Where are Brunel Medical School and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Brunel Medical School is in Uxbridge, UK. Ulster University Medical School is in Londonderry, UK. Tuition is £9,250/year at both for UK home applicants; the main cost difference is accommodation (London accommodation typically runs 30-50% above the national average).

When does each school release decisions?

Brunel Medical School typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Ulster University Medical School releases medicine decisions March onwards. If one is earlier than the other, you may need to hold a decision while waiting for the second school — be ready to compare in real time.

Medical school comparison

Brunel Medical School vs Ulster University Medical School

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Brunel Medical School vs Ulster University Medical School?

Brunel Medical School — Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including two Science subjects, English Language at grade 4/C (or equivalent), and Mathematics at grade 5/B. Ulster University Medical School — Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Brunel Medical School and Ulster University Medical School are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Brunel Medical School is based in Uxbridge (England) while Ulster University Medical School sits in Londonderry (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Brunel Medical School and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	Brunel Medical SchoolUxbridge	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Uxbridge, UK	Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore	Brunel Medical School TrueScore 1850	-
UCAT home cut-off	UCAT required for home applicants. Brunel publishes NO cut-off score - selection is competitive on overall performance, so no threshold should be inferred.	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	International: 240/540 = 44%. UK estimated >30%, likely less than other London universities.	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
Contextual A-Level offer	Lower contextualised offer available for Widening Access Criteria applicants - exact grades not published	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry or Biology required, plus a second science from Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics, plus any third subject	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including two Science subjects, English Language at grade 4/C (or equivalent), and Mathematics at grade 5/B	-
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, including HL 6 in Chemistry or Biology and HL 6 in a second science	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	Bachelor's degree at 2:1 or equivalent in a subject relevant to Medicine; Master's with Merit or equivalent in a relevant subject also accepted	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (Arts, Science, Humanities all accepted)
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only. UCAT NOT used - Ulster uses GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test). Recent GAMSAT thresholds have been ~61. Plus 2:1 honours degree and MMI interview. Strong Northern Ireland regional focus.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	Not applicable - Ulster uses GAMSAT, not the UCAT. Recent thresholds have been around 61.
SJT band	Band 4 SJT auto-rejected	-
UCAT notes	Applicants with SJT Band 4 are not accepted. Brunel takes both home and international students (2026/7 fees: £9,790 home, £49,395 international).	GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course.

Degree awarded	MBBS	MBBS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Team-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Plastinated specimens	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	Greater London and south east England	Across Northern Ireland
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	The clinical skills facilities include 18 video-equipped consultation rooms.	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	MMI format with around 4-5 minutes per station. Heavy on scenario reasoning, data interpretation and inferences from given information rather than recall of memorised model answers. 1-minute reading t…	MMI format with multiple stations. Focus on serving Northern Ireland's healthcare needs alongside standard motivation, ethics and communication content.

Specialities	Medicine, Healthcare Sciences	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2022	2021
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	New medical school still under GMC accreditation (Buckingham acts as contingency). Refused to publish UCAT cut-offs - anecdotally low. International offers are notably high in volume relative to home…	New medical school serving Northern Ireland. Strong regional focus, with the course oriented around local workforce needs. Cut-offs have not yet stabilised.
Official course page	https://www.brunel.ac.uk/study/courses/medicine-mbbs	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

Brunel Medical School

Uxbridge

Quick comparison

Location: Uxbridge, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject
TrueScore: Brunel Medical School TrueScore 1850
UCAT home cut-off: UCAT required for home applicants. Brunel publishes NO cut-off score - selection is competitive on overall performance, so no threshold should be inferred.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: International: 240/540 = 44%. UK estimated >30%, likely less than other London universities.
Decision date: March onwards

Ulster University Medical School

Londonderry

Quick comparison

Location: Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Brunel Medical School vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Brunel Medical School requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject.

Ulster University Medical School requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Brunel Medical School: Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including two Science subjects, English Language at grade 4/C (or equivalent), and Mathematics at grade 5/B. Ulster University Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Interview formats

Both Brunel Medical School and Ulster University Medical School use MMI interviews, so the underlying prep approach is the same — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot-topic answers and (for MMI) structured station responses against a timer.

Interview windows: Brunel Medical School interviews in December - March; Ulster University Medical School in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a Integrated-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Five-year MBBS with integrated theory and early clinical practice. Brunel partners with NHS West London for clinical placements (Hillingdon, Northwick Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

Intake size: Brunel Medical School — ~95 places per year (small newer cohort).; Ulster University Medical School — ~70 places per year (small cohort, NI-focused).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Brunel Medical School: New medical school still under GMC accreditation (Buckingham acts as contingency). Refused to publish UCAT cut-offs - anecdotally low. International offers are notably high in volume relative to home places.

Ulster University Medical School: New medical school serving Northern Ireland. Strong regional focus, with the course oriented around local workforce needs. Cut-offs have not yet stabilised.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Brunel Medical School feeds into the England foundation programme network; Ulster University Medical School into the London network.

Your firm/insurance choice should ultimately weight: where your UCAT and predicted grades sit relative to each school's threshold, which interview format you can prepare for most credibly, and where you'd actually want to live for five or six years.

Common questions

Neither school publishes a single fixed UCAT cut-off; both use UCAT as part of a composite shortlisting score alongside GCSE and personal-statement weighting. Brunel Medical School guidance: UCAT required for home applicants. Brunel publishes NO cut-off score - selection is competitive on overall performance, so no threshold should be inferred.. Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

Brunel Medical School uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Ulster University Medical School uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The format is the same, so the same prep approach applies — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot topics, and (for MMI) structured 5-7 minute station answers. Interview windows: December - March (Brunel Medical School); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

Brunel Medical School requires AAA including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject. Ulster University Medical School requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Brunel Medical School — Resits considered.. Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

Brunel Medical School's selection methodology: New programme (first cohort 2022). UCAT + academic + interview. Brunel partners with NHS West London for clinical placements. Ulster University Medical School's selection methodology: Graduate-entry only: a 2:1 honours degree in any discipline plus GAMSAT (recent threshold ~61 out of 100), then MMI. Strong Northern Ireland regional focus. Understanding each school's exact algorithm is the single highest-leverage piece of pre-application research — it tells you whether your profile is competitive before you spend an application choice.

Brunel Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Brunel Medical School specifics: Five-year MBBS with integrated theory and early clinical practice. Brunel partners with NHS West London for clinical placements (Hillingdon, Northwick Park, Ealing). Ulster University Medical School specifics: Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

You can — UCAS allows 4 medicine/dentistry choices in total, so listing both is feasible if your profile fits each school's selection algorithm. Apply to both only if your UCAT, GCSE and predicted-grade profile is competitive against each school's published weighting. A common mistake is using two of your four slots on similar schools when a more spread-out portfolio (one safe + one stretch) would maximise overall offer probability.

Where to go next

Brunel Medical SchoolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Ulster University Medical SchoolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 19 September 2026.

Brunel Medical School vs Ulster University Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

Brunel Medical School vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Brunel Medical School vs Ulster University Medical School?

How do interviews differ between Brunel Medical School and Ulster University Medical School?

What A-Level grades do Brunel Medical School and Ulster University Medical School require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Brunel Medical School vs Ulster University Medical School?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Brunel Medical School and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Brunel Medical School and Ulster University Medical School use?

Should I apply to both Brunel Medical School and Ulster University Medical School?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons