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This profile of Brighton and Sussex highlights this medical school's entry requirements, typical offers, student numbers, competition ratios, teaching and learning methods, course structure, demographics and history. Is Brighton and Sussex one of your target medical schools? This medical school can be added to or removed from your personal shortlist |
The Universities of Brighton and Sussex came together in 2002 to create a five-year medical programme at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS). Delivering an integrated curriculum, BSMS prides itself on its state of the art facilities, giving students the opportunity for full cadaveric dissection, and innovative approach to teaching, such as through the CAPSULE app. Students provide continuous feedback to course leaders, showing the medical school’s commitment to student satisfaction.
Key information dashboard
For convenience, here is an at-a-glance summary of key information related to Brighton and Sussex medical school.
Links in this dashboard can help you check which other UK medical schools are similar to Brighton and Sussex with regard to points listed here.
Be sure to check our notes in sections below for more details about each of these points.
Brighton and Sussex medical school establishment date: 2002
Years of course: 5
Total medical students: 825
Average year cohort: 165.0
Region: South East
Subject prerequisites:
Biology (strictly required)Chemistry (strictly required)
Interview format:MMI
Admissions test:BMAT
A Level typical offer:AAA
Advanced Higher typical offer:AAA
IB typical offer:36 points
General teaching method:
Integrated
Anatomy teaching:
Dissection, Prosection, Virtual dissection table
Intercalation mode:Optional intercalation
Typical offers
A Levels must include Biology and Chemistry.
General Studies or Critical Thinking not accepted.
GCSE results must include Maths and English at grade 6 (B)
Advanced Highers must include Biology and Chemistry.
National 5 results not specified
IB applicants must achieve 6,6 in Higher level Biology and Chemistry
BrightMed and BrightIdeas are programmes for students with non-traditional and disadvantaged backgrounds to make a competitive application to medicine.
Along with assessing the candidate's academic profile, any contextual data that may enhance the application will also be sought. If applicants meet Widening Participation criteria, they will accept AAB at A-level (including Biology and Chemistry), IB 35 points (including Biology and Chemistry), and GCSE Grade 5 (C) in Maths and English.
As explained in discussion of 'Widening participation' on the website, "BSMS is committed to seeking out talented people who have the potential to become tomorrow’s doctors but who may not have considered it as a possibility, thus enabling medicine to better reflect the patient population."
Total students and cohort sizes at UK medical schools
For uniform comparison of medical student admissions each year across all UK medical schools, we rely on annual reports from the Office for Students (OfS) entitled 'Medical and dental intakes'.
| Admission year | Total students admitted this year | Home places | International places |
|---|---|---|---|
2020-21 |
205 students in this cohort | 190 Home students | 15 International students |
2019-20 |
195 students in this cohort | 190 Home students | 5 International students |
2018-19 |
155 students in this cohort | 140 Home students | 15 International students |
2017-18 |
135 students in this cohort | 125 Home students | 10 International students |
2016-17 |
135 students in this cohort | 125 Home students | 10 International students |
2015-16 |
135 students in this cohort | 130 Home students | 50 International students |
Competition data
Competition ratio data reported here is from the 2019-20 admissions cycle, as confirmed by MedSchoolGenie Freedom of Information (FOI) requests from this period.
Please note: Due to ongoing impact of Covid-19 since March 2020, UK medical schools have not yet released competition ratio data for the 2020-21 admissions cycle. Applicants should keep in mind that coronavirus-related lockdowns and other restrictions affected the entire UK education sector, so competition ratios were most likely distorted during 2020-21. MedSchoolGenie will update here when further competition data becomes available.
MedSchoolGenie has compiled data available for the 2019 / 2020 admissions cycle, as confirmed by our Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
Applicant percentages of success
From reported competition ratios, it's possible to calculate percentages of success at various stages of the application process.
Numbers of applicants competing in latest admissions cycle
Based on reported numbers of applicants securing places, we can use competition ratios to estimate how many applicants have been competing at each stage of the most recent admissions cycle.
Please note: Estimates of competition factors from 2020 onwards may be less reliable than in previous years because UK medical schools have not yet reported competition ratios for the 2020-21 admissions cycle. MedSchoolGenie will update here when more recent data on competition ratios becomes available.
Teaching and learning
Inegrated, systems-based curriculum.
Early patient contact.
Anatomy is delivered via dissection, prosection, ultrasound sessions, and augmented reality technology.
As explained in its overview of teaching, "BSMS offers a distinctive and innovative course that prepares its graduates to enter an ever-changing and developing world of healthcare. On our course, you'll have early clinical contact with patients and carers, and interactions with health professionals in the hospital and community settings.... And you'll develop the essential knowledge underpinning clinical practice in medicine. Anatomy is taught by full cadaveric dissection, allowing you to turn theory into reality. We're proud of the quality of our teaching, reflected in our consistent position among the top medical schools in the National Student Survey."
As explained in dicussion of intercalation on this medical school's website: "Studying for an intercalated degree means taking a year out of your normal medical curriculum to study for an extra degree, which may be a bachelor's degree or a Masters degree (depending on the pre-requisites you hold). This lengthens your studies by a year, but you end up with two degrees: a traditional medical degree (eg, MB BS) and also a BSc, BMedSci or Masters degree in another subject. Intercalated degrees assume that the first two years of your medical education equate to the first two years of an honours science degree, giving you the necessary pre-requisites to join the third year of many kinds of science, health and management degrees. If you have completed three years of professional study, you may have the pre-requisites needed to pursue a Masters degree."
Years one and two:
The first two years of the course are based at Falmer campus. Lectures are systems based, covering normal and abnormal structure and function. Topics include biomedical and psychosocial sciences.
Year three:
The third year of the course introduces clinical attachments, including acute medicine, general practice and surgery, among others. Students return for weekly teaching sessions, covering public health, social science and clinical medicine.
Year four:
The course’s fourth year allows students to observe more specialIsed disciplines, including ophthalmology, ENT, neurosurgery, and paediatrics, among others. Students can hone their research skills in a fourth year Individual Research Project.
Year five:
The fifth and final year at BSMS aims to prepare students for clinical practice as an FY1, focussing on clinical skills and simulations. The majority of teaching is based on emergency medicine, elderly medicine, surgery, general practice, and psychiatry.
Reported demographics
This chart highlights gender and disability data reported by Brighton and Sussex to the General Medical Council (GMC), which has compiled this information into spreadsheets as part of its medical school annual return (MSAR) data sets.
Please note this data is retrospective, and that future numbers can vary from preceding years.
For comparison, we also include below all demographic data reported by this medical school to General Medical Council.
| Reporting year | Female students | Male students | Students with declared disability | Students without declared disability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 58.4% female students | 41.6% male students | 24.4% students with disability | 75.6% students without disability |
| 2016-17 | 56.9% female students | 43.1% male students | 20.4% students with disability | 79.6% students without disability |
Medical school history
Brighton and Sussex is one of several new medical schools formed in the UK following the Labour 1997 election victory. The school gained its licence in 2002, with its initial course being a heavily modified version of the medical course at University of Southampton.