Bristol
About The Course
Bristol University runs a five-year medical course consisting of a mix of lectures, case-based learning and practical work.
You will learn anatomy at state-of-the-art facilities, have the opportunity to explore further interests in an optional intercalation year and have early patient contact, from the first year!
Medicine at Bristol is taught at its Clifton campus and through placements at a number of partner hospitals.
Structure Of The Course
Year 1
The focus is on case-based learning and giving you a good foundation for the skills and knowledge you will need throughout your degree. There are also clinical placements from the first year, in both primary and secondary care settings. Learning in year one is focused on systems, for example, gastrointestinal and respiratory.
Year 2
The focus is on presentations, as well as case-based learning. You will learn about disease processes and differential diagnoses for common symptoms, therefore there is more focus on clinical presentations, for example, chest pain or breathlessness. You will learn this year also through case-based learning and clinical placements.
Year 3
In this year, you will work in primary, secondary and community care settings, meeting with patients and learning mainly about how common conditions are managed.
Year 4
This year focuses on the care of patients of all ages including paediatrics and geriatrics.
Year 5
The final year is designed to prepare you as best as possible for your Foundation jobs by working within clinical teams. You also have an elective study period and lastly, will take your final examinations!
Academic Requirements
GCSEs: Candidates must also have achieved grade 7 or A in GCSE Mathematics or equivalent and grade 4 or C in GCSE English or equivalent.
A-levels: AAA. Contextual Offer: ABB (offered to students who have backgrounds which are historically less likely to come to Bristol). A in Chemistry and B in either Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics.
Scottish Higher: AAAAB
Scottish Advanced Higher: AA Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics
International Baccalaureate: 36 points 6 at Higher level in Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics.
IELTs (International applicants only): 7.5 overall (with 7.0 in all skills)
Bachelor's Degree (Graduates only): 2:1
Further Entry Requirements
Work experience: There is no required amount of work experience in order to apply, however, it is strongly recommended that students gain some, as it will aid in your application in other ways, for example, the interview.
Personal statement: Bristol Medical School does not use personal statements unless exceptional circumstances in which they need to differentiate between two students who have identical UCAT and interview scores.
Admissions Process
Application to Bristol Medical School must be done via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Deadlines for submission are earlier for medical courses, typically mid-October. This application will include all of your academic history as well as your personal statement and other qualifications/achievements.
Admissions Tests:
UCAT ✅
All applicants must take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) in order to apply for Medicine at Bristol. You can learn more about the UCAT in our guide. There is no cut-off score, however, your UCAT score will make up part of your ranking and the top x applicants will be invited for interview. Therefore, required UCAT scores change year by year. You can find more details about typical UCAT scores needed for interview below, in ‘Admissions Statistics’.
Interview Type: MMI
Interview Topics: If you are through to interviews, these will typically take place from December to February but may be as late as April. Bristol uses Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI’s) in their application process, consisting of six stations, lasting in total around 30 minutes. Interviews at Bristol are centred around the values outlined in the GMC’s Good Medical Practice. Therefore, the assessed qualities include teamwork & communication, professionalism and maintaining trust.
You can also find out more about typical interview questions used at Bristol in our school-by-school guide.
If you are successful with your interview, you will receive an acceptance letter, usually around early May.
Admissions Statistics
| Total number of applicants: | 2770 |
| Total number of places: | TBC |
| Total number of entrants: | 600 |
| Acceptance rate: | 21.66% |
Fees
| Home students: | £9250 pa |
| Rest of UK: | TBC |
| International students: | £42800 pa |
Teaching Methods
Teaching style: Bristol Medical School uses case-based learning in addition to lectures and workshops. You also learn through clinical contact, experiencing placements and patient interaction from the first year.
Intercalation mode: In this course, you have the option to spend an additional year after year 3 to obtain a Bachelor’s or Master’s level degree in medical science or humanities subjects.
Graduate Prospects
Bristol Medical School achieved 100% graduate prospects in the Complete University Guide 2024. This means that 15 months after graduating medical school at Bristol, all students were in full-time employment and their average income was £36,000.
FAQs
Is Bristol Medical School hard to get into?
The acceptance rate for Bristol Medical School is 22%, which although is still much lower than most other undergraduate courses, is higher than most other Medical Schools. For example, UCL’s admission rate for Medicine is 12% and Oxford’s is 7.6%. There are some Schools with a higher acceptance rate, for example, the University of Nottingham with 30%
What is the UCAT cut off for Bristol Medical School?
There is no official cut-off UCAT score for Bristol, however, the average UCAT score achieved for those interviews was 2938 in 2021 while the lowest UCAT score was 2020. This should give you a rough idea of what score to aim for if applying to Bristol.
What is unique about Bristol Medical School?
Bristol uses an innovative hospital-based training as part of their Clinical Academy system. You also have the opportunity to explore further interests with an intercalation year, which is not offered at all Medical Schools.
Is Bristol a good university for Medicine?
Bristol was ranked 6th in the UK for medical Schools by the Complete University Guide 2024 – quite the achievement!
School Details
