Medicine MBChB (A100)

Applicants must have achieved at least a grade B or 6 in English Language (as a first language), Maths, and two sciences (including Chemistry and Biology or Double Science). For students taking Methods and Applications in Maths our minimum requirement is a Grade B or 6 in both, but we will only score the Methods in Maths.

For applicants who have taken qualifications other than GCSEs, an assessment of equivalence will be made. If candidates have not sat formal examinations at this stage then internal school transcripts must be submitted to medadmis@le.ac.uk before the October UCAS deadline (this will be the case for the majority of international candidates). We will not chase applicants for this information. It is the applicant’s responsibility to supply it. Where that information is not supplied, it will not be possible to score an application and it will be rejected. Failure to have noticed this requirement will not be considered grounds for an appeal against rejection.

All academic attainment must be declared on UCAS, including subjects taken by choice, or first attempts and resits. Those listed on UCAS must match the certificates we will ask for at interview; otherwise, academic scores will be revised, and interview status may be revoked.

Important: Because we score GCSEs and/or have a minimum GCSE requirement as part of the selection for interview, you will need to provide copies of your official GCSE certificates if you are invited to interview. Should you be successful at interview, an offer can only be made if we have seen those certificates. A statement of results will not be sufficient. Please note that you should not send these certificates to us unless you are invited for interview and we have asked for them.

We will consider resits in GCSE English Language or Maths from any applicant. We will only consider resits in other GCSE subjects if there are very significant mitigating circumstances that have been previously agreed by the Mitigating Circumstances Panel in writing.

Please note that we will only accept GCSE resits where the results have been received at the point of application. We cannot consider pending GCSE results, even with a predicted grade.

You can apply for mitigating circumstances by completing our Mitigating Circumstances Form and sending any supporting evidence to medadmis@le.ac.uk with the email subject: 'Mitigating Circumstances Evidence - SURNAME_Firstname' e.g. Mitigating Circumstances Evidence - SMITH_John 

All results must be listed on the UCAS form (i.e. first and resit grades).

Our requirement is A*AA at A-level, in three subjects including Chemistry or Biology (with practical aspects) and one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology, but excluding General Studies, Citizenship Studies, Critical Thinking or Global Perspectives. We will consider applicants with AAA (including two sciences as above) and EPQ grade B or an AS-level grade A in a fourth subject, or grade B in the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate / Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales qualification.

If you have taken four full A-levels (not including overlapping subjects such as Maths and Further Maths), we can also give an alternate offer of AAAB. In this case, all A-levels must be completed in Year 12 or 13. If one of the four A-levels is a language subject other than English of which the candidate is a home or native speaker, we would require AAA in the three remaining A-levels.

Since we know predicted grades can be inaccurate, we will score any candidate predicted at least AAB (ABB for Access Leicester: Medicine applicants).

A-levels sat in year 12 will not form part of the pre-interview selection process, nor will fourth subject AS-levels, except in the rare situation of a candidate being in a borderline group. Candidates must take three subjects in year 13 to show they can cope with the depth and breadth of study required. A levels (or equivalent) must usually be obtained within two years of GCSE exams.

Where applicants study Maths and Further Maths, only one of these grades will count towards a potential offer.

If a candidate’s third A-level is a language subject other than English of which they are a home or native speaker, then an adjusted offer will be made to reflect this if they get to offer stage. We will ask candidates to sign a declaration as to whether they are a native or home speaker of that language later in the application process.

Please note that we do not consider the ICCE (International Certificate of Christian Education) as equivalent to A-levels.

The following contextual offer information only applies to home fee status students.

1.  Candidates who have completed a Realising Opportunities Programme, Access Leicester: Medicine, or a recognised Sutton Trust Pathways to Medicine programme will be considered with predicted or achieved grades of AAA. The programme must be completed by the 1st December in the year of application to be considered for interview on the basis of ROP or Sutton Trust.

2.  Candidates who live in an IMD (Index of Multiple Deprivation) quintile 1 (decile 1 or 2) area AND either receive UCAT bursary or 16-19 bursary, or have been in receipt of free school meals for over 6 months, or have been in local authority care for 3 months, will be considered with grades of AAA.

Year 12 resits (first sit of A Levels after 3 years)

Applicants who have taken three years to complete their A-levels for the first time will not normally be considered. Exceptions may be made only in cases of significant mitigating circumstances. Such circumstances must be formally reviewed and approved by the Mitigating Circumstances Panel prior to application. Any such applications without a mitigating circumstances application will be rejected.

The latest date for receipt of mitigating circumstances requests will be 1 October in the year of application. You can apply for mitigating circumstances by completing our Mitigating Circumstances Form and sending any supporting evidence to medadmis@le.ac.uk with the email subject: 'Mitigating Circumstances Evidence - SURNAME_Firstname' e.g. Mitigating Circumstances Evidence - SMITH_John. 

A Level resits

Applicants who had not attained the required grades at first sit, will only be considered with resits if they were holding a conditional firm offer for Medicine with us, and there was substantial mitigation that has been previously agreed by the Mitigating Circumstances Panel. Any such applications without a mitigating circumstances application will be rejected.

All mitigation requests should be sent along with formal supporting evidence to medadmis@le.ac.uk by 1 October. If the request is received by midnight of 1 September, we will provide a definitive response as to whether or not the mitigation is accepted before the UCAS closing date; after this date we are not able to guarantee that candidates will receive a response before the UCAS closing date.

To apply with predicted resits you must have achieved at least ABB at the first sit; anything lower means you would need to apply once you have achieved the grades. The grade requirement for applications to A100 with resits will be at least A*AA.

You can apply for mitigating circumstances by completing our Mitigating Circumstances Form and sending any supporting evidence to medadmis@le.ac.uk with the email subject: 'Mitigating Circumstances Evidence - SURNAME_Firstname' e.g. Mitigating Circumstances Evidence - SMITH_John.

We also accept the International Baccalaureate (IB) with a minimum score of 34 points overall, and a minimum score of 7,6,6 in three Higher Level subjects including Chemistry or Biology, and one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Sports Science or Psychology. We will also consider candidates with an overall score of 36 and 6,6,6 in their three Higher Level subjects including two sciences as mentioned above.

We will consider Scottish Advanced Highers either alone or in combination with A-levels. Our standard offer is AAA, to include Chemistry or Biology, and one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology. We will also consider the 2 sciences at Advanced Higher (grade AA) plus 3 other subjects at Highers level (grades AAB). We will not consider you if you are only taking Scottish Highers.

Our entry requirements for students who have studied the Irish Leaving Certificate are three subjects at H1 (including Chemistry or Biology, and one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology), with a further two subjects at H2.

A single Level 3 BTEC Subsidiary Diploma or National Award will be considered at Distinction*, in combination with A-levels at A*A in Chemistry or Biology, and one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology, provided there is not significant subject matter overlap with the A Levels.

Applicants must have achieved or be predicted a minimum of an upper second-class honours (or equivalent) in their Bachelor’s or integrated Master’s degree in order to be considered. We will consider graduate applicants from any discipline, provided the applicant meets our minimum GCSE requirements and has a BBB or ABC at A-level including a B grade in either Chemistry or Biology.

You must have completed, or be in the final year of your degree when you apply. In addition, we will not consider a second undergraduate degree, Masters or PhD in lieu of obtaining 2:1 or 1st class honours in your first degree. Graduates in their final year who do not provide a suitable academic reference from their current institution will not be considered.

All applicants must show evidence of recent academic attainment - within 3 years of the UCAS closing date. Graduates of vocational professions may be considered after this if they can demonstrate ongoing professional development.

Deferred entry for graduates

We will not consider deferred entry from graduate entry applicants. If after interview an offer is made and then (for financial or other reasons) an applicant wishes to defer, we would instead consider their reapplication for entry the following year. Provided their academic and UCAT score remained competitive, we would make them another offer without asking them to repeat the interview. Please note that we are unable to give any indication of the likelihood of the success of a subsequent application, as this will depend on the quality of all applications received.

We will consider candidates with the Access to HE Diploma (Medicine) provided their particular qualification conforms to the QAA subject descriptors for medicine with 45 graded L3 credits at distinction, and passes in the 15 ungraded credits. All applicants must meet our minimum GCSE requirements.

We will only consider mature applicants (must be 22 years or more at registration) by this route, with evidence of five years' paid employment, or an apprenticeship post-school, including at least a year in a relevant caring role.

We will not consider the Access to Medicine course from students who could have undertaken A-levels (i.e. school leavers), nor in lieu of poor science A-level results, nor poor A-level results in graduate applicants. Graduates with an Access to Medicine Diploma are scored and ranked as other graduates (some allowance may be given for the diploma if achieved in addition to non-science A-levels).

We will also require Access candidates to submit a full CV at the time of application, detailing all their previous schooling and educational qualifications, all previous work experience (paid or unpaid), and highlighting and explaining any educational or employment gaps.

All applicants to Leicester Medical School are required to take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) in the year of their application. This test helps universities widen access and make fairer choices amongst the many highly-qualified applicants who apply for medical degrees.

By attending your UCAT exam, you are declaring that you are fit to sit the test at that time. This means you are declaring that you are well enough to complete the test to the best of your ability. Therefore we do not usually consider mitigating circumstances for UCAT. Significant issues arising during the testing are reported to us through annotations and we will consider these when reviewing an application.

Applicants must be 18 years old by 1 September of their year of entry. This is due to patient contact from Semester 1.

Applicants who do not meet our age requirement may still apply and we will consider their application in the normal way. However, we will ask such applicants to defer starting their degree until they meet our age requirement.

Academic scoring and the interview process are undertaken without consideration of any health or special circumstances. However, if you are made an offer and you accept, you will be required to complete a Health Screening Questionnaire. Some applicants will be asked to have a formal Occupational Health assessment. Whilst this is to see if they are fit enough to enrol, it is mainly to see what reasonable adjustments are suggested and to give advice on support both on the course and as a doctor in training.

The UK government requires that all medical students in this country must be screened for hepatitis B.

Under current GMC rules it is not possible to omit any part of the medical course curriculum, so you must have adequate vision, hearing and manual dexterity to undertake the entire curriculum. The GMC's document outcomes for graduates: practical skills and procedures (PDF, 450kb) delineates all the mandatory practical procedures for completion of the course and preliminary registration. These should be read in conjunction with the GMC's welcomed and valued document.

Further information regarding Occupational Health standards for Medical Students can be found on the Higher Education Occupational Practitioners website.

The University is required to use the government's Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to assess the suitability of applicants to medicine. If you have previous or pending cautions or convictions you should contact us in writing. All information will be treated in the strictest confidence.

• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks information (PDF, 123kb)

We will consider repeat applications in the following circumstances:

• Applicants presenting with achieved or predicted A-levels, IB or equivalent who have applied once before but have not been interviewed, will be considered and scored as usual on their second application. Subsequent applications will not be considered without further qualification at degree level.
• Applicants presenting with achieved or predicted degree who have applied once before with their degree, but have not been interviewed, will be considered and scored as usual on their second application. Subsequent applications will not be considered without substantial evidence of paid employment in a caring role.
• Applicants presenting via the Access to Medicine route who have applied once before but have not been interviewed, will be considered and scored as usual on their second application. Subsequent applications will not be considered without substantial evidence of paid employment in a caring role.

In all cases, applicants who have been rejected following interview will only be considered in the following year’s cycle if their interview score was no more than 5% below the level required to be on our waiting list in the year that they applied. Since they will be considered to have had prior interview experience the two scores will be averaged.

If a candidate was interviewed as an undergraduate, was not successful and then applies as a graduate, the previous interview score will be disregarded.

UCAT will need to be retaken in every year of application.

Candidates who were invited to interview but failed to attend and did not inform the Medical School as to why, will not be considered again.

You cannot transfer from a medical degree at another university because of the fully integrated nature of the medical curriculum.

We welcome applications for deferred entry, and candidates applying for deferred entry will be treated exactly the same way as standard applicants.

Should applicants change their mind and decide to defer during the application process we will accept requests up until 1 April. Due to the UCAS deadlines with offer making we will not consider later applications for deferral unless there are significant unforeseen circumstances affecting the individual only that have been agreed by the Admissions Tutors.

We do not consider deferral requests from graduate applicants.

We do not have minimum work experience requirements. We are more interested in what you have learnt from any life experience, rather than what you have done.

We know that getting medical work experience can be difficult, but remember there are online work experience options available, for example - Observe GP - and many community volunteering options.