Ultimate Guide To Graduate Entry Medicine 2026

What is Graduate Entry Medicine?

UK graduate entry medicine, often called grad med or GEM, lets people who already hold a degree retrain as doctors. Most apply for the dedicated accelerated four-year course (UCAS code A101), though graduates can also enter the standard five-year medicine course (A100).

As a UK graduate medical student, you have access to various courses ranging from spots on standard 5-6 year medicine courses to dedicated 4-year accelerated GEM courses.

This article gives you all the information that you need to know, including where you can study GEM, what you need to study GEM, how to apply for it and how much it costs.

Which universities offer graduate entry medicine?

Various universities offer GEM programs in the UK, so you’ll want to look at deciding which ones to apply to based on factors such as their admissions criteria, proximity to home and UK medicine rankings.

For more help with making this decision, check out our dedicated guide to choosing a medical school or our guides to each individual medical school. There are many in different regions - in particular, London graduate entry medicine is very popular.

Around 20 UK universities run dedicated graduate entry (A101) courses, and the list keeps growing, with newer entrants such as the University of Surrey, the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine and Ulster joining the longer-established programmes. Provision changes most years, so always confirm directly with each medical school before you apply. As a guide, GEM courses are offered at universities including:

• Barts: 39 spots for students with science or non-science degrees.
• Birmingham: Offers a four-year graduate entry course; check current recruitment status for your entry year.
• Cambridge: Around 39 places for graduates; unlike undergraduate medicine, you may apply to both Oxford and Cambridge for GEM in the same UCAS cycle.
• Cardiff: Places only available for students on a Feeder Stream course
• Chester: Currently only available to international students with science or non-science degrees.
• Dundee/St Andrews - ScotGEM (Scotland Graduate Entry Medicine): 55 spots for students with science or non-science degrees.
• Imperial College London: The course is currently suspended for curriculum updates.
• King’s College London: 28 spots for students with science degrees.
• Liverpool: 29 spots for students with science degrees.
• Newcastle: 25 spots for students with science or non-science degrees.
• Nottingham: 93 spots for students with science or non-science degrees.
• Oxford: 30 spots for students with science degrees.
• Sheffield: 15 spots for students from Widening Participation backgrounds with science or non-science degrees.
• Southampton: 48 spots for students with science or non-science degrees.
• St George’s: 70 spots for students with science or non-science degrees.
• Swansea: 100 spots for students with science or non-science degrees.
• Worcester: Currently only available to international students with science or non-science degrees.
• Warwick: 193 spots for students with science or non-science degrees.

Of course, there are also opportunities for graduate students to study medicine across the globe, for instance, graduate entry medicine in Europe.

Graduates also have strong options in Ireland, where the four-year graduate entry route uses the GAMSAT. See our study medicine in Ireland guide for entry requirements, fees and deadlines.

Check out our guide to applying in Europe!

What are the Graduate Entry Medicine requirements?

Requirements for graduate entry medicine vary per medical school.

Requirements for graduate entry medicine do vary depending on which medical school you are applying to, so you should check with each one.

However, it is important to consider that many of these programs do not have A-level requirements so you can study graduate entry medicine even with bad A-levels - your first degree is a more relevant academic criterion for universities to use when assessing you.

It is also possible to study graduate entry medicine with a non-science degree. Check out the list of universities above for details on which universities are most likely to accept candidates without a science degree.

Whether you’ve studied Chemistry or Italian, there are spots available to you for UK postgraduate medicine.

Generally, you will need:

• At least a 2:1 degree, ideally a 1st class degree
• To sit the GAMSAT, UCAT or MCAT admissions test and perform well
• Relevant medicine work experience
• Some strong references from people whom you trust
• A well-written and interesting personal statement

What are the admissions tests for graduate entry medicine?

Postgraduate entry into medicine will generally require you to sit at least one admissions test. Different universities require different tests, as outlined below.

• Barts: Requires the UCAT
• Birmingham: Requires the UCAT
• Cambridge: Requires UCAT (as of 2024, 2025 Entry)
• Cardiff: Requires the GAMSAT
• Chester: Requires the UCAT
• Dundee/St Andrews - ScotGEM: Requires the GAMSAT
• Imperial College London: Requires UCAT (as of 2024, 2025 Entry)
• King’s College London: Requires the UCAT
• Liverpool: Requires the GAMSAT
• Newcastle: Requires the UCAT
• Nottingham: Requires the GAMSAT
• Oxford: Requires UCAT (as of 2024, 2025 Entry)
• Sheffield: Requires the UCAT
• Southampton: Requires the UCAT
• St George’s: Requires the GAMSAT
• Swansea: Requires the GAMSAT for UK applicants, and GAMSAT or MCAT for international applicants
• Worcester: Requires the UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT
• Warwick: Requires the UCAT

Find out more about how universities use the UCAT here.

The UCAT requires no prior knowledge beyond basic maths skills and is an extremely time-pressured multiple-choice exam.

The GAMSAT is a day-long test divided into three sections: reasoning in humanities and social sciences; written communication, and reasoning in biological and physical sciences.

You should consider which suits your strengths more, and which is relevant to the universities that interest you more.

In practice the GAMSAT-only schools (such as Nottingham, Cardiff, St George's and ScotGEM) and the UCAT schools (such as Warwick, Barts and Newcastle) split fairly evenly, with a few accepting either test. Read our Ultimate GAMSAT graduate entry guide for the full breakdown, and our UCAT guides hub if you are sitting the UCAT instead.

For help with these exams, get in touch with our expert tutoring team and check out the guides on our website.

How do I apply for GEM?

As with undergraduate medicine, GEM must be applied to through UCAS (the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service). UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) is the centralised body that manages all higher education applications in the UK.

Your UCAS graduate entry medicine application is then sent to all universities to which you are applying, so you don’t need to worry about applying to each of them individually.

The medicine timeline is earlier than most subjects: the UCAS deadline for medicine (including graduate entry) is 6pm on 15 October each year, for entry the following September. You can apply to up to four medical schools, and unlike standard undergraduate medicine you may include both Oxford and Cambridge among those four for GEM.

Check out our UCAS guide for information on how the process works and what the associated costs are.

What is ScotGEM?

ScotGEM is a unique four-year program run by the University of Dundee and the University of Aberdeen in collaboration.

Students will spend their first two years under St Andrews, before concluding their education with two years led by Aberdeen.

Students are based in St Andrews in first year but move around a lot afterwards.

Much time is spent in rural areas of the Highlands and Dumfries and Galloway, so students must be prepared for this unique situation to take full advantage of the opportunity offered here.

How does funding work for GEM (four-year accelerated)?

Many people have a misconception that GEM students must self-fund their entire university careers, however, this is far from the truth.

In fact, various graduate entry medicine funding schemes are available to you.

For a full year-by-year breakdown of fees, loans, the NHS Bursary and the real cost of GEM, see our dedicated graduate entry medicine funding, costs and fees guide.

In year 1 of the accelerated four-year course, tuition fees are £9,790 (2026/27 rate for English-domiciled students). On A101 courses you are responsible for paying roughly the first £3,665 yourself, and Student Finance England can lend the remainder (around £6,125) as a non-means-tested tuition fee loan. Some universities expect the self-funded portion paid upfront, while others offer instalment schemes, so check each institution's website.

Check their individual websites for more information. If you are eligible for a tuition fee loan from Student Finance England, you will also be eligible for a non-means-tested loan for the remainder of the tuition fee.

From year 2 of an accelerated four-year (A101) course, the NHS Bursary scheme contributes towards your tuition fees (a fee contribution of up to roughly £3,830 for 2025/26), with the balance covered by a tuition fee loan from Student Finance England. Exact figures are reviewed annually, so confirm the current rates on the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) website.

However, you will of course have to repay your student loans later (though NHS bursaries are non-repayable).

In first year, if you are eligible for student finance then you should be able to take out a £4,422 non-means-tested loan for the costs of living. You may also be eligible for means-tested support from both your university and the government, dependent on household income. If you are above the age of 25, married or have been in full-time employment for at least three years then you are considered an “independent student” and your parents’ household income will not be assessed when determining how much you will have to pay.

In subsequent years, your maintenance loan is reduced to just £2,534. However, you are also eligible for £1,000 of non-means-tested money from the NHS bursary scheme and up to £2,643 of means-tested money (including the initial £1,000) plus £84 for every additional week of education beyond 30.

In Scotland, your tuition fees will be fully funded if you are on the ScotGEM program! Other Scottish students, however, will have to self-fund their tuition fees for the entire course.

How does funding work for graduate entry students applying for standard medical undergraduate courses?

For your first four years, tuition fees are £9,250 per year.

You will have to pay this directly to the university. Some will expect this fee paid upfront, whilst others have schemes available for termly payments or payments in instalments.

Check their individual websites for more information.

From your fifth year onwards, you will be eligible for the NHS Bursary Scheme for tuition fee support. They will pay your fees in full and you will never have to pay this money back.

For your first four years, you will also be eligible for a full maintenance loan from Student Finance England. The amount that you can receive will vary depending on your circumstances and where you are living.

If you are above the age of 25, married or have been in full-time employment for at least three years then you are considered an “independent student” and your parents’ household income will not be assessed when determining how much you will have to pay.

In fifth year and beyond, the NHS Bursary Scheme will provide you with £1,000 to cover the costs of living. This is non-means tested and non-repayable. You could also receive up to £3,191 of means-tested money (including the initial £1,000) plus £108 for every additional week of education beyond 30.

Scottish students will only have to pay £1,820 per year of tuition fees for their first four years if they study in Scotland. If they study in England or Wales, they will have to pay the full amount.

Transferring Into Medicine From Another Career

Becoming a doctor later in life in the UK can be done in various different ways. One of the most appealing for many candidates is transferring into Medicine from a different degree, as very little additional time in university is required.

These can provide pathways to studying medicine from various courses, such as UK nursing to medicine or pharmacist to doctor conversions as well as for biochemists or biomedical scientists into graduate entry medicine.

Is it possible to transfer into medicine?

In short - yes!

No fewer than 12 universities in the UK have schemes which allow you to transfer into medicine. However, all of these are extremely competitive because candidates who miss out on medicine often study at these universities intending to transfer.

As such, you should make sure that you aren’t just going to these universities because there is a possibility of transferring. You may be stuck in the course that you select, so it should also be something that you are genuinely passionate about and want to study.

Which universities have transfer to medicine graduate entry schemes?

The following universities have schemes that may allow you to transfer into medicine. Make sure to research each one fully by looking at their websites.

Anglia Ruskin

Students who perform exceptionally in the first year of BSc Medical Science, BSc Biomedical Science and BOptom Optometry can apply to transfer to Medicine. Last year, 7 of 52 applicants were successful. Requirements include a strong UCAT score, appropriate GCSEs, a 75% average across first year and no less than 65% in any one module.

Bradford University

This scheme is aimed at widening participation students. After completing one year of a Foundation in Clinical Sciences/Medicine course or BSc Clinical Sciences at Bradford, students can apply to transfer to study medicine at Sheffield University. They need to meet at least two widening participation criteria, meet their UCAT threshold, and average 70% in first year, including 70% in Chemistry and no failed assessments.

Brighton University

Brighton and Sussex Medical School guarantees interviews for well-performing Biomedical, Biological and Pharmacy students from Brighton University. They have schemes available for students after first and third year.

Cardiff University

Cardiff reserves some places for students in third year of a recognised feeder stream: BSc (Hons) Medical Pharmacology degree, Cardiff University; BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences degree, Cardiff University; BSc (Hons) Medical Sciences degree, University of South Wales; BMedSci (Hons) Medical Sciences degree, Bangor University. Students transfer into the second year of their five-year medicine program.

University of Exeter

Final-year BSc Medical Sciences and BSc Neuroscience students can apply to medicine and will be shortlisted for interview if they are predicted to receive a 2:1 or 1st class degree, and haven’t experienced “significant issues” during their time at Exeter.

University of Leicester

Leicester’s scheme is available to those who have finished a year of BSc in Biological Sciences, Medical Biochemistry, Medical Genetics, Medical Physiology, or Medical Microbiology. This is highly competitive and not guaranteed. Additionally, strong A-Levels and first-year university grades are required as well as good performance in the UCAT and a strong personal statement.

University of Manchester

Approximately 10 students can transfer into medicine each year if they have performed exceptionally in degree within the School of Biological Sciences. Unfortunately, details of this scheme are only made available internally to eligible students so we do not have more information.

Newcastle University

Newcastle makes up to 7 places each year available to students registered at the Faculty of Medical Sciences on Biomedical or Biomolecular Sciences programs. They can apply to transfer to stage 1 of Medicine after completing stage 1 of Biomedical Sciences.

University of Plymouth

Plymouth makes 5 spaces available each year for students to transfer from Biomedical Science to Medicine or Dentistry after year 1 is completed. This is, however, extremely competitive.

Queen Mary, University of London

QMU collates a list of students on the Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience, and Pharmacology and Innovative Therapeutics programmes. The top 19 highest-ranked on this joint list are guaranteed an interview for the 5-year Medicine program at Barts. This ranking is based on academic scores (50%) and UCAT score (50%). Of these, the top 5 will be considered for the accelerated four-year Graduate Entry programme.

St. George’s

Students studying BSc Biomedical Sciences at St George’s can apply for their Clinical Transfer programme. 25 students can fast-track to Year 2 of the accelerated 4-year GEM programme upon completion of their Biomedical Sciences degree. These spots are contingent on academic performance during students’ degrees and success at an MMI interview.

University of Sussex

Biomedical Science or Medical Neuroscience students at this university are guaranteed an interview at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. They can apply in first or third year, with different criteria for each.

What are my other options?

Mature student entry to medicine can take various forms. If you don’t manage to transfer out of your degree into medicine then you can become a doctor with a biomedical science degree, you can get into medicine with a nursing degree and you can study medicine with almost any other degree.

Can You Become a Doctor at 23, 24 or 25?

Yes, and easily. In your early twenties most medical schools would not class you as a mature applicant at all. Applying after a gap year, a resit year, a first degree or a couple of years of work is completely ordinary.

Two routes are open to you at this age.

• Standard entry, 5 years: open to anyone who meets the academic requirements, whatever your age and whatever you studied before.
• Graduate entry, 4 years: for people who already hold a degree, usually at 2:1 or above. Around 20 UK universities run one, and the full list of courses and places sits earlier in this guide.

Seven UK medical schools take graduates only: Chester, Pears Cumbria, Surrey, Swansea, Ulster, Warwick and Worcester. The rest run a standard entry course, and many run a graduate entry course alongside it.

If you start at 23: a 4-year graduate entry course puts you at graduation around 27, with Foundation training finished around 29. A 5-year course adds a year to each of those.

Can You Study Medicine at 30, 40 or 50?

Yes. There is no rule against it and no school that can turn you down for it. Applicants in their thirties, forties and fifties apply every cycle, most of them through graduate entry, and they qualify.

As a GP, the honest thing I would say is that the question is almost never about eligibility. It is about whether you want to spend the next several years in training, and whether you can fund them. Both are worth sitting with properly. Neither is on its own a reason not to apply.

What genuinely changes: the money. Student finance for a second degree, the NHS Bursary and maintenance support all work differently depending on your route, your year of study and which UK nation you are from. The two funding sections earlier in this guide break that down year by year.

What does not change: the entry requirements. You still need the grades the course asks for, the admissions test, relevant experience and an interview. Age earns you no concession, and it does not count against you either.

Two practical things are worth planning for. Placements are full time, often away from home, and the timetable is fixed for years at a stretch. And you will be studying alongside people ten or twenty years younger than you.

Graduate Entry or Standard Entry: Which Route Fits an Older Applicant?

Both routes are open at any age. The choice comes down to what you already hold and how many years you are willing to give it.

• Graduate entry, 4 years: needs a completed degree, usually a 2:1 or better. It is a year shorter and it is the route most career changers take. Seven schools offer nothing else.
• Standard entry, 5 or 6 years: the route to take if you do not hold a degree, or if your degree is not in a subject the graduate entry courses on your list will accept.
• Admissions tests: standard entry courses use the UCAT. Graduate entry courses use the UCAT or the GAMSAT, depending on the school, so check each one before you book a test date.

Funding: the two routes are funded differently, and the arrangement changes between year one and the years after it. The funding sections earlier in this guide cover the 4-year accelerated course, and our graduate entry medicine funding guide covers a standard entry course taken as a second degree.

Funding rules change, and they differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Before you commit, check the current year with Student Finance on GOV.UK and with the NHS Business Services Authority, and confirm the fee arrangement with the university itself.

If You Start Medical School at 30, When Do You Qualify?

The arithmetic is the same at any age. Add the length of your course, then two Foundation Programme years. You gain full GMC registration at the end of FY1 and finish Foundation training at the end of FY2.

• Start at 25, 4-year course: graduate at 29, full registration at 30, Foundation training complete at 31.
• Start at 30, 4-year course: graduate at 34, full registration at 35, Foundation training complete at 36.
• Start at 30, 5-year course: graduate at 35, full registration at 36, Foundation training complete at 37.
• Start at 40, 4-year course: graduate at 44, full registration at 45, Foundation training complete at 46.
• Start at 50, 4-year course: graduate at 54, full registration at 55, Foundation training complete at 56.

Specialty training sits on top of that. GP training runs three years after Foundation, and hospital specialties run longer. So somebody who starts a 4-year course at 35 could be a qualified GP in their mid forties.

Against a working life that now often runs into the late sixties, qualifying in your mid forties still leaves you two decades of practice. Whether that trade is worth making is a personal call, but the numbers are usually less discouraging than people expect before they do them.

Applying Without Recent Science A Levels: Access to Medicine and Foundation Year Routes

Not having science A levels, or having sat them twenty years ago, is one of the most common reasons people decide they have left it too late. It is usually the most fixable part of the problem.

• Access to Medicine Diploma: a one-year Level 3 course built for adults returning to education without the A levels a medical school asks for. A number of UK medical schools accept it in place of A levels. Not all do, and those that do often specify particular units and grades.
• Medicine with a foundation year: a 6-year course where year zero brings your science up to the level the degree needs. See our guide to UK foundation medicine courses. These places are usually reserved for applicants from widening participation backgrounds or without the standard qualifications, so the eligibility criteria are strict and vary by school.
• Retaking A levels: accepted everywhere, but the slowest of the three. Several schools restrict resits or want the grades achieved in one sitting, so read each policy before you commit two years to it.

Whichever you choose, check it against the specific schools on your list before you enrol rather than after. Acceptance is decided school by school, and a course one medical school welcomes may not meet the entry requirements of the next one.

What Is the Age Range of Students on a UK Medical Course?

A UK medical school year group is far more mixed than a sixth form. The youngest students in a first year are 17, at the schools listed in our guide to minimum age requirements for medicine. There is no oldest, because no school sets an upper limit.

• 17 to 19: school leavers, the largest group on the 5-year standard entry course. Most start at 18.
• 19 to 21: gap year students, resitters and reapplicants, on the same courses and treated no differently.
• 21 to 30: the usual band on a 4-year graduate entry course, since a first degree finishes at 21 or 22 and many people work for a year or two before applying.
• 30 and above: career changers, found mostly on graduate entry courses but present in plenty of standard entry year groups too.

One thing worth clearing up: pre med is an American term, not a UK one, so there is no UK pre med student age to quote. In the UK you apply straight to a medical degree, either from school or after another degree.

How can I get help with applying for GEM?

For assistance with your application to GEM, get in touch with our team of expert tutors who can help you with every stage of your application. Additionally, check out our guides to the GAMSAT!

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Related guides and tools

Use these guides and services to plan your graduate entry medicine application from the admissions test through to funding and offers:

• GAMSAT: Ultimate GAMSAT graduate entry guide 2026 (which GEM schools require it and how to prepare).
• Funding: Graduate entry medicine funding, costs and fees explained for the full breakdown of self-funded fees, NHS Bursary and maintenance support.
• Considering dentistry instead? Read our graduate entry dentistry guide.
• Cost: How much does it cost to become a doctor in the UK over the whole training pathway.
• Studying abroad: study medicine in Ireland (GAMSAT graduate entry) or applying to study medicine in Europe.
• Choosing where to apply: the UK medical schools ranking hub and our guide to choosing a medical school.
• Need tailored support? Medicine application tutoring and our expert GAMSAT and medicine tutors can help with every stage of your GEM application.