Graduate Entry Medicine MBChB

Course description

Our MBChB Graduate Entry Medicine programme is for life science graduates who want to become a doctor and are from a background that is under-represented in higher education. It is a shorter course, taught over four years rather than five, and covers phases two, three and four of our standard MBChB medicine programme.

You will start phase two with a six-week recap of phase one topics such as anatomy, histology and physiology. You will then start to build up your medical science knowledge by learning about disease symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, covering topics such as pathology, microbiology, immunology and pharmacology. You will continue to gain clinical skills (for example, taking blood from a patient), develop your understanding of medical law and ethics, and complete another set of ten placements in general practice.

Later in phase two, you will learn how to take patients’ histories and conduct physical examinations, as you begin to spend most of your time in hospital wards, operating theatres and outpatient clinics. You will spend 12 weeks on a longitudinal hospital placement and become part of a clinical team, attending ward rounds, surgical operations, pathology meetings and outpatient clinics. After this, you will have the opportunity to do voluntary work with patient or community groups, to develop your understanding of healthcare issues in wider society.

During phase three, you will continue to work in general practice during community placements, and complete hospital placements based on sub-specialities including children’s health (paediatrics), women’s health (obstetrics and gynaecology), mental health (psychiatry), critical and emergency care, and multiple other specialist areas. We also offer intercalation options that allow you to build up your research skills, develop your knowledge of surgical practice or complete a masters degree in a specialist topic.

Phase four begins with a programme of lectures to consolidate your clinical knowledge, and includes two more longitudinal placements to fully prepare you for a final clinical examination and life as a junior doctor.

This course is not available to international students.

Modules

Title: Graduate Entry Medicine MBChB course structure
UCAS code: A101
Years: 2022, 2023, 2024

Phase 1 (bypassed) Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4

Phase 1 (bypassed)

(Sept Year 1 - June Year 1)

Students on this course bypass phase 1 (the first year) of the A100 Medicine degree.

Learning and assessment

Assessment

You will be assessed through written and practical examinations, coursework, and your performance in real and simulated clinical situations.

Medical Licensing Assessment

Medical students graduating after 2024 will need to pass the Medical Licensing Assessment before they can join the General Medical Council register. You will complete the assessment as part of your degree. It is designed to test your applied knowledge as well as your clinical and professional skills, giving patients and employers greater confidence in your ability to practise medicine.

Entry requirements

Make sure you also read the more detailed entry requirements below.

For more information and frequently asked questions about the course, check the Medical School website.

Standard offer

The A Level entry requirements for this course are:
BBB
including Chemistry or Biology + 2.1 in a life sciences degree + meet our Widening Participation criteria.

International Baccalaureate

32 with 5 in three Higher Level subjects including Chemistry or Biology + 2.1 in a life sciences degree

BTEC Extended Diploma

Not accepted

BTEC Diploma

Not accepted

Routes for mature students

Other requirements

• Life science degree subjects include Biomedical Science, Clinical Science or Dentistry

• We do not accept A Level Further Maths when determining whether an applicant meets our A Level academic threshold. However, for applicants who take four A Levels in a two-year period (typically years 12 and 13 at school) including Maths and Further Maths, we will accept the Maths A Level, even if it is taken in Year 12, irrespective of whether the A Level is certificated in Year 12 or 13. It is expected that Chemistry or Biology and a third acceptable subject will be taken in Year 13

• We do not accept Core Maths when determining whether an applicant meets our academic threshold

• Applicants for Medicine at the University of Sheffield must take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) – see below for more information about how we use applicants’ UCAT scores in the Medicine selection process.

More detailed entry requirements

We have 24 places available to Home applicants from widening participation backgrounds for our four-year Graduate Entry Medicine - MBChB (A101) programme.

Applicants for this programme will be required to demonstrate that they come from a widening participation background and that they meet our minimum academic and UCAT requirements.

Meeting the minimum academic, UCAT and widening participation entry requirements does not guarantee an invitation to interview or the offer of a place. If you wish to also be considered for the Medicine - MBChB A100 programme you will need to apply to that course via UCAS as a separate choice.

Widening Participation entry requirements

Applicants for MBChB Graduate Entry Medicine are required to meet two or more of the following criteria:

You lived in a neighbourhood with a low rate of participation in higher education

At the point you completed your A Levels (or equivalent), you were living in a postcode area with a POLAR4 Quintile 1 ranking, or a postcode area in Quintile 1 or 2 of the relevant Indices of Deprivation (IMD) ranking for your home nation.  

You can check the POLAR4 ranking for your area by searching for your postcode on the Office For Students postcode look-up.

You can check the IMD ranking for your area using the following tools. Simply follow the link and put your postcode into the postcode checker.

• For applicants from Wales, Quintiles 1 and 2 equates to a Welsh Indices of Multiple Deprivation rank of up to and including 764.
• For applicants from England, Quintiles 1 and 2 equates to an IMD rank of 13,137 or below.
• For applicants from Northern Ireland, Quintiles 1 and 2 equates to a NI Multiple Deprivation measure rank of 356 or below.
• For applicants from Scotland, Quintiles 1 and 2 equates to a Scottish Indices of Multiple Deprivation rank of up to and including 2790.

You are care experienced or a care leaver

You should have lived in public care or as a looked-after child at any stage of your life up to the age of 18, including if you were adopted from care or left care with a Special Guardianship Order before the age of 18 lived with foster carers or in a residential children's home have been looked after under a supervision order; or have lived with friends or relatives in formal kinship care under a Local Authority but are not currently recognised by your Local Authority as a care leaver in receipt of statutory support.

Alternatively, you should be recognised by your Local Authority as a 'care leaver', or have been recognised in the past as a person who

• has been looked after by a local authority for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14
• and was looked after by the local authority at school-leaving age or after that date

You have been a carer

At the point you completed your A Levels (or equivalent), you should have been responsible for providing unpaid care to someone who has, for example

• a long-term illness
• a physical or learning disability
• a mental health condition
• an addiction
• temporary care needs following, for example, an accident or operation

You have been estranged from your family

Estranged students have no relationship with, or support from, their parent(s) or carer(s). We'll consider you an estranged student if, at the point you completed your A Levels (or equivalent):

• You hadn't communicated with your parents for 12 months and the situation was irreconcilable.
• Both your biological or adoptive parents were deceased.
• Your parents couldn't be traced or it wasn't practicable or safe for you to make contact with them.

You have parenting responsibilities

At the point you completed your A Levels (or equivalent), you should have been a parent of, or responsible for the care and wellbeing of, a child aged 17 or under. This includes being:

• a biological parent
• a step-parent
• an adoptive or legal parent
• a legally-appointed guardian
• a foster carer
• someone who provides kinship or other parental care to a child

You were entitled to Free School Meals

You should have been entitled to Free School Meals at some point during the six years prior to your final KS4 year (ie, the year you were aged 15-16).

School pupils in the UK are normally entitled to Free School Meals if their parents or carers are on a low income or in receipt of certain benefits. If you’re not sure, your school will be able to confirm this for you. You may also be entitled if you're paid qualifying benefits directly, instead of through your parent or carer.

You are a forced migrant

You should have been a forced migrant to the United Kingdom. This means at the time you started your undergraduate study:

• The UK government had granted you refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK. You had limited or discretionary leave to remain in the UK as the result of an asylum or human rights application. You were seeking asylum in the UK
• You are part of the first generation in your family to enter higher education
• Your parents or legal guardians should not have successfully completed a higher education course at the point you completed your A Levels (or equivalent).

Your parents were unemployed or working in unskilled jobs

At the point you completed your A Levels (or equivalent), your parents or legal guardians should have been unemployed, or the main earner should have been working in an unskilled job. We consider unskilled jobs as those defined by the Office for National Statistics Occupation Coding Tool as falling into simplified NS-SEC analytic classes 4-8.

You received a 16-19 Bursary or similar grant

You should have been in receipt of a 16-19 Bursary or Discretionary Learner Support with an income threshold of £25,000 or below.

You have a disability

You should have a disability that has been declared as part of your UCAS application.

You will be asked to complete a short form after you submit your application.

For 2025 entry, this must be returned to us by 5pm on Friday 1 November 2024.

Applicants who receive offers will be required to provide supporting evidence that they meet these criteria at registration.

Academic entry requirements

In addition to meeting our Widening Participation entry criteria, applicants are required to meet both our minimum A Level and our minimum Degree academic entry requirements. (We do not consider GCSEs or AS Levels for this programme.) Applicants are also required to meet our minimum English Language requirements. We do not rank applicants on the basis of their academic attainment.

A Level qualifications

Applicants must have grades of at least BBB at A Level at the time of application, one of which must be Chemistry or Biology.

Please note:

• The requirement for BBB at A Level means at least a B grade in each of the three A Levels
• All three A Levels must have been taken in the same first sitting
• We do accept A Level resits.  Any and all A Level resits must be taken in the same sitting, and only one resit per A Level is permitted.  Only those A Levels that do not meet the above entry requirements need to be retaken
• A Levels in Further Mathematics, Critical Thinking and General studies are not accepted for the A101 programme
• For applicants who took four A Levels in a two year period (typically years 12 and 13 at school) including Mathematics and Further Mathematics, we will accept the Mathematics A Level, even if it is taken in Year 12, and irrespective of whether the A Level is certificated in Year 12 or 13. It is expected that Chemistry or Biology and another subject (that is not Critical Thinking, Further Mathematics or General Studies) will be taken in Year 13
• Where a graduate applicant has BBB or better at A Level but the pre-degree A Levels do not include Chemistry or Biology we will consider their application provided they have taken an A Level in either Chemistry or Biology during or after their Bachelor's degree and achieved (or are predicted to achieve) a Grade B or higher

For applicants not holding A Levels, our usual requirement for other qualifications is:

• Cambridge Pre-U Certificate - grades M2, M2, M2 including Chemistry or Biology
• Scottish Highers - Advanced Highers grades BB including Chemistry or Biology
• Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma - grade B, plus grades BB in two A Levels, subjects must include Chemistry or Biology
• Irish Leaving Certificate - H3,H3,H3,H3,H3,H3 with H3 in Chemistry or Biology
• International Baccalaureate - 32 points overall with 5's in Higher Level subjects (to include Chemistry or Biology) and no less than 4 in each of the Standard Level subjects

We are not able to consider the following qualifications for entry to our Graduate Entry Medicine course:

• Access courses
• Bachelor's degrees that are not in acceptable Life Sciences subjects
• Bedales Examinations
• BTECs
• Foundation courses
• HE Diplomas
• International Certificate of Christian Education
• Masters degrees
• PhDs
• T-Levels

Degree qualification

Applicants for this programme will need to have attained, or be predicted to attain, an upper second-class or first-class Bachelor's degree in an appropriate life sciences subject. We are looking for applicants whose degrees will have given them an appropriate level of understanding of human anatomy and physiology.

Please note:

Appropriate life sciences degrees include, but are not limited to the following degrees (this is not an exhaustive list):

• BDS (Dentistry)
• BMedSci
• BSc Anatomical Sciences (provided this relates to Human Anatomy)
• BSc Anatomy and Physiology
• BSc Biomedical Science
• BSc Clinical Science
• BSc Healthcare Science
• BSc Human Biology
• BSc Human Physiology
• BSc Medical Physiology and Therapeutics
• BSc Medical Science
• BSc Neuroscience
• BSc Pharmacology
• BSc Pharmaceutical Science
• BSc Physiotherapy
• BSc Sport and Exercise Science
• BSc Sport Rehabilitation and Exercise Science
• MPharm

We do not consider the following degrees to be appropriate life sciences degrees and they do not meet our entry requirements. Please note that it is not an exhaustive list:

• BSc Adult Nursing
• BSBA/BSc Ayervedic Medicine and Surgery
• BSc Biochemistry
• BSc Biochemistry with Human Biology
• BSc Biology
• BSc Biological Science (Genetics)
• BSc Biomedical Engineering
• BSc Biomedial Material Science
• BSc Botany
• BSc Cancer Biomedicine
• BSc Chemical Engineering
• BSc Chemistry
• BSc Clinical Speech and Language Sciences
• BSc Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience
• BSc Diagnostic Radiology
• BSc Engineering
• BSc Forensic Anthropology
• BSc Forensic Psychology
• BSc Forensic Science
• BSc Genetics
• BSc Global Health
• BSc Human Genetics
• BSc Immunology
• BSc Marine Biology
• BSc Medical Biochemistry
• BSc Mental Health Nursing
• Bsc Molecular Cell Biology
• BSc Nursing
• BSc Operating Department Practice
• BSc Orthoptics
• BSc Podiatric Medicine
• BSc Prosthetics and Orthotics
• Bsc Psychology
• BSc Zoology

Potential applicants whose degree does not appear in the lists above are strongly advised to contact the medical admissions team (medadmissions@sheffield.ac.uk) prior to submitting an application, enclosing a degree transcript, to determine whether their degree will be acceptable or not.

We do not consider postgraduate Masters degrees (i.e. when taken as a second degree) or PhDs when determining whether you meet our academic entry requirements.

University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) requirements

Applicants for Medicine at the University of Sheffield must take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) before they apply, in the year that they are applying. Each year, we set a minimum UCAT score threshold, which is 2430/3600 for 2025 entry.

Applications will be ranked according to their UCAT scores and only those with the highest UCAT scores will be invited to interview.

Applicants’ performance in the Situational Judgement Test component of the UCAT will only be reviewed if they are invited to interview.

More information about how we use applicants’ UCAT scores, and the scores that were required to be invited to interview in recent years, can be found on the School of Medicine and Population Health website.

Medicine selection process

Disclosure and Barring Service check

All applicants are required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure check, and will be asked in their application to declare if they have any convictions that will appear on a DBS check.

Disrupted Studies policy

If you have experienced issues of a personal, social or domestic nature that have affected either your post-16 studies, or any GCSE Qualifications that are cited in our course entry requirements, you can let us know by completing our Disrupted Studies form. Read the Medical School's Admissions Policy on Disrupted Studies carefully before submitting a Disrupted Studies form.

Disrupted Studies policy

Admissions policy

Read our A101 admissions policy

Graduate careers

When you successfully complete your degree, you will be able to apply for provisional registration with the General Medical Council. This gives you a licence to practise medicine as part of an approved Foundation Year programme.

UK Foundation Programme

Most of our students apply to the UK Foundation Programme during their final year. This is a two-year training programme for newly qualified doctors, which bridges the gap between medical school and speciality or general practice training. You will build on your existing clinical and professional skills by working as a doctor on rotation in different areas of medicine. After the first year, you can apply for full registration with the General Medical Council, and once you have completed the programme, you will be awarded a Certificate of Excellence so that you can apply for speciality training.

As well as the standard Foundation Programme, there is a Specialised Foundation Programme that focuses on research, teaching and leadership, a Foundation Priority Programme to support areas that have faced difficulties in attracting and retaining doctors, and a Psychiatry Foundation Fellowship.

Speciality training

After you have completed the Foundation Programme, there are many different specialities you can train in – from general practice to paediatrics, gynaecology, cardiology or radiology. The time you will spend in speciality training ranges from three to eight years, depending on the speciality you choose.

Other careers for medicine graduates

Rather than becoming a GP or consultant, some graduates go on to do a masters degree or PhD and pursue a career in research. Others become medical educators, health service managers or work in the pharmaceutical industry.

School of Medicine and Population Health

The University of Sheffield’s medical school dates back to 1828 and was a founding part of the University itself.

Today, medicine students are based in the School of Medicine and Population Health, and study alongside practising clinicians and expert researchers who are working on topics that range from neurodegeneration to public health. Everything we do is about improving people’s health.

The Medical School building is connected to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and is close to Sheffield Children’s Hospital, the Students’ Union, and the wider University campus.

Facilities

You will also spend time at our Clinical Skills Centre, based within the Northern General Hospital, one of the largest hospital campuses in the country. Your placements will take you to primary and secondary care providers across the region.

School of Medicine and Population Health

University rankings

Student profiles

Fees and funding

Fees

MBChB Graduate Entry Medicine (A101) students are expected to pay £3,715 towards their tuition fees themselves in their first year, and can apply for loans from Student Finance England to cover their remaining tuition fees and maintenance costs. They are eligible for NHS funding in years two, three and four of their course. This includes a bursary, a £1,000 grant, a reduced Maintenance Loan from Student Finance England, and a £3,715 contribution towards tuition fees. They can continue to apply for loans from Student Finance England to cover their remaining tuition fees.

NHS bursaries

Additional funding

Your tuition fees will cover many of the costs of studying Medicine. You will be provided with a lab coat, dissection instruments, anatomy and histology workbooks, consumables in clinical skills sessions and contributions to your placement travel costs. The costs of obtaining a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and occupational health clearance before you start your degree will also be covered.

You'll be required to pay for the following:

• A stethoscope
• Any additional placement costs not covered by the University’s contributions
• Costs associated with any student-selected components or electives you choose in Phase 3 – eg, travel, accommodation, visas
• Provisional registration with the General Medical Council in Phase 4, to apply for the UK Foundation Programme

Bursaries may be available to help cover the costs of elective placements.

Visit

Offer holder days

If you've made an application to study with us, we may invite you for an interview. If you are then successful in receiving an offer, we'll invite you to one of our applicant days. These applicant days have a strong department focus and give you the chance to really explore student life here, even if you've visited us before.

Apply

Make sure you've done everything you need to do before you apply.

How we process applications and select applicants for offers

How to apply When you're ready to apply, see the UCAS website:
www.ucas.com

Contact us

Telephone

+44 114 222 5531

Email

medadmissions@sheffield.ac.uk

School of Medicine and Population Health