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This profile of Buckingham highlights this medical school's entry requirements, typical offers, student numbers, competition ratios, teaching and learning methods, course structure, demographics and history. Is Buckingham one of your target medical schools? This medical school can be added to or removed from your personal shortlist |
The University of Buckingham Medical School offers a unique approach to medical education with their 4.5 year MBChB degree. The course took in its first cohort of medical students in 2015, receiving accreditation from the GMC in 2019. Buckingham Medical School is a not-for-profit educational charity, meaning that students cannot receive government loans and must therefore self-finance the £37,500 annual tuition fee. It should be noted that the University of Buckingham Medical School has no cap on the number of places available for international students.
Key information dashboard
For convenience, here is an at-a-glance summary of key information related to Buckingham medical school.
Links in this dashboard can help you check which other UK medical schools are similar to Buckingham with regard to points listed here.
Be sure to check our notes in sections below for more details about each of these points.
Buckingham medical school establishment date: 2015
Years of course: 4
Total medical students: 335
Average year cohort: 83.8
Region: South East
Subject prerequisites:
Biology (strictly required)Chemistry (strictly required)
Interview format:MMI
Admissions test:No admissions test required
A Level typical offer:ABB
Advanced Higher typical offer:BBB
IB typical offer:34 points
General teaching method:
Integrated
Anatomy teaching:
Not specified
Intercalation mode:Not specified
Typical offers
A Levels must include Biology and Chemistry.
Advanced Highers must include Chemistry and Biology.
IB coursework must achieve Higher Level 6 in Biology and Chemistry.
Overall point score does not include Theory of Knowledge or Extended Essay.
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'.
Given that Buckingham data is not included in Office of Students reports, for this medical school we include numbers derived from the 'Medical students' data table included with the GMC's latest report on 'The state of medical education and practice in the UK'
| Admission year | Total students admitted this year | Home places | International places |
|---|---|---|---|
2018-19 |
75 students in this cohort | Not specified | Not specified |
2017-18 |
100 students in this cohort | Not specified | Not specified |
2016-17 |
80 students in this cohort | Not specified | Not specified |
2015-16 |
80 students in this cohort | Not specified | Not specified |
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.
Note: Buckingham has not responded to FOI requests, and has not reported competition ratios. Given that Buckingham has not confirmed data on applicants per interview or per place, in our interactive charts and tables this is recorded as zero.
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
Divided into 2 phases over 4.5 years
Phase I is basic science, phase II is clinical rotation
As explained in its overview of teaching methods, the key curriculum philosophy is 'guided learning': "We will help you to reach ... outcomes through an integrated set of learning experiences, some of which are structured by us to get you started, and, crucially, others which you must structure for yourself, so that you make your individual journey towards the outcomes. Our aim is to provide you with the raw material you need and the stimuli to build your understanding from that base.... Group work at Buckingham is not however 'problem based learning' as used in some other medical schools. You will not have to hunt out material as a group. What you have to do is to help one another discover understanding by active discussion of ideas through joint problem solving."
Phase one:
Phase one has a focus on pre-clinical Medicine, including topics such as the basic sciences, disease processes, infection, imaging, pharmacology, and public health over six terms. Students can choose two student-selected components in phase one, allowing early specialisation in areas of interest. A systems-based approach is used, meaning that students study each body system separately.
Phase two:
In phase two, students undertake their junior and senior rotations. Students rotate through specialties such as mental health care, gastrointestinal care, cancer care, and reproductive health. After the senior rotation, students undertake an assistantship in order to hone skills required for foundation training.
Reported demographics
This chart highlights gender and disability data reported by Buckingham 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 | 57.5% female students | 42.5% male students | 21.7% students with disability | 78.3% students without disability |
| 2016-17 | 55.5% female students | 44.5% male students | 21.8% students with disability | 78.2% students without disability |
Medical school history
Established in 2015, University of Buckingham Medical School offers a 4.5-year course with the first cohort graduating in June 2019.