Where are University of Greater Manchester and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

University of Greater Manchester is in Bolton, 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?

University of Greater Manchester 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

University of Greater Manchester vs Ulster University Medical School

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at University of Greater Manchester vs Ulster University Medical School?

University of Greater Manchester — Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics. Ulster University Medical School — Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

University of Greater Manchester and Ulster University Medical School are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. University of Greater Manchester is based in Bolton (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: University of Greater Manchester and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	University of Greater ManchesterBolton	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Bolton, UK	Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer	Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore	University of Greater Manchester TrueScore 1700intl	-
UCAT home cut-off	Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	-	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry or Biology required, plus a further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits may be considered	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics.	-
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	34 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (Arts, Science, Humanities all accepted)
Alternative qualifications	International students only for 2026-27 entry; the school has indicated home eligibility may change in future cycles, so confirm directly with admissions before applying. Applications are made directly to the school rather than through UCAS. UCAT required of all applicants from 2026 entry, with no published cut-off and no SJT use.	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	UCAT required from 2026 entry; no cut-off published	-
Graduate cut-off	-	Not applicable - Ulster uses GAMSAT, not the UCAT. Recent thresholds have been around 61.
SJT band	No usage mentioned in any selection policy	-
UCAT notes	The school requires the UCAT of all applicants from 2026 entry but publishes no threshold, so no cut-off should be inferred. No SJT use stated. Applications are made directly to the school, outside th…	GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course.

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBBS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	-	-
Placement geography	The north west of England	Across Northern Ireland
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	£40 million of purpose-built facilities, in Bolton — around 20 minutes from Manchester.	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	Interviews are conducted online and run as a series of mini-interviews and tests. From 2026 entry every applicant must sit the UCAT; the school publishes no cut-off score.	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	2025	2021
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	For 2026-27 entry the MBChB is open to international students only. Applications are made directly to the school, so a place here costs you none of your four UCAS medical choices. Teaching is based at…	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://medicine.greatermanchester.ac.uk/undergraduate-medical-school/	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

University of Greater Manchester

Bolton

Quick comparison

Location: Bolton, UK
A-Level offer: Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.
TrueScore: University of Greater Manchester TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off: Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry
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

University of Greater Manchester vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

University of Greater Manchester requires Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.

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

GCSE profile matters at both schools — University of Greater Manchester: Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics. Ulster University Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Interview formats

Both University of Greater Manchester 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: University of Greater Manchester interviews in December - March; Ulster University Medical School in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Five-year MBChB taught at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site, with clinical placements through the school's own healt Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

Intake size: University of Greater Manchester — Not published by the school.; 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

University of Greater Manchester: For 2026-27 entry the MBChB is open to international students only. Applications are made directly to the school, so a place here costs you none of your four UCAS medical choices. Teaching is based at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site.

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 — University of Greater Manchester 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 University of Greater Manchester; 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. University of Greater Manchester guidance: Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry. Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

University of Greater Manchester 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 (University of Greater Manchester); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

University of Greater Manchester requires Minimum AAB offer/prediction, must include chemistry or biology and one further subject from biology/chemistry/physics/maths. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. May consider resits. GCSEs: 5 subjects at grade 6, must include maths, English language and two sciences; will consider resits in GCSE English language or maths.. 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: University of Greater Manchester — Resits may be considered.. Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

University of Greater Manchester's selection methodology: Academic entry requirements plus UCAT (required of all applicants from 2026 entry, with no published cut-off), then an online interview made up of a series of mini-interviews and tests. Direct application to the school rather than through UCAS. 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.

University of Greater Manchester 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. University of Greater Manchester specifics: Five-year MBChB taught at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site, with clinical placements through the school's own healthcare partners. 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

University of Greater ManchesterEntry 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.

University of Greater Manchester vs Ulster University Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

University of Greater Manchester 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 University of Greater Manchester vs Ulster University Medical School?

How do interviews differ between University of Greater Manchester and Ulster University Medical School?

What A-Level grades do University of Greater Manchester and Ulster University Medical School require?

How are GCSEs weighted at University of Greater Manchester vs Ulster University Medical School?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are University of Greater Manchester and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do University of Greater Manchester and Ulster University Medical School use?

Should I apply to both University of Greater Manchester and Ulster University Medical School?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons