Topic outline

  • Selection Process

    Selection Day


    The aim of selection is to employ fair and transparent procedures to recruit students who have the intellectual capacity and personal attributes to achieve highly during the course, and go on to become competent and caring doctors able to develop and play a full role in whichever health system they work for the remainder of their career.

  • This topic

    Entry requirements

    The key features of the academic threshold for applicants are that they:

    • Demonstrate competence in English language, either in the case of a native English speaker by attainment of at least Grade C in English at GCSE (or equivalent), or in the case of non-native English speakers by attainment of at least 7.5 overall and at least 7.0 in each component of IELTS.
    • Demonstrate competence in Maths by attainment of at least Grade C in Maths GCSE (or equivalent).
    • In the case of applicants offering UK A-levels, they should have or be likely to obtain before the medical course begins a minimum of grades AAB in three A-levels including Chemistry, one from Maths or Biology and a third subject that may be any except General Studies. In the case of applicants who do not have Biology at A-Level, they should have studied the subject to GCSE level (or equivalent) and achieved at least a grade B.
    • In the case of applicants offering alternative secondary school qualifications, they should have or be expected to achieve qualifications at a level equivalent to A-level, and with a pattern of grades equivalent to AAB, including chemistry and biology at the most senior level studied.
    • In the specific case of the International Baccalaureate they should be expected to achieve or to have achieved a total score of at least 34 points with Higher level 6 in Chemistry & Biology. Please note that the overall point score does not include your theory of knowledge or extended essay.
    • In the case of applicants offering a degree, they should have obtained at least an upper second class degree in a subject cognate to medicine.
    • Transfers from other undergraduate science or medicine programmes cannot be accepted.
    • Please note that we will not accept students who have previously enrolled in or studied an undergraduate medical programme.

    Consult our  2020 Entry Requirements  for a list of our entry requirements by country. Please email us on medicine-admissions@buckingham.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0)1280 827546 if your qualifications are not listed in this document or if you have any specific enquiries about entry grades.

    • Fees

      The University of Buckingham is a not-for-profit educational charity that receives no government subsidies. Your tuition fees are invested fully into providing a first class medical education and student experience.

      Tuition fees for the 2020 intake will be £37,000 per annum for both EU and overseas students.*

      * All fees are subject to annual increase

      • Additional Expenses

        Stethoscopes
        Our students need to purchase a stethoscope as part of their medical training. They can acquire it themselves, or through us once they join the medical school.

        Costs of stethoscopes vary from around £30-£60.

         

        Visits to Hospitals and GP Practices
        Our students will rotate across our partner hospitals and a number of local GP practices throughout the Clinical Skills Unit in Phase 1 of the course.

        Travel costs are incurred once a week in Phase 1 and it is around 45p per mile. We reimburse students whose travel is longer than 25 miles where we refund any mileage over 25 in one direction.

         

        Patient Visit
        As part of the Narrative Medicine component of the course, each of our students is assigned a patient whom they will visit on a regular basis. The frequency of the visits and the distance they need to travel vary from patient to patient.

        Travel cost is around 45p per mile. We reimburse students whose travel is longer than 25 miles where we refund any mileage over 25 in one direction.


        • Selection procedures

          The selection processes operate in two stages. The first stage being academic selection and the second stage being objective structured selection examinations.

          Academic Selection

          This first stage involves judgements on the basis of the written application primarily related to academic achievement as an indicator of intellectual suitability for a medical course and the practice of medicine. Applicants may offer a variety of qualifications, but the overriding principle is that achievement should be at the highest level, and comparable to entrants to other medical schools in the United Kingdom. It is not intended that ability to pay the fees for the course should compensate for academic achievement that is less than usual for entry to a medical course in the UK.

          Objective Structured Selection Examinations

          The second stage of selection applies only to those who meet the academic threshold, and is intended to judge personal attributes relating to suitability for practice as a doctor. It consists of an Objective, Structured Selection Examination (OSSE), made up of a series of tasks intended to test abilities related to 'Good Medical Practice', published by the UK General Medical Council.


          Exclusions from Entry

          There are additional factors that may prohibit entry onto the MB ChB course:

          • Previous enrolment on a medicine course, whether completed or not
          • Evidence of dishonesty on the application form
          • Previous spent and unspent criminal convictions and bindovers
          • Failure to meet entry requirements


          Please refer to the Code of Practice for Selection for a detailed description of the selection process.


          • Disclosures

            Full disclosure of candidates history in terms of education, health, disability and criminal records is required at application as these details may affect the educational and professional provision by the university and the students progression on the course.


            • Selection Document and Information Register

            • Important Information for Applicants

              The GMC is currently considering the introduction of a formal assessment that UK medical graduates would need to pass in order to be granted registration with a licence to practise. Although no final decision has been taken as to whether or when such an exam will be introduced, applicants should be aware that the GMC envisages that future cohorts of medical students may need to pass parts of a medical licensing assessment before the GMC will grant them registration with a licence to practise.