Graduate Medicine

Studying Graduate Medicine at Cambridge

UCAS Code: A101
How many are admitted to Cambridge every year: 40
Typical offer: A*A*A at A Level if you graduated with a 2:1 or have yet to complete your degree, ABB if you graduated with a first-class degree
41-42 points in IB with 776 at Higher Level if you graduated with a 2:1 or have yet to complete your degree, 38-40 points with 665 at Higher Level if you have a first-class degree
Essential subjects: A Level Chemistry at A or A* to be passed within 7 years of entry to the course; at least one of Biology, Physics, or Mathematics at A Level
Useful subjects: Science-based subjects
Course length: MB and BChir, 4 years full-time

The Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine is an accelerated four-year programme. The emphasis is the acquisition of clinical skills by direct patient contact in hospital and community environments as well as the integration of core medical science with clinical medicine.

What can I do with a degree in Graduate Medicine?

The vast majority of Graduate Medicine students progress to core foundational training once they graduate and qualify as doctors. Some graduates opt for a career in academic research either upon graduation or after completing foundational training.

What we look for

We look for previous academic achievement and evidence of potential to succeed on an academically demanding course. We look for applicants who demonstrate scientific aptitude and who have a range of work experience. We also look for the qualities essential to being a good doctor such as compassion, empathy, ability to think critically, and integrity.

Studying Graduate Medicine at St Edmund’s College

St Edmund’s welcomes applications for Graduate Medicine. We have an intake of around 10 students each year. In total, we have around 40 graduate medical students studying at St Edmund’s across all years. St Edmund’s has a high number of Fellows and Bye-Fellows actively involved in teaching and/or in clinical research.

All Graduate Medicine students are guaranteed a room in College for the duration of their studies. We have a range of accommodation available including single study bedrooms, ensuite study bedrooms, and studio flats. We have some accommodation suitable for couples and families and this is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on accommodation, visit our accommodation pages.

St Edmund’s is located only a short walk or cycle away from the city centre, where most of the preclinical teaching is based. It is also located very close to the U1 and U2 bus route connecting West Cambridge and the city centre to the biomedical campus, where the School of Clinical Medicine is located.

The college offers several spaces where you can study and work on your essays including the Paul Luzio Library Building, the Norfolk Building, study desks in the Mount Pleasant Halls Common room, the comfortable couches of the CR, in Edspresso or the benches in our lovely apple orchards!

We also have six study rooms (2 in the Luzio Building, 2 in Norfolk Building, and 1 in Mount Pleasant Halls) which can also be booked by students for their private study time or group projects.

Our college also has an extremely supportive Welfare and Wellbeing Department, which is happy to lend an ear and provide support should a student feel anxious or overwhelmed with the academic year.

Eddies is a fantastic place to study medicine as a graduate. With a supportive academic community surrounding the subject, combined with a wonderfully inclusive and diverse group of students studying other subjects, you get the best of all sides of Cambridge.

Alasdair

How to apply

Applications for all courses are made through UCAS. You must apply by 15 October 2025 to be considered for entry in October 2026. We only accept applications for Graduate Medicine in the October application round.

As a mature College, we recognise that our applicants come to us from a diverse range of educational backgrounds and may have studied a long time ago. However, we would expect evidence of formal study within the last two or three years as evidence of an ability to cope with the challenging academic nature of a Cambridge course.

Entry requirements

A Levels and an undergraduate degree:

A*A*A if you graduated with a 2.1 or are yet to complete your degree
ABB if you graduated with a first-class degree

International Baccalaureate and an undergraduate degree:

41-42 points with 776 at Higher Level if you graduated with a 2.1 or are yet to complete your degree
38-40 points with 665 at Higher Level if you graduated with a first-class degree

You must be a home fee status student and hold a first undergraduate degree or be in the process of completing one.

Please note that we do not take postgraduate qualifications into account when assessing your application.

We cannot accept applications from those who have failed at or been excluded from another medical school.

Supplementary application form

In addition to your UCAS application, all applicants for A101 must also submit a Graduate Course in Medicine Supplementary Application Form. This form will be emailed to you following receipt of your application at UCAS. You will be required to nominate a second referee who can comment on your suitability for this course. This is a compulsory part of the application process for this course and applications will be considered incomplete without it.

Assessment

All applicants for CGCM are required to sit the UCAT. Please be aware that we do not accept BMAT or GAMSAT scores in lieu of UCAT scores. We will look at your overall cognitive subtest score and situational judgement result when selecting candidates for interview. Candidates who progress to interview will generally be in the top 50% of UCAT scores and be in SJT Bands 1-3. Scores from the UCAT are considered holistically alongside all other aspects of your application

Shortlisting

Work experience

We strongly recommend obtaining some healthcare experience in a paid or voluntary capacity since we particularly value experience in a caring role. Typically, students who are made offers for this course have varied and consistent hands-on patient care experience over a number of years. Applicants whose experience is largely based on shadowing are unlikely to be competitive. Where applicants are already qualified healthcare workers, it is essential that they have a range of experience outside of their own discipline.

Written work

Interviews

Interviews for selected candidates typically take place in January.

You will be interviewed by our Directors of Studies for Graduate Medicine. The interviewers include clinicians, medical sciences experts, and lay academics. The interviews follow the format of multiple mini interviews with 10 stations lasting for 5 minutes each. You will rotate around the stations.

Your performance at interview will not be considered in isolation, but will be considered holistically alongside all other aspects of your application.

We inform all interviewed applicants of the outcome of their application in late January or early February.

Deferred applicants

Affiliated students

Additional requirements if you are offered a place

If you are offered a place on this course, we will need to check a few extra things with you. We will explain what we need to do when we send the offer letter out to you.

Some of the usual additional checks include:

A criminal record check. In the UK, this is called a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. Find out more about criminal record checks
Vaccinations – you’ll need to be immunised against certain infectious diseases
A blood test – this is to ensure you can safely take part in certain surgical procedures
An occupational health assessment
If you have a disability, specific learning disabilities, or a long-term health condition, we will discuss your needs with you at this stage.
Please be reassured that everything you tell us is confidential and, if we do need to share any of your information, this will only be done on a need-to-know basis and with your consent. (Is this accurate?)

What is a typical Term’s work?

The academic year for undergraduates is divided into three terms – Michaelmas, Lent, and Easter – of eight weeks each. Teaching is delivered through a combination of lectures, practical classes, and supervisions. You will typically have 20 to 25 hours of teaching per week. The course is divided into two pre-clinical years and two clinical years.

In your pre-clinical years, you will take the same courses as those on the standard undergraduate course. You will also go on 5 clinical placements.

You will spend Year 3 on clinical placements at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge or at other hospitals in the region.

You will spend Year 4 on clinical placements at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmund’s as well as at GP practices locally.

People

Dr Vian Azzu, preclinical Director of Studies and consultant hepatologist
Dr Kevin Loudon, preclinical Director of Studies and consultant in vasculitis and nephrology
Dr Anna Spathis, clinical Director of Studies and Associate Professor (Honorary Consultant) in Palliative and End-of-Life Care
Dr Ben Challis, clinical Director of Studies and consultant endocrinologist
Dr Rafia Al-Lamki, Fellow and Senior Clinical Scientist in the Department of Medicine
Professor Edwin Chilvers, Fellow and Professor of Medicine; Head of the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London; Senior Visiting Research Fellow, Department of Medicine
Dr James Whitworth, Fellow and Assistant Professor in Medical Genetics
Professor Hill Gaston, Fellow and Emeritus Professor of Rheumatology
Dr Diana Wood, Emeritus Clinical Dean in the School of Clinical Medicine
Dr Elizabeth Bright, Bye-Fellow and consultant anaesthetist at West Suffolk Hospital; clinical tutor for the Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine
Dr Gianmarco Contino, Bye-Fellow and Associate Professor of Cancer Genomic Medicine and Group Leader, Department of Cancer and Genetic Sciences, University of Birmingham
Dr Effossyni Gkrania-Klotsas, Bye-Fellow and consultant in infectious diseases at Cambridge University Hospitals; Career Development Fellow in the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge
Dr Rachel Shute, Bye-Fellow and tutor for the Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine

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