Medicine MBBS

Course content

Our MBBS five-year course provides a well-rounded base of scientific medical education and practice, equipping you with the latest skills and techniques to bring benefits to patients and populations, with particular emphasis given to developing you as a professional and person over and above the role of the doctor. It is made up of core curriculum elements and opportunities for in-depth study in areas of your choice.

During your course, you will acquire the scientific and clinical expertise to keep abreast of the changes in diagnostic and therapeutic medicine required for our rapidly changing societies. We will equip you to apply for the specialty training you desire and support you to become future healthcare leaders.

The curriculum is organised into integrated learning weeks, supported by case-based and problem-based learning tutorials. We use a variety of teaching styles to encourage learning, including directed self-learning, student-selected study and independent study:

• Lectures and seminars: Lecture based teaching from specialist scientists and clinicians is designed to support your depth of learning and the relevance to clinical practice of each core subject. Complementary sociology, psychology, professionalism, ethics and critical appraisal sessions run alongside and stimulate analysis and critical thinking.
• Small group teaching: Wherever possible, teaching and learning occurs in small groups. Weekly clinical skills and communication skills sessions all occur in the small group format allowing a high degree of learner engagement, role play and reflection.
• Inter-professional learning: In the first year, you will take part in shared learning with students from other healthcare professions, including interactive workshops on the themes of professionalism and ethics. This interprofessional focus aims to demonstrate fundamental principles that are essential to all healthcare workers, especially those that form the foundation for safe practice, effective and appropriate patient-centred care.
• Case-based learning: Each week begins and ends with a tutorial based on a clinical scenario. By applying the taught theory to a clinical context, both your critical skills and learning techniques develop.
• Problem-based learning: Given a clinical problem, you use self-directed research to make a diagnosis and suggest an appropriate course of action. Problem-based learning encourages learning in context, self-motivation and deep, rather than surface understanding.
• Clinical and communication skills sessions: At St George’s we are proud of our emphasis on clinical communication in the MBBS curriculum. What used to be called a ‘good bedside manner’ is now recognised as an evidence-based core clinical competence. We work with you to develop empathic practice and a relationship of trust with your future patients. You will learn to sensitively draw out the patient’s illness and clinical history, how to give information and clear explanations, and how to negotiate with patients and relatives in order to share decisions about their healthcare.
• Multimodal anatomy teaching: Interactive and team-based learning will take place in the Anatomy suite using prosections, plastinated and potted (preserved) specimens, anatomical models, and 3D digital software
• Expert tutorials: These cover the full breadth of topics over the year and feature expert patients, practising clinicians and sometimes representatives from the third sector, for example, the Alzheimer's Society or alcohol support teams.
• Online learning: Staff at St George’s have designed a number of Massive Open Online Learning Courses (MOOCs) to support your learning and interest in particular areas, such as genomics or organ donation. We make use of online resources, such as Speaking Clinically, which has a huge number of videos in which patients talk about their conditions, and have also developed virtual anatomy lessons. Our anatomists have videoed dissection resources and overlayed the images with X-rays and 3D computational graphics to aid your learning and engagement.

Assessment methods

You will be assessed in three domains:

• Professional Knowledge: through Year Specific Knowledge Tests (YSKT) in Years 1, 2, 3(T) and 4(P)
• Professional Skills: through Clinical Competency Assessments (CCA) in years 2, 3(T) and 4(P)
• Becoming a Doctor: through longitudinal professional assessment, attendance, clinical practice skills and projects in each year of the Programme in years 2, 3(T) and 4(P) and all domains must be passed independently in order to progress to the subsequent year.

During Year 1, there is one practice ‘formative’ assessment of knowledge, and in year 2 one of clinical competency, to prepare you for summative assessments later in the year, and during the remainder of the programme. Teaching Staff are encouraged to also include formative quizzes within their learning materials throughout the curriculum.

Knowledge assessment methods include short answer questions and single best answer questions. CCAs take the form of a set of structured tasks, which can include practical procedures, interviewing skills and examination of patients, reflecting the curriculum content up to that year of the programme.

Workplace (placement) based assessments, for example, mini-CEX (Clinical Evaluation Exercise), direct observations of practical procedures (DOPS), and case based discussion (CBD) also play an increasing role in the later years of the curriculum, for both formative and summative purposes. These tasks and activities during placements provide an opportunity to receive expert feedback, reflect on and discuss events and your own experiences in the real clinical environment. Together with attendance, behaviour, a personal and professional development portfolio, and variety of projects, this forms part of the Becoming a Doctor domain, which builds and assesses professional behaviour each year, and serves as an evolving portfolio to evidence your knowledge and experience to support later career plans.

Final year assessments now take the form of the National Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) comprising an Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), and the Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA). This has replaced our current Final year AKT and CCA, but with essentially the same format and delivery. The Prescribing Safety Assessment, and Becoming a Doctor Domain must also be passed in Final year prior to graduation under our Scheme of Assessment.

• You can apply to up to five universities or institutions on the UCAS form. For this course, the UCAS course code is A100, and the institution code for City St George’s, University of London is C60.
• Your application for entry in September 2027 should arrive at UCAS by 15 October preceding the year of entry (for 2027, the deadline is on 15 October 2026).

Admissions process:

• For example, while we take the time to read your personal statement and work experience
• Please note the UCAT score may also be considered following interview.
• In previous years, we have interviewed approximately 850-1000 applicants.

Please take care to enter the correct course code when applying, particularly for subjects with a Foundation year or with BEng (Hons) and MEng (Hons) or BSc (Hons) and MSci (Hons) options.

UCAS has implemented an 'invisibility of choices' policy so that, on the initial application and while you are receiving decisions, each institution can see only their entry and not those of other institutions you have chosen. This ensures that your application for a course at City St George's is considered solely on your academic and personal qualities.

There is an application fee for some students when submitting their application form, please see the UCAS website for more details.

Recent Engagement in Education

Due to the demanding nature of the programme, it is important that applicants can demonstrate recent engagement in education.

If the qualifications that you are applying on the basis of (e.g. Level 3 or degree level qualifications) were awarded more than five years ago (e.g. before summer 2022), it may still be possible for us to consider your application.

In this case, we would look at supplementary level 3 qualifications, or relevant work experience, that you have undertaken within the last five years.

These applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, following submission of a UCAS application.

Application checklist

You must provide:

• a personal statement (more information about this document is available on the UCAS website)
• an academic reference from your current or most recent institutions with predicted grades.

Applicants to entry MBBS (UCAS code A100) must also provide:

• full details of your undergraduate education with achieved/predicted grades (and postgraduate qualifications, if applicable).

Admissions process

At City St George’s, we strive to ensure our admissions process is fair and transparent. In order to make sure every applicant is treated equally, we use a process based on objective measures. For example, while we take the time to read your personal statement, it is not formally assessed, or used to determine whether you will be invited for a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI).

The steps below outline our general admissions process and the way by which we determine which applicants will receive an offer to study Medicine MBBS (5-year) at City St George’s.

1. Each applicant that meets our entry criteria (see below) is ranked by their UCAT score. As we have graduate and overseas number caps on our Medicine MBBS (5-year) course, the below groups are ranked separately, and may be required to achieve different UCAT scores:
   • Home non-graduates
   • Overseas non-graduates
   • Home graduates
   • Overseas graduates
2. The number of interviews we run each year may vary. In previous years, we have interviewed approximately 750-950 applicants. Our UCAT cut-off scores are determined by the number of available interviews. Interview places will be allocated to applicants who have the highest UCAT scores within the groups above, until all of our available interview places are filled.
3. If, as a result of the number of MMIs we plan to offer, the cut-off score falls at a point where a number of applicants within the same group have achieved the same UCAT score, we may increase or reduce the number of MMIs we conduct to accommodate all applicants who have received that score. This means that all eligible applicants with the same UCAT score within each group are considered equally.
4. Applicants will then be invited to attend an MMI which is a values-based recruitment process and reinforces objectivity.
5. Once all of our interviews are conducted, we rank MMI and SJT scores and the highest performing applicants within each group are made an offer to study Medicine at City St George’s. Please note the UCAT score may be also be considered following interview.

Deferred entry

We will consider applications from applicants who wish to defer entry by a year, provided you plan to use the time constructively. If you are offered a place on the course and subsequently decide to defer, you must inform us by 1 June of the year of application.

After application

Acknowledgement emails are sent out as soon as we receive your application. Please make sure that your email account is able to accept communications from City St George’s as we will mainly communicate with you via email.

Extenuating circumstances

We define extenuating circumstances as unforeseen and outside of an applicant’s control. The circumstances must demonstrate that there has been a substantial, serious impact on your academic studies and results.

Extenuating circumstances could be related to health, personal challenges or disability.

We are unable to consider extenuating circumstances in relation to UCAT or GAMSAT scores, or interview performance.

A successful extenuating circumstances application will not result in us accepting applicants who have not met our minimum entry requirements. Instead, applicants who have re-sat or extended the length of their qualifications (or we advise to do so) will be permitted to apply for their chosen course.

For this reason, we only accept extenuating circumstances applications for our A100 Medicine (5-year) programme. This is because other courses consider applicants who are re-sitting, or have re-sat, their level 3 qualifications.

How to apply under extenuating circumstances

Submit the Extenuating Circumstances Application Form (PDF) to admissions@sgul.ac.uk by no later than 10 September, with the subject line: 'Extenuating Circumstances Application - Your Name - Course Name'.

Along with the form, submit supporting documentation as outlined below.

Applicants will receive the outcome of their application by 8 October.

What else you need to include

Along with your form, please attach relevant documentation. We require a letter/email from your school, detailing any support that was provided to you at the time of the extenuating circumstances. Additionally, we may require a letter from your GP/hospital, police force, correspondance with exam boards, or a death certificate, depending on the circumstances. Please see further information on the Extenuating Circumstances Form (PDF).

Notes for your school, college or universityPlease note that appropriate circumstances would be:

1. Serious, acute or chronic illness since the age of 14 or recently diagnosed illness that has led to significant educational disruption.
2. Significant caring responsibilities or a recent bereavement, or serious illness of an immediate family member.
3. Serious disruption of educational provision at their school/college/university.