Please note that Birmingham is not in the UKCAT Consortium and does not use the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) or any other admissions test.
Because of the competition, meeting the academic requirements described below does not guarantee that you will receive the offer of an interview. Good evidence of motivation for the profession as well as additional and significant non-academic activities is also necessary.
Programme of study: All A2 modules of three subjects must be undertaken in Year 13.
Subjects:
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Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) required
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General Studies and Critical Thinking not accepted. Other non standard subjects may not be accepted . Please contact us for advice.
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If third subject is Psychology, Sociology, Physical Education, Theatre Studies, Dance, Art or Music, a fourth academic subject at AS is required.
AS Levels:
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Certificated as well as non-certificated results must be provided (the latter could be included in the reference)
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Preference will be given to those applicants who offer AAAA, achieved by the end of the first year of A level study. Mathematics and Further Mathematics will not be considered as separate subjects.
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Where this qualification is not available (for example, Cambridge PreU), applicants will not be disadvantaged
GCSE's:
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Preference will be given to those applicants offering A* grades in Mathematics, English and Science subjects. Integrated Science (double certificate) is acceptable as an alternative to single sciences
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Overall GCSE performance will be considered
Use of Contextual Data:
The majority of applicants will be selected for interview using the standard academic requirements described here as a minimum as well as the other factors outlined on these web pages. However, a proportion of those invited for interview wlll be identified, in part, using the contextual data provided by UCAS. For these applicants, the academic thresholds for selection may be lowered at the University's discretion.
The use of this data will be designed not to overlap with the criteria that applies to consideration of an applicant under the University's widening participation scheme, Access to Birmingham (A2B). The thresholds for each aspect of contextual information can not be identified until after we have considered all applications.
Cambridge Pre-University Diploma:
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At least D3 in three subjects, including Biology and Chemistry
Scottish Certificate of Education:
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Highers: Five subjects at grade A including, Chemistry, Biology, Maths and English.
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Advanced Highers: Three subjects including Chemistry and Biology must be offered (grade requirements: AAB)
International Baccalaureate:
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Higher level: Chemistry and Biology and one other approved subject. A language other than English is not accepted as the third Higher Level subject if it relates closely to the cultural background of the applicant. The subject is accepted at the Standard Level.
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Subsidiary level: The subjects must include English and Mathematics if not offered at the higher level
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Minimum of 36 points (excluding core points) must be attained, with at least 18 at HL. Grade 6s are required in Biology and Chemistry and a minimum of 5 in other subjects
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If relevant, you must provide results from the Middle Years' Programme
Graduates:
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Achieved or predicted first or upper second class degree from a UK-based institution (normally). Very good results from school examinations (in appropriate subjects - see above) are required because you are in competition with school-leavers.
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Life Science graduates may be eligible for our graduate-entry course. Qualified dentists may also apply for our graduate-entry course. Those dentists who have completed MJDF may be admitted to the second year of this course if spaces are available.
Access Courses or Foundation Programmes - We do not consider either of these qualifications.
International (including EU) students
Applicants must have excellent written and spoken English. Please note that the university’s Standard English language requirements are minimum standards, which may be raised through competition. As a minimum, the English language TOEFL score must be 100 overall with no less than 25 in any band, and IELTS must be 7.0 in each component.
European Union applicants: There are a number of factors that determine fee status but EU Nationals may be considered as ‘home’ students for fee-paying purposes (see below). Because UK-based applicants are selected on the basis of results in each of two national qualifications (for example, A levels and GCSEs), candidates from outside the UK must offer examination-based qualifications that are equivalent to these. Some examples are below:
Irish Leaving Certificate - Grade A in six subjects including Biology, Chemistry, English and Mathematics. The same standard applies in the Junior Certificate.
European Baccalaureate - Overall score of 85%, with a minimum of 85% in the sciences, to include Chemistry and Biology as full options.
For guidance, the following broad-based qualifications are not acceptable on their own without, for example, A-levels. These include: French Baccalaureate; German Abitur; Greek (including Cypriot) Apolytirion; Italian Esame Di Stato; Lithuanian Brandos Atestats; Netherlands "Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs" (VWO) Diploma; Polish Matura; Romanian Baccalaureate; Swedish Fullstandigt Slutbeytg (School Leaving Certificate).
Overseas applicants: We have up to 28 places available for students who are assessed as overseas for fee-paying purposes. For more information on fee status, please visit www.ukcisa.org.uk.
Accepted qualifications include:
Australia. Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER), or equivalent: An overall score of 99.6. Relevant subjects must be offered at excellent grades.
Canada. Grade 12 High School Diploma: A minimum of 85% in each of six Grade 12 subjects, including Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and English. The same performance must have been achieved in Year 11.
Caribbean Advanced ProficiencyExamination CAPE): Grade 1 in three subjects, including Chemistry and Biology. Top grades in Secondary School Certificate must have been achieved also.
Hong Kong Diploma: The grade requirements are: 5*, 5 in Chemistry and Biology (any order); 5 in Mathematics and English; Minimum of 4 in all other subjects.
United States: Combined SAT1 score of 1950. Three AP subjects at grade 5, including Biology and Chemistry.
Please note that the following qualifications are not accepted: Pakistan - Higher Secondary Certificate; India - Standard 12.
More information about international entry requirements are provided here. Please be aware that the academic qualifications described within these pages may NOT be acceptable for medicine entry. You must contact the Admissions Tutor by email to ask about qualifications not listed above.
Additional Information
Applicants should enter details of all their qualifications on the relevant section of the UCAS form. Incomplete applications may not be considered.
Mature Candidates - The School welcomes applications from mature candidates, but will take account of the length of undergraduate and postgraduate training which has to be undertaken. In addition, we expect that no more than four years has elapsed since the most significant and relevant qualification.
Second time A levels - Second-time applicants are considered only in exceptional circumstances. Only those who have achieved less than our standard offer by a small margin the first time round may be considered if there are persuasive mitigating circumstances.
Taking a year off - Approximately 10% of our students have taken a gap year and applying for deferred entry will in no way jeopardise your chance of an offer. If you intend to do this we recommend that the year is used to broaden your experience either by working, travelling, voluntary service or some other activity. We do not necessarily expect it to be in a field directly related to medicine.
Repeat medicine application - We will not consider anyone whose application to Birmingham medical school has been rejected previously following interview. Otherwise, we will consider those applying for medicine for a second time. This fact is often not apparent until interview but, even at this stage, an applicant must provide good evidence that their application is stronger.
Transfer from another degree programme - We do not consider applicants who are studying medicine or any other degree programme. As indicated above, we will consider applicants who are studying on a different degree abd are in their final year.
Non-academic offer requirements
All accepted candidates will be required to complete a health declaration form, and some may be contacted by an Occupational Health Physician where appropriate.
The UK Government Health Authorities require that all medical students must be screened to ensure that they are not carriers of the hepatitis B virus. All applicants who accept an offer must:
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undertake a screening blood test for Hepatitis B.
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if negative, they must start a course of immunisation.
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thereafter provide certified evidence of these.
Prospective students are strongly advised to take the blood test in good time.
The UK Government Health Authorities recommend that all medical students should be offered screening for a number of blood-borne viruses (Hepatitis C and Human Immunodeficiency Virus as well as Hepatitis B). You should be advised that any health care worker who is infected with any of these viruses (or who cannot prove that they are not infected) is not able to undertake exposure prone procedures when qualified (which are defined as ‘those invasive procedures where there is a risk that injury to the worker may result in the exposure of the patient’s open tissues to the blood of the worker.’). The MBChB Course at Birmingham is a non-Exposure-Prone Procedure course, so students with Hep C and/or HIV will not reflect any risk to patients during the course. Therefore, students who are positive or decline the offer of a blood test will still be permitted to continue on the programme. Although, medical students may engage in exposure-prone procedures on a voluntary basis (for example, during their elective). If this is the case, students are required to be screened.
For further information about these requirements, please see: Medical and Dental Students: Health clearance for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and Tuberculosis.
The College of Medical and Dental Sciences will reimburse students with financial hardship for up to £200 of the cost of their vaccinations. If you are eligible for an award under the National Scholarship Programme (i.e. qualify for at least one of the state benefits associated with Free School Meals entitlement, classed as a Care Leaver or with a household income of £16,190 or less), you are advised to obtain receipts for any health checks that you have had to pay for. Once you commence study at the University of Birmingham, you may then apply for reimbursement from the College, up to the cost of £200.
Students will be required to complete a successful Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check before admission to the programme.
All students are required to sign the Fitness to Practice Code of Conduct prior to entry, details of which will be forwarded with an offer letter.
Medical students are expected to attend the entire course, which includes some evening and weekend work.
Opportunities for candidates with disabilities
We take a positive view of what candidates with disabilities can achieve as future medical professionals and take seriously our obligation to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that all students with disabilities can successfully complete their studies. All applicants will be assessed up to and including the interview on the basis of the criteria outlined above regardless of any disability. All students, including those with disabilities, have to be able to meet the competency thresholds set by the GMC. If you declare a disability we will invite you to work with us to explore how best we can support your studies.