Skip to content
Duration

Four years, full-time

Application Deadline

16 October 2023 (2024 entry), 16 October 2024 (2025 Entry)

Location

St George's, University of London

UCAS Code

A101, institution code S49

Start dates

August 2024

Overview

Open to graduates from a wide range of science and non-science backgrounds, our graduate entry programme offers a fast-track route which condenses the first stage of a conventional medical degree, so you achieve the qualification in four rather than five years.

Clinically focused and patient-centred, it will equip you with essential knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes to practice medicine competently and professionally. Your hands-on learning starts with practical classes in our pathology labs, and Anatomy suite, alongside GP and community visits. Over the course of studies, you’ll participate in a comprehensive series of clinical placements in medicine, surgery, general practice, senior health, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry and diagnostics such as radiology, as well as other specialities.

On successful completion, you’ll be granted the primary medical qualification – the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) – eligible to register with the General Medical Council (GMC) and begin its Foundation Programme.

Established in 1752, St George’s, University of London is the UK’s specialist health university, and we are the only UK university to share our campus with a major teaching hospital, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is both on the clinical frontline for a diverse local community and a centre of excellence for specialist conditions. You’ll study in a clinical setting with like-minded individuals, mixing with the many different healthcare professionals you will go on to work alongside throughout your career.

MBBS curriculum brochure

Read the MBBS curriculum brochure (PDF) to find out more about what the course contains.

Highlights

  • We offer two routes to obtain the MBBS: this four-year graduate entry programme for those who have already achieved a Bachelor’s degree and the conventional undergraduate five-year degree.
  • Contact with patients and clinical placements begins in your first year and over subsequent years spans the full range of disciplines – general practice, medicine and medical specialties such as cardiology, surgery and surgical specialties such as orthopaedics, paediatrics, senior health, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry and neurology and public health. 
  • Cutting-edge facilities include our state-of-the-art laboratories, pathology museum and advanced patient simulation centre, which enables you to learn clinical skills and practise techniques in a safe environment.
  • Multimodal Anatomy teaching: Interactive and team-based learning will take place in the Anatomy suite using prosections, plastinated and potted (preserved) specimens, anatomical models, and 3D digital software.  
  • Competitive opportunity to apply to intercalate (between penultimate and Final year)  at St George’s or at an alternative institution, spending an additional year of study on top of your Medicine degree to obtain an MSc in a variety of related subjects.
  • On graduation from either route, you will be eligible to apply for provisional registration with the GMC and license to practice in approved Foundation Year 1 posts.
  • St George’s, University of London is the UK’s specialist health university and the only UK university to share our campus with a major teaching hospital providing a unique opportunity to study and work alongside the full range of clinical professionals boosting your multidisciplinary understanding and context.
  • The extensive experience of our teaching team spans the full breadth of medical and surgical specialists, GPs, biomedical scientists and research scientists. The MBBS leadership team, overseeing the programme, are all practicing NHS clinicians, with both national and international subject and educational expertise. 
  • The MBBS course offers high quality simulated practise for you to safely acquire competency in clinical skills and procedures at all stages of the course.

Learn more about studying at St George's

If you're looking to start your studies in 2024 or beyond, sign up for our free intro email series by clicking the button below.

Course info

It is never too late to switch to a caring and rewarding career in medicine, especially if you’ve the determination and desire to save lives, reduce pain and alleviate the suffering of others. Our graduate entry Medicine degree offers a four-year route into the medical profession for those who already hold an undergraduate degree, not just in the biomedical/life sciences, but also a wide range of non-science disciplines, like Law and English.

We attract recent graduates and those who have already experienced professional life in other fields and decided to switch careers. Their diverse backgrounds and skills make this accelerated, four-year medical degree programme particularly exciting and stimulating.

Our transformative education blends academic and practical clinical skills training with on-the-job placement learning. This provides the knowledge, understanding, skills and professional competencies to help you become a confident, resilient doctor. Students tell us that this early patient contact and rotation across a comprehensive range of medical services and specialities which begins in the first year is what makes our course stand out from the rest.

We take pride in being clinically and patient-focused with a strong emphasis on communicating with patients from a range of backgrounds so that, on graduation, you provide excellent, compassionate care, and are ready to work with colleagues and equipped to adapt to rapidly changing science and society.

As well as the option for teaching, research and management, medicine offers a wide choice of careers with over 60 different specialities – from general practice, surgery, emergency or intensive care medicine, to focused practice in areas such as anaesthesiology, clinical oncology or paediatrics.

That we are the only UK university based on a hospital site ensures your experience is diverse and broad, so you can identify where your passions truly lie. St George’s Hospital is the largest healthcare provider in southwest London, providing acute hospital services, specialist care and community services to patients of all ages, nationalities and ethnicities.

Our degree also offers two opportunities to undertake a student-selected component (SSC) of study on areas of interest to you, spending a few weeks exploring a topic of your choice in-depth, which could be basic science, a clinical or service improvement project or a humanities module.

Students are also able to apply competitively to intercalate with us or an alternative institution, inserting an additional year of study to obtain a master’s degree in a very wide variety of related subjects.

“At St George's, you really benefit from problem-based learning in your transition year. I found it a perfect complement to the lectures and clinical teaching. It’s very student-led, enabling us to discuss and make decisions about managing our patient which, as students, helps us to work in a team and think like a doctor. ”

- Jozel

Medicine (Graduate Entry MBBS)

Fees and funding

View all Close all

Home (UK)

Academic Year

UK (per academic year)

Total fee*

2024/25

£9,250

£37,000

*Tuition fees for Home (UK) students are determined by UK government policy. Tuition fees are charged for each year of your course. Fees for second and subsequent years are likely to increase annually in line with UK inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI-X) and subject to maximum regulated fee rates set by the government.

For more information, see our fees and funding pages

Additional costs

The table below highlights the additional course-specific costs related to this degree. Visit the additional course-related costs for more information on general costs to consider alongside your studies.

Additional costs

Description

Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

DBS - £40

Post office verification - £6

Administration fee - £9

Equipment

Lab coat £20 - available for purchase in the SU shop

Stethoscope - £100+

Travel to and from hospital placements

Students complete compulsory clinical placements throughout their studies, with shorter placements in year one and two of MBBS5 and year one of Graduate Entry Medicine (MBBS4). Clinical placements in the third/transition (T), penultimate (P) and final (F) years typically last five weeks, with some placements being shorter.

The majority of our secondary care placement providers outside of London, will offer accommodation as part of the placement. Accommodation is not offered for London-based placements, and for these students will incur travel costs from their place of residence. Travel costs will vary according to where you live and where your placement is located. As a guide, the cost of an annual student travelcard from Zones 1 - 9 is £2,700.

If you are in receipt of an NHS Bursary for years 2, 3 and 4, you may also be eligible to receive reimbursement towards placement accommodation and/or travel costs.

Please see the MBBS brochure for further details of secondary care placement provider locations in the clinical years.

Electives

Costs may be incurred for travel and accommodation and will depend entirely on where an elective is undertaken. Immunisations, insurance, passport renewals and visa costs may be necessary if you choose to study abroad.

Some hosting institutions also charge an administrative fee (typically around £500 to £1000).

Final Year GP accommodation (five weeks)

In the final year of the course, additional expenses may be incurred for travel and accommodation to GP placements.

Those in receipt of an NHS bursary can reclaim most of the costs. Residual costs up to a cap are available from  Health Education England (HEE) Undergraduate Tariff when the placement is beyond a reasonable commute from the University.

For students who are not eligible for NHS Bursary travel and accommodation expenses, and who are in placements beyond a reasonable commute from the University, students can claim expenses from the University and Undergraduate Tariff, up to a cap. 

Clubs, Societies and Community Projects at St George's

Visit the Students' Union website

Entry Criteria: 2024 Entry

To be eligible for the Medicine MBBS (graduate entry) programme, you must meet the requirements outlined under Entry Qualifications, Other Academic Requirements, and Non-academic Requirements below. Applicants must be eligible for 'home' tuition fees.

View all Close all

Our Admissions Process

At St George’s, we strive to ensure our admissions process is fair and transparent. In order to make sure every applicant is treated equally, we use a process based on objective measures. For example, while we take the time to read your personal statement, it is not formally assessed, or used to determine whether you will be invited for a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI).

The steps below outline our general admissions process and the way by which we determine which applicants will receive an offer to study Medicine MBBS (graduate entry) at St George’s.

  1. Each applicant that meets our entry criteria (see below) is ranked by their GAMSAT score.
  2. The number of interviews we run each year may vary. In previous years, we have interviewed approximately 250-350 applicants.
  3. Our GAMSAT cut-off scores are determined by the number of available interviews. Interview places will be allocated to applicants who have the highest GAMSAT score, until all of our available interview places are filled.
  4. If, as a result of the number of MMIs we plan to offer, the cut-off score falls at a point where a number of applicants have achieved the same GAMSAT score, we may increase or reduce the number of MMIs we conduct to accommodate all applicants who have received that score. This means that all eligible applicants with the same GAMSAT score are considered equally.
  5. Applicants will then be invited to attend an MMI which is a values-based recruitment process and reinforces objectivity.
  6. Once all of our interviews are conducted, we rank MMI scores and the highest performing applicants within each group are made an offer to study Medicine MBBS (graduate entry) at St George’s.

Entry Qualifications

To be eligible for this programme, your degree should have been awarded within the past five years (e.g. no earlier than summer 2019). If your degree was awarded before this time, please click on the Recent Engagement in Education tab below.

View all Close all

Undergraduate Degree

If you are applying on the basis of an undergraduate degree, you do not need to meet any GCSE or Level 3 (A Level) requirements.

Degree

UK Undergraduate (BSc, BA, BEng, BBA, MSci etc.)

Grade

2:1 Honours

Subjects

Any discipline and any subject

Additional information

Degrees must be completed and fully awarded (including re-writes) by 31 July of the academic year of application.

Postgraduate Degree

If you are applying on the basis of a postgraduate degree, you do not need to meet any GCSE or Level 3 (A Level) requirements.

Degree

UK Postgraduate (MA, MSc, MPhil, PhD etc.)

Grade

Pass

Subjects

Any discipline and any subject

Additional information

In addition, applicants must have an undergraduate degree at 2:2 honours or higher (any discipline and subject).

Degrees must be completed and fully awarded (including re-writes) by 31 July of the academic year of application.

This course enrols at the end of August, and students cannot be registered with another university at this time. Please ensure that you will not be registered on your postgraduate programme at this time. If you will, please apply for deferred entry.

International Degree

For information on the requirements for your country, please visit our International Qualifications for Postgraduate Study page. Please note that you must be eligible for 'home' tuition fees to apply for this course.

Other Academic Requirements

View all Close all

GAMSAT (Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test)

Both the section scores and overall cut-off score need to be met.

Section score

Minimum of 50 in each individual section

Overall score

Minimum overall GAMSAT score (calculated every year)

Extenuating Circumstances

We will not consider any extenuating circumstances in relation to GAMSAT test scores.

Additional Information

GAMSAT is a professionally designed and marked written entrance test based on a model developed for Australian graduate-entry medical schools. It tests knowledge, reasoning and communication skills across a range of disciplines.

For the 2024 cycle, the following GAMSAT results can be used: March 2022, September 2022, March 2023 and September 2023. If you have sat GAMSAT more than once, we will use your highest eligible score in our assessment. We will only accept scores communicated directly by ACER, so please ensure you follow the guidance they provide.

For reference purposes, we have provided the overall GAMSAT scores we have required in previous years, on our Admissions Statistics page.

English Language

If you are applying from outside of the UK, you will need to meet the English language requirements. This is a group 1 course.

Non-academic Requirements

View all Close all

Fee Status

You must be eligible for ‘home’ tuition fees. Please visit the UKCISA website for further information.

Work Experience and Insight

We understand the challenges for our prospective applicants for medicine and allied health courses trying to gain work experience at this time, particularly in clinical settings.

In response to the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have chosen to relax our work experience requirements for prospective applicants for our courses which would normally require these.

Despite the relaxed requirements, we still require our applicants to have an understanding of the realities of working as a healthcare professional and to show they have the necessary skills and attributes for their chosen career. Online resources can give you valuable insight into working in the healthcare sector and outline the wide range of careers and courses available. You can find a number of suggested resources for each of our courses here.

Interview (MMI)

If you meet the entry requirements above, you will be invited to attend a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). This will usually be in-person, however we can also offer remote MMIs for international applicants.

You can find further information about this process on our MMI Guidance page, however please note that some of this information may change for those applying during the 2024 application cycle.

Occupational Health Check

Should you receive an offer to study at St George’s, you will be required to complete a health check and be declared fit to study and practise by the Occupational Health (OH) department before you begin your studies.

The following vaccinations are mandatory for all healthcare students before you begin your studies:

  • MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)
  • Meningococcal meningitis
  • Diphtheria
  • Pertussis (whooping cough)
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Tetanus

As part of the process, you will also be screened by the OH team for Chickenpox, Tuberculosis, HIV and Hepatitis B and C.

We do not currently require you to have been vaccinated against Covid-19, but we strongly recommend that you get double vaccinated before the start of your studies, unless medically exempt.

When admitting candidates to study and practise as a health practitioner, we have an obligation to both patients and to the individual student. Candidates who are concerned about a health issue are advised to contact us.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check and Additional Declarations

This course will include work with children and vulnerable adults, so you will be required to submit a series of declarations.

If you are invited to an interview, we will request some additional information from you, regarding your criminal record, educational history and employment history. You will also have the opportunity to make any other declarations that you’d like us to be aware of. We may not able to consider applicants who were suspended from previous study/work due to fitness to practise issues or failure in assessments/examinations.

If you are made an offer, you will be required to complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. More information about this is sent to applicants as part of the admissions process.

Previous Studies in Medicine

If you studied but did not complete Medicine at an alternative university, please provide formal evidence as to why you withdrew when you apply, and no later than 1 November in the year of application. Please email the team ensuring you include your UCAS personal ID number and programme name in the subject line. Applicants will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Recent Engagement in Education

Due to the demanding nature of the Medicine MBBS (graduate entry) programme, it is important that applicants can demonstrate recent engagement in education. If your degree was awarded more than five years ago, we will accept any of the following qualifications, in any subject (excluding General Studies), awarded between summer 2019 and summer 2024, as evidence of recent education.

  • One A Level (grade B)
  • One Cambridge Pre-U Certificate (grade M2)
  • One Scottish Advanced Higher (grade B)
  • One Irish Leaving Certificate (grade H2)
  • Access Diploma (D30 M15)

If the above qualification is pending at the point of application, your offer will be conditional on successful completion of this at the grade specified. Other recognised programmes of study may be accepted, please contact us for details.

Entry Criteria: 2025 Entry

To be eligible for the Medicine MBBS (graduate entry) programme, you must meet the requirements outlined under Entry Qualifications, Other Academic Requirements, and Non-academic Requirements below. Applicants must be eligible for 'home' tuition fees.

View all Close all

Our Admissions Process

At St George’s, we strive to ensure our admissions process is fair and transparent. In order to make sure every applicant is treated equally, we use a process based on objective measures. For example, while we take the time to read your personal statement, it is not formally assessed, or used to determine whether you will be invited for a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI).

The steps below outline our general admissions process and the way by which we determine which applicants will receive an offer to study Medicine MBBS (graduate entry) at St George’s.

  1. Each applicant that meets our entry criteria (see below) is ranked by their GAMSAT score.
  2. The number of interviews we run each year may vary. In previous years, we have interviewed approximately 250-350 applicants.
  3. Our GAMSAT cut-off scores are determined by the number of available interviews. Interview places will be allocated to applicants who have the highest GAMSAT score, until all of our available interview places are filled.
  4. If, as a result of the number of MMIs we plan to offer, the cut-off score falls at a point where a number of applicants have achieved the same GAMSAT score, we may increase or reduce the number of MMIs we conduct to accommodate all applicants who have received that score. This means that all eligible applicants with the same GAMSAT score are considered equally.
  5. Applicants will then be invited to attend an MMI which is a values-based recruitment process and reinforces objectivity.
  6. Once all of our interviews are conducted, we rank MMI scores and the highest performing applicants within each group are made an offer to study Medicine MBBS (graduate entry) at St George’s.

Entry Qualifications

To be eligible for this programme, your degree should have been awarded within the past five years (e.g. no earlier than summer 2020). If your degree was awarded before this time, please click on the Recent Engagement in Education tab below.

View all Close all

Undergraduate Degree

If you are applying on the basis of an undergraduate degree, you do not need to meet any GCSE or Level 3 (A Level) requirements.

Degree

UK Undergraduate (BSc, BA, BEng, BBA, MSci etc.)

Grade

2:1 Honours

Subjects

Any discipline and any subject

Additional information

Degrees must be completed and fully awarded (including re-writes) by 31 July of the academic year of application.

Postgraduate Degree

If you are applying on the basis of a postgraduate degree, you do not need to meet any GCSE or Level 3 (A Level) requirements.

Degree

UK Postgraduate (MA, MSc, MPhil, PhD etc.)

Grade

Pass

Subjects

Any discipline and any subject

Additional information

In addition, applicants must have an undergraduate degree at 2:2 honours or higher (any discipline and subject).

Degrees must be completed and fully awarded (including re-writes) by 31 July of the academic year of application.

This course enrols at the end of August, and students cannot be registered with another university at this time. Please ensure that you will not be registered on your postgraduate programme at this time. If you will, please apply for deferred entry.

International Degree

For information on the requirements for your country, please visit our International Qualifications for Postgraduate Study page. Please note that you must be eligible for 'home' tuition fees to apply for this course.

Other Academic Requirements

View all Close all

GAMSAT (Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test)

Both the section scores and overall cut-off score need to be met.

Section score

Minimum of 50 in each individual section

Overall score

Minimum overall GAMSAT score (calculated every year)

Extenuating Circumstances

We will not consider any extenuating circumstances in relation to GAMSAT test scores.

Additional Information

GAMSAT is a professionally designed and marked written entrance test based on a model developed for Australian graduate-entry medical schools. It tests knowledge, reasoning and communication skills across a range of disciplines.

For the 2025 cycle, the following GAMSAT results can be used: March 2023, September 2023, March 2024 and September 2024. If you have sat GAMSAT more than once, we will use your highest eligible score in our assessment. We will only accept scores communicated directly by ACER, so please ensure you follow the guidance they provide.

For reference purposes, we have provided the overall GAMSAT scores we have required in previous years, on our Admissions Statistics page.

English Language

If you are applying from outside of the UK, you will need to meet the English language requirements. This is a group 1 course.

Non-academic Requirements

View all Close all

Fee Status

You must be eligible for ‘home’ tuition fees. Please visit the UKCISA website for further information.

Work Experience and Insight

We understand the challenges for our prospective applicants for medicine and allied health courses trying to gain work experience at this time, particularly in clinical settings.

In response to the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have chosen to relax our work experience requirements for prospective applicants for our courses which would normally require these.

Despite the relaxed requirements, we still require our applicants to have an understanding of the realities of working as a healthcare professional and to show they have the necessary skills and attributes for their chosen career. Online resources can give you valuable insight into working in the healthcare sector and outline the wide range of careers and courses available. You can find a number of suggested resources for each of our courses here.

Interview (MMI)

If you meet the entry requirements above, you will be invited to attend a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). This will usually be in-person, however we can also offer remote MMIs for international applicants.

You can find further information about this process on our MMI Guidance page, however please note that some of this information may change for those applying during the 2025 application cycle.

Occupational Health Check

Should you receive an offer to study at St George’s, you will be required to complete a health check and be declared fit to study and practise by the Occupational Health (OH) department before you begin your studies.

The following vaccinations are mandatory for all healthcare students before you begin your studies:

  • MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)
  • Meningococcal meningitis
  • Diphtheria
  • Pertussis (whooping cough)
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Tetanus

As part of the process, you will also be screened by the OH team for Chickenpox, Tuberculosis, HIV and Hepatitis B and C.

We do not currently require you to have been vaccinated against Covid-19, but we strongly recommend that you get double vaccinated before the start of your studies, unless medically exempt.

When admitting candidates to study and practise as a health practitioner, we have an obligation to both patients and to the individual student. Candidates who are concerned about a health issue are advised to contact us.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check and Additional Declarations

This course will include work with children and vulnerable adults, so you will be required to submit a series of declarations.

If you are invited to an interview, we will request some additional information from you, regarding your criminal record, educational history and employment history. You will also have the opportunity to make any other declarations that you’d like us to be aware of. We may not able to consider applicants who were suspended from previous study/work due to fitness to practise issues or failure in assessments/examinations.

If you are made an offer, you will be required to complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. More information about this is sent to applicants as part of the admissions process.

Previous Studies in Medicine

If you studied but did not complete Medicine at an alternative university, please provide formal evidence as to why you withdrew when you apply, and no later than 1 November in the year of application. Please email the team ensuring you include your UCAS personal ID number and programme name in the subject line. Applicants will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Recent Engagement in Education

Due to the demanding nature of the Medicine MBBS (graduate entry) programme, it is important that applicants can demonstrate recent engagement in education. If your degree was awarded more than five years ago, we will accept any of the following qualifications, in any subject (excluding General Studies), awarded between summer 2020 and summer 2025, as evidence of recent education.

  • One A Level (grade B)
  • One Cambridge Pre-U Certificate (grade M2)
  • One Scottish Advanced Higher (grade B)
  • One Irish Leaving Certificate (grade H2)
  • Access Diploma (D30 M15)

If the above qualification is pending at the point of application, your offer will be conditional on successful completion of this at the grade specified. Other recognised programmes of study may be accepted, please contact us for details.

Our graduate entry MBBS provides a well-rounded base of scientific medical education and practice, equipping you with the latest skills and techniques to bring benefits to patients and populations, with particular given to developing you as a professional and person over and above the role of the doctor. It is made up of core curriculum elements and opportunities for in-depth study in areas of your choice.

Graduate entry medicine programmes involve rigorous, fast-paced study in your first year. Building on the intellectual skills gained through your previous undergraduate degree, Year 1 covers the essential principles of all the curriculum themes, covering the first two years of knowledge from the conventional five-year pathway in one year.

Year 1

Known as the ‘clinical science year’, this year is underpinned by three main themes:

  • Basic and clinical sciences: Provides core professional knowledge of the structure, function and development of the normal human body and the changes that occur as the result of disease, injury, abnormal development and ageing.

  • Professional skills: Equips you with the core patient-centred communication, clinical and procedural skills integral to becoming a doctor, developed and integrated first through simulated practice involving diverse and authentic clinical scenarios, then actual placement experience.

  • Patients, populations and society: Provides a firm understanding of the health behaviours, attitudes, cultural beliefs and socio-economic factors that influence health outcomes in individuals and communities. You’ll learn to appreciate the need for a partnership with patients and communities that takes account of these components, understands evidence for harms and benefits of medical intervention and can work professionally in a complex, uncertain and evolving field.

In the first year and second transition year, these themes are delivered through seven modules: Foundations of Clinical Science; Life Support; Life Maintenance; Life Cycle; Life Protection; Life Structure; and Life Control. During the first year, the emphasis is on lectures, tutorials and group activity, but there is a strong underlying focus on patient care and early patient contact through short clinical and community-based placements.

View all Close all

Year 1 modules

Delivery Weeks Modules/placements
Taught 3 Foundations of clinical science (cellular process, basic science)
Taught 5 Life support (cardiovascular, respiratory systems)
Taught 6 Life maintenance (alimentary, renal and endocrine)
Assessments 1 Formative assessment
Taught 5 Life protection (infection, immunity, mechanisms of disease)
Taught 5 Life cycle (inheritance, reproduction, growth, ageing and disability)
Taught 6 Life control (neuroscience and psychiatry)
Taught 5 Life structure (musculoskeletal, skin)
Assessment 4 Summative assessment

Typical learning week for clinical sciences (Year 1, MBBS4)

The following shows an example timetable for a learning week on this course. Please note that this is for illustrative purposes only as timetables will vary in between modules.

  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Morning Onsite project based learning (PBL) Onsite lectures

Asynchronous learning content or live remote sessions or GP visits

Onsite PBL

Onsite anatomy teaching

 

Onsite lectures

Afternoon

Asynchronous learning content or live remote sessions

 

Independent learning

Onsite clinical and communications skills Free

GP visits or independent learning

 Onsite lectures

Year 2

From Year 2 – the ‘transition year’ – the emphasis shifts away from lecture-based activity to a combination of problem based learning and SSCs of study based on your own interests, rotating with experiential learning on clinical attachments. Problem based learning in Year 2 covers:

  • Foundations of Clinical Practice: Establishes core knowledge and skills for safe transition to clinical placements.
  • Mechanisms of disease: Reviews and extends learning in life protection topics.
  • Body systems: Revisits learning in each major organ system to support generalist clinical history and examination skills.
  • Specialties: Contains key cases from areas covered in penultimate year placements: paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, neurology, psychiatry and rheumatology.

As well as a three-week block based around your SSC, you will undertake five-week clinical placement blocks in Medicine, Surgery and General Practice (outlined below). These incorporate a weekly half-day lecture and tutorial programme to support the development of planning and interpreting core investigations and prescribing common drugs. These sessions are delivered by leading practitioners in their fields and focus on analytical skills and practical knowhow.

  • Medicine: Includes cases from all core body systems: cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal (GI), renal, endocrine, musculoskeletal and neurological systems. Interpretation of basic investigations such as electrocardiograms (ECGs), chest x ray and common blood tests is practised at the bedside and supported by transition to practice (TTP) and investigation of disease (IOD) teaching.
  • Surgery: You’ll participate in the work of your assigned clinical team, on ward rounds, attending operating theatre, radiology and pathology meetings. Bedside teaching, supervised and self-directed patient contact provide the stimulus for learning about common and important surgical conditions, including pre- and post-operative care, GI and urological conditions.
  • General Practice: Themes include using approaches from the humanities to focus on understanding the patient experience, clinical reasoning skills required for the first/early presentation of illness, patient-centred consultation skills, therapeutic relationships, and the impact of the ever-changing health care system on the patient journey.

Intercalated iMSc degree: optional additional year

As an alternative to an intercalated bachelor’s degree, students can apply competitively after their third year to aim for an iMSc, again internally or externally. All taught components of an intercalated master’s programme must be completed before the start of your final year in August and we would also expect you to have completed your research project by this point in time, despite the usual end date being October each year. All of St George’s master’s programmes meet these requirements, as do some external courses.

Years 3 and 4

Subsequent years have increasing amounts of clinical exposure and are known as the ‘clinical practice years’. Students are increasingly responsible as partners in their own development, with an increasing emphasis on experiential learning in the workplace in line with GMC guidance.

Year 4, the penultimate year, features rotation through a series of clinical attachments in: medicine, senior health, cardiology, surgery (including surgical specialties), palliative care, neurology, neurosurgery, neurorehabilitation, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrics.

In the final year, five-week assistantships in medicine, surgery and general practice offer the opportunity for a one-to-one apprenticeship with a foundation (junior) doctor or GP. You’ll also experience rotations in critical care and anaesthetics, accident and emergency, and public health.

After finals assessments, you will undertake a five-week elective activity. This is an opportunity for you to explore, in a practical setting, an aspect of medicine of particular interest to you or relevant to your future career in medicine, anywhere in the world.

Clinical attachments are based at healthcare trusts, hospitals and other community-based sites mostly in south London and the south east of England. In the later years of the course, placements can include more distant sites in order that students gain experience in a range of urban and more rural settings.

Clinical placements

Learning from patients, clinicians and other healthcare professionals in practice is a fundamental part of training to become a doctor. It is the variety and volume of clinical placement opportunities we offer that students tell us they like most about our course. Teaching and learning is initially supplemented by and later dependent on attachments throughout South West London and beyond in areas of general practice, hospitals and other community settings, for example, palliative care hospices, sexual health clinics or community hospitals. You will gain experience of working as part of a team, demonstrating professional behaviour and performing (under supervision) a range of procedures, beginning with routine procedures and culminating in more advanced, highly skilled techniques by the end of your course.

View all Close all

Year 1

During the first year, you will undertake short clinical and community-based placements, which mark the beginning of your career long clinical and professionalism learning. Building on your clinical communication skills and clinical skills, you will learn and practise simple clinical procedures. You will not yet be expected to clerk patients and present their problems in the ways you will be during the clinical practice years, but instead will be encouraged to talk and listen to patients and their carers as people, and learn from them in their role as ‘experts by experience’. In particular, we want you to learn about their experiences of their care, good and bad and their expectations of the various professionals caring for them. Understanding the significance of working in true partnership with patients is at the heart of good medical practice.

Learning the importance of working collaboratively and effectively with other professionals in the health care team is also an essential part of your training. You will have opportunities to extend your knowledge of the roles of the various members of the health care team, and seek their views on the role of the doctor within the team. You will take part in nursing shifts, so that you can fully orientate yourself to the hospital environment, take an active part and contribute to ward life under nursing supervision.

General Practice

Year 1: Community and general practice visits throughout the year

Year 2

During Year 2, your transition from the academic environment to learning in the workplace continues, with longer placements during which you become more able to learn effectively and safely from direct patient contact, establishing the trust of patients and colleagues. By the end of this year you should be fluent in taking a history and examining adult patients, and giving a basic list of potential diagnoses and initial management plans.

General Practice

Year 3: One 5-week placement

Hospital placements

Year 3: Two 5-week placements in each of medicine and surgery

Year 3

In Year 3 almost all learning is on clinical placements, including your first exposure to a range of specialist areas, so that by the end of the year you are able to tailor your diagnostic skills and outline investigation and management plans for common conditions, with expanded skills in the specialities you have encountered.

Hospital placements

Year 3: 11 weeks integrated medical specialities, 10 weeks general surgery and surgical specialities, one week palliative care, and five-and-a-half weeks each neurology stroke and rehabilitation, psychiatry, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology.

Final year

Your final year then lays the groundwork preparing you to be a foundation doctor, with assistantships in general practice, medicine and surgery, and advanced clinical practice experience in emergency medicine, critical care and anaesthetics as well as a public health block.

General practice

Year 4: Five week placement.

Hospital placements

Year 4: Three five-week assistantships in each of medicine, general practice and surgery, four weeks critical care and anaesthetics, four weeks emergency medicine

Public health

Year 4: 2 week clinical placement.

You should be prepared to travel for your placements across Greater London, neighbouring counties and beyond.

You are supervised by experienced clinicians and trained mentors. You also receive support from your University personal tutor, specialty and year leads with a mixture of fixed and student initiated contacts. 

*This list is subject to change and should be used as a guide of where students may be able to go. In the final year, placements are also provided at more distant sites, including Maidstone, Royal Devon and Exeter, Yeovil and Torbay.

View all Close all

Practice placement locations include:*

  • St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London

  • Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust, Carshalton, London

  • Kingston Hospital NHS Trust, Kingston, Surrey

  • Croydon Health Sciences NHS Trust, Croydon, London

  • South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust

  • East Kent Hospital

  • East Surrey Hospital

  • Frimley Park Hospital

  • Ashford & St Peters

During your course, you will acquire the scientific and clinical expertise to keep abreast of the changes in diagnostic and therapeutic medicine required for our rapidly changing societies. We will equip you to apply for the specialty training you desire and support you to become future healthcare leaders.

The curriculum is organised into integrated learning weeks, supported by case-based and problem-based learning tutorials. We use a variety of teaching styles to encourage learning, including directed self-learning, student-selected study and independent study:

  • Lectures and seminars: Lecture based teaching from specialist scientists and clinicians is designed to support your depth of learning and the relevance to clinical practice of each core subject. Complementary sociology, psychology, professionalism, ethics and critical appraisal sessions run alongside and stimulate analysis and critical thinking.

  • Small group teaching: Wherever possible, teaching and learning occurs in small groups. Weekly clinical skills and communication skills sessions all occur in the small group format allowing a high degree of learner engagement, role play and reflection.

  • Inter-professional learning: In the first year, you will take part in shared learning with students from other healthcare professions, including interactive workshops on the themes of professionalism and ethics. This interprofessional focus aims to demonstrate fundamental principles that are essential to all healthcare workers, especially those that form the foundation for safe practice, effective and appropriate patient-centred care.

  • Case-based learning: Each week begins and ends with a tutorial based on a clinical scenario. By applying the taught theory to a clinical context, both your critical skills and learning techniques develop.

  • Problem-based learning: Given a clinical problem, you use self-directed research to make a diagnosis and suggest an appropriate course of action. Problem-based learning encourages learning in context, self-motivation and deep, rather than surface understanding.

  • Clinical and communication skills sessions: At St George’s we are proud of our emphasis on clinical communication in the MBBS curriculum. What used to be called a ‘good bedside manner’ is now recognised as an evidence-based core clinical competence. We work with you to develop empathic practice and a relationship of trust with your future patients. You will learn to sensitively draw out the patient’s illness and clinical history, how to give information and clear explanations, and how to negotiate with patients and relatives in order to share decisions about their healthcare.

  • Multimodal Anatomy teaching: Interactive and team-based learning will take place in the Anatomy suite using prosections, plastinated and potted (preserved) specimens, anatomical models, and 3D digital software 

  • Expert tutorials: These cover the full breadth of topics over the year and feature expert patients, practising clinicians and sometimes representatives from the third sector, for example, the Alzheimer's Society or alcohol support teams.

  • Online learning: Staff at St George’s have designed a number of Massive Open Online Learning Courses (MOOCs) to support your learning and interest in particular areas, such as genomics or organ donation. We make use of online resources, such as Speaking Clinically, which has a huge number of videos in which patients talk about their conditions, and have also developed virtual anatomy lessons. Our anatomists have videoed dissection resources and overlayed the images with X-rays and 3D computational graphics to aid your learning and engagement.

View all Close all

Our expertise

The extensive experience of our teaching team spans the full breadth of medical and surgical specialists, GPs, biomedical scientists and research scientists. For example, our transition year is led by an A&E consultant, the penultimate year by a renal and acute medicine physician, and final year by a urological surgeon.

Course Director Professor Hannah Cock is a consultant neurologist in the Atkinson Morley Regional Epilepsy Network, based at St George’s hospital. In addition to her educational roles, she has research interests in status epilepticus (prolonged uncontrolled seizures), the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy, and improving services and care for people with epilepsy.

Our researchers are contributing to the University research focused on advancing the prevention and treatment of disease in the fields of population health, heart disease and infection – three of the greatest challenges to global health in the 21st century. Our focus on health and biosciences has recently been targeted at helping to understand the immunology, virology, and genetics of Covid-19 to inform advances in new diagnostics, new treatments and a vaccine. We are also influencing public health policy and providing evidence-based information and advice to frontline healthcare practitioners.

During the course, you’ll also have the opportunity to study alongside highly experienced clinicians and learn directly from junior doctors on the job, something our students particularly enjoy.

Assessment methods

You will be assessed in three domains:

  • Professional Knowledge: through Year Specific Knowledge Tests (YSKT) in Years 1, 2(T) and 3(P)
  • Professional Skills: through Clinical Competency Assessments (CCA) in years 1, 2(T) and 3(P)
  • Becoming a Doctor: through longitudinal professional assessment, attendance, clinical practice skills and projects in each year of the Programme.

All domains must be passed independently in order to progress to the subsequent year.

During Year 1, there is one practice ‘formative’ assessment of knowledge, and one of clinical competency, to prepare you for summative assessments later in the year, to prepare you for summative assessments later in the year, and during the remainder of the programme. Teaching Staff are encouraged to also include formative quizzes within their learning materials throughout the curriculum.

Knowledge assessment methods include short answer questions and single best answer questions. CCAs take the form of a set of structured tasks, which can include practical procedures, interviewing skills and examination of patients.

Workplace (placement) based assessments , for example, mini-CEX (Clinical Evaluation Exercise), direct observations of practical procedures (DOPS), and case based discussion (CBD) also play an increasing role in the later years of the curriculum, for both formative and summative purposes. These tasks and activities during placements provide an opportunity to receive expert feedback, reflect on and discuss events and your own experiences in the real clinical environment. Together with attendance, behaviour, a personal and professional development portfolio, and variety of projects, this forms part of the Becoming a Doctor domain, which builds and assesses professional behaviour each year, and serves as an evolving portfolio to evidence your knowledge and experience to support later career plans.

Final year assessments (for graduates from 2024-25 onwards) will take the form of the National Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) comprising an Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), and the Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA). This will be instead of our current Final year AKT and CCA, but with essentially the same format and delivery. We have also been, and will continue to take part in the pilots for the MLA, and member of our assessment team are also involved in the MLA. The Prescribing Safety Assessment, and Becoming a Doctor Domain must also be passed in Final year prior to graduation under our Scheme of Assessment.

MBBS graduates who wish to undertake the UK foundation programme must also take the situational judgement test (SJT), which is a national assessment. Competence in all foundation year Practical Skills and Procedures (Outcomes for graduates – Practical skills and procedures - GMC (gmc-uk.org)_ must be achieved on at least one occasion, within the two clinical practice years prior to graduation.

Hannah Cock

Hannah Cock

Course Director

Professor Cock is course director for MBBS, a consultant neurologist (epilepsy), and research active

View profile

Our MBBS programme is professionally accredited and quality assured by the General Medical Council (GMC), the independent regulator for doctors in the UK. Successful graduates go on to a diverse range of careers, with the vast majority choosing to complete the GMC Foundation Programme to practice medicine in the UK.

Registering with the GMC

At the end of the undergraduate course, you will receive your MBBS degree, which is a primary medical qualification (PMQ). Holding a PMQ entitles you to provisional registration with the General Medical Council (GMC), as long as the GMC has no concerns relating to your fitness to practise.

In 2024, The GMC is introducing a national Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) which will form part of your final examinations. All medical students graduating from UK universities from the academic year 2024–25 onwards will be required to pass the MLA as part of their degree before they can join the medical register.

UK Medical Foundation Programme

After graduation, the majority of our graduates go on to complete the two-year UK Foundation Programme. This is a two-year work-based training programme that enables you to work and practice as a doctor in the UK. Provisionally registered doctors can only practice in approved Foundation Year 1 posts; the law does not allow provisionally registered doctors to undertake any other type of work as a doctor within the UK.

Through an integrated study programme of medical sciences and clinical sciences, our graduates are fully equipped to perform well in the GMC Foundation Programme and further develop the essential knowledge and competencies needed to pursue a specialist discipline.

To obtain a Foundation Year 1 post, you will need to apply during the final year of your undergraduate course through the UK Foundation Programme Office selection scheme, which allocates these posts to graduates on a competitive basis. So far, all suitably qualified UK graduates have found a place on the Foundation Year 1 programme, but this cannot be guaranteed. Successful completion of the Foundation Year 1 programme is normally achieved within 12 months and is marked by the award of a Certificate of Experience. You will then be eligible to apply for full registration with the General Medical Council. You need full registration with a licence to practice medicine unsupervised in the UK in the NHS or private practice. Regulations in this area change from time to time so we recommend visiting Medical Careers NHS, which also provides information on working as a doctor.

Practicing overseas

UK Medical Programmes, including ours, are quality-assured and recognised internationally. However, applicants are always advised to check with individual national authorities if they wish to practise outside the UK after graduation. In some instances, students may need to take a national licensing assessment for the relevant country, in addition to their medical degree in order to be able to practice there. Our programme is geared towards supporting students to practice in the UK. As such, we do not provide any specific support for overseas assessments (such as the USMLE) nor residency matching services.

Alternative careers

Most graduates work as doctors in the NHS, but our graduates also pursue a variety of alternative career options including a career in academia, teaching or conducting research, pharmaceuticals, or hospital management.

Facilities

St George’s is the only UK university based on a hospital site, St George’s Hospital, which is where the Channel 4 television series 24 hours in A&E is filmed. We offer a unique opportunity to study and work alongside the full range of clinical professionals and their patients. Based in the thriving multi-cultural hub of Tooting in South West London, our location has the added advantage of being just a short tube ride from Central London and all the city lifestyle has to offer.

We also have a range of specialist health and academic facilities to support your learning, listed below.

Clinical skills room

This self-directed learning room provides a space where you can practise clinical skills outside of the formal teaching sessions. Equipment needed is available in the room or can be borrowed from our Teaching Services team. This facility provides an opportunity for peer practice and shared learning.

Laboratories

Our science laboratories are fully fitted with equipment for biological, chemistry, biomedical, molecular biology and pharmacy practicals. This includes microscopes, spectrophotometers, DNA amplifiers, organ baths and specialist glassware. We also have audio visual equipment installed, so that microscope images can be projected on to large screens.

Anatomy suite

The anatomy suite is where present and future healthcare professionals and scientists in the hospital and University learn or expand on their anatomy knowledge directly from the human body, through access to high quality anatomy resources. These include plastinated (preserved) specimens, osteological materials, anatomical models and digital/imaging resources such as Anatomage tables and Complete Anatomy.

Museum of Human Diseases

Our on-site museum houses a collection of over 2,000 pathological specimens, including a number of original specimens donated by Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie in 1843. This space is used for small group tutorials by students across all of our courses as an educational tool to help you understand the mechanisms of disease.

Simulation

There are opportunities for simulated practice in all years of the course both within the University, and across our partner NHS Trusts. This includes access to the St George’s Hospital Advanced Patient Simulator Centre in Final year.  

Library and learning technology

Our modern health sciences library offers a wide range of books, e-books, academic journals and other resources to support you. You will also have access to online resources, such as the Canvas virtual learning environment

and our Hunter discovery service to help you find the information you need. The library is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and comprises silent, quiet and group learning areas, as well as four group discussion rooms.

IT facilities

We have five computer suites housing 260 workstations. Three of these suites are accessible 24 hours a day. It’s easy to find a free space with our handy real-time computer locator. We also have 75 self-service laptops available. Free Wi-Fi covers the whole campus, including all accommodation. You can use these resources to access your course materials, discussion boards and feedback through Canvas.

Student support

As a mature student at St George’s, you’ll be welcomed by a multicultural student and staff body of different ages, ethnicities, nationalities and backgrounds, all with one thing in common – an interest in healthcare, science and medicine.

Students frequently tell us they greatly appreciate the diversity of our student and staff body, as well as the patients who access healthcare services in the borough of Wandsworth. The University attracts both school leavers as well as a  ‘mature’ students, aged 21 or over when they start; many have family and caring responsibilities.

We offer a full range of academic support and student services across all institutes, departments and faculties, some of which are listed below. We take pride in offering a transformative educational experience underpinned by cooperation and collaboration between staff and students. Our innovative Student-Staff Partnership Grants (SSPGs), for example, provide funding for small projects led jointly by students and staff. Previous projects involving our students have included the creation of a handbook to highlight the often different presentation of clinical signs on black and brown skin, as well as a series of video profiles of doctors and healthcare professionals in different specialities at various stages of their careers.

Personal tutor

On arrival, you will be allocated a personal tutor – someone with whom you can have regular contact, who you ask questions and discuss problems with, both academic and personal. The main purpose of a personal tutor is to monitor your progress, pick up and help you resolve any problems, whether academic or welfare related. Even if they don’t have the answer they will point you in the right direction towards the best people to deal with specific problems.

Induction programme

Within your first week at St George’s, you’ll take part in an induction programme to help with your orientation and introduce you to various study skills, including interprofessional learning and use of the Anatomy suite. Additional sessions provide advice and guidance about the Registry, Students’ Union, personal tutor system, safety, occupational health and sexual health awareness.

Academic staff support

In addition to scheduled sessions, you’ll have access to your lecturers, module and placement leads usually by arrangement via email. The senior leadership team (course director, deputy, assessment and year leads) meet regularly with year representatives, and also arrange drop in/FAQ sessions where needed, in addition to being contactable directly as with all staff.

We have a wide variety of support resources, including close academic review and support from the Course Team, so that students who are experiencing challenges or difficulty can be proactively supported by the academic development centre, and other appropriate support services or reasonable adjustments. 

Clinical Teaching Fellows  

Clinical Teaching Fellows (CTFs) are fully qualified junior doctors, who support the delivery of teaching within St George's, University of London and St George’s Hospital. They are also employed at many of our partner sites, including Ashford and St Peter’s, Croydon, Epsom and St Helier, East Surrey, Kingston, and Springfield hospitals.

Mums and dads scheme

‘Mums and dads’ is a buddy scheme organised by the Students’ Union. Every fresher (first year student) has the choice of being assigned a ‘parent’ from the year above in their respective course. The returning student then acts as a ‘go to’ for advice about courses and university life, providing an additional support system during your first year, both academically and socially. They have been in your position and know the struggles of starting university; they also know all of the best pubs, clubs, restaurants, gyms and will help introduce you to your new St George’s family.

Student Life Centre

Our Student Centre team can help you with almost any aspect of student life: finances, accommodation, exams and assessment, academic procedures, admissions, international queries, careers, disability and wellbeing, even finding your way around – whatever it takes to make you feel at home.

Careers service

Our careers service works to support current students and recent graduates to find and maintain a rewarding and successful career. As well as general workshops on topics such as writing a CV and developing interview skills, the service works with careers tutors from each course area to ensure there are careers activities specific to your programmes and future profession. You will also be able to book a one-to-one appointment with a careers consultant to discuss all aspects of careers and employability. This might include investigating options and making career decisions, gaining advice and guidance on where to look for jobs, CV and application checking, or booking in for a practice interview.

Over and above central careers support, the MBBS team has collated a range of targeted medicine resources for our students, including prompts for personal tutors, careers sessions in every year of the programme, a dedicated area of our virtual learning environment with tips on expanding and developing skills beyond the core curriculum, and ‘careers fair’ with input from a broad range of specialities available to all students.

Apply for this course through UCAS (the University and College Admissions Service) by 15 October preceding the year of entry (for 2024 entry this date is 16 October 2023).

View all Close all

Application checklist

Applicants to all courses must provide:

  • a personal statement (more information about this document is available on the UCAS website)

  • an academic reference from your current or most recent institutions with predicted grades.

Applicants to graduate entry MBBS (UCAS code A101) must also provide:

  • full details of your undergraduate education with achieved/predicted grades (and postgraduate qualifications, if applicable).

Deferred entry

We will consider applications from applicants who wish to defer entry by a year, provided you plan to use the time constructively. If you are offered a place on the course and subsequently decide to defer, you must inform us by 1 June of the year of application.

After application

Acknowledgement emails are sent out as soon as we receive your application. Please make sure that your email account is able to accept communications from St George’s as we will mainly communicate with you via email.

Apply now

Duration

Four years, full-time

Application Deadline

16 October 2023 (2024 entry), 16 October 2024 (2025 Entry)

UCAS Code

A101, institution code S49

Find a profileSearch by A-Z