Medicine at University of Manchester Medical School: Entry Requirements & UCAT 2026 (2027 Entry)

Manchester Medical School

Why medicine at Manchester?

The University of Manchester is one of the largest single-site universities in the UK, boasting an impressive 40,000 students worldwide.

It is a proud member of the elite Russell Group of universities, and its Medical School stands out as one of the oldest in the nation; it was founded in 1874 and has since earned an esteemed reputation for excellence in teaching and research.

The Medical School has consistently been ranked among the top medical schools in the UK, placing it in an enviable position of pre-eminence.

The University of Manchester has established itself as a world-class educational institution, providing students with various opportunities to excel in their chosen fields.

Medicine Programme

Manchester Medical School offers an integrated five-year Medicine programme which aims to prepare students for a modern healthcare system.

During the first two years, most teaching takes place on campus, with visits to hospitals and community settings. This is a problem-based learning programme which focuses on four key modules - Doctors as Scientists, Scholars, Practitioners and Professionals.

Practical work is emphasised through anatomy dissection, pharmacology practical classes and physiology and clinical experience.

Year one and two modules include Life Cycle, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Mind and Movement, and Nutrition, Metabolism and Excretion.

From year three to final year, there are clinical placements in four base hospitals, their associated teaching hospitals and community placements.

During year three, students spend the week observing and learning from patients. In the first semester, there are general medical placements and in the second semester, more complex clinical placements such as acute medical settings and placements within a surgical speciality.

In the fourth year, students are exposed to various specialities through clinical placements and get to learn from specialty experts. There is also an elective placement at the end of the year, typically taken abroad, to allow students to experience unfamiliar healthcare environments.

The fifth and final year prepares students for their role as a foundation year doctor. Clinical placements occur and students also get to experience community settings such as community paediatrics or community psychiatry.

Teaching Methodology

The medical school provides a comprehensive range of teaching methods, both tried-and-true and innovative, which allow students to become active, independent learners.

Themed case discussions in small groups, as well as lectures and practical classes, provide ample support and guidance for students as they progress through their degree.

This degree program offers a unique combination of scientific and clinical learning, thus enabling students to link their theoretical understanding to the real-world setting of medical practice.

Furthermore, there are opportunities for intercalation after either year two, three, or four, allowing students to gain further knowledge and experience.

A few things set Manchester apart as a medical school:

• One of the largest medical schools in the UK, with 401 funded places a year and clinical placements across hospitals throughout Greater Manchester and the North West.
• Problem-based learning has been at the heart of the Manchester MBChB for decades, with patient and clinical contact built in from the early years.
• An optional intercalated year lets you add a BSc, a master's or an MB-PhD alongside your medical degree.

The Manchester Medical School Curriculum is as follows:

Year 1 and Year 2

During Years 1 and 2, you will be mostly based on The University of Manchester's Oxford Road campus, with visits to centres of excellence for clinical medicine, community settings and teaching hospitals across the north north-west.

Year 3

From the beginning of Year 3 until the end of your final year, you will learn primarily though clinical placements organised around our Health Education Zones that comprise four base hospitals and their associated teaching hospitals and community placements.

Year 4

Year 4 will broaden your clinical learning across the medical specialties, offering immersion in new clinical placements with supervision and teaching by specialty experts.

Year 5

The final year of the course will prepare you for your final university exams, national assessments such as the Prescribing Safety Assessment and, for your role as a foundation year doctor in the NHS, the year is your preparation for practice.

Universities revise entry requirements between cycles, usually in August and September. Always confirm with the university before you apply.

Compare this with the A-level requirements for every UK medical school.

Still sitting your GCSEs? Protect the grades this course screens for with 1-1 GCSE Maths, Biology and Chemistry tutoring from medics.

See A-Level & GCSE resit policies for every UK medical school →

A-Level Requirements at University of Manchester Medical School →

Manchester require applicants to undertake some relevant work experience prior to application in order that they can gain some insight into what the role of a doctor involves. They are not looking for a particular number of hours doing a specific type of work experience. Shadowing doctors in a hospital/GP setting is not essential or considered to be a substitute for hands-on caring work experience. Applicants should be aware that the university may request confirmation of their work experience.

As of June 2026, Manchester Medical School does not normally consider the UCAS personal statement when selecting applicants, and it no longer uses its former non-academic information form. From the 2026 UCAS cycle the personal statement is also submitted as three structured questions rather than a single piece of free text. Selection at Manchester is instead driven by your academic record, your UCAT result and your performance at interview, so this is where applicants should concentrate their preparation. The guidance below reflects the qualities Manchester values when it does review non-academic information.

Experience in a caring role

• This does not necessarily mean medically related work experience, such as shadowing a GP or consultant. Manchester is more interested in hands-on caring roles you have taken part in than in clinical settings you have only observed. It also recognises that such experience can be harder to obtain for students under the age of 18.
• We are interested in hands-on caring experience that may or may not be medically related. We are trying to ascertain that you have a clear idea of what it is like to study medicine and what the role of a doctor entails. Tell us how you got involved in such work, how much time you spend doing it and, most importantly, what you have gained from it.

Hobbies and interests

• Doctors must be able to communicate and empathise with their patients. This is enhanced by some shared life experiences.
• Tell us about your interests and hobbies. Why do you pursue them and how much time do you devote to them? Have you achieved any outside recognition (such as awards or certificates)?
• We are aware that some students may have more opportunities than others to pursue a wide range of interests. The concern is not so much exactly what you do in your spare time, but that you have some spare time and that you do something with it.

Team working

• Doctors work in multidisciplinary teams. It is essential that you are able to demonstrate your experience of working in teams. You should also show that you are knowledgeable about the advantages of a team approach to work and other activities.

Motivation for medicine

• Your reasons for choosing to study medicine may be obvious to you, but they are not obvious to us. The Admissions team has not met you and knows nothing about you. Please tell us how your personal experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine.

Note: from 2026 entry, UCAS replaced the single free-text personal statement with three structured questions: why you want to study the course, how your studies have prepared you, and what else you have done to prepare. Any guidance above still applies; it is simply spread across those questions. For worked examples and a review of your own statement, see our medicine personal statement examples and review service.

See our medicine personal statement examples: model statements in the new UCAS format, each with commentary on what works and why.

Manchester runs a four-year graduate entry course. The full requirements, interview format and dates are on our Manchester graduate entry medicine page.

Foundation Year at University of Manchester Medical School The Manchester University Foundation Year Medicine course enables students without the appropriate science qualifications to prepare for their medical degree

The Admissions Co-ordinator
Manchester Medical School
The University of Manchester
Stopford Building
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PT

Tel: 0161 529 4577
Email: ug-medicine@manchester.ac.uk

Website: www.manchester.ac.uk/medicine

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