A 2.1 Honours degree in Bioscience or Chemistry, plus two science A levels including Chemistry.
Applications for Oxford medical school are screened to ensure they meet the minimum entry requirements. All graduate applicants are required to have sat the UKCAT exam.
Applicants are shortlisted for interview based on their academic performance and their UKCAT score. Most candidates who do well in the UKCAT (scoring in the top quartile) and who can demonstrate academic ability will be shortlisted for interview. Applicants suitability for medicine and to study at Oxford, is usually assessed at interview.
Applicants are interviewed by two colleges over two consecutive days on the 17 & 18 December 2010 and are expected to attend both days.
All colleges offering entry to the graduate scheme use a common set of selection criteria which relate to academic potential and suitability to study and work in medicine. The personal characteristics which assessors will specifically be looking for in applicants’ applications include:
Interviews are held over two consecutive days on the 17 & 18 December 2010 and candidates must be able to attend both days. All candidates are interviewed by two colleges – their first choice college and another one which is randomly assigned.
No offers are made without interview.
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A world-renowned University and widely recognised as one of the top teaching and research institutions in the world. Oxford is the oldest University in the English-speaking world and a beautiful and very inspiring environment so provides outstanding facilities in which to live and learn.
The medical programme at Oxford is heavily science-based in the early years and students will be reassured to know that they will be learning in a research-focused environment and taught by world leaders in their field.
The Collegiate system means that although students are still part of Oxford University as a whole, they will live, study and socialise with other students from the full range of subjects rather than just medics.
The graduate entry course at Oxford is 4 years duration and consists of the following:
This year builds of students’ scientific backgrounds and covers most of the basic science that is needed to study medicine and also essential clinical skills including taking a history and performing a basic physical examination. Students will learn to apply science and clinical skills to the process of diagnostic problem-solving.
Topics covered in Year 1:
In the second year, students will undertake periods of intensive clinical practice and will be able to recognise common disease patterns in medicine and surgery and be capable of reaching a diagnosis of more common illnesses. Students undertake a 9-week clinical pathology (‘laboratory medicine’) block, studying haematology and biochemistry. Science teaching is more orientated towards clinical practice and students are expected to review clinical trials and clinical research reports as well as to appraise the application of such reports to clinical practice.
Topics covered in Year 2:
The final two years of the graduate entry medical programme integrates with Years 5 & 6 of the undergraduate programme at Oxford. The 3rd year consists of a series of attachments to clinical specialties. This final year is design to prepare students for life after qualification with teaching specifically aimed at diagnosis and management.
Topics covered in Year 3:
Topics covered in Year 4:
Anatomy is taught from Year 1 with the general concepts of anatomy being taught in the Organisation of the Body module with a focus on embryological origins and patterning of the body. At the end of Year 2, students must take an intensive 3-week ‘Principles of Clinical Anatomy’ course which prepares students for what they will encounter in the following clinical years. Anatomy is taught by lectures, seminars and through prosection rather than dissection. Laboratory facilities at Oxford are state of the art.
Assessments are held throughout the first year to monitor progress and also at the end of each clinical attachment. Formal exams take place at the end of Year 1 and 2 and in the final year. All assessments mix written and clinical appraisal. Students will be continuously assessed during their clinical attachments.
During the pre-clinical years teaching consists predominantly of lectures (about 8 a week), practical classes, seminars and tutorials. Oxford also has a unique tutorial system where students are set an essay or questions on a topic by a PhD student or leading researcher in the field. The tutorial lasts about an hour and students are normally in pairs and this involves going through the main points of the topic. Typically there will be between 2 and 4 tutorials a weeks and each requires significant preparation time.
Students at Oxford take a 10 week elective in Year 4, which is a much longer period than most other medical school. There are very few limitations on where students can go and many choose split their time between 2 destinations. Upon their return, students must submit a written report and a short oral or poster presentation on their experiences.
The information on this page is correct as of August 2010
