ScotGEM is a four-year graduate course run by St Andrews and Dundee with NHS partners and designed around generalist practice in rural Scotland. Expect months of living and training in the Highlands or Dumfries and Galloway.
By Dr Akash Gandhi · Last checked: 22 September 2026
ScotGEM (UCAS code A101) is a four-year MBChB awarded jointly by the Universities of St Andrews and Dundee, open to Home and RUK fee-status graduates with a 2:1 or first in any subject, a Higher or A-level in Chemistry, Biology or Human Biology at grade A or B, maths at National 5 or GCSE grade B, and a GAMSAT result from March 2025 to September 2026.
St Andrews and Dundee run their four-year graduate route together as ScotGEM. You apply through UCAS to St Andrews, which processes all applications, and interviews are usually held at the University of Dundee School of Medicine at Ninewells Hospital.
ScotGEM ranks complete applications on GAMSAT for around 160 interview places. For 2025 entry, 237 people applied for 70 places, 144 were interviewed, and the GAMSAT cut-off was 50 overall (unweighted) with no subset below 42.
Dundee describes ScotGEM as designed to develop doctors interested in a career as a generalist practitioner within NHS Scotland, with a focus on rural medicine and healthcare improvement. The programme is delivered by St Andrews and Dundee with NHS Fife, NHS Tayside, NHS Highland, NHS Dumfries and Galloway and the University of the Highlands and Islands.
| Year | Led by | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Andrews | Based in St Andrews and Fife. Around 30 week-long patient cases (case-based learning), plus one day a week in a local general practice with a Generalist Clinical Mentor. |
| 2 | St Andrews | Nineteen more cases, taught in Fife, the Highlands, and Dumfries and Galloway. You live away from St Andrews for 16 to 18 weeks, with accommodation provided outside Fife. |
| 3 | Dundee | A year-long longitudinal integrated clerkship in one general practice, about half the week consulting with patients. Most placements are rural, mainly in Highland and Dumfries and Galloway. |
| 4 | Dundee | Hospital-based year across the four health boards, including a two-month foundation apprenticeship, an acute care block and an eight-week elective. |
You must be willing to relocate
St Andrews states that you must be prepared to live and study in rural areas of the Highlands and of Dumfries and Galloway. Year 3 placements are available in all four partner health boards, but the majority are rural. If you have caring responsibilities or a partner's job tying you to one city, plan for this before you apply.
Agents of Change projects run through all four years, from a voluntary sector placement and a prescribing improvement project in year 1 to a hospital quality improvement project in year 4.
Source: University of St Andrews, Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) MBChB (2027 entry (page last updated 17 September 2026)); University of Dundee, ScotGEM MBChB (September 2027 start)
If you are looking for graduate entry medicine at Dundee or at St Andrews, ScotGEM is the course. The two universities share the programme, so there is one course code and one application.
For the A100 courses at each university, see our profiles of St Andrews and Dundee.
Source: University of St Andrews, Applying to ScotGEM (2027 entry); University of St Andrews, Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) MBChB (2027 entry (page last updated 17 September 2026)); University of St Andrews, How ScotGEM students are selected (2027 cycle; figures labelled 2025 number overview); University of Dundee, ScotGEM MBChB (September 2027 start)
1-1 GAMSAT tutoring across all three sections, planned around your degree background and your test date.
ScotGEM is open only to applicants classed as Home (Scotland) or RUK for fee purposes. Anyone classed as overseas is not eligible. Beyond that, St Andrews sets three academic tests.
| Requirement | What St Andrews asks for |
|---|---|
| First degree | 1st or 2:1 honours, achieved or predicted, in arts, science or any other discipline. A GPA of 3.5 is treated as equivalent to a 2:1. |
| A 2:2 followed by more study | Not accepted, even with a later first-class degree, Masters or PhD. The first degree must meet the bar. |
| Science | One of Chemistry, Biology or Human Biology at Higher or A-level, grade A or B (ILC H2 or equivalent). |
| Maths | National 5 or Intermediate 2 at A or B, Standard Grade Credit 1 or 2, GCSE grade B, ILC O3 or equivalent. |
| Alternative to the school subjects | 20 credits of pure undergraduate Chemistry, Biology or Maths at high grades may be accepted. Mixed modules such as Biochemistry are not. |
| Previous medicine study | Anyone on, or previously on, a medicine degree is not considered, including transfer and intercalating students. |
You can resit Chemistry, Biology or Maths to reach the required grade. Access courses, HNCs and HNDs are not accepted. ScotGEM does not consider deferred entry, and you can apply twice at most: after two unsuccessful applications, further ones are not considered.
Work experience must be in person, in a caring or health setting. ScotGEM does not credit the volume of experience and discourages placements longer than two weeks. It is not scored; it becomes part of the discussion at interview, so recent experience that you can reflect on is more useful than a long list.
Source: University of St Andrews, Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) MBChB (2027 entry (page last updated 17 September 2026)); University of St Andrews, ScotGEM academic requirements (No year stated); University of St Andrews, Applying to ScotGEM (2027 entry); University of St Andrews, ScotGEM entry requirements (No year stated)
Sit GAMSAT
For 2027 entry, St Andrews accepts results from March 2025, September 2025, March 2026 or September 2026 only. There are no exemptions and no adjustment for illness on the day.
Apply by 15 October 2026
Through UCAS, listing every qualification you have taken, with grades, including GCSEs or National 5s. Late applications are not considered, and ScotGEM does not use UCAS Extra or Clearing.
Complete the online questionnaire
Emailed after the UCAS deadline and taking about an hour, it asks why ScotGEM suits you and about your medically related work experience. It must be submitted by the deadline in the email, expected in November 2026, or your application will not proceed.
Ranking for interview
Complete applications with a positive reference are ranked on GAMSAT score for around 160 interview places. St Andrews assesses the whole application, including academic performance, the personal statement and the reference.
MMI and decision
Offers are based on the MMI. Most decisions are not made until the middle of March 2027, and all come through UCAS.
| Measure | 2025 entry |
|---|---|
| Places | 70 |
| Applications | 237 |
| Interviewed | 144 |
| GAMSAT cut-off for interview | 50 overall (unweighted), no subset below 42 |
St Andrews says it cannot advise on the GAMSAT score likely to be needed for 2027 entry. If you are sitting or resitting the test, our GAMSAT guide covers the sections and scoring, and GAMSAT tutoring is available.
Source: University of St Andrews, ScotGEM aptitude test (2027 entry (accepted sittings); cut-off stated for 2025 entry); University of St Andrews, How ScotGEM students are selected (2027 cycle; figures labelled 2025 number overview); University of St Andrews, Applying to ScotGEM (2027 entry); University of St Andrews, ScotGEM entry requirements (No year stated)
Interviews use the multiple mini-interview format and are usually held at the University of Dundee School of Medicine at Ninewells Hospital. Stations usually last seven minutes each, with a short card of instructions and a 30-second break before the next. Everyone starts at a different station, and each station is independent.
St Andrews says you can expect questions on your motivation to study medicine, your relevant work experience, your personal attributes and why you applied to ScotGEM in particular. Your interest in ScotGEM and your reflections on work experience form part of the discussion, so it helps to reread your questionnaire and personal statement before the day.
No 2027 interview dates had been published when this page was checked. Our interview dates table is updated when they are.
Source: University of St Andrews, How ScotGEM students are selected (2027 cycle; figures labelled 2025 number overview)
Tuition fees for 2027 entry have not yet been set. Students with Home (Scotland) fee status have their fees paid by the Scottish Government. The only published arrangements for the rest of the UK are for 2026-2027:
| Fee status | Year 1 | Years 2 to 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Home (Scotland) | Fees paid by the Scottish Government; means-tested SAAS maintenance loan | As year 1 |
| RUK (England) | Pay £3,826; Student Finance England loan for the rest | Student Finance England provides £5,707; NHS bursary for the remainder |
| RUK (Wales) | Pay £3,465; Student Finance Wales loan for the rest | £4,000 fee contribution in the NHS Wales bursary; fee loan up to £5,790 |
| RUK (Northern Ireland) | No tuition fee support | No tuition fee support |
| Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man | No NHS tuition fee or bursary support (and no SAAS tuition funding for Republic of Ireland students); check with your local funding body or island authority | As year 1 |
Every ScotGEM student can opt into the NHS Education for Scotland bursary: £4,000 a year for up to four years, in return for one year of NHS Scotland service per bursary year. The service starts at the beginning of Foundation Year 1. If you are applying from Northern Ireland, plan early for paying the tuition fee without support.
Source: University of St Andrews, Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) MBChB (2027 entry (page last updated 17 September 2026)); University of St Andrews, ScotGEM funding arrangements (Academic year 2026-2027)
March or September 2026
Last GAMSAT sittings accepted for 2027 entry (March and September 2025 also count).
University of St Andrews, ScotGEM aptitude test (2027 entry (accepted sittings); cut-off stated for 2025 entry)
15 October 2026
UCAS deadline for ScotGEM (A101). No late applications, Extra or Clearing.
University of St Andrews, Applying to ScotGEM (2027 entry)
November 2026
Online questionnaire deadline; the exact date is emailed to applicants.
University of St Andrews, How ScotGEM students are selected (2027 cycle; figures labelled 2025 number overview)
Mid-March 2027
Most offer decisions are not made until now; all come through UCAS.
University of St Andrews, How ScotGEM students are selected (2027 cycle; figures labelled 2025 number overview)
September 2027
Course starts in St Andrews.
University of St Andrews, Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) MBChB (2027 entry (page last updated 17 September 2026))
Swansea GEM
Also accepts GAMSAT (as well as UCAT) and takes graduates in any subject.
Ulster GEM
Also GAMSAT only, with priority for applicants living in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Worcester GEM
Also community heavy, with year 3 spent in community placements across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
See every UK course side by side in the graduate entry medicine comparison table, or read the full ScotGEM medical school profile for the five-year course, rankings and admissions statistics.
Graduate entry guides
Help with a graduate application
Practise in the format this school uses, with mock MMI and panel interviews and written feedback after every session.
Yes, through ScotGEM. Dundee leads years 3 and 4 of the joint St Andrews and Dundee programme, and interviews are usually held at Dundee's School of Medicine at Ninewells Hospital. You apply to ScotGEM (A101) through St Andrews.
Yes. ScotGEM is the graduate entry route at St Andrews. St Andrews leads years 1 and 2 and processes every application, and the MBChB is awarded jointly with Dundee.
No 2027 score has been published. For 2025 entry, the interview cut-off was an unweighted GAMSAT score of 50 overall with no subset below 42, and St Andrews says it cannot predict the 2027 figure.
Yes. The course is open to Home (Scotland) and RUK fee-status applicants. Funding differs by nation: RUK (Northern Ireland) students have no tuition fee support under the 2026-2027 arrangements.
No. Applicants classed as overseas for fee purposes are not eligible.
No. Your first degree must be a 1st or 2:1. A 2:2 followed by another degree, a Masters or a PhD is not accepted.
No, it is optional. If you opt in, you receive £4,000 a year for up to four years and commit to a year of NHS Scotland service for each year funded, starting at Foundation Year 1.
Twice. After two unsuccessful applications, St Andrews will not consider further ones. Deferred entry is not accepted.
Last checked: 22 September 2026. Universities update entry requirements during the cycle, so confirm on ScotGEM's own pages before you apply.
Photo: St Salvator's Quadrangle by gordon.milligan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.
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