Medicine MBChB

All applicants are considered on an individual basis.

A Levels

AAA at A Level taken within two academic years prior to the time of application, to include Chemistry or Biology and one of either Biology, Chemistry, Maths or Physics. For the third A Level*, please note that we do not accept General Studies and Critical Thinking. For Biology, Chemistry and Physics A Levels, we require a pass in the practical element. A Level resit grades at AAA will be accepted taken within two academic years prior to the time of application.

GCSEs

A minimum of 5 GCSE passes at grades A - C (9 - 4) required including Maths, English Language and two science subjects.

Scottish Qualifications

Advanced Highers: AAB from Scottish Advanced Highers with grades AA to come from Biology and/or Chemistry and another science subject. We will also require National 5 Grade B or above or GCSE in English Language and Maths.

Highers: AAAAA at Higher Grade including Biology and/or Chemistry and another science subject. We will also require National 5 Grade B or above or GCSE grade C (4) or above in English Language, two science subjects and Maths.

International Baccalaureate

A minimum of 36 points is accepted. 666 at Higher Level in Biology and/or Chemistry plus one other science and including Mathematics or English.

European Entry Requirements

For European entry requirements by country, please click here.

Cambridge Pre-U

D3, D3, D3 in Principal Subjects. Subjects should include Biology and/or Chemistry. If only one of Biology and/or Chemistry is offered, the other should be offered at A Level grade A (or Dual Award Science grade A).

IELTS

For applicants who do not have English as a first language, we require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading).

IELTS: 7.5 overall (minimum 7.0 in each component) taken within two academic years prior to the time of application.

Other qualifications

BTEC qualifications are not accepted. If you have qualifications that are not listed under the Main Academic Entry Requirements, please contact the Admissions Team.

Access to Medicine

For applicants holding an Access to Higher Education Diploma (Medicine), 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at Level 3 of which at least 30 Level 3 credits must be at Distinction and, in addition 15 Level 3 credits must be at a minimum of Merit. The further 15 ungraded credits can be a combination of Level 2 and 3. A minimum of 5 GCSE passes at grades A-C (9-4) are also required including Maths, English Language and two science subjects.

We currently accept Access to Medicine qualifications from:

• City & Islington College – Medicine and Medical Bio Sciences
• College of West Anglia – Medicine and Dentistry
• East Sussex College – Medicine
• Harlow College – Medicine
• Havering College – Medicine and Medical Sciences
• Lambeth College – Medicine and Medical Biosciences
• The Manchester College – Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Medical Science
• Access to HE Diploma (Medicine and Healthcare Professionals) Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group
• Truro and Penwith College – Medicine

Graduates

There is no graduate entry programme. Applicants who have an undergraduate degree will start in Year 1 and will be required to complete all five years of the course. We recommend that applicants seek advice on funding prior to starting their application.

Minimum 2:1 honours degree awarded within the last five years. The degree must be in a biological, biomedical, chemistry or health science subject. All graduate applicants will need to provide their transcripts which will be evaluated and put to a panel decision, where factors mentioned in their personal statement, such as work experience in healthcare, will be considered. The minimum requirement for GCSEs will have to be met. The UCAT will also have to be completed by graduate applicants; GAMSAT will not be accepted.

Internal ARU Transfer Scheme

From September 2019, the School of Medicine will consider applications to transfer to the first year of our MBChB degree programme from students registered on the first year of our undergraduate programmes. Students may have the possibility of transferring to Medicine from the following courses:

• BSc (Hons) Medical Science (Chelmsford campus)
• BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science (Cambridge campus)
• BOptom (Hons) Optometry (Cambridge campus)

Entry to the MBChB degree programme will be from September 2020 onwards. This is a highly competitive option and there is limited availability, so applicants must fulfil the same criteria as all other applicants to the course before being made an offer. Please download the Internal ARU Transfer Scheme document

Widening Access to Medicine Scheme

We are committed to widening access and to recruiting students who have aspirations to study medicine but are from under-represented and/or disadvantaged groups. We aim to support applicants through the application and selection process and have a ’Widening Access to Medicine Scheme’ (WAMS). Depending on the circumstances, applicants eligible for this programme may be offered a lower conditional offer at A Level of ABB.

After we receive your UCAS application, we will send you a WAMS ‘Eligibility Questionnaire’. We will give you a deadline to complete and return the Questionnaire to the Admissions Team, otherwise we will assume that none of the information applies to you and you will not be considered for WAMS.

Download the WAMS questionnaire

East of England Region

We aspire to recruit promising and motivated students from the East of England region*. If your home address or school/college address is in the East of England region* up to one academic year prior to the time of your application, you will be allocated shortlisting points for the region and further points if the address is in Essex.

*Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and the North East London Boroughs.

Download the East Anglia Region map.

Download the North East London Boroughs map.

Personal Statement

While we do not directly use your personal statement in the selection process, you should be prepared to discuss or use aspects of your statement at the MMIs.

We will be looking to understand your motivation to study medicine, your appreciation of the role and responsibilities of being a doctor, as well as evidence of any work experience you have undertaken to support your application. From your personal statement, we’ll be looking for realistic expectations of what studying medicine entails and that you fully understand the high level of commitment involved. We want to see that you have researched all the aspects of the course and subsequent roles and have a clear view of where you intend the degree to take you.

We are adhering to the Medical Schools Council (MSC) ‘Selecting for Excellence’ recommendations. The MSC also provides guidance on the personal qualities which are desirable in a prospective student. We strongly recommend that you read these documents before making your application.

Work Experience

It is desirable for applicants to have undertaken work experience in the healthcare sector, whether that be shadowing, volunteering, paid-work or observing. Clinical and non-clinical experience are important, which could be in a nursing home, nursery, charities, voluntary organisations, pharmacy as well as GP surgeries and hospitals. The purpose of the work experience is to give you an insight in to the working day of a healthcare professional, to challenge any preconceptions that you may have and give you a realistic view of the job roles you wish to pursue.

The Medical Schools Council (MSC) has guidance on work experience for applicants to medicine.

We will also consider other forms of work experience where you will have gained transferable skills such as communication, problem solving, care, working with others and professionalism.

University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) previously known as UKCAT

All applicants are required to take the UCAT Medical Admissions Test in the summer prior to submitting their application, i.e. in July - October. See the UCAT website for full details of the test, timescales and the location of test centers. While we include the UCAT score within our selection process, we do not have a standard cut off value. Applicants will be ranked by their UCAT score and a certain number will be invited to an Interview Day, provided they meet our main academic entry requirements. Applicants with an SJT score of Band 4 (lowest band) will not be invited for interview for September 2019 entry onwards.

Please note that the UCAT score of those applicants invited to interview is expected to vary year on year, and as such, it is not possible to give applicants an indication of the score that is required to attend an Interview Day. Applicants in financial need may apply for a UCAT bursary to cover the full test fee. Please check the UCAT website for details.

When you apply to us, you will be asked to submit your UCAT number which we will use to verify your test result with UCAT. Please visit the UCAT website for test information.

Our selection process is designed to identify students who have the academic ability and characteristics that would allow them to become excellent doctors. We expect applicants to be familiar with the NHS, NHS constitution and the General Medical Council (GMC) requirements of medical students. We will be looking for applicants to demonstrate throughout the process their professional attitude and commitment to the values of healthcare professionals.

Once you have submitted your UCAS form and are predicted to meet the main academic entry requirements, we will send you a WAMS Eligibility Questionnaire. You will need to complete and return the Questionnaire to the Admissions Team to be considered for WAMS.

Your UCAT Score will be ranked and shortlisting points allocated for living or studying up to one academic year prior to the time of your application in the East of England region, with further points for Essex. We will invite all the shortlisted applicants to interview.

Selection Process – 3 phases

• Phase 1: Academic Screen
  All applications are checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic entry requirements.

• Phase 2: Shortlisting
  All applicants meeting the main academic entry requirements with predicted grades of AAA or WAMS applicants with a lower Conditional offer of ABB, will be ranked on their UCAT Score, with shortlisting points for living or studying in the East of England region, with further points for Essex.

• Phase 3: Interviews (MMI)
  After the interview, applicants will receive the University's decision via UCAS. All offers will have conditions of satisfactory DBS and Occupational Health checks attached to them.

Interview Day

The Interview Day will consist of Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs), which are designed to gain further insight into your personal qualities and cognitive skills. They are comprised of a series of eight mini-interviews, each lasting seven minutes with a brief rest between each station. The interviews will consist of scenarios and tasks, which will be typically assessing:

• Interpersonal and communication skills (including empathy)
• Teamwork and leadership
• Preparation and motivation
• Critical thinking, problem solving
• Ethical/moral reasoning
• ‘Integrity’

The interviews will be carried out by members of the course team, healthcare professionals, junior doctors and service users. While we do not directly use your personal statement in the selection process, you should be prepared to discuss or use aspects of your statement.

Offers are based solely on MMI ranking, as all applicants who have reached this stage will be considered to be academically able to complete the course.

Age

Due to the early clinical contact in the first months of the course, students must be a minimum of 18 years of age by 1 November, in the year their course starts. Applicants who apply but would be under 18 by 1 November will be advised to reapply for the following year.

Applicants with learning support needs

We welcome all students. If you have study support needs, such as a specific learning difficulty, a medical condition or a disability, please do let us know. If you would like to discuss your requirements before an offer is made or would like to speak to a Study Support Adviser, please contact: studysupport@anglia.ac.uk. It helps to declare a learning support need as early as possible (on your UCAS application) so that support can be arranged. We seek to balance the requirements of both disability legislation and the General Medical Council’s Fitness to Practise policy. The School of Medicine will consider all requests for adjustments in line with the UK Equality Act 2010. Any such requests are considered separately from decisions to offer places. Places are offered solely on MMI ranking following interview.

Professional behaviour and Fitness to Practise: Conditions of any offer made

You must be able to fulfil the duties of a doctor as stated by the General Medical Council in their document Good Medical Practice. Registration on the course is conditional on satisfactory occupational health and Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. We will also verify all applicant details against the Medical Schools Council database to ensure no Fitness to Practise findings have been registered against an applicant.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

An Enhanced DBS check is a compulsory requirement of any offer to study on courses which requires you to be on placement and work with children and/or vulnerable adults. This check will confirm whether you have any criminal convictions, cautions or reprimands registered against you, and is necessary to protect both you and the public against people who are unsuitable to work with children and/or vulnerable adults.

The Admissions Team will send you the necessary paperwork to complete and you will be asked to return the completed forms when invited to attend the Interview Day. Please note that you will need to meet the cost of the check yourself, currently £44 (2018 fee).

Offers for international applicants will be confirmed on the basis of a letter from either the British High Commission of their local constabulary, confirming that they have no criminal convictions and are of good character. Successful applicants will complete and submit their Enhanced DBS application as soon as a UK address is secured and will not be permitted to attend placement until a satisfactory DBS Disclosure certificate is received and verified.

More information on the DBS check can be found here.

Further details on DBS disclosures can be found on the Gov.UK website, by contacting the DBS information line on 0870 9090 844 or by contacting Anglia Ruskin University's DBS Officers on 01245 68 4984 or DBSOfficer@anglia.ac.uk.

Occupational Health

The purpose of Occupational Health checks is to ensure that successful applicants are fit to undertake the course requirements effectively and without risk to themselves or others. Course places at the School of Medicine are offered subject to a satisfactory health check. The Admissions Team will send paperwork to complete and successful applicants will be assessed individually. If you don't have a completed occupational health check, this could delay you starting the course.