Brighton & Sussex
Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) was formed as a partnership between the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex which began offering medical degrees in 2003.
It is currently ranked 19th in UK medical schools by the Guardian 2026 and 27th by the Complete University Guide 2026.
About The Course
Innovative and distinctive, Brighton & Sussex five-year Medicine course is awarded jointly by the Universities of Brighton and Sussex. The course helps students develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to be a successful doctor.
BSMS offer a 5-year long course resulting in a Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (BM BS) degree. You will learn through a mixture of small group teaching, lectures, anatomy workshops and through clinical experience within hospital and community settings from the first year.
Structure Of The Course
Year 1-2
Your first two years at BSMS will be based at the Brighton and Sussex Falmer campuses which include the facilities you will need to learn the scientific basis behind medicine, including anatomy at the modern anatomy laboratory. Although these years are mostly pre-clinical, you will spend about 20% of your time in clinical settings including hospitals and community care.
Year 3
In your third year, you are introduced to clinical medicine and will spend the majority of your time in three ward-based attachments which include surgery, general medicine, elderly medicine & psychiatry.
Year 4
In your fourth year, you will complete a rotation of seven different specialties, for example, paediatrics, Oncology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The focus of the fourth year is on integrated care between primary, secondary and community settings.
Year 5
The final year at BSMS is designed to prepare you for your foundation programme. You will do your final hospital placements, undertake an elective period to gain further experience and lastly take your final exams!
Academic Requirements
GCSEs: All applicants require a mathematics and English grade of at least 6/B (contextual requirement grade 5/C)
A-levels: AAA To include Biology and Chemistry but exclude General Studies and Critical Thinking
Scottish Higher: AAA To include Biology and Chemistry at Advanced Higher Level
Scottish Advanced Higher: AAA Chemistry and Biology or pass Advanced Higher in Biology and Chemistry with grades A in at least two additional Higher subjects.
International Baccalaureate: 36 Must include Biology and Chemistry at minimum of grade 6 at Higher Level. Note: BSMS makes contextual offers to candidates with certain criteria, for example, school attainment or Index of Multiple Deprivation.
IELTs (International applicants only): If English is not your first language, an IELTS of 7.0, with a minimum of 7.0 in each component.
Bachelor's Degree (Graduates only): You should hold three A-levels or equivalent (at least BBB), to include Biology and Chemistry, and you should hold, or expect to hold, a first or upper second class science degree that demonstrates an adequate knowledge of Biology and Chemistry.
Mitigating Circumstances
Resits policy: BSMS considers resits, however, due to the volume of applications, they generally only consider applicants who have only dropped one grade. All qualifications must have been obtained within 10 years of submitting your UCAS application.
Note: Reapplicants are welcomed at BSMS and are not discriminated against during the application process.
Extenuating circumstances: If you feel that your performance on the day of the test was affected by extenuating circumstances, you must apply for Special Consideration via the UCAT website before the deadline.
Deferred entry: BSMS accepts deferred entry – just make sure you can provide a good explanation for what you will do in your year out in case they ask you in your interview!
Transfers: Regardless of the qualifications you have, entry is only into year 1 at BSMS. They do not accept requests for entry with advanced standing into other years of the course due to the integrated nature of our curriculum. Partly completed degree grades will not normally be accepted as an entry qualification for BSMS.
Further Entry Requirements
Work experience: There are no formal requirements regarding the amount of work experience candidates need, although it is recommended in order to understand what the degree and career entails and it will aid you in other aspects of the application, for example, the interviews.
Note: Successful candidates will be required to complete a health questionnaire before starting medical school. This includes items such as vaccination record and disabilities or health conditions. Please note that BSMS does not discriminate based on age and, you may be as young as 17 when you start the course.
Personal statement: It is useful to note that personal statements are not used in any part of the admissions process.
Admissions Process
Application to Brighton and Sussex 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 ✅
Your UCAT scores will be independently sent to your chosen Universities. Following this, you will receive either an invitation to interview or a rejection letter. After screening candidates to ensure they meet the minimum academic requirements, Brighton and Sussex rank candidates based on their total UCAT score. Note that those with an SJT band of 4 will be automatically rejected. UCAT cut-off scores vary slightly year by year, but in 2025, the minimum total score required to be invited to interview was 2560 for home students and 2730 for international students. As the 2026 cohort is the first year to sit the UCAT without the Abstract Reasoning component, likely comparable cut off scores are 1907 for home students and 2077 for international students.
Interview Type: MMI
Interview Topics: For the 2026 entry application cycle, interviews will take place from December 2025 to March 2026, and applicants will be able to choose whether they sit the interview online or in person.
BSMS interviews are formatted in the Multiple Mini Interview (MMIs) style. There are 5 different interviews, each lasting 10 minutes. It is recommended that you spend some time reflecting on your work experience, skills and values that may be important in your medical career. BSMS provide further information about how they run their MMIs so that you can be well prepared.
Decisions for offers are then based solely on interview performance, and successful candidates can expect to receive offers between January and April 2026.
Admissions Statistics
| Total number of applicants: | 1284 |
| Total number of places: | 207 |
| Total number of entrants: | 207 |
| Acceptance rate: | 16.12% |
Fees
| Home students: | £9535 pa |
| Rest of UK: | TBC |
| International students: | £45700 pa |
Teaching Methods
Teaching style: BSMS describe their teaching style as blended, meaning you will learn through a variety of mediums, including small group teaching, lectures and practicals. BSMS is also structured around a spiral curriculum which means you build upon your knowledge throughout the years.
Intercalation mode: Intercalation is the option to undertake an additional degree (Bachelors or masters) between your third and fourth years.
Graduate Prospects
The average annual earnings of Brighton and Sussex Medical School graduates after 3 years was £45,000, with 93% feeling that the course developed their skills and knowledge needed for their current work. Additionally, the Complete University Guide rated the school 100% on graduate prospects in their 2026 rankings.
FAQs
Is Brighton a good university for medicine?
Brighton is currently ranked 19th in UK medical schools by the Guardian 2026 and 27th by the Complete University Guide 2026, however, it is more important to look at how each school’s curriculum is structured and which style is best suited to you. Highlights of studying medicine at Brighton include its modern anatomy laboratory and its spiral curriculum which combines traditional and innovative teaching methods.
Is it hard to get into Brighton Medical School?
As with all medical schools in the UK, Brighton and Sussex Medical School is competitive, with its acceptance rate in 2025 at 16.12%, however this is slightly higher than other medical schools in the UK, for example St George’s, which was 11.52% in 2025.
When do BSMS Interviews happen?
For the 2026 entry cycle, interviews will take place from December to March.
How long is Brighton and Sussex’s medicine course?
Five years.
School Details
