Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (BMBS)
Frequently Asked Questions
A-Level
Our typical entry requirements are A*AA at A-Level. We specifically require A-Level Chemistry and Biology plus one further subject.
IB
The typical entry requirement for the International Baccalaureate is 38/766 points overall with scores of 6 in Higher Level Biology and Higher Level Chemistry.
BTEC
Applicants studying for a BTEC Extended Diploma will require D*DD, and also require grade A in GCE A-Level Biology and Chemistry.
Access
Applicants studying an Access Course will require 30 Level 3 credits at Distinction Grade and 15 Level 3 credits at Merit Grade. This is to include 15 Level 3 credits at Distinction Grade in Biology and 15 Level 3 credits at Distinction Grade in Chemistry.
General Studies will not be included in any offer.
Language requirements
You will need to show evidence of acceptable levels of literacy. This is normally evidenced by GCSE English Language with a minimum pass of Grade B or 6, or above. Higher grades may be specified for individual programmes of study.
Candidates who will enter the BMBS programme no more than two full academic years after completing their level 3 (A level or equivalent) studies will be considered as direct school leavers and will be required to take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). A threshold score will be set upon receipt of all scores in November in the year of application.
On the other hand, if you have completed a degree programme or it has been more than two years since you completed your full A levels, you will be considered as a non-direct school leaver. In this instance you will be required to take the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) in order to be considered. Your performance in GAMSAT and your English Language qualification will be the only necessary information on your application. Applicants will be given an Exeter score pertaining to their GAMSAT score. Your performance in a prior degree or past secondary school will not be taken into consideration. GAMSAT scores are valid for two years.
Work experience is not part of our standard entry requirements and therefore whether you have work experience or not, you are very welcome to apply to our programme.
Exeter Medical School does not discriminate against applicants who have re-taken part or all of a qualification and will treat an achieved or predicted qualification grade in the same way irrespective of whether or not re-takes are involved.
Applicants who meet the published entry requirements will have their UCAT and Academic qualifications weighted in order to assign an Exeter score. Applicants who have taken the GAMSAT will also be assigned an Exeter score.
The Exeter score will be used to select applicants who will be invited to Interview. For full details on this process please see the BMBS Medicine Admissions Policy, which is available on the main Medicine subject page.
All subject/extra conditions must also be met (see Entry requirements).
Our Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) are designed to determine whether applicants possess the non-academic qualities such as the communication skills, reflectiveness and empathy required to become a successful doctor. Whether or not an offer is made will typically depend on your performance at the interview.
You will be based at St Luke's Campus for the first year of study. During the second and third years you may be based at either St Luke’s or our Truro campus, alternating for years four and five. You will rotate through a series of hospital and community placements which provide extensive experience of a wide range of clinical settings. Your campus rotation will be given to you following enrolment on the programme.
Our Medicine programme is mainly assessed through The Applied Medical Knowledge Test (AMK). This test is delivered in a multiple-choice question format and is designed specifically to assess a student’s long-term and practical knowledge. It measures how much you are learning, not how good you are at revision or cramming/rote memorisation.
All our students take this test four times a year and will receive their grade and percentage score along with the mean percentage of each test.
For details about tuition fees, please visit our Tuition fees and funding webpage.
We base our decisions on an applicant’s residence status at time of application and do not hold applications or make offers conditional on fee status. If you are classified as an international student but your situation changes before you have received a decision on your application or after receiving an offer we will conduct a fee reassessment. You will need to submit your new information before 1 September in the year the programme starts, e.g. evidence of British Citizenship or Indefinite Leave to Remain being granted.
All applications must be submitted via UCAS between September and 15 October in the year prior to entry.
Currently, the University of Exeter offers students the opportunity to undertake an intercalated degree between years 3 & 4 of the Medicine programme.
Intercalation is offered to the highest-performing students based on assessments during the third year wherein approximately the top quartile receive an automatic offer, while the second quartile will have to compete for any remaining places.
A small quota may apply to intercalate externally for degrees that are not available locally- e.g. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. You will be able to join the final year of the degree course to BA or BSc level; some Masters programmes are also possible.
Following a review of our interview selection process, we identified that a small percentage of applicants with achieved grades were selected for interview in 2024, compared to those with predicted grades, despite applicants having already achieved grades higher than the typical advertised offer requirement. This results in those with predicted grades, and especially those with high predicted grades gaining an advantage in securing an interview and in many cases going on be offered a place with lower grades than they are predicted.
Changing the way we select applicants for interview, ensures a better representation of applicants being invited to interview and what we believe is a fairer process overall.
We anticipate that we will be able to interview approximately 700 applicants in total. Due to only having 10 places available for international students approximately 30 international applicants will be invited to interview.
Interviews normally take place between December and January.
Offers will only be made once all interviews have taken place. This means that we normally make offers late February/early march.
If you have experienced or are currently experiencing issues which you believe have impacted your studies or exams, we ask that you complete our online Extenuating Circumstances form after submitting your application.
