Graduate Entry Medical Placements

It was designed to reduce the deficit in the number of qualified doctors in the UK. The course, which has been running at universities across the UK since 2001, is popular with graduates who desire a career change and those who initially chose to study a subject different to medicine following their A level studies.

Graduate entry to medicine is a four year undergraduate course. It is a common misbelief that this course is studied at the postgraduate level. If you wish to apply for graduate entry to medicine, you will do so in the usual way, through UCAS. Similarly to if you were applying for any other undergraduate degree, you will be expected to submit your preferences for four medical schools and submit both a written personal statement and a reference. The way in which you apply may differ slightly between universities so do check what is required of you before you start the application process.

Graduates can also apply to the standard five year degree course. However, some universities don’t allow this. The usual entry requirements for graduates applying to study for a standard five year degree in medicine include high A level results and entrance exams.

Graduate entry to medicine is highly competitive so don’t expect the application process to be any easier than that experienced if you weren’t already a graduate. Graduate entry to medicine is associated with two main entrance exams: the UKCAT and the GAMSAT. UKCAT is a two-hour computer-based multiple choice aptitude test which covers verbal reasoning, abstract reasoning, quantitative reasoning and decision analysis. GAMSAT, on the other hand, is a six-hour paper-based test covering reasoning in the humanities and social sciences, reasoning in the physical sciences, and communication skills.

Some medical schools accept graduates of any degree subject onto their graduate entry to medicine courses. These medical schools include those of the following universities: Cambridge, Keele, King’s (London), Leicester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Southampton, Swansea and St. George’s (London). Other medical schools only accept science graduates. These include the medical schools of St. Barts, Birmingham, Bristol, Imperial, Warwick, Liverpool and Oxford.

Typically, the entry requirements for graduates are a 2.1 degree classification or higher. Some universities require applicants to hold A levels or AS levels in science-based subjects. Other universities require no A levels at all. Each university sets its own entrance requirements so be sure to check these out and don’t assume that the requirements will be the same, regardless of your choice of medical school. As with undergraduate entry to medicine, work experience in the field is beneficial. Work experience will strengthen your application and provide you with a point of discussion for your personal statement, interview or both.

For more information about Gap Year Medical Work Experience Abroad please contact Gap Medics on +44 (0)191 269 6818 or e-mail: info@gapmedics.com.


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