St George’s, University of London

St George’s, University of London (SGUL) Medical School was established in 1733, based in Tooting in South London. St Georges offers a variety of courses related to medicine, biomedicine and healthcare with three programmes in medicine.

St George’s is currently ranked 28th in the UK for medicine by the Complete University Guide 2024 and 35th by the Guardian 2024.

About The Course

St George’s Medical School focuses on equipping its students with the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes to practise medicine professionally and competently.

Highlights of studying medicine at SGUL include learning pathology and anatomy in cutting-edge laboratories and suites, learning in a major hospital in London and the opportunity to intercalate and gain a second degree.

By studying with St George’s, you will join a community that is making a difference. Its close links with local healthcare trusts, in particular St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with which we share a campus, put us it a unique position to give you a real taste of what your future working life holds.

Highlights include:

St George’s is rated 1st for graduate prospects in the UK (The Complete University Guide 2019)
70% of research submissions were rated as internationally excellent or world-leading (REF 2014)
92% of our students say teaching is intellectually stimulating (PTES 2018)

St George’s Medical School is structured in the traditional split between pre-clinical (years 1 and 2) and clinical years (years 3-5). Teaching is provided through a variety of lectures, lab studies, clinical skills, case-based learning and problem-based learning.

Structure Of The Course

Year 1-2

The first two years focus on the clinical science behind medicine through three themes implemented within seven modules. The three themes in these years are:

Basic and clinical sciences
Professional skills
Patients, population and society

The seven modules delivered include ‘life cycle’, ‘life support’ ‘life maintenance’ and ‘life structure’. Students also experience patient contact early on through short clinical and community placements.

Year 3

The third year at SGUL is called the ‘transition year’ in which students’ learning shifts from lecture based to problem based learning and clinical experience. Problem-based learning in year three is based upon:

Foundations of Clinical Practice
Mechanisms of disease
Body Systems
Specialties

Clinical placements in year three are five weeks long in Medicine, Surgery and General Practice. In addition to the clinical experience gained during placements, students still receive traditional teaching during half-day sessions each week which consist of lectures and tutorials.

Year 4-5

The final two years at St George’s Medical School are known as the ‘clinical practice years’ as students have increasing amounts of clinical exposure. Year four includes placement rotations in a series of medical specialties such as neurology, cardiology, surgery, psychiatry and obstetrics & gynaecology. The final year is focused on preparing students for entering their foundation jobs including an assistantship in which students shadow a foundation doctor and an elective placement. Finally, students complete their final year examinations!

Placements at SGUL are across Greater London so students should be prepared to travel.

Academic Requirements

GCSEs: A minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade B (6) or above, including English Language, Maths and Science (Double or Triple Award Science).

A-levels: AAA Including Chemistry and Biology or Human Biology.

Scottish Higher: AAA Including Chemistry and Biology or Human Biology.

Scottish Advanced Higher: AA Including Chemistry and Biology

International Baccalaureate: 36 points Minimum grade 6 in Biology and Chemistry. At Standard Level, a minimum score of 5 must be attained in Maths and English, if at least a 6 (B) has not previously been attained in GCSE/IGCSE Maths and English.

IELTs (International applicants only): : An IELTS overall score of 7.0 with 7.0 in Writing and 6.5 in all other components as a minimum, although equivalent English language qualifications can be used instead.

Bachelor's Degree (Graduates only): Graduate students require a Bachelor's degree in any subject at 2:1 or a postgraduate degree in any subject at Pass. Applicants with a postgraduate degree must have an undergraduate qualification of at least 2:2.

Further Entry Requirements

Work experience: Since the onset of COVID-19, St George’s has dropped their work experience requirements for medicine. However, applicants are still advised to gain experience, whether in person or online in order to show they have the insight required for studying and practising medicine.

Personal statement: St Georges does look at applicants' personal statements, however, it is not formally assessed and does not contribute to determining which candidates receive an interview.

Admissions Process

Application to St George’s 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 ✅
In order to be considered for an interview, applicants must meet the minimum UCAT cut-off requirements: 1) Minimum 500 in each individual section 2) Minimum overall UCAT score - calculated each year based on cohort performance From 2024 entry, SGUL will also be considering the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) banding scores in their decision making. Please note that St George’s requires students applying for the Graduate Entry Programme to sit the GAMSAT instead of the UCAT. Applicants who meet the UCAT cut-off requirements will be invited for an interview, typically 750-950 students. Regarding overall UCAT cut-off scores, for home students in 2024 this was 2690 and for international students, this was 2700.

Interview Type: MMI

Interview Topics: Interviews at St George’s Medical School are in the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format and take place between November and December.

MMIs at St George’s consist of six stations, each lasting around four minutes and can involve answering the interviewer’s questions, role playing or completing a practical task. Each station is scored independently from each other. Topics commonly explored in St George’s interviews include:

Motivation for the profession
Skills that demonstrate you will be a good student and professional
Teamwork
Respect and dignity
Commitment to quality of care.

You can find out more about interviews at St Georges on our school-by-school guide. MMIs aim to be held in person, however, prior years were online due to COVID-19.

After the completion of MMIs, candidates are ranked according to their MMI score and their SJT score and the top performing applicants will receive an offer, usually by March/April.

Admissions Statistics

Total number of applicants:	2571
Total number of places:	184
Total number of entrants:	185
Acceptance rate:	7.20%

Fees

Home students:	£9250 pa
Rest of UK:	TBC
International students:	£42550 pa

Teaching Methods

Teaching style: St George’s Medical School employs an integrated teaching style which includes a variety of delivery methods for students to learn from. Though the proportions of each method change depending on the year of study, they include: 1. Lectures and seminars 2. Small group teaching 3. Case-based learning 4. Problem-based learning 5. Clinical and communication skills 6. Anatomy teaching 7. Online learning 8. Expert tutorials

Intercalation mode: Students have the opportunity to intercalate in either their third or fourth years at St George’s. Students can either undertake a Bachelor of Science degree or a Masters degree at St George’s or another university in a subject related to medicine.

Graduate Prospects

100% of graduates from St George’s Medical School were in full-time employment or further education 15 months after graduating, with the average annual earnings being £32,000.

Additionally, 95% of graduates feel they are using what they learnt during the course in their current work.

FAQs

What UCAT score do you need for St George’s Medicine?

The cut-off overall UCAT scores for the past three years (home students) were 2690, 2630 and 2710. Additionally, students must have a minimum score of 500 in each component in order to be considered.

How hard is it to get into St George’s Medical School?

All medical schools in the UK are very competitive to get into. However, St Georges has a slightly higher success rate at 31% compared to some other medical schools such as Plymouth at 7% and Oxford at 12.4%.

What is St George’s Medical School known for?

Students studying medicine at St George’s gain experience in a rich and diverse environment with clinical placements across Greater London. Particularly, students learn in St George’s University Hospital, a UK leading institution in cancer and trauma services. Finally, studying at SGUL means learning through a range of methods including both case-based learning and problem-based learning.

How long is St George’s Medical course?

St George’s undergraduate programme is five years long, however, a four-year graduate entry programme and a six-year foundation medical programme are also offered.