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

Southampton is in Southampton, 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?

Southampton 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

Southampton vs Ulster University Medical School

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

Southampton — Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score Ulster University Medical School — Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

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

The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Southampton and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	SouthamptonSouthampton	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Southampton, UK	Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore	Southampton TrueScore 2000	-
UCAT home cut-off	No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.	-
Interview format	Selection Day - Panel and Group	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) for contextual / WP applicants	-
Required A-Level subjects	Biology required, plus one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered with standard AAA requirements in final exams	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted.	-
GCSE scoring methodology	Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level - including HL Biology and a second subject from the accepted list	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. Southampton graduates applying for BM4 (Graduate Entry Medicine) get a lower UCAT threshold than non-Southampton graduates.	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	Situational judgement is not considered	-
UCAT notes	UCAT ranks you for a place at a Selection Day; after that, the offer rests on Selection Day performance, with UCAT used only to separate tied candidates.	GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course.

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBBS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	The Wessex region	Across Northern Ireland
Named placement sites	Southampton General Hospital	-
Intercalation	Between year 3 and year 4 you can apply for a Master of Medical Science or MSc at Southampton, or an iBSc or MSc at another university.	-
Course highlight	-	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

Interview window	January - March	December - March
Interview details	Two-part interview: a 20-minute panel based heavily on your personal statement (around half the questions come from it) and a separate 30-minute group task with about 8 candidates discussing a topic w…	MMI format with multiple stations. Focus on serving Northern Ireland's healthcare needs alongside standard motivation, ethics and communication content.

Specialities	Medicine, Cancer Sciences, Clinical Research	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	1952	2021
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being…	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.southampton.ac.uk/courses/medicine-bm5-degree-bmbs	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

Southampton

Quick comparison

Location: Southampton, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
TrueScore: Southampton TrueScore 2000
UCAT home cut-off: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.
Interview format: Selection Day - Panel and Group
Post-interview chance: Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%
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

Southampton vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Southampton requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography.

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

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Southampton: Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold -… Ulster University Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Interview formats

Southampton uses Panel (Selection Day - Panel and Group); Ulster University Medical School uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)). These two formats reward different skills — Panel emphasises narrative coherence and the ability to develop a thread under follow-up questioning, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Southampton may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Ulster University Medical School is the better fit.

Interview windows: Southampton interviews in January - 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 BM5 integrated programme with strong emphasis on research methodology. Clinical placements across Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Salis Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

Intake size: Southampton — ~210 home + ~25 international places per year (BM5 standard programme).; 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

Southampton: Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being removed in favour of more clinical learning time.

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 — Southampton 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. Southampton guidance: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.. Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

Southampton uses Panel interview: Selection Day - Panel and Group. Ulster University Medical School uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: January - March (Southampton); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

Southampton requires AAA including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography. 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: Southampton — Resits considered case-by-case; achieved-grade route also available.. Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

Southampton's selection methodology: UCAT-based shortlisting after academic minimums met. Historically uses a banding/decile-based UCAT approach. 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.

Southampton 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. Southampton specifics: Five-year BM5 integrated programme with strong emphasis on research methodology. Clinical placements across Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Salisbury, and Isle of Wight NHS sites. 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

SouthamptonEntry 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.

Southampton vs Ulster University Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

Southampton 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 Southampton vs Ulster University Medical School?

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

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

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

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

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

When does each school release decisions?

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

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

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons