UCL Medical School – undergraduate entry

Factfile at a glance

How to apply:	Applications for admission to UCL should be submitted in the usual way through UCAS (code A100)
Duration:	6 years
Entry requirements:	A levels – AAA Scottish Advanced Highers - AAA IB – 38 points overall
Entrance exam:	BMAT
Places available for 2011:	306 (UK) 24 (international)
Applications:	Approximately 2,500
Applicants per place:	7.1
Interview:	Approximately 30% (700-800)
Male/female ratio:	46:54
Interview period:	December to early March. 15-20 minute interview with a panel of 3 interviewers
Offers:	Within two weeks of the interview
Degree awarded:	MBBS and an intercalated BSc
Contact:	For full details go to our Medical School Contact Details page
Open days:	Med school open day 28 June 2010. UCL open days 30 June, 14 & 15 September 2010

Entry requirements

A level

3 A Levels grade AAA including Chemistry and Biology plus one additional fourth subject at A/AS level. Critical Thinking and General Students at A level may be considered but only in place of the additional AS level. Preference will be given to applicants who, in addition to Chemistry and Biology, offer a contrasting subject outside of the traditional science subjects of Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Physics at A or AS level, such as languages, English Literature, History, Geography, Art, Music, Religion, Psychology, ICT, etc. Re-sit candidates will only be considered if they previously applied to UCL and had a firm offer of a place.

Scottish Advanced Highers

AAA at Advanced Highers including Chemistry and Biology. Scottish Highers alone do not fulfil the entry requirements.

International Baccalaureate

38 points overall. Candidates must include Chemistry and Biology at Higher Level, plus three subjects at Standard Level. The grades for Higher Level must make up at least 18 points of the overall 38.

The application process

All applications are reviewed by the Admissions panel and assigned an overall ‘priority’ score. Candidates are invited to interview in order of priority and UCL will continue to interview candidates until they run out of place on the course. This means, if you are called for interview late, this does not mean you have less chance of being offered a place than someone who went for interview a few months before you.

Applications are shortlisted down to 700-800 candidates who are invited for interview. Other than the required academic criteria being met, candidates are also assessed on the content of their personal statement and reference. UCL pay particular attention to candidate’s work and personal experience, especially if this is related to the healthcare profession or if the candidate has been involved with the sick, disabled, very young or elderly and they would expect to see demonstration of reflection on their experiences. Candidates should also describe their motivation to study medicine as well as other interests and hobbies which demonstrate they are well-rounded individuals with wide-ranging interests outside of study. They will also need to give evidence of teamworking, leadership and communication skills.

Applicants who meet all the entry requirements and who score at least 5.0 (in section 1), 5.0 (in section 2) and 9.0 (in section 3) on the BMAT will be guaranteed an interview. Candidates with scores that are significantly below the average for their cohort are unlikely to be called for interview.

Interviews last about 15 to 20 minutes and are conducted by a panel of 3 interviewers, including clinical and medical science staff and often a medical student or lay-person. All interviews are held at UCL in London. Graduates, international students and those on gap years will normally be offered an interview in January to avoid clashes with AS/A level exams for school-leaver applicants.

All candidates will receive their BMAT essay before the interview as this will form part of the discussion and assessment during the interview. Each member of the interview panel will each independently score the following qualities:

Intellectual ability (intellectual curiosity and robustness)
Motivation for and insight into a career in medicine
Awareness of scientific and medical issues
Ability to express and defend opinions, including discussion of their BMAT essay
Attitude – flexibility and integrity
Individual strengths
Communication skills

Offers are usually sent to candidates within two weeks of the interview, sometimes earlier. No offers are made without interview.

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Graduate applicants

UCL does not have a specific quota to provide places for graduate students, however, about 50 students admitted to UCL medical school each year have first degrees. UCL will consider applicants with science and non-science related degrees and their UCAS application should contain an academic reference from a university tutor.

Graduates will normally be interviewed in January.

Why UCL?

UCL is currently ranked as one of the top ten Universities in the world. The medical school is situated on one big campus in Bloomsbury, right in the heart of London and only a stone’s throw from some of the world’s leading clinical and research institutions including the Institute of Child Health (Great Ormond Street), the Institute of Neurology (The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery), the Ear Institute (The Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital) and the Institute of Ophthalmology (Moorfields Eye Hospital).

Medical school students will graduate with both an MBBS medical degree and an intercalated BSc, with the widest range of intercalated BSc opportunities available in the UK.

The opportunity to live in and experience one of the most vibrant, cosmopolitan, culturally and ethnically diverse cities in the world.

Course overview

The UCL medical school undergraduate course is 6 years duration, with students spending 5 years studying medicine and normally an additional year studying an intercalated BSc. The Professional Development Spine forms a core part of the curriculum throughout the 5 years and includes clinical and communication skills, ethics and law, evaluation of evidence, health promotion and community orientated medicine. The MBBS curriculum consists of the following:

Years 1 & 2 (pre-clinical) – Phase 1

Year 1 is mainly scientific-lecture based, with a few practicals and dissection sessions

Topics covered in Year 1

Foundations of health and disease; infection and defence; circulation and breathing; fluids, nutrition and metabolism.

Year 2 follows a similar format but topics become slightly more difficult (ie neuro) and more anatomy teaching is included.

Topics covered in Year 2

Movement and musculoskeletal biology; neuroscience and behaviour; endocrine systems regulation; reproduction, genetics and development; cancer biology

Students are expected to study two SSCs in each year, which include an in-depth study of a chosen topic in biomedical or other science related subject; a short course in modern languages, art, ethics and law; research skills, or; community voluntary activities and peer mentoring/coaching.

Years 3-4 (clinical) – Phase 2

In Phase 2, student’s knowledge of basic sciences in integrated into clinical practice in medicine and surgery

Topics covered in Year 3

Students will have clinical attachments in 4 core modules:

general medicine
general surgery (including anaesthetics)
care of the elderly plus orthopaedics and rheumatology
general medical specialties

Students’ attachments will be in teaching hospitals (UCH, The Royal Free and The Whittington), district general hospitals, GP surgeries and in the community. Students will have the opportunity to start learning skills in history taking and examining patients.

There is a 2 week SSC for students to study either a clinical subject in more depth, or a language

Topics covered in Year 4

Women’s health (O&G) and communicable diseases; clinical neurosciences: physchiatry and neurology with ophthalmology; child and family health with dermatology.

Year 5 (clinical) – Phase 3

Year 5 forms the basis of preparation for practice and students will learn the professional skills and competencies required through clinical experience in the following attachments:

Medicine and surgery
A&E
General practice
Oncology

There is an 8 week elective period and an SSC.

Examination

There are formative assessments at the end of each module and summative end of year exams including finals at the end of Year 5. Students are also assessed in their clinical attachments and project work.

Anatomy

Students at UCL have the opportunity to learn anatomy through dissection, in addition to other techniques such as prosection and computer simulation. Anatomy teaching at UCL is rated as amongst the best.

Teaching

The teaching at UCL is traditional lecture-based, with small group tutorials and lab work. This is not a PBL course.

Electives

Students take an 8 week elective during Year 5. There is no limitation on location and students may take the opportunity to go abroad if they wish. When they return, students must produce a report on their experiences which is a compulsory part of the final year assessment.

Intercalation

In intercalated BSc is incorporated into the medical programme at UCL. Students normally take their intercalated BSc after Year 2 of the MBBS programme and there is a choice of at least 20 different BSc programmes available including:

Anatomy and developmental biology
Biochemistry and molecular biology
Clinical sciences
History of medicine
Human genetics/Genetics
Immunology and cell pathology
Infection
International health
Medical anthropology
Medical physics and bioengineering
Molecular medicine
Neuroscience
Orthopaedic science
Pharmacology
Physiology
Physiology and pharmacology
Philosophy, medicine and society
Primary health care
Psychology
Speech sciences and communication
Surgical sciences

There is an application process which is highly competitive for students to be accepted onto their first or second choice of programme. Most students will intercalate after Year 2, but some may do so later in the programme, especially if they want to pursue and BSc which requires more clinical experience. The end of year exam marks achieved in Phase 1 contribute to the classification of the intercalated BSc degree, irrespective of the year in which a student decides to intercalate.

The pros & cons of studying medicine at UCL

Good points	Not so good points
The opportunity to experience living and studying in London	Very large year groups which means it’s difficult to get to know everyone
An intercalacted degree is integrated into the 6 year medical programme	The cost of living in London
Excellent anatomy teaching by dissection

The information on this page is correct as of August 2010