Graduate Entry Medicine at Ulster University (MBBS)

Ulster University runs Northern Ireland's first graduate entry medical school, based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, which welcomed its first cohort in September 2021. It is a four year graduate entry MBBS (UCAS code A101) open to graduates from any discipline.

The Ulster MBBS is recognised by the General Medical Council as a primary medical qualification (Ulster was granted degree-awarding powers by the GMC in April 2025), so graduates are eligible for provisional GMC registration and the UK Foundation Programme. School leavers cannot apply for this course.

As Northern Ireland's first graduate entry medical school, Ulster teaches through problem-based, interdisciplinary learning across eight problem-based-learning rooms, and welcomes graduates from any discipline; its first cohorts included backgrounds ranging from investment banking and politics to forensic science.

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There is no fixed work-experience hours requirement; graduate applicants are expected to draw on relevant and transferable employability skills.

The personal statement is not scored or used to shortlist. Selection is by GAMSAT score (for interview invitation) followed by a Multiple Mini Interview. The UCAS personal statement is only reviewed after interview, before offers are made, as a verification check.

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.

Medicine at Ulster is graduate entry only (four years, UCAS code A101); school leavers cannot apply.

Ulster University's Graduate Entry Medicine (MBBS, Magee campus) selects candidates using a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI), a circuit of short timed stations each staffed by a different assessor and scored independently. Reputable application sources report the circuit typically runs around 8 stations, though Ulster does not publicly publish a fixed station count or per-station duration, so these specifics should be treated as indicative rather than confirmed.

Interviews are anticipated to be held in person at the Magee campus and typically take place between December and February of the application cycle. The stations are designed to assess non-academic attributes such as communication, empathy, resilience, insight, integrity, teamwork, motivation for medicine and ethical reasoning rather than scientific knowledge.

Applicants should note Ulster permits a maximum of two attempts at the MMI stage.

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International students also pay a mandatory Northern Ireland Department of Health clinical placement levy of £12,133 (2026/27) in each of the four years, in addition to tuition. For full details and to apply, see the official course page.

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