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UK Medicine · Course profile

The Bristol Medicine courseWhat you actually study, and where you will be

Degree MB ChBLength 5 yearsTeaching Case-based learning + IntegratedClinical contact Year 1UCAS code A100
How to get into BristolEntry requirements & UCAT

Photo: Suicasmo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped

Photo: AmW22 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: 14GTR · CC BY-SA 4.0

Overview

The Bristol medicine course at a glance

Case-based from year 1, with placements in primary and secondary care starting in the first year and clinical academies carrying year 4. Anatomy is taught on cadaveric prosections rather than by dissection.

Teaching

How Bristol teaches medicine

A "blend of lectures, case-based learning and practical work" with integration of basic science and clinical learning throughout the course.

What that means day to day

Case-based learning
Like PBL but more structured — the case comes with defined learning outcomes and a facilitator keeps the group on the intended path.
Integrated
Basic science and clinical medicine are taught together from the start rather than as separate pre-clinical and clinical halves.

When you first meet patients

Year 1 begins with clinical placements in primary and secondary care.

Anatomy

Anatomy at Bristol

Prosection. "State-of-the-art anatomy facilities, including cadaveric prosections."

Structure

Year by year at Bristol

Year 1
Case-based foundation with primary and secondary care placements.
Year 2
Disease processes explored through case-based learning, with placements.
Year 3
Work across primary, community and secondary care settings.
Year 4
Patient care across the life course, based in clinical academies.
Year 5
Post-elective period preparing for foundation posts.
Intercalation

Intercalation at Bristol

Offered between years 3 and 4, at bachelor's or master's level.

Worth knowing

Worth knowing about Bristol

  • You choose the placement for your final-year elective.
Next steps

Applying to Bristol?

Full guide

How to get into Bristol

Entry requirements, UCAT, personal statement and interview, step by step.

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Entry requirements

Bristol UCAT cut-offs and offers

UCAT cut-offs, A-level offers, interview format and decision dates.

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Side by side

Compare Bristol with other schools

Put the teaching style, anatomy teaching and placements next to another school.

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Interview guide

Prepare for the Bristol interview

Format breakdown, school-specific sample questions and prep tips from tutors who interviewed here.

Read the guide →
Sources

Where this Bristol course profile came from

Every course detail on this page was taken from University of Bristol's own course page, read on 2026-09-11.

Primary source: University of Bristol — official course information.

Courses are restructured between cycles. Anything here that decides your application — an anatomy offer, a placement city, a compulsory intercalated year — should be confirmed against the official page for your entry year.

Applying to Bristol?

We have helped hundreds of applicants turn their UCAT, personal statement and interview prep into offers from Bristol and other UK medicine schools.

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