Oxford

Not only is Oxford consistently ranked top 10 in UK medical schools (depending on the system), the Times Higher Education ranked the University of Oxford as number 1 in the world in 2023, 2024 and 2025 for medicine!

About The Course

Students at Oxford Medical School receive a comprehensive grounding in medical and biomedical sciences during their pre-clinical years and a variety of experience during placements in clinical years.

As Oxford has a relatively small cohort for medicine, students benefit from a close-knit community and a relaxed atmosphere in which they can get to know their peers and staff members well.

Oxford’s medical degree programme follows a more traditional structure with a split between pre-clinical and clinical years, three years in each.

Structure Of The Course

Year 1-3

The first three years at Oxford Medical School are dedicated to the science underpinning medicine including physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry and anatomy. These three years will be taught primarily through lectures and practicals, with the remainder of your time allocated to self-directed study and extra-curricular activities. Oxford employs a college tutorial system in all of their courses including medicine in which two to four students receive tailored teaching from a tutor. Finally, in the third year, students will engage in a research project.

Year 4-6

The latter three years at Oxford Medical School are based in Oxford University Hospital Trusts and GPs around the area in which you will be taught by clinicians as well as University staff. Students’ first clinical year is focused on perfecting clinical skills with rotations in surgery and medicine within hospital trusts. Year five comprises six eight-week placements in specialties including Psychiatry, Obs & Gynae, Paediatrics etc. The final year aims to prepare students for starting their foundation jobs as well as sitting their final exams.

Academic Requirements

GCSEs: Although there are no formal GCSE requirements, GCSEs are used in the selection process where grades 8/9 contribute to the candidate’s score which are used to select for interview invites. Therefore, the more GCSE grades achieved at 8/9, the better your chances are at receiving an interview offer.

A-levels: A*AA. Must include Chemistry and at least one of Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Biology or Physics.

Scottish Advanced Higher: AA. Must include Chemistry, plus one from Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Applicants must also have achieved AAAAA in Highers.

International Baccalaureate: 39 points. 766 at HL, including Chemistry and at least one from Biology, Physics and Mathematics.

IELTs (International applicants only): 7.5

Mitigating Circumstances

Resits policy: Oxford does consider applicants who have resat examinations like A-levels, however only when sufficient extenuating circumstances have been provided.

Extenuating circumstances: When considering the ranking of applicants, mitigating circumstances are taken into account regarding GCSE results to ensure fair consideration of all applicants. Mitigating circumstances information must be sent by 5pm on the 3rd of November.

Candidates who are unsuccessful in a previous application cycle are welcomed to try again and applications will be considered separate to prior ones. However, if applying to the same college as before, Oxford warns that the application process may be more difficult than the first time.

Deferred entry: Applicants who wish to defer their entry to medicine at Oxford are considered, however they must state this wish in their UCAS application.

Transfers: Transfers from other medical schools in the UK are not considered at Oxford.

Further Entry Requirements

Personal statement: Unlike most other UK medical schools, Oxford do consider applicants’ personal statements. They recommend that you consider Oxford’s selection criteria when you write it.

Admissions Process

Application to Oxford 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. At Oxford, you can apply either to individual colleges or to the university as a whole.

Firstly, applicants are screened to check they meet the minimum academic requirements, then candidates are shortlisted to receive an interview offer using GCSE grades and UCAT scores, which are given equal weights. For GCSEs, scores are made using the number of grades 8 or 9s achieved. For the UCAT, overall scores are used and the Situational Judgement Test is not considered.

Admissions Tests:

UCAT ✅
For the 2025 admissions cycle, Oxford reported an average UCAT score of 3093 for applicants who received an interview, and 3131 for those who received an offer. Unfortunately, there is no data available regarding minimum UCAT scores required, however this is likely also high given the high overall requirements for Oxford medical school. Remember, UCAT scores are considered equally with GCSE scores, so candidates with fewer 8/9s at GCSE will need a higher UCAT score to obtain an interview, and vice versa. As the 2026 application cycle is the first year in which the Abstract reasoning component of the UCAT has been removed, likely comparable scores for the above would be an average of 2440 for those invited to interview, and 2478 for those offered a place.

Interview Type: Traditional

Interview Topics: The number and style of interviews vary depending on the individual college but typically follow a more panel style interview in which you will meet with two tutors. Be sure that you are very familiar with your personal statement and that you are ready to discuss any element of it with the tutors.

Applicants who are successful in the interview stage can expect an offer in early January.

You can learn more about medical interviews at Oxford on our school-by-school guide.

Admissions Statistics

Total number of applicants:	1164
Total number of places:	155
Total number of entrants:	155
Acceptance rate:	13.32%

Fees

Home students:	£9250 pa
Rest of UK:	£9250 pa
International students:	£57690 pa

Teaching Methods

Teaching style: Oxford employs the very tradition split between preclinical and clinical teaching. One of the unique aspects of Oxford teaching is the use of tutorials in which students receive small group, individually tailored teaching. In addition, students learn through a mixture of lectures, lab workshops and practicals. In clinical years, teaching is primarily delivered by physicians.

Graduate Prospects

97% of Oxford medical school graduates are in employment or further study 15 months after completion of the course, with average earnings after 3 years at £46,500.

FAQs

How hard is it to get into Oxford Medicine?

As with all medical schools, competition at Oxford is strong, with a 13.32% acceptance rate. Interestingly, this is often higher than some other medical schools in the UK as there tend to be less applicants due to its high academic requirements.

Why is Oxford Medicine six years long?

The length of Oxford’s course is due to its traditional split into pre-clinical and clinical years. Oxford puts a larger emphasis on the scientific basis of medicine compared to other medical schools.

Is it harder to get into Oxford or Cambridge Medicine?

Cambridge has slightly higher entry requirements of A*A*A at A-levels while Oxford require A*AA. However both are highly prestigious medical schools, accepting only the top candidates.

What admissions test do you need for Oxford Medicine?

In 2024, Oxford changed from the BMAT to the UCAT for their admissions aptitude test.