About Birmingham Medical School

Birmingham Medical School is part of the University of Birmingham’s main campus in Edgbaston, the excitement of campus life and research pursuits are only ever a short walk away.

Our school provides an impressive range of facilities to support teaching and research activities, with dedicated teaching spaces for pharmacy; anatomy and clinical skills; a library exclusive to students in the college; a prosectorium, in addition to less formal teaching environments to promote group working.

Birmingham Medical School itself is adjacent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, part of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which also includes Good Hope Hospital, Heartlands Hospital and Solihull Hospital. Also within a short distance of our buildings are Birmingham Women’s Hospital, The Barberry and The Oleaster.

We have pioneered a citywide strategic alliance with Aston University and five local NHS Trusts – including the co-located University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust - under the umbrella of Birmingham Health Partners, to further advance partnership working and provide the best medical education environment for our students.

Due to our central location and close ties to local NHS Trusts we are able to offer accessible placements for all students due to our excellent transport links, particularly our train station (University Station) from which you can catch trains on the cross-city line, taking less than ten minutes to arrive in the city centre.

We are also within walking distance from Pritchatts Park Village, where most medical students prefer to live.

Situated in the largest healthcare region in the country, we are fortunate to have access to one of the largest and most diverse populations in Europe. This allows us to help address major global issues and diseases affecting today’s society.

Additionally, our long history and international recognition for our achievements in applied health sciences is set to grow with the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus (BHIC) – a life science park developed in partnership with Bruntwood SciTech which opened in 2025. No.1 BHIC is home to the Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA), the University’s flagship life sciences innovation and incubation facility, providing lab and development space to emerging start-ups and small businesses in medtech, diagnostics and advanced therapies.

Based in one of the largest healthcare regions in the UK, the Birmingham Medical School is the largest and best networked medical school in the West Midlands area. We are proud of our links with our NHS trusts and our teaching and research partners. Here are our key NHS Trusts and other partners that work in collaboration with the Birmingham Medical School.

The table below shows the list of key NHS Trusts that work in partnership with the University of Birmingham.

Birmingham Health Partners

Birmingham Health Partners (BHP) transcends organisational boundaries to rapidly translate healthcare research findings into new diagnostics, drugs and devices for patients.

It is a strategic alliance between five organisations who collaborate to bring healthcare innovations through to clinical application:

• University of Birmingham
• University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
• Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
• West Midlands Academic Health Science Network

We are our proud to acknowledge the outstanding individuals who have gone on to be leaders in their respective fields and exceedingly contributed to the improvement of global health care.

Sir Guy Dain

(MB Medicine, 1894) - Chairman, British Medical Association.

Sir Leonard Gregory Parsons

(MD Medicine, 1903) - First to use synthetic Vitamin C to treat scurvy in Children; awarded Royal College of Physicians’ Moxon Medal.

Sir Arthur Peregrine Thomson

(MBChB, 1915) - Awarded Harveian Oration; Dean, Medical Faculty, the University of Birmingham; Vice-principal, The University of Birmingham.

Dame Hilda Lloyd

(MBChB, 1916) - First women Professor, University of Birmingham; first woman President, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; founding member, Women’s Visiting Gynaecological Club.

Leon David Abrams

(MBChB, 1941) - Developed and implanted the first variable heart pacemaker at the university alongside Ray Lightwood.

Sir Charles George

(MBChB, 1965) - Chairman, Stroke Association; Chairman, General Medical Council’s Education Committee, Chair, BMA’s Board of Science & Education.

Keith Harding

(MBChB, 1976) - Director, TIME Institute (Translation, Innovation, Methodology and Engagement); Clinical Lead for Wound Healing, Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust; Editor-in-Chief, International Wound Journal; President, European Tissue Repair Society; Commander of Order of the British Empire.

Jane Collins

(MBChB, 1978; MD 1988) - Chief Executive, Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Richard Horton

(MBChB, 1986; BSc, 1983; MD, 2008) - Editor, the Lancet; Columnist, The Observer; writer, The Times Literary Supplement; writer, The New York Review of Books; co-Chaired, WHO Scientific Advisory Group on Clinical Trials Registration,

Rowan Hillson

(MBChB, 1974) - National Clinical Director for Diabetes, Department for Health.

Steve Field

(MBChB, 1982) - President, Royal College of General Practitioners; Lead, NHS Future Forum; Deputy Medical Director, NHS England.

Peter Weissberg

(MBChB, 1976) - Medical Director, British Heart Foundation; Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Sir David Haslam

(MBChB, 1972) - President, British Medical Association; Chair, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; Chair, Royal College of General Practitioners; Vice-Chair, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges

Our work hopes to encourage school and college pupils to discover more about education, research and careers in biomedical science and healthcare. We are committed to supporting all pupils, especially those from a widening participation background, to access and engage with an excellent higher education experience.

We provide a range of activity, including school talks and visits to campus, with a focus on healthcare and research. We also look after our Pathways to Medicine peer mentoring programme undergraduate students that join the University through an access programme.

Explore more about our opportunities available to students.