Which A-levels do you need for medicine and dentistry?

Every medical and dental school writes its own A-level subject rule, and they differ more than you might expect. We sorted each school’s rule into one of four patterns. Across the 41 UK school-leaver medicine courses open to UK applicants:

So Chemistry is the subject medical schools ask for most often, but ‘you must take Chemistry for medicine’ is not true everywhere: 19 of the 41 courses do not make it compulsory. Lincoln, for example, asks for AAA ‘which must include Biology (or Human Biology)’ and names no other required subject. Manchester asks for Biology/Human Biology or Chemistry, plus one of Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Psychology, Maths or Further Maths.

At the other end, Oxford requires Chemistry plus at least one of Biology, Physics or Maths, and Cambridge requires Chemistry at every college, plus one or two further science or maths subjects depending on the college. Biology is compulsory at 15 of the 41 medicine courses, so it is worth taking too if you can.

Dentistry

Dental schools lean harder on both sciences. 10 of the 16 UK dental schools with a school-leaver course open to UK applicants make Chemistry and Biology compulsory. The other six: Bristol (Chemistry compulsory, Biology optional), King's College London (KCL) (Chemistry or Biology), Norwich (UEA) (Chemistry or Biology), Plymouth (Biology compulsory, Chemistry optional), Portsmouth (Biology compulsory, Chemistry optional) and Queen Mary (QMUL) (Chemistry or Biology). Plymouth, for instance, asks for grade A in Biology and in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology. Norwich (UEA) and Portsmouth are new dental schools, with a first UK intake in September 2027. They are not in our school records yet, so their rows quote their own course pages. Our Where to Apply for Dentistry page covers what else they ask for.

In the rules we checked, Maths and Physics appear as options alongside Chemistry or Biology rather than as compulsory subjects on their own. Oxford accepts Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Maths. Glasgow asks UK A-level applicants for Chemistry plus one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics (and international A-level applicants for Chemistry, Biology and one of Physics or Mathematics). Newcastle’s 2027 policy lists Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Statistics or Physics as the second subject.

Cambridge is the one to plan for

Cambridge requires Chemistry at every college, plus one or two other science or maths subjects from Biology (or Human Biology), Physics, Maths and Further Maths. Seven colleges (Fitzwilliam, Girton, Homerton, Murray Edwards, Newnham, Selwyn and Trinity Hall) ask for Chemistry and one other; the other 21 colleges it lists ask for Chemistry and two others. Cambridge also says all of its A-level medicine entrants had studied Chemistry and almost all had studied at least two of Biology, Further Maths, Maths and Physics. If Cambridge is on your list, taking Chemistry plus two of Biology, Physics, Maths and Further Maths keeps every college open.

Further Maths

Schools treat Further Maths differently. Oxford counts Maths and Further Maths as two separate A-levels. Manchester will not include Maths and Further Maths together in an offer. King’s College London dentistry says that if Maths is used to meet one of its subject requirements, Further Maths cannot be your third A-level. If you are planning Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths, check every school on your list.

An A-level offer is written as three grades, such as AAA or A*AA. If you apply before your results, the offer is conditional: you need to achieve those grades in your exams at the end of Year 13. AAA is the most common standard A-level offer: 27 of the 41 UK school-leaver medicine courses open to UK applicants ask for it, and 12 ask for A*AA, counting a school that gives a range at the top of it. The highest standard offer is Cambridge’s A*A*A; the lowest is Buckingham’s ABB.

Three schools give a range rather than a single offer: AAA–AAB at Kent and Medway (KMMS), A*AA–AAB at Peninsula (Plymouth) and A*AA–AAA at St George's. Kent and Medway sets the offer for students taking A-levels now from the average A-level attainment of their school. At Peninsula (Plymouth), the lower end of the range is the offer for widening access applicants.

Where the A* goes can matter. Imperial wants it in Biology or Chemistry (in a contextual offer it can be in any subject), Aston wants it in Biology or Chemistry, and Cambridge says its colleges usually require an A* in Chemistry. For a standard offer at Imperial or Aston, an A* in your third subject would not be enough.

For dentistry, 13 of the 16 dental schools ask for AAA and three ask for A*AA, counting Plymouth (A*AA–AAB) at the top of its range. At Plymouth, the lower end of the range is the offer for widening access applicants.

Predicted grades

Your teachers predict your grades for your UCAS application, and schools use those predictions in different ways. Hull York asks for a prediction of no lower than AAB. Aston says predicted A-level grades are not considered ‘at any stage of the admissions process’, and Lincoln builds its interview shortlist from your GCSEs, UCAT score and context rather than your A-levels, although its offers are still conditional on them. How schools use your GCSEs is covered in our GCSE requirements guide.

Highers and Advanced Highers

If you are at school in Scotland, the same subject logic applies to your Highers, but requirements are set across two years. Glasgow, for example, asks for AAAAB at Higher in S5, including Chemistry, Biology and Physics or Mathematics, plus BB at Advanced Higher in S6, and does not count Highers taken in S4 towards the S5 requirement. Schools outside Scotland set their own versions: Hull York asks you to study Biology and Chemistry at Advanced Higher, with a standard offer of BBB at Advanced Higher plus AAAAB at Higher, or, if you take only two Advanced Highers, AA in Biology and Chemistry plus AAAAA at Higher. The Scottish Highers column in the medical school entry requirements table shows each school’s record.

The IB Diploma

36 points is the most common IB requirement in our medicine records, asked for by more than half of the 40 with an IB figure, and requirements run from 32 to 41–42 points. Schools also set Higher Level grades in named subjects: Cambridge asks for 41–42 points with 776 at Higher Level; Imperial for a minimum of 38 points with 6 in Higher Level Biology and Chemistry; King’s College London for 38 points overall or 19 from three Higher Levels, with 6 in Higher Level Biology and Chemistry. The same Chemistry-and-Biology logic applies to your Higher Level choices.