What A-Levels Do You Need To Become A Doctor? UK Medicine Requirements For 2027 Entry

You need three A-levels for medicine, usually graded AAA or A*AA. Chemistry is compulsory at 21 of the 41 UK medical schools and Biology at 14, with 10 requiring both. Sixteen schools accept either Chemistry or Biology plus a second science, and every UK medical school names at least one compulsory science for 2027 entry.

At TheUKCATPeople the subject question we are asked most often is what A-levels do you need for medicine, and this guide is reviewed by Dr Akash Gandhi, an NHS GP.

Every school below was verified against its own 2027-entry admissions page in August 2026. Requirements change every cycle, so always confirm on the school’s own site before you apply.

What A-levels do you need for medicine?

Three A-levels are the standard requirement everywhere, and it is the subject rules that differ. Of the 41 UK medical schools running a standard five-year course, 21 name Chemistry as compulsory, 14 name Biology, and 10 require both.

AAA is the most common standard offer. A*AA is typical at the most selective schools, Cambridge asks A*A*A, and the lowest standard offer is ABB at Buckingham. Where a subject slot lists several options, you choose one of them.

Read each row as three slots. The first is the compulsory science, the second is chosen from a named list, and the third is free apart from a short exclusion list.

Where a school publishes no contextual route the cell says so, and the standard offer is then the only way in. Swansea, Warwick, Ulster, Chester, Worcester (Three Counties) and Pears Cumbria are missing from the table because they run graduate entry medicine only, so they set no A-level requirement.

Key takeaway: plan for three A-levels at AAA with Chemistry or Biology in at least one slot, then build a shortlist your subjects actually fit.

Which Universities Require Chemistry Or Biology A-Level For Medicine?

The 41 schools fall into four groups. Find your own subjects in the lists below and you will know which universities can accept your application before you spend one of your four medicine choices.

Medical schools that name Chemistry, plus a second science (11)

These 11 schools make Chemistry compulsory and then ask for a second subject from a short science list. Only your third subject is a genuinely free choice.

• University of Aberdeen
• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Glasgow School Of Medicine
• University of Liverpool
• University of Oxford
• Queen’s University Belfast
• University of St Andrews
• University of Lancashire (formerly UCLan)

Most of this group name Maths or Physics as an acceptable second subject, so Chemistry with Physics and a third subject works across it. Queen’s University Belfast is the exception to watch, because it still expects Biology at AS level if you have not taken it at A-level.

Medical schools that name Biology and do not require Chemistry (4)

At these 4 schools Biology is the compulsory science and Chemistry is not required at A-level. Most still want GCSE Chemistry or Double Science.

• Bangor University
• Lincoln Medical School
• University of Plymouth
• University of Southampton

Bangor and Southampton take a wide range of second subjects and Lincoln lets any subject fill that slot, so Biology without Chemistry is workable at all four.

Medical schools that accept Chemistry or Biology (16)

This is the largest group. These 16 schools let either Chemistry or Biology fill the first science slot, then ask for a second subject from a list, so they matter most if you have taken only one of the two.

• Anglia Ruskin University School of Medicine
• Brighton and Sussex Medical School
• Brunel University of London Medical School
• University of Buckingham
• Cardiff University
• University of Dundee
• University of East Anglia
• Keele University School of Medicine
• Kent and Medway Medical School
• Lancaster University Medical School
• University of Leicester
• University of Manchester
• Newcastle University Medical School
• Queen Mary University London
• University of Sheffield
• University of Sunderland

Buckingham and East Anglia go furthest, letting any subject fill the second slot once you have one of the two core sciences.

The second slot is not always that wide. Kent and Medway asks for Physics, Maths, Psychology or Computer Science if you do not have both sciences, and Queen Mary blocks Further Maths when Maths is already your second subject.

Medical schools that require both Chemistry and Biology (10)

At these 10 schools you must have taken both Chemistry and Biology at A-level. There is no substitute.

• Aston University Medical School
• Edge Hill University Medical School
• University of Exeter
• Hull York Medical School
• Imperial College London
• King’s College London
• University of Leeds Medical School
• University of Nottingham
• City St George’s, University of London (formerly St George’s)
• University College London

At Aston, Imperial and UCL the top grade is pinned to a named science, so check where your A* has to sit before you decide which subject to push hardest.

With Chemistry but not Biology, 27 of the 41 schools stay open to you. With Biology but not Chemistry, 20 do. With neither science at A-level, no standard five-year course will take you, which is what the Gateway and foundation routes exist for.

Key takeaway: taking Chemistry and Biology together keeps all 41 schools open, and taking just one of them still leaves at least 20 in reach.

How Many A-Levels Do You Need For Medicine (3 or 4)?

Every UK medical school asks for a minimum of three A-levels, and three strong grades are enough. A fourth is not expected and rarely changes an offer.

Three A-levels also means three that count. The combinations are restricted: many schools exclude General Studies, Critical Thinking and Citizenship Studies from the three, so a subject on that list leaves you needing three others that qualify.

The excluded lists matter. Birmingham and Lincoln do not count an EPQ as one of the three, Sheffield and Queen Mary restrict Further Maths taken alongside Maths, and Global Perspectives is excluded at Aberdeen, King’s, Leicester, Liverpool, Lincoln, Nottingham and St Andrews.

Competition for medicine is tight and still rising, as the latest UCAS medicine statistics show, so time that would go into a fourth subject is usually better spent on your UCAT score.

A handful of schools do recognise extra work. Keele, Leicester, Lancaster, Sheffield and Queen’s Belfast each publish a lower or alternative offer for a strong EPQ or a fourth qualification.

Key takeaway: three A-levels are the requirement, and a fourth only helps at the few schools that publish an EPQ or fourth-subject alternative.

What Are The Best A-Levels For Applying To Medical School?

The strongest combination is Chemistry and Biology plus a third subject you can score highly in. That pair is the only one that satisfies all 41 schools, and it maps onto the pre-clinical content of first year.

Your third subject is where you have room. There is no named requirement at most schools, and three strong grades count for more than a particular combination.

• Maths builds the statistics and dosage-calculation skills you use throughout a medical degree.
• Physics covers medical physics topics such as imaging, which helps when you meet MRI and ultrasound scanners on the wards.

Psychology, Economics and Statistics are the interesting cases. They count in the second science slot at Anglia Ruskin, Bangor, Cardiff, Keele, Kent and Medway, Lancaster, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Sheffield, Southampton and Sunderland, and sit as an ordinary third subject everywhere else.

Dentistry sets its own subject rules, which are close but not identical, so check what A-levels do you need for dentistry before you apply to both.

Do Maths or Physics count as a second science for medicine?

At schools that ask for Chemistry plus a second science or Maths, both Physics and Maths are accepted in that slot. Liverpool, for example, asks for Chemistry plus one of Biology, Maths or Physics, and a third academic subject.

Schools that name Biology specifically, or that require Chemistry and Biology together, will not let Maths or Physics stand in for Biology. That is the line to check before you drop Biology.

Key takeaway: Chemistry and Biology plus a third subject you enjoy is the combination that closes nothing off.

What A-Level Grades Do You Need For Medicine? (A*AA to AAA)

AAA is the benchmark. A*AA is the standard offer at Aston, Birmingham, Exeter, Imperial, Keele, King’s, Leicester, Oxford, Queen Mary, Queen’s Belfast and UCL, Cambridge asks A*A*A, and Hull York asks AAB.

For 2027 entry the lowest standard offer is ABB at the University of Buckingham, a private school with higher tuition fees. Everywhere else the standard offer sits between AAA and A*AA.

Most schools also publish a contextual offer, typically one or two grades lower, for applicants from widening participation backgrounds. Contextual offers commonly fall to AAB or ABB, and eligibility is assessed case by case.

The schemes have names worth knowing: Access to Leeds, Access Sheffield, Access UCL, Pathways to Birmingham, and the widening access route at Anglia Ruskin, which drops to BBC. Manchester goes to ABB for care experienced and refugee applicants.

Kent and Medway is unusual. It sets AAA or AAB depending on your school’s average A-level attainment, so the contextual mechanism is built into the standard offer itself.

A few schools also set conditions on how you sit the exams. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Queen Mary and the University of Lancashire want the grades in one sitting, and Glasgow does not accept resits.

Gateway and foundation year courses go lower still, usually around BBC including Chemistry or Biology, and add an extra year. You also have to meet criteria such as free school meals, being a care leaver or young carer, or living in an area where few people go to university.

A strong EPQ lowers the offer at Keele, Leicester, Lancaster, Sheffield and Queen’s Belfast, and our EPQ guide has project ideas for medicine and dentistry applications.

When the offers arrive, our guide to accepting a medical school offer covers firm and insurance choices and the UCAS waitlist.

Key takeaway: aim for AAA as your working target, check which of your schools ask for A*AA, and find out early whether you qualify for a contextual offer.

What GCSEs do you need for medicine?

Most UK medical schools expect grades 6 to 7 across the sciences, Maths and English, and several set a hard minimum of grade 5 or 6 in English Language and Maths. The most competitive schools look for multiple grade 8 and 9 results.

GCSE policies vary far more than A-level ones, so use our guide to UK medical school entry requirements to check the threshold at every school on your list.

Key takeaway: GCSEs are part of the academic record schools score you on, so build a shortlist around thresholds you comfortably clear.

What Should You Do If You Chose The Wrong A-Levels For Medicine?

Start by mapping your subjects against the four groups above, because you may qualify for more schools than you expect. Sixteen accept either Chemistry or Biology, and four name Biology without asking for Chemistry.

Newcastle used to be the flexible option, and older guides still say it names no compulsory science. That changed. For 2027 entry Newcastle asks for AAA including Biology or Chemistry, plus a second subject from Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths, Statistics or Physics.

If nothing on your list fits, the routes back in are an extra A-level in a gap year, clearing, a Gateway or foundation year, or graduate entry medicine after a related degree.

Some schools bridge the gap at GCSE. Lancaster accepts two of Biology, Chemistry and Psychology at A-level provided the missing science sits at grade 7 GCSE, and several of the Biology-first schools ask for GCSE Chemistry or Double Science instead.

Graduate entry is a genuine second route rather than a consolation. Six universities, among them Swansea, Warwick and Ulster, run graduate entry only and set no A-level requirement at all.

Clearing works in some years and not others, because it depends on schools missing their targets, so treat it as a bonus rather than a plan.

You may have heard about the NHS medical doctor degree apprenticeship. It is closed. The apprenticeship standard was retired in March 2026 after two pilot cohorts started in 2024 and 2025, and there is no intake to apply for.

Apprentices already on the pilots keep their funding until they qualify. If you are choosing A-levels now, plan for the standard university route.

Can you retake A-levels and still get into medicine?

Yes, but policies vary sharply. Some schools welcome resit applicants who narrowly missed, others consider resits only in extenuating circumstances, and a few will not consider them at all, as our guide to which UK medical schools accept A-level resits sets out.

Resit applicants usually have to declare the resit and may face a higher target such as A*AA. If your UCAT is on the low side too, where to apply with a low UCAT score narrows the shortlist further.

Key takeaway: your subjects rule out fewer schools than you think, so fix the shortlist before you reach for a second qualification.

Scottish Highers, the IB and other A-level equivalents

Scottish applicants are usually assessed on Advanced Highers and Highers, with typical offers around AAA at Advanced Higher or AAAAB at Higher, plus the required sciences. International Baccalaureate offers commonly sit at 36 to 38 points, with 6s and 7s at Higher Level including Chemistry and often Biology.

Access to HE Diplomas, BTECs and the Welsh Baccalaureate are accepted by some schools and not others, so check the named qualification on each school’s page before you commit.

Key takeaway: the subject rules carry over whichever qualification you sit, with Chemistry almost universal and Biology required or preferred.

Where should you look next?

• Compare every school side by side in our UK medical school rankings and guide.
• Work out the real price of training in how much it costs to become a doctor in the UK.
• Turn your subject choices into evidence in our medicine personal statement support.

Subjects open the door, and your UCAT score decides how many of those schools you can realistically target.

Key takeaway: get the subjects right first, then spend the freed-up time on the UCAT and the personal statement.