- Graduate Entry Interviews
- Costs and Funding: Graduate Entry Medicine
- How to Prepare for Graduate Entry Medicine
- Transfer to Medicine
- GAMSAT
- Case Study: Graduate Entry Medicine at Warwick
- Case Study: Career Change To Medicine
- Case Study: Biochemistry To Medicine
- GEM Conference
Graduate Entry Medicine is a course for degree-holders who want to pursue a career in Medicine. You may be considering this option for the future if you didn’t receive any Medicine offers this year and are now planning to study a different degree – or perhaps you’ve been working in another field and would like to change careers.
What Is Graduate Entry Medicine?
Graduate Entry Medicine is a pathway for graduates and degree-holders who want to study Medicine. The programme is accelerated, so it usually takes 4 years to complete, instead of the 5 or 6 years that Undergraduate Medicine courses take.
Graduate Entry Medicine began over 20 years ago, with the first courses offered by St George’s in London and the joint Leicester–Warwick Medical School. It’s now a popular route into Medicine, and a lot of the UK’s Med Schools offer a GEM course.
How Competitive Are Graduate Entry Medicine Courses?
Applying for Graduate Entry Medicine is competitive. If you’re considering this pathway to Medicine, bear in mind that there is a lot of competition for a relatively small number of places.
For example, Barts say on their website that they typically receive over 1,500 applications for their GEM course, and there are only around 39 places available. Some universities, such as Swansea and Warwick, have more places available than others – so make sure you do your research before you make your application choices.
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99.8% of graduates are practising in top hospitals around the world!
Which UK Medical Schools Offer Graduate Entry Medicine Courses?
There are currently 17 Medical Schools in the UK offering Graduate Entry Medicine courses, and 12 of these say they will consider applicants with non-science degrees. Please note that many of the courses which accept non-science degrees do specify requirements for at least one science A-Level, so make sure you check their websites for specific entry criteria.
This table outlines which universities offer Graduate Entry courses, how many places they have available each year, whether you need to have a science degree to apply, and which admissions test they require.
| University | Approx Number of Places | What Aptitude Test is Required? | Do They Accept Non-Science Degrees? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barts (QMUL) | 39 | UCAT | Yes |
| Birmingham | Not recruiting for 2023 entry | UCAT | No |
| Cambridge | 37 | None | Yes |
| Cardiff | Places only available to students currently on selected Feeder Stream courses | UCAT | No |
| Chester | 50 (government funded) + 25 international places | UCAT, MCAT and GAMSAT | Yes |
| Dundee/St Andrews – ScotGEM | 55-70 | GAMSAT | Yes |
| King’s College London | 28 | UCAT | No |
| Newcastle | 25 | UCAT | Yes |
| Nottingham | 93 | GAMSAT | Yes |
| Oxford | 35 | BMAT (Note: The BMAT will be discontinued in 2024) | No |
| Pears Cumbria School of Medicine | 50 | UCAT or GAMSAT | No, accepting Biosciences or Allied Healthcare degrees |
| Sheffield | 15 (from Widening Participation backgrounds) | UCAT | No |
| Southampton | 48 | UCAT | Yes |
| St George’s | 70 | GAMSAT | Yes |
| Surrey | 34 home student places + international student places. | UCAT or GAMSAT | Yes |
| Swansea | 142 | GAMSAT for UK applicants; GAMSAT or MCAT for international | Yes |
| Worcester (Three Counties Medical School) | 50 (government funded) + uncapped international places | UCAT or GAMSAT | Yes |
| Warwick | 193 | UCAT | Yes |
Which Non-UK Medical Schools Offer Graduate Entry Medicine Courses?
Studying medicine abroad can also be a great option. This table outlines some universities which offer Graduate Entry courses, how many places they have available each year, whether you need to have a science degree to apply, and which admissions test they require.
| University | Approx number of places | What Aptitude Test is Required? | Do They Accept Non-Science Degrees? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicosia | 60 | MCAT, GAMSAT or UCAT | Yes |
| AUA | MCAT | No | |
| Harvard | 165 | MCAT | Yes |
| Yale | 104 | MCAT | Yes |
| University of Melbourne | 105 | MCAT or GAMSAT | Yes |
| University of Sydney | 300 | MCAT or GAMSAT | Yes |
| Georgian National University | 200 | None | No |
| Bay University | 185 | None | No |
| Royal College of Surgeons | 82 | MCAT or GAMSAT | Yes |
Apply for Swansea’s Graduate Entry Medicine programme!
Swansea’s Graduate Entry Medicine programme is open to graduates of any discipline from the UK, EU or overseas.
How Is Graduate Entry Medicine Funded?
If you’re a medical student on a Graduate Entry Medicine course, you are entitled to apply for partial tuition fee and maintenance loans, as well as the NHS bursary scheme. Some universities may also offer their own bursaries or scholarships.
Note that funding will be different if you are an international student in the UK and you will need to pay international fees.
What Are The Entry Requirements For Graduate Entry Medicine?
The entry requirements for Graduate Entry Medicine vary depending on which course you’re applying to, so you need to check with each Medical School first.
In general, you need:
- At least a 2:1 degree
- The GAMSAT or UCAT admissions test
- Relevant work experience
- Strong references
- A compelling Personal Statement
As an example, if you’re applying to Graduate Entry Medicine at University of Nicosia, you’ll need:
- A Bachelor’s degree in any subject (science or non-science)
- IELTS 6.5 and above
- The minimum threshold mark in either GAMSAT or MCAT
- A minimum UCAT score of 2500 overall, with a minimum of 500 in each section, and a situational judgment score within Bands 1-3 (if you hold a Bachelor of Science degree in the Life Sciences or Biomedical Sciences with at least a UK 2.2 class honours or equivalent GPA).
Do I Need To Sit GAMSAT?
Some Graduate Entry Medicine courses will require you to take the GAMSAT admissions test. Others will want you to sit the UCAT instead.
Check out our GAMSAT guide for everything you need to know about GAMSAT and the universities that require it.
Three Counties Medical School
UK, EU and International places available on our Graduate Entry Medicine programme
How Do I Apply For Graduate Entry Medicine?
You apply for Graduate Entry Medicine through UCAS, just like with an Undergraduate Medicine degree. You can apply to up to four Medical Schools. Unlike with Undergraduate Medicine, you can include both Oxford and Cambridge in your UCAS choices for Graduate Entry.
When you apply, you’ll need to submit a Personal Statement for Medicine. See an example Personal Statement from a GEM student at King’s College London.
Once you have submitted your UCAS application, you will be invited to interview at any Medical Schools which have shortlisted you. After your interview, you will then wait to see if the Medical School has decided to offer you a place.
Make sure you check university websites directly to find out if there is anything unique about their application process. For example, in addition to applying through UCAS, some universities want GEM applicants to fill in a supplementary application form.
When Do I Apply For Graduate Entry Medicine?
As you apply through UCAS, the timeline for a Graduate Entry application is the same as it is for an Undergraduate Medicine application.
The UCAS deadline for Medicine is typically in mid-October, which is earlier than for most other degrees.
How Can I Get Help With My Application?
We offer application advice and tutoring for stages of the application process including admissions tests and interviews – helping you to stand out from the crowd as a Graduate Entry Medicine candidate.
Thank you for all the help with the Graduate Entry Medicine interviews. As well as Cambridge I got two more offers from Southampton and St. George’s.
Graduate Entry Medicine Tutee
