St Andrews

University of St Andrews is Scotland’s first university and the third oldest in any English-speaking country. In 1410, teaching in the community of St Andrews was present, and in 1413, the University was formally constituted. Medicine was the third subject to be taught there from 1450. However, the establishment of the School of Medicine as we formally know it was in 1897 (at the time, it was also known as Butes Medical School).

St Andrews is currently ranked 4th in the UK for medicine by the Guardians 2026 rankings.

About The Course

The six-year Medicine degree programme at St. Andrews is slightly different from other Medicine courses. The first three years are undertaken at St. Andrews and is followed by a further three years of training with a partner medical school.

St. Andrews offers an integrated curriculum within a clinical context with the key components of the course being patient safety and professionalism. Modules are taught through methods such as laboratory-based practicals, lectures, small group tutorials, research projects and clinical attachments.

St Andrews curriculum is designed around the following core principles; competence, professionalism, reflection and independence.

A unique course structure is in place at St Andrews in comparison to other medical school. Students will spend their first three years at St Andrews and graduate with the Medicine BSc (Hons) degree. For the remaining three years of their training, they will be allocated to one of the partner medical school. This partner medical school allocation is dependent on a few factors:

Chosen course pathway
Location preference
Academic performance in first semester of second year
Overseas applicants will progress to Manchester medical school

Structure Of The Course

Year 1

The first academic year is split into Foundations of Medicine 1 and Foundations of Medicine 2. The aim of this year is to stress the interrelationships between the preclinical sciences, whilst also developing communication skills and medical ethics in Medicine. In this year, the focus will be to have an anatomical overview of the major body systems and the dissection of the back. The second half of the year will focus on an in-depth study of the musculoskeletal system.

Year 2

The second and third years will have the Honours programme running throughout them where they will focus on the normal and abnormal functioning of specific physiological systems. The second year comprises two modules, where knowledge from the first year will be developed by introducing new concepts. The second year mainly focuses on the cardiovascular, respiratory, renal gastrointestinal and reproductive systems, with a series of primary health care attachments within the community.

Year 3

The third year comprises three modules. Semester one will focus on the first module where normal function and dysfunction of the central nervous system and endocrine organs are taught.

Semester two will contain two modules. In one module, pupils will have the opportunity to undertake a significant student-selected research project. In the second module of semester two, students will spend time focusing on applying Medicine and thus developing clinical skills.

Year 4-6

This period of training will be continued at a partner medical school as mentioned before.

Academic Requirements

GCSEs: A minimum of five GCSEs at grade A or 7 to be taken in one sitting. Applicants with achieved A-Levels may be considered with less than five A grades (grade 7 in numerical grading) at GCSE.

A-levels: Standard requirements of AAA but minimum grades of AAB. Must include Chemistry and one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics. If not passed at AS or A-Level, applicants must have GCSE 5 in Biology, Mathematics, and English (either Language or Literature).

Scottish Higher: Standard requirements of AAAAB in S5 and predicted BBB in S6. Minimum grade requirements of AAABB in S5 and BB in S6. Highers must include Chemistry and one of Biology (or Human Biology), Mathematics or Physics. If not passed at Higher, applicants must also have National 5 grade B in Biology (or Human Biology), Mathematics, and English.

Scottish Advanced Higher: Predicted to achieve at least BBB Highers or Advanced Highers in S6 studies. –

International Baccalaureate: 38 points (HL 6,6,6 plus SL 6,6,6 → HL in Chemistry and HL in one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics. If not passed at HL, applicants must have SL in Biology, Mathematics and English.) Minimum requirements are as above with a total of 36 points with HL 6,6,5 and SL 6,6,5.

IELTs (International applicants only): 7 in all four components, to be taken at one sitting.

Bachelor's Degree (Graduates only): Upper second or first class Honours degree in Science (or equivalent) obtained within the previous three years prior to entry. To include B grade in Chemistry at Higher or A-Level, or at Advanced Higher or equivalent and B grade in Biology, English and Mathematics at GCSE or equivalent.

Mitigating Circumstances

Resits policy: St Andrew’s typically does not consider applicants who have not met their minimum academic requirements or those who are resitting their exams in order to upgrade their results.

However, students who achieved qualifications that are ‘borderline’ for meeting entry requirements may be considered with extenuating circumstances.

Typically, ‘borderline’ is one grade below those required for entry. Applicants whose grades are less than ‘borderline’ for meeting the entry requirements will not be considered.

Re-sitting GCSEs (or equivalent) is allowed to meet specific subject requirements. For example, GCSE English at grade C could be re-taken to achieve Grade B.

Extenuating circumstances: Will be considered on a case-by-case basis and generally applies to those who take more than the normal number of years to obtain their qualifications, or those with achieved qualifications that are ‘borderline’ for meeting entry requirements

Deferred entry: St Andrews do not consider deferred entry applications. Applicants unsuccessful in gaining a place on the course may re-apply one more time, however applications beyond that will not be considered.

Transfers: Transfers from courses other than medicine will be considered, only while they are in the first semester of their first year.

Further Entry Requirements

Work experience: Students must have shadowing experience in a health or caring setting. St Andrews specifies multiple ways as to how this experience could have been gained, including in hospitals, GP surgeries, nursing homes or local hospices, or by working with people who have ill health or a disability.

Personal statement: This should explain your reasoning for wanting to study medicine and why you think you would make a good doctor. It is expected that you have a good insight into medicine and healthcare which you have gained from relevant medical-related work experience and general reading.

Admissions Process

There are approximately 650 interview places at St Andrews, and selection is based upon;

Academic performance
Personal statement and reference
UCAT scores

Candidates who meet the required academic criteria are ranked based on global UCAT score and those ranking in the top 650 will then be offered an interview. Offers are then based on interview score and which route the candidate has applied to.

Admissions Tests:

UCAT ✅
To be offered an interview at St Andrews, candidates must rank in the top 650 UCAT scores. For the 2025 application cycle, minimum UCAT scores required for an interview were 2390 for Scottish students, 2770 for remaining UK students and 2220 for international students. As the 2026 cohort is the first year taking the UCAT without the Abstract Reasoning component, likely comparable scores are; 1738, 2118 and 1568 respectively.

Interview Type: MMI

Interview Topics: Interview Topics:

understanding of the realities of a career in Medicine
communication and interpersonal skills
role-play and interaction with an actor
critical thinking
reflection
ethical reasoning

The MMI comprises of four stations which each lasting six minutes.

SJT is considered in the interview and incorporated into the overall interview score. St Andrew’s offers online interviews for overseas applicants and in-person interviews for all other applicants. You can learn more about the St Andrew’s interview process in our guide.

Admissions Statistics

Total number of applicants:	1268
Total number of places:	180
Total number of entrants:	180
Acceptance rate:	14.20%

Fees

Home students:	£1820 pa
Rest of UK:	£9535 pa
International students:	£33250 pa

Teaching Methods

Teaching style: Integrated approach where modules are taught using a variety of methods; lectures, laboratory-based practicals, small group tutorials, clinical placements, audio-visual capture system for training and feedback on clinical skills, computer-based resources, research projects and ward simulation exercise (only in third year).

Intercalation mode: Students entering Medicine at St Andrews have the unique opportunity to graduate after three years with a BSc Honours degree before moving on to one of its partner medical schools to complete their training as a doctor and graduate with an MBChB/MBBS.

Graduate Prospects

Average earnings for St Andrews medical graduates 15 months after the course is £41,000 with 97% employed.

FAQs

Can you do Medicine at St Andrews?

St Andrews is currently ranked 4th in the UK for medicine by the Guardian 2026.

Is St Andrews a good university for Medicine?

St Andrews is currently 14 on the Medicine league table when comparing all the medical schools in the UK, with a student satisfaction score of 4.08/5.A few factors to consider when evaluating the suitability for your medical education include:

Reputation: as mentioned before St Andres is highly respected globally for its academic excellence and research output
Resources and facilities
Partnerships: as mentioned above, the partnering medical schools to which where your clinical training will continue
Location: in the coastal town of Scotland, offers unique lifestyle for some students
Entry Requirements

Ultimately, whether St Andrews is a good choice for your medical education depends on your individual circumstances and preferences

What is the hardest medical school to get into the UK?

Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are known to be harder medical schools to get into due to their highly competitive nature, with rigorous academic requirements and higher performance expectations in aptitude tests.

What is the acceptance rate for St Andrews Medicine?

For the 2025 admissions cycle, 1268 candidates applied to medicine at St Andrews and 180 were enrolled. This results in an acceptance rate of 7.04%, which is on the more competitive side of UK medical schools.

What is the average UCAT score for St Andrews?

In the 2025 entry, the average UCAT score of applicants was 2680 for Scottish students and 2981 for other UK students. Adjusted for 2026 were there is no AR component, these would be roughly 2028 and 2329 respectively.