GAMSAT1900

    Worcester Medical School

    Worcester · ~30-50 places per year

    1st or 2:1 undergraduate honours degree in any subject, held or predicted in the year of application

    UCAT or GAMSATDedicated GEM school
    How to get in
    Worcester Medical School — how to get in
Campus photo credits

Campus photographs are used under free Creative Commons or public-domain licences and have been resized and cropped for display.

Applying as a graduate to a 5-year course? Most UK medical schools accept graduate applicants onto their standard A100 alongside school leavers, with the same UCAT and interview requirements. Browse the full listing at /medical-schools.

Every UK graduate-entry medicine route (2027 entry)

21 UK graduate-entry medicine routes: admissions test, published graduate UCAT cut-off, interview and course length. A dash means the figure is not held for the graduate route.
SchoolRouteAdmissions testGraduate UCAT cut-offInterviewLength
Barts and The London (Queen Mary)A101UCAT—Panel4 years
CambridgeA101UCAT——4 years
CardiffA101 (C21)UCAT—MMI4 years
Chester Medical School (GEM)Dedicated GEM school (A101)UCAT or GAMSAT—MMI4 years
King's College London (KCL)A102UCAT——4 years
LiverpoolA101GAMSAT——4 years
ManchesterA101UCAT2080MMI4 years
NewcastleA101UCAT—MMI4 years
North Wales (Bangor)A101UCAT—MMI4 years
NottinghamA101UCAT—MMI4 years
OxfordA101UCAT——4 years
Pears Cumbria (GEM)Dedicated GEM school (A102)UCAT or GAMSAT1960MMI4 years
SheffieldA101UCAT1800MMI4 years
SouthamptonBM4UCAT—Selection centre4 years
St AndrewsA101 (ScotGEM)GAMSAT——4 years
St George'sA101GAMSAT2100MMI4 years
Surrey (GEM)Dedicated GEM school (A101)UCAT or GAMSAT—MMI4 years
Swansea (GEM)Dedicated GEM school (A101)UCAT or GAMSAT1900Assessment day4 years
Ulster University Medical SchoolDedicated GEM school (A101)GAMSAT—MMI4 years
Warwick (GEM)Dedicated GEM school (A101)UCAT2080MMI4 years
Worcester Medical SchoolDedicated GEM school (A101)UCAT or GAMSAT1900Panel4 years

Every one of these courses is also in a single sortable table with each school's graduate UCAT line, GAMSAT rule, degree requirement and TrueScore graduate-tier prediction: graduate entry medicine universities.

Step 2

4-year GEM vs 5-year A100 — which should you apply to?

Both routes lead to the same GMC-registered degree. They differ in what they cost you, how many places exist, and what happens if the cycle goes badly. Pick a dimension to focus the comparison on the trade-off you actually care about.

Focus on
Compare on
Option A
4-year GEM
21 routes catalogued
Option B
5-year A100
52 UK medical schools
Length of the degreeTime
Favours GEM: 4 years. Pre-clinical material is compressed into year 1 and placements usually start in year 2.
5 years (6 with an intercalated or foundation year), at the pace it was designed for.
Year you qualifyTime
Favours GEM: One year earlier — which is also one year less of lost earnings while you study.
A year later, but with more room to intercalate, take an elective or recover from a resit.
Who pays your tuitionCost
Favours GEM: Student Finance in year 1; the NHS Bursary covers years 2–4.
Student Finance for years 1–4; the NHS Bursary covers the final year only.
Net tuition borrowedCost
Favours GEM: Roughly one year of fees, plus maintenance support from year 2.
Roughly four years of fees — about £18,500 more borrowed over the degree.
Places per programmeCompetitiveness
Small cohorts. Several of the newer schools take only 30–50 students a year.
Favours A100: Large cohorts — the biggest UK schools admit 250–380 home students a year.
Who you are competing withCompetitiveness
Graduates only, so the whole field has a degree and often a strong one.
A mixed field of school leavers and graduates, scored on the same criteria.
How many schools you can apply toSchool choice
21 graduate routes catalogued here, and not every one will fit your degree or test.
Favours A100: Most UK medical schools accept graduate applicants onto the 5-year course.
Test flexibilitySchool choice
9 of the 21 routes accept GAMSAT — useful if UCAT went badly, costly if you have to sit both.
UCAT at almost every school, so one test result covers your whole list.
If it does not work out this cycleFallback
A narrow shortlist means a reapplication looks much like the first attempt.
Favours A100: A far wider pool of schools to re-target, and a foundation or gateway year is often an option.
Mixing both on one UCAS formFallback
Nothing stops you. Two GEM plus two A100 is the most common graduate strategy.
The A100 choices are what keep an offer on the table if the GEM interviews go against you.

The short version: most successful graduate applicants do not choose — they split their four UCAS choices across both, because the two routes fail in different ways.

Step 3

Admissions tests for GEM

The single most expensive mistake in a graduate application is sitting the wrong test. Work out which of the 21 routes you actually want before you book anything.

UCAT — 17 of 21 routes

The default. Barts and The London (Queen Mary), Cambridge, Cardiff, King's College London (KCL), Manchester, Newcastle, North Wales (Bangor), Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield, Southampton and Warwick (GEM) all use UCAT for graduate applicants — and Chester Medical School (GEM), Pears Cumbria (GEM), Surrey (GEM), Swansea (GEM) and Worcester Medical School accept it as one option. 7 routes publish a graduate cut-off in the NextGen MedPrep dataset, from 1800 to a median of 1960.

GAMSAT — 9 of 21 routes

A 5-hour written test in humanities, biological and physical sciences, and written communication. Liverpool, St Andrews, St George's and Ulster University Medical School select on GAMSAT; Chester Medical School (GEM), Pears Cumbria (GEM), Surrey (GEM), Swansea (GEM) and Worcester Medical School accept either test. Sat in March and September.

More than one test accepted

Chester Medical School (GEM), Pears Cumbria (GEM), Surrey (GEM), Swansea (GEM) and Worcester Medical School accept more than one test — Chester and Pears Cumbria will also take an MCAT, while Surrey takes UCAT only from bioscience or chemistry graduates. That flexibility is genuinely useful if one sitting went badly, and it is one reason these schools appear on a lot of graduate shortlists.

Which sitting to book

UCAT booking opens in May and the test runs July to late September. GAMSAT runs in March and September — take the March sitting if you can, because the September one leaves almost no margin before the 15 October UCAS deadline and no room at all to re-sit.

Step 3b

GAMSAT in the UK: which graduate-entry courses use it?

9 of the 21 UK graduate-entry routes accept GAMSAT for 2027 entry. Liverpool, St Andrews, St George's and Ulster University Medical School select on GAMSAT rather than UCAT; Chester Medical School (GEM), Pears Cumbria (GEM), Surrey (GEM), Swansea (GEM) and Worcester Medical School accept either test. The other 12 routes use UCAT only, so a UK graduate applicant needs GAMSAT only when one of these courses is on their shortlist.

Test dates, sections and how UK schools use the score are covered in the UK GAMSAT guide.

Step 4

Funding for UK Graduate Entry Medicine

The funding model is the single biggest practical advantage of GEM over a standard 5-year course — three NHS-funded years instead of one. Here is the same degree, funded two ways.

4-year GEM3 NHS-funded years of 4
Year 1Student Finance tuition loan
Year 2NHS Bursary
Year 3NHS Bursary
Year 4NHS Bursary
5-year A100 (as a graduate)1 NHS-funded year of 5
Year 1Student Finance tuition loan
Year 2Student Finance tuition loan
Year 3Student Finance tuition loan
Year 4Student Finance tuition loan
Year 5NHS Bursary

Year 1

No NHS Bursary, and not a standard undergraduate year either: the Student Finance England tuition fee loan is capped at £6,125 for 2026/27 and you self-fund the first £3,665 of the fee. Maintenance support is means-tested as usual.

Years 2–4

The NHS Bursary kicks in, but it pays a capped tuition contribution — up to £3,930 for 2026/27 — and you borrow the remaining £5,860 as a fee loan. It also provides a non-means-tested grant and a means-tested bursary towards living costs, and you drop to a reduced-rate maintenance loan. It does not start automatically — register once you firm your offer.

vs the 5-year course

On a standard 5-year MBBS the NHS Bursary covers the final year only, and it pays the fee in full. On GEM it runs across years 2–4 — three years instead of one — at the lower graduate-entry contribution rate. GEM still comes out ahead on tuition, and a year less of foregone earnings usually matters more than either.

International students

International GEM students pay the same overseas fees as international 5-year students (£35,000–£62,000/year, school-specific). The NHS Bursary does not apply.

Step 5

GEM application timeline

The cycle runs roughly from the January before you apply (start of test prep) through the 15 October UCAS deadline to offers the following spring. Here are the milestones you cannot miss.

01
Year before applying · Jan–Jun 2025

Decide your test strategy

Work out whether your shortlist needs UCAT, GAMSAT or both. If any of Chester Medical School (GEM), Liverpool, Pears Cumbria (GEM), St Andrews, St George's, Surrey (GEM), Swansea (GEM), Ulster University Medical School and Worcester Medical School is on your list you may need GAMSAT — book the March sitting, not September, so the result lands well before the UCAS deadline.

02
Apply year · Jul–Sep 2026

Sit your admissions test

Take UCAT (book July for the widest choice of slots). Sit GAMSAT if your list needs it. Aim for a score matched to specific schools rather than a generic "good" score.

03
Apply year · September 2026

Finalise your four UCAS choices

Your UCAT score arrives before you have to commit. Check each school's GRADUATE cut-off, not its headline home figure — they are scored separately and can differ by hundreds of points.

04
Apply year · 15 October 2026

UCAS deadline

Submit your UCAS application by the 15 October medicine deadline — the same cut-off as standard medicine, with no extension for graduate routes.

05
Apply year · Dec 2026–Mar 2027

Interviews

Most graduate routes interview by MMI; Swansea runs an assessment day and Southampton a selection day. Prepare ethics frameworks, structured behavioural answers and live mocks.

06
Apply year · March 2027 onwards

Offers & NHS Bursary

Offers are released. Register for the NHS Bursary once you have accepted a firm offer — on a 4-year course it starts paying your tuition from year 2.

Step 6

Six mistakes that cost GEM applicants offers

Assuming the graduate cut-off equals the home cut-off. Schools score graduates on a separate tier. Barts and The London invited graduates at roughly 2093 for 2025 entry, having sat at 2205 two cycles earlier — the graduate line moves independently of the headline figure.
Sitting the September GAMSAT. It leaves almost no margin before the 15 October UCAS deadline, and no room at all to re-sit. If GAMSAT is on your critical path, take it in March.
Applying to four GEM programmes only. There are 21 graduate routes in the whole country and several will not fit your degree or your test. An all-GEM list concentrates your risk in the smallest cohorts in UK medicine.
Booking UCAT for a list that does not use it. Liverpool, St Andrews, St George's and Ulster University Medical School select on GAMSAT and do not look at UCAT for the graduate route. Match the test to the schools before you pay for either.
Treating a 2:2 as automatically disqualifying — or automatically fine. Most routes want a 2:1 in any subject; a few will look at a 2:2 alongside a strong test score or a masters. It is a per-school question, never a general rule.
Forgetting the NHS Bursary needs registering. It does not arrive automatically with your offer. Register once you firm, or you will be paying year 2 tuition that the NHS was ready to cover.
FAQ

Graduate Entry Medicine — frequently asked questions

GEM (Graduate Entry Medicine) is a 4-year accelerated UK medicine degree designed for applicants who already hold a bachelor's degree. The compressed format covers the same content as standard 5-year MBBS programmes by frontloading basic sciences and starting clinical placements earlier, typically in year 2.

Sources

Official course pages

Entry requirements move every cycle. Confirm anything above against the school's own admissions page before you commit a UCAS choice.

Route membership: Medical Schools Council course listings, retrieved 14 September 2026 — Cambridge A101, Cardiff A101 (C21), King's College London (KCL) A102, Liverpool A101, Manchester A101, Nottingham A101, Oxford A101, Sheffield A101, Southampton BM4, St Andrews A101 (ScotGEM), Worcester Medical School A101. The other routes are sourced from the NextGen MedPrep UK school dataset; each school's official page is linked below, and the six routes added in September 2026 link to the university page their admissions test was checked against.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary)A101 graduate route · UCATCambridgeA101 graduate route · UCATCardiffA101 (C21) graduate route · UCATChester Medical School (GEM)Dedicated GEM school · UCAT or GAMSATKing's College London (KCL)A102 graduate route · UCATLiverpoolA101 graduate route · GAMSATManchesterA101 graduate route · UCATNewcastleA101 graduate route · UCATNorth Wales (Bangor)A101 graduate route · UCATNottinghamA101 graduate route · UCATOxfordA101 graduate route · UCATPears Cumbria (GEM)Dedicated GEM school · UCAT or GAMSATSheffieldA101 graduate route · UCATSouthamptonBM4 graduate route · UCATSt AndrewsA101 (ScotGEM) graduate route · GAMSATSt George'sA101 graduate route · GAMSATSurrey (GEM)Dedicated GEM school · UCAT or GAMSATSwansea (GEM)Dedicated GEM school · UCAT or GAMSATUlster University Medical SchoolDedicated GEM school · GAMSATWarwick (GEM)Dedicated GEM school · UCATWorcester Medical SchoolDedicated GEM school · UCAT or GAMSAT
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