Academic eligibility for Medicine and Surgery
The first stage of the application process is to check whether you meet our academic entry requirements.
Our five-year MBChB Medicine and Surgery degree welcomes applicants with a wide range of qualifications who meet our entry requirements.
The first stage of the application process is to check whether you meet our academic entry requirements.
Required subjects:
Minimum of B or 6 in each of the following:
Scoring Notes:
Resits:
We do not consider GCSE resits unless exceptional circumstances are clearly evidenced at the time of application. Please see our Resit and Reapplication policy for further details.
For further guidance, please contact us at medicine@lancaster.ac.uk.
Subject and Qualification Guidelines:
Acceptable 4th subjects:
Subjects must not duplicate content already covered in the main three A levels.
BTEC (Level 3) Guidance:
BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate may be accepted in place of a 3rd A level. BTEC Level 3 Certificate may be accepted in place of a 4th subject or AS level
We do not accept BTEC qualifications alone. BTEC Applied Science or Medical Science are not accepted, even as a 3rd or 4th subject, due to duplication of subject content
Higher Level (HL) Requirements:
Three subjects, including any two of:
All HL subjects must be at a minimum of 6 points
Standard Level (SL) Requirements:
Three subjects, each at a minimum of 5 points
Additional IB information:
For international qualifications, please download our International Qualifications for 2025 entry fact sheet. If your qualification is not listed, please email medicine@lancaster.ac.uk.
Advanced Highers:
Grades AA in Biology and Chemistry, taken at one sitting after one year of study
Highers:
Grades AAAAB in five subjects, taken at one sitting after one year of study
Must include Biology and Chemistry both at grade A
Applicants may take an additional National 5 subject alongside Highers or Advanced Highers to meet subject requirements if needed.
National 5:
At least seven subjects, achieved by the end of S4, including our core subjects:
Required grades: National 5 (A or B), Standard Grade Credit (1 or 2), Intermediate 2 (A or B)
Applicants who have taken fewer than seven National 5s may still be considered if their school or local authority limits the number of entries (this must be stated in the academic reference)
Additional Notes:
We do not provide a four-year graduate entry degree, but graduates are eligible to apply for our five-year undergraduate degree
A Level:
Three A levels, taken at one sitting after two years of study
If your degree is in a Biological, Biomedical or Health Science subject:
If your degree is in any other subject:
AAB, including any two of:
Additional Notes:
Access to Higher Education qualifications are designed for adults who are returning to education, and who have achieved few previous qualifications because of social, educational or individual circumstances.
We review all applicants' qualification history following an application. Applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements are encouraged to contact us at medicine@lancaster.ac.uk, detailing what qualifications they have achieved and when for further guidance.
A Level:
Any AS or A level qualifications held should usually be at a minimum of grade C at first attempt. Applicants offering an Access-type qualification to compensate for having studied the wrong subjects at A level are usually expected to offer three A levels and have achieved at least BBB at the first attempt.
Access courses are not appropriate for school-leavers to gain entry to Medicine and we will not accept in lieu of resitting A levels, or other equivalent qualifications.
We do not consider applications from those with an Access qualification if they have already re-taken AS or A level examinations and failed to meet the entry requirements at the second attempt.
GCSE:
Depending on individual circumstances, applicants may be required to demonstrate a score of at least 13 points from eight GCSEs, where A*/A or 7-9 = 2 points; B or 6 = 1 point
All applicants must offer grade B or 6 in each of the following, achieved in one sitting:
Additional Notes:
Alongside academic qualifications, we review domicile, English language proficiency, and any contextual information provided to ensure applications are reviewed fully and fairly.
We receive information about nationality and residential status through UCAS. To support this, applicants are recommended to complete our Initial Applicant Survey, which is sent automatically following an application.
Applicants may be required to provide additional information if contacted by email. If incorrect or incomplete information leads to an error in processing an application, then we reserve the right to amend our decision.
Fee status is determined by our Undergraduate Admissions team as a separate process, and so applicants may be required to provide further information at a later stage in the cycle.
All applicants who are applying from outside the UK or who have lived in the UK for less than 5 years at the point of application must demonstrate proficiency in English through one of the following recognised English Language qualifications:
Please see below for a list of exceptions:
This is in addition to our academic entry requirements. We do expect all applicants, including those from overseas, to have studied English as part of their secondary education. In our experience, however, GCSE/IGCSE English Language or English studied at A level/IB does not guarantee that applicants have appropriate ability in English.
Additional notes:
As part of our commitment to widening access to medicine, we take a holistic approach to reviewing applications and aim to understand as much as possible about our applicants, their circumstances, and their potential.
You will be invited to declare this information in your UCAS application, Initial Applicant Survey (IAS) and Supplementary Information Form (SIF). You may need to provide evidence to support your case including evidence from your school, college, local authority, parent or guardian.
Contextual information will be taken into account at two stages of the admissions process:
Stage 2: shortlisting for interview based on UCAT scores. Borderline candidates who meet WP criteria may be invited to interview using a lower overall score threshold.
Stage 3: candidates who are successful at interview may be considered for a contextually lowered offer of ABB.
If you do not meet one of the above criteria, then you must meet two or more of the criteria below:
For further guidance, please contact us at medicine@lancaster.ac.uk.
Although you are required to submit a personal statement with your UCAS application, this will not be scored at any stage of our admissions process.
Instead, we use our interview to understand more about you, your background, and experiences and how these have influenced your decision to apply to medicine. Your personal statement is an opportunity to prepare for the types of questions you will be asked at the interview. It should reflect who you are and demonstrate what you have done to explore medicine as a career, what you have learned about being a doctor, your suitability for the profession, and your commitment to helping others.
Your personal statement is arranged into three sections, each centred around a question. We do not require you to include specific information in a section, but some medical schools may do, so please check their websites before you structure your answers.
Before you write your personal statement and submit your application to study medicine, it is important to have undertaken some relevant work, voluntary or caring experience to help you understand what a career in medicine is like. There is no set number of hours you need to complete, nor a defined list of experiences you need to have gained to be eligible to apply to us; a full range of experiences can help you to develop your knowledge, understanding and skills.
For more guidance on work experience and personal statements for Medicine, please take a look at the Studying Healthcare webpages.
UCAS also provides excellent general guidance on their website.
Finally, you will be assessed on your fitness to practice.
The professional body that governs medical practice in the UK, the General Medical Council (GMC), has specific requirements to protect staff and patient safety. In accordance with these requirements, all medical students must have the ability to function as a fully competent doctor and fulfil the rigorous demands of professional fitness to practise.
We take probity seriously throughout the admissions process. Your UCAS application must be completed fully, accurately and honestly and without omissions. Lancaster Medical School reserves the right to reject any applicant who is found to have been dishonest at any stage of their application
This information is collected in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. For unsuccessful applicants, data related to any declared criminal convictions will be deleted and removed from our admissions system by the end of the relevant admissions period