Where are Chester Medical School (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Chester Medical School (GEM) is in Chester, 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?

Chester Medical School (GEM) 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

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School?

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

Chester Medical School (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Chester Medical School (GEM) is based in Chester (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: Chester Medical School (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	Chester Medical School (GEM)Chester	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Chester, UK	Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2)	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore	Chester Medical School (GEM) TrueScore 1820GEM	-
UCAT home cut-off	-	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	-	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2)	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	-	-
A-Level resit policy	Not applicable to graduate entry.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent)	-
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	-	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or higher in any honours degree from a UK or recognised international institution. No restriction on degree subject - non-science degrees acceptable.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (Arts, Science, Humanities all accepted)
Alternative qualifications	Graduate-entry only. UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT all accepted (applicant submits best score). Required: relevant healthcare or community work experience, plus a personal statement reflecting commitment to medicine.	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	UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT accepted - the applicant submits their best score. No fixed cut-off: Chester sets the threshold annually 'above the national mean'.	Not applicable - Ulster uses GAMSAT, not the UCAT. Recent thresholds have been around 61.
SJT band	-	-
UCAT notes	Any-discipline graduate entry. 70 hours of healthcare or care-setting work experience within the three years before applying is a hard requirement. International applicants need IELTS 7.0.	GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course.

Degree awarded	MB ChB	MBBS
Course length	4 years (graduate entry)	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Imaging and models	Imaging and models
First patient contact	-	-
Placement geography	Cheshire, the Wirral, Shropshire and north Wales	Across Northern Ireland
Named placement sites	Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Warrington and Halton NHS Trust, Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Crewe, Northwich, Winsford), Cheshire and Wirral Partnership, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (Wrexham Maelor), Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt NHS Foundation Trust (Oswestry)	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Open to graduates with a previous degree in any discipline, not just science.	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	Graduate-entry MMI format with stations covering clinical reasoning, communication, motivation and reflection on prior experiences.	MMI format with multiple stations. Focus on serving Northern Ireland's healthcare needs alongside standard motivation, ethics and communication content.

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2024	2021
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Graduate entry programme with focus on serving local communities. Newer course with a regional commitment to north-west England.	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.chester.ac.uk/study/graduate-entry-medicine/	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

Chester Medical School (GEM)

Chester

Quick comparison

Location: Chester, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2)
TrueScore: Chester Medical School (GEM) TrueScore 1820GEM
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
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

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Chester Medical School (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2).

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

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

Interview formats

Both Chester Medical School (GEM) 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: Chester Medical School (GEM) interviews in December - March; Ulster University Medical School in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Chester Medical School (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum; Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Chester Medical School (GEM) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Ulster University Medical School uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Cheshire-based with regional NHS placements. Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

Intake size: Chester Medical School (GEM) — ~30-50 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

Chester Medical School (GEM): Graduate entry programme with focus on serving local communities. Newer course with a regional commitment to north-west England.

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 — Chester Medical School (GEM) feeds into the England foundation programme network; Ulster University Medical School into the London network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Chester Medical School (GEM); if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better.

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. Chester Medical School (GEM) guidance: Any-discipline graduate entry. 70 hours of healthcare or care-setting work experience within the three years before applying is a hard requirement. International applicants need IELTS 7.0.. Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

Chester Medical School (GEM) 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 (Chester Medical School (GEM)); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

Chester Medical School (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2). 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: Chester Medical School (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry.. Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

Chester Medical School (GEM)'s selection methodology: Degree class (2:1, or 2:2 with a Master's) plus an admission test - UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT, best score counted, threshold set above the national mean each year - plus 70 hours of recent healthcare work experience, then MMI. 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.

Chester Medical School (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Chester Medical School (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Cheshire-based with regional NHS placements. 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

Chester Medical School (GEM)Entry 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.

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

Chester Medical School (GEM) 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 Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School?

How do interviews differ between Chester Medical School (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School?

What A-Level grades do Chester Medical School (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Chester Medical School (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Chester Medical School (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School use?

Should I apply to both Chester Medical School (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons