Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry brings together two venerable teaching institutions: St Bartholomew’s Hospital, which dates back to 1123, and The London Hospital Medical College, which was the first purpose-built medical school in England and Wales, founded in 1785, the oldest medical school in England and Wales. The hospitals lie in two very different parts of London, the City and the East End, exposing you to a greater diversity of people and their health problems than at almost any other medical and dental school in the UK.
You will be taught by experts in their field who are passionately engaged with their subject.
The programme places considerable emphasis on developing your expertise in a whole range of practical areas, including clinical, communication, observation, teamwork and management skills.
We have also completely eliminated the traditional divide between pre-clinical studies and clinical years, which means that you will start seeing patients from the very first term.
We have modern state-of-the-art buildings alongside more traditional facilities, such as our fantastic library. A major redevelopment of the Royal London Hospital is complete and includes London’s leading trauma and emergency care centre, one of Europe’s largest renal services and one of the UK’s biggest paediatric services.
We pride ourselves on being a friendly School, with excellent staff-student relationships. Our students are very sociable and committed to the local community through voluntary work and Rag Week – renowned for astounding fundraising feats! There are lots of clubs and societies, and a student association just for medical and dental students.
Medicine
Studying medicine is about much more than just getting your MBBS degree and becoming a doctor. Medicine is a vocation and a way of life. It’s about thinking of others and putting your patients first.
It’s a challenging and demanding course – you’ll have lots of work to do and plenty to learn, but you’ll find it highly rewarding. There’s great variety in terms of your workplaces, the patients and illnesses you’ll encounter and the people you’ll work alongside. One of the most important skills you’ll need to develop is teamwork and the ability to communicate well with colleagues, patients and relatives.
Medicine is a tough profession: people who are unwell are not always easy to handle – they may, understandably, be scared or irritable. But you won’t find many doctors who regret their choice of career. With all its challenges, the thrill of being a doctor never leaves you: medicine is exciting and stimulating, and diagnosing and recommending treatments and helping others is intrinsically rewarding.
The four-year programme leading to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery is designed to be a fast-track route for graduates who obtained good degrees in science or health-related subjects. The first year of study is based on the first two years of the five year programme.
Key features of the curriculum include:
With support from tutors, you are encouraged to develop an independent attitude to learning. This approach prepares you well for life as a qualified doctor. The teaching methods ensure that you can understand the principles of medicine and apply your knowledge in the same way when treating a patient. Important features of our teaching include:
A new campus for medical students is planned for 2019. The site will be a part of the King George Hospital in Ilford. Students may be required to visit the campus for teaching over the duration of the course.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has decided to introduce a Medical Licensing Assessment (the MLA) from 2022 to demonstrate that those who obtain registration with a licence to practise medicine in the UK meet a common threshold for safe practice. Applicants should be aware that to obtain registration with a licence to practise, medical students will need to pass both parts of the MLA, pass university finals and demonstrate their fitness to practise. The MLA will be in two parts: there will be a knowledge test, which will be set and run by the GMC, and an assessment, delivered by medical schools, that will evaluate students’ clinical and professional skills.
This information was updated: 06 March 2018
The programme is divided into three phases:
The programme has been designed to provide students with the medical knowledge, clinical skills and professional attitude that are required to become a competent and safe FY1 Doctor. The curriculum closely follows the recommendations set out inTomorrow’s Doctors (General Medical Council: September 2009). The curriculum is taught in a series of modules which are based on BODY SYSTEMS which, in turn, encompass various scientific and medical THEMES. Each system is visited a minimum of three times during the programme.
Students take eight modules – six systems-based plus Human Sciences and Public Health and Infection and Immunity. Graduate Entry Programme (GEP) students do not complete an SSC programme in their first year. Students form an effective and mutually supportive community, which encourages collaborative learning through a programme of Problem Based Learning scenarios (PBLs), which involve groups of 8-10 students and a facilitator working together to tackle a problem presented as a clinical scenario. In addition, learning is facilitated by a programme of lectures, workshops and other group activities. Regular patient contact is a key feature of these early years. All Year 1 students will practise dissection in the anatomy lab.
Students regularly return to the medical school for teaching weeks and assessments as well as being introduced to clinical medicine through a series of placements in our associate teaching hospitals.
Their knowledge and clinical skills are enhanced by working alongside clinical teams both in the hospital and also within community placements. This enables them to expand and apply the knowledge and skills acquired during Phase 1.
Students may visit some or all of these hospitals during their clinical years:
All students complete three SSCs a year, which are based around clinical scenarios, patient interviews and history taking and associated issues surrounding their chosen patient.
The final year of the programme provides students with clinical and community placements, practical skills and first-hand experience of the working life of a first year Foundation Year (FY1) doctor. Students are placed in the hospital and firm where they will be based for their FY1 training. During this time, they shadow the current FY1 doctor. Community placements include GP surgeries. Students complete their SSC programme, which may include spending time in a specialty not previously experienced or may allow them to gain a deeper understanding in an area that already interests them.
Throughout the year, students return to the medical school for a teaching programme; in addition, there are individual sessions in communication skills teaching and simulated patient scenarios.
Students also complete their Intermediate Life Support qualification.
On successful completion of final examinations, students complete a four-week elective and this is followed by a further four-week hospital placement shadowing the FY1 doctor they will be replacing following graduation.
There are 13 separate SSCs spread across the four years of the MBBS, comprising around 20 per cent of the total programme. Some are carried out in blocks, lasting from two to five weeks, while others run throughout the year. They are an integral part of the curriculum enabling students to demonstrate mandatory competences while allowing a degree of choice in studying an area of particular interest to them.
SSCs range from basic sciences (biochemistry, anatomy, physiology and pharmacology), to clinical specialities, community and public health, ethics and law as applied to medicine and understanding the importance of research in the development of medicine. You are encouraged to pursue any area related to medicine or medical sciences that has particularly interested you. Students are also encouraged to organise their own SSCs. Elective
One of the most interesting areas of the programme is the elective period in your final year, in which you will spend time studying one or more topics in the UK or abroad. This is a vital and challenging aspect of the programme enabling you to gain experience invaluable to your future career and personal development.
At the end of the undergraduate programme you will receive your MBBS (or equivalent) degree, which is a primary medical qualification (PMQ). Holding a PMQ entitles you to provisional registration with the General Medical Council, subject only to its acceptance that there are no Fitness to Practise concerns that need consideration. Provisional registration is time limited to a maximum of three years and 30 days (1125 days in total). After this time period your provisional registration will normally expire.
Provisionally registered doctors can only practise in approved Foundation Year 1 posts: the law does not allow provisionally registered doctors to undertake any other type of work. To obtain a Foundation Year 1 post you will need to apply during the final year of your undergraduate programme through the UK Foundation Programme Office selection scheme, which allocates these posts to graduates on a competitive basis. All suitably qualified UK graduates have found a place on the Foundation Year 1 programme, but this cannot be guaranteed, for instance if there were to be an increased number of competitive applications.
Successful completion of the Foundation Year 1 programme is normally achieved within 12 months and is marked by the award of a Certificate of Experience. You will then be eligible to apply for full registration with the General Medical Council. You need full registration with a licence to practise for unsupervised medical practice in the NHS or private practice in the UK.
Although this information is currently correct, students need to be aware that regulations in this area may change from time to time.
There is some discussion about whether to remove provisional registration for newly qualified doctors. If this happens then UK graduates will receive full registration as soon as they have successfully completed an MBBS (or equivalent) degree. It should be noted that it is very likely that UK graduates will still need to apply for a training programme similar to the current Foundation Programme and that places on this programme may not be guaranteed for every UK graduate.
The GMC is currently considering the introduction of a formal assessment that UK medical graduates would need to pass in order to be granted registration with a licence to practise. Although no final decision has been taken as to whether or when such an exam will be introduced applicants should be aware that the GMC envisages that future cohorts of medical students may need to pass parts of a medical licensing assessment before the GMC will grant them registration with a licence to practise.
This information was updated: 07 July 2016
All candidates for medicine must undertake the United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT). Your overall UKCAT score will be used in our selection for interview in conjunction with your academic performance to date. To register, and for further information please see: www.ukcat.ac.uk.
You will not be offered an interview if you obtained a total UKCAT score below the third decile. Please note there is no guarantee that you will be offered an interview if you score above the third decile.
Graduates who apply for four-year GEP programme who meet the minimum academic criteria will be ranked against the other graduate applicants applying in that year according to 50:50 weighting applied to the UKCAT score and academic ability as measured using a points weighting of degree classification or postgraduate degrees.
Graduates who offer a degree with at least an upper second class honours or equivalent who have graduated from a university outside the UK, must send the Student Recruitment and Admissions Office (smdadmissions@qmul.ac.uk) the following prior to application to ensure your eligibility to apply:
Please click here for the full Admissions Policy for Medicine and Dentistry.
From year three of the programme students will require an iOS or Android mobile device in order to complete the logbooks of Assessment.
You may wish to view our Admissions Statistics for Medicine & Dentistry.
A range of criteria is used to assess candidates in order to be considered for an interview:-
Applications are firstly reviewed within the Admissions Office to check that they meet the minimum academic requirements. Any applications which do not meet the minimum academic requirements will be rejected at this point.
A101 applicants who achieve an overall score within the third decile range or above in the UKCAT and meet our minimum academic entry criteria will be given a weighted score based on degree classification.
We aim to interview approximately 200 applicants on the basis of UKCAT score and academic weighting. It is not possible to predict what the thresholds will be in any individual year, nor to use data from previous years to predict subsequent years’ thresholds, since it is essentially competitive and depends on who applies. Hence we do not plan to make this information public.
Graduates are expected to meet our requirements of 2:1 or higher in an undergraduate degree.
All applicants are given points for achieving a 2:1 in their first undergraduate degree. Other points are awarded for:
Academic points are then weighted to be considered as strongly as the UKCAT score. Both scores are looked at equally when ranking for interview.
The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) helps universities to make more informed choices from the many highly-qualified applicants who apply for their medical and dental degree programmes. It is also intended that using the results of UKCAT will widen participation and increase the diversity of successful applicants. The test contains neither any curriculum nor science content, nor can it be revised for. It will focus on exploring the cognitive powers of candidates, and other attributes considered to be valuable for healthcare professionals. The UKCAT lasts two hours and consists of four assessed cognitive sub-sections:
All candidates will also take a Situational Judgement Test (SJT). The SJT measures perspective taking, integrity and team involvement and was introduced as part of the UKCAT test in 2013. This section score may form part of the assessment at the interview.
All candidates applying to the four-year course must take the UKCAT in the year of application in order to be considered for interview. You are required to register with the UKCAT assessment centres prior to the test. Bursaries are available under which the UKCAT test fee is waived. Candidates must prove eligibility and apply online for a bursary before registering for the UKCAT. Please refer to the UKCAT website for key dates and additional information.
For graduates, applicants will be ranked according to a 50:50 weighting applied to the UKCAT score and academic ability compared to other applicants who apply in that same year.
Appropriate reasons to request a UKCAT Exemption are listed below:
In order to apply for a UKCAT Exemption, please email us with the reasons for your request and appropriate evidence. In most cases our advice will be to defer your application until the next application cycle.
Requests should be made via email to smdadmissions@qmul.ac.uk. Please include your full name, applicant ID (if already applied), and course you wish to be considered for. We strongly advise candidates to make their request as early as possible.
Selectors strongly recommend that candidates have explored what a career in medicine entails and that this is reinforced by work experience. The interview will explore your understanding of the realities of a career in medicine. We recognise the challenge of obtaining work experience and a period of volunteering in a caring role can be equally as valuable.
Barts and The London does not consider any applications from students who are re-sitting a year of their degree thereby taking longer than the natural length of the degree (usually 3 years) to achieve the required grades unless protected under the Equality and Diversity Act 2010. Applicants citing this provision must request an extenuating circumstances form from smdadmissions@qmul.ac.uk and submit the form along with supporting evidence by 1st September of the year of application to ensure their application is suitable to be considered under this framework.
If selected, you will be required to attend an interview at an assessment centre which lasts half a day and takes place in January. Trained assessors will observe you completing tasks including a group-based task and a structured interview, and will score you on a set of predetermined criteria.
There will be three possible outcomes from the interview:
Decisions are made when all the interviews have been completed. The formal notification of the decision will be communicated to UCAS at the same time.
Candidates who are unsuccessful cannot be reconsidered for entry within the same cycle but may reapply the following year (if they obtain the relevant qualifications at the first attempt) without prejudice to the new application.
Selection to our courses follows the principles of values-based recruitment and the core values of the NHS.
Training to be a doctor, and practising medicine, requires more than just the acquisition of knowledge and skills. As a medical student, you will have certain responsibilities that differ from those of other students. Consequently, we expect high standards of professional behaviour from you.
Graduates are entitled to provisional registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) with a licence to practise, subject to demonstrating to the GMC that their fitness to practise is not impaired.
The School is responsible for ensuring that students who graduate are fit to practise, according to principles laid down by the GMC. If the conduct of a medical student calls into question their fitness to practise, they may be required to appear before the Fitness to Practise Committee and could be removed from the course.
All offers of a place on the medical courses are made subject to satisfactory Disclosure and Barring and health checks. The School implements strict deadlines for the submission of this information. These deadlines are conditions of the offers we make, and students who fail to meet them will be rejected, even if they have fulfilled the academic conditions of their offer.
The Disclosure and Barring check will disclose convictions, cautions and reprimands that do not meet the new filtering rules. The cost of the checks and registration process must be paid by you. Once you have been offered a place at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, the Student Recruitment and Admissions Office will send you further information on how to obtain disclosure clearance.
Further details are available on the Disclosure and Barring service website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service
Where there is a delay in the processing of your police clearance, you will be asked to sign a full declaration of any spent or unspent criminal record you have received prior to full enrolment. If you think you might have received a conviction, caution, reprimand or final warning from the police, you must declare it.
You should check the Disclosure website as above and tick ‘Yes’ if appropriate on your UCAS application so that we can discuss with you whether it may affect your ability to practise. Failure to inform the Student Recruitment and Admissions Office of matters that subsequently appear on a Disclosure and Barring check may well result in your application being withdrawn. If you know in advance of your application that you will have a positive Disclosure and Barring check, you should tick the relevant box on the UCAS form. In addition, you must contact the admissions department to be sent our current policy with respect to this.
The School welcomes and accommodates people with health conditions and disabilities. However, medical students must be fit to practise and the safety of patients will always be the primary consideration. We have a strong system of student support and anyone with a health condition or disability will be offered the appropriate adjustments and support to help them succeed. However, in some cases, an impairment or health condition may make it impossible for a student to meet the outcomes required by the GMC at the point of graduation. Where all possible options to help the student have been explored and are still unsuccessful, the student may have to leave the course or be reviewed by the Professional Capability Committee.
All students that have declared a disability will receive a letter from the Head of Admissions prior to interview to ensure we can accommodate any specific needs. If you are offered a place on the course, we will send information regarding the requirement for prior assessment. This will be in the form of a confidential health questionnaire which follows the HEOPS guidance, but also we will ask you to make contact with our Disability and Dyslexia Service. This is so that a discussion of reasonable adjustment or discussion of your assessment of needs report can be made prior to the 31 July. We also have to be assured that we can help you practise safely in training and employment. Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry has implemented the guidance from the Department of Health on health clearance for new healthcare workers (Health clearance for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV: new healthcare workers) www.gov.uk/government/publications
Immunising medical students against hepatitis B and testing their response protects both them and their patients against the risk of contracting hepatitis B in the healthcare setting. We strongly recommend that all medical students are vaccinated against hepatitis B before entry.
If you are a known carrier of a blood-borne virus (BBV), you should contact the Occupational Health Service (OHS) for further advice. All medical students are offered BBV testing, and, if appropriate, hepatitis B vaccination, on entry to medical school. Students declining testing or found to test positive for a BBV are not cleared to undertake Exposure-Prone Procedures (EPPs) and will be required to follow an EPP-free curriculum. There may be additional requirements relating to other blood-borne viruses as advice is continuously updated and published by advisory bodies.
Should you have any queries about the health requirements for either the medical or dental programmes, please contact the university Occupational Health Service for advice on: Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8700
You should read the following paragraphs carefully with regard to personal circumstances that might make it difficult or impossible for you to practise.
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry welcomes applications from disabled students. We do, however, have a duty to ensure that candidates admitted to our programmes will be eligible for registration by the GMC on graduation. For this reason, students with disabilities should seek advice from the Student Recruitment and Admissions Office before the deadline for UCAS applications so that each case can be given individual attention and consideration.
This advice should be sought well in advance of the 15th October deadline and no less than four weeks before this date to ensure time for a response.
The Disability and Dyslexia Service can offer advice, guidance and practical support to students with specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia. This support may include screening students for dyslexia and organising formal educational psychologists’ assessments, arranging individual tutorials from specialist dyslexia tutors, additional time in exams and assisting disabled and dyslexic students to apply for the Disabled Students’ Allowance. More details are available from the Disability and Dyslexia Service. Students are encouraged to contact the Service before starting their programmes to discuss any specific needs.
Visit: dds.qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 2756
Fax: +44 (0)20 7882 5223
The school of Medicine and Dentistry firmly and actively supports an equal opportunities policy. In the case of a specific learning disorder or disability, we would assess any student meeting the required academic standard in accordance with the prescribed professional standards and the Equality Act (2010).
Applicants for Medicine can make up to four choices for medical courses on the UCAS form. Your remaining choices can be used for alternative subjects without prejudice to the commitment to medicine. All applications which include choices for medicine must be submitted to UCAS by 15th October for entry in September the following year. No offers are given without an interview.
Information from our previous admissions cycle can be found on our Admissions Statistics for Medicine & Dentistry page.
2018 entry
Full-time £9,250
2018 entry
Full-time £34,300
Years 1-4: you will be able to apply for the same package of Student Finance and Queen Mary Bursaries as students on other courses.
Year 5 and beyond: the NHS will pay the tuition fee (non income assessed). For your living costs you can get a £1000 NHS grant (non income assessed), and you can apply for an income assessed NHS Bursary for living costs (in 2017/18 this was up to £3191 for students living away from home plus extra weeks allowance at the London rate of £108 per week).
You will also be able to apply to Student Finance England for a non income assessed reduced rate Maintenance Loan. In 2017/18 this is £2498 for final year students living away from home. You will not be eligible for a Queen Mary Bursary in your NHS funded year.
The UK government has just announced that the intention is that international students will need to fund their own clinical placements, in addition to the tuition and living costs they pay currently. At this point in time it is not possible to advise you of the cost of clinical placements; this additional element of the fee has yet to be determined by providers of medical education in negotiation with their partner National Health Trusts but it is possible that the total cost for the programme may increase.
On top of your tuition fees, you will have several other major expenses to budget for. The largest and most essential of these costs is probably your accommodation. On the plus side, our location in the east of London means cheaper rents than elsewhere in the city. You can check the average cost of living, work out your own budget, and get great money saving ideas at www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/money. It is important to be sure before you start the course that your income will cover all of your living costs.
International students can find more detailed information on the cost of living in London and how to plan finances at: www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/international/money
Students who are UK residents should apply as early as possible to Student Finance England (or equivalent in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), who will determine your eligibility for government funding for your studies. We have detailed information online explaining the funding arrangements for all of the medical degree programmes. For more information, see www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/money/medicaland-dental-students.
If you are a non-UK national of the European Union you can apply to the Student Finance EU Team for a loan to pay your tuition fees. EU students may also be eligible for the living costs elements of UK government student finance in certain circumstances. See: www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/money/medical-and-dental-students
The loan for tuition fees is not available to undergraduate students from outside the EU. If you take out a government Tuition Fee Loan, you start to pay it back after completing your degree, once you are earning more than £21,000 a year. You should apply for Student Finance once you have applied to university – you do not need to wait until you have an offer or have decided where to study.
Entitlement to Student Finance is subject to residence, immigration status and previous study criteria.
If you would like individual confidential advice about your eligibility for funding, planning your budget or any other financial or practical issue, please contact the Advice and Counselling Service at Queen Mary: welfare.qmul.ac.uk
Queen Mary offers student bursaries to help with the costs of higher education. These bursaries are aimed at students from lower income households. The amount of the bursary you receive each year will depend on your household income, which is assessed during your application for UK Government Student Finance. Please note that all international students and those EU nationals who are only eligible for a tuition fee loan will not be eligible for a QMUL bursary.
To find out if you are eligible, visit: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/feesandfunding/bursaries/
There are a number of scholarships available each year to undergraduate entrants who are permanent residents of specific London Boroughs, including scholarships from the Aldgate and Allhallows Foundation for permanent residents of either the London Borough of Tower Hamlets or the City of London. Candidates must also meet other eligibility criteria regarding age and means of support, please see website for further details: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/feesandfunding/bursaries/
To encourage applications from students in financial hardship who would benefit from the MBBS programme, the trustees of The Medical College of St Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust are pleased to offer these new scholarships to two new medical students and one new dental student each year. John Abernethy was the founder of St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College and scholarships are named, The John Abernethy scholarship, The Dean Rees scholarship and the Dame Margaret Seward scholarship and are valued at £5,000 for each of the five years of the course and an intercalated year - subject to the holders’ satisfactory progress each year.
The scholarships have been designed to assist students who, despite exceptional academic ability and their aptitude for a medical or dental career, might not be able to undertake the course for financial reasons. All students who enrol in the School of Medicine and Dentistry are considered for the scholarships, which are awarded on the basis of household income (reviewed annually) and the attainment of at least three grade ‘A’ A levels taken in the same sitting. Students’ performance in their Fundamentals of Medicine/Dental Module (at the end of their first term) will also be a major criterion. You do not have to apply formally to be considered for one of these prestigious scholarships. Instead, the School of Medicine and Dentistry will receive the relevant financial and academic information after you have enrolled and, depending on the Fundamentals of Medicine/Dentistry results, will recommend the two best medical students and one best dental student who also meet the financial requirements to the trustees for their approval. Additionally, the School will report annually to the trustees on the scholarship holders’ academic performance.
If you have exceptional or unforeseen costs or you are in financial hardship, you could be eligible for help from the Financial Assistance Fund. The fund is made up of the Queen Mary Hardship Fund, Student Opportunity Funding, University of London Hardship Fund and Queen Mary International Hardship Fund. The fund is there to help any eligible student who has a particular financial need, although we cannot meet every application we receive and cannot always meet all of the costs that you might apply for. Priority is given to certain groups of students when deciding how to allocate the funding; please see the website for more information and application form. http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/students/finances/bursaries-grants-scholarships/financial-assistance-fund/
You do not normally have to repay a payment from the FAF. The amounts available to students through the FAF are strictly limited, and the Fund can in no way be regarded as a substitute for other finance.
The Barts and The London Alumni Association Benevolent Funds also offer grants to medical and dental students in financial hardship, and bursaries to students undertaking intercalated degrees and final-year electives on the recommendation of the appropriate committees of the School. Donations from generations of former students have made it possible to offer such assistance.
East London will provide you with plenty of opportunities to work and earn extra money during your studies. However, the School would not recommend that you spend more than 10 hours a week in paid employment, so as not to have a detrimental impact on your studies. International students may also be eligible to work in the UK. If you are registered on a full-time course of six months or longer, then you will be eligible to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week during term time. For information about part-time work, including the national minimum wage and the living wage rates, and the income tax rules for students, visit: www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/
The Advice and Counselling Service at Queen Mary offers detailed advice and guidance on all aspects of student finance and more. It also offers advice to international students about all the financial, practical and immigration-related aspects of studying at Queen Mary.
Contact the Advice and Counselling Service on:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8717
www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/
