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This profile of Dundee highlights this medical school's entry requirements, typical offers, student numbers, competition ratios, teaching and learning methods, course structure, demographics and history. Is Dundee one of your target medical schools? This medical school can be added to or removed from your personal shortlist |
Ranked number one in the 2020 Complete University Guide rankings, Dundee’s five-year medical programme has an impressive reputation. Dundee teaches its students with a spiral curriculum, in which key concepts are revisited in greater detail each year. Teaching is delivered via lectures, problem based learning, simulation based learning, and ward based learning. With the benefit of early patient contact, Dundee boasts that it produces the best prepared medical graduates of any Scottish university, according to the most recent GMC National Training Surveys. Anatomy is taught through dissection, with Dundee the only medical school to preserve cadavers via thiel soft-fix method, giving cadavers a consistency similar to living tissue.
Key information dashboard
For convenience, here is an at-a-glance summary of key information related to Dundee medical school.
Links in this dashboard can help you check which other UK medical schools are similar to Dundee with regard to points listed here.
Be sure to check our notes in sections below for more details about each of these points.
Dundee medical school establishment date: 1967
Years of course: 5
Total medical students: 925
Average year cohort: 185.0
Region: Scotland
Subject prerequisites:
Biology (acceptable option)Chemistry (strictly required)Maths (acceptable option)Physics (acceptable option)
Interview format:MMI
Admissions test:UCAT
A Level typical offer:AAA
Advanced Higher typical offer:BBB
IB typical offer:37 points
General teaching method:
Integrated
Anatomy teaching:
Dissection
Intercalation mode:Optional intercalation
Typical offers
A Levels must include Chemistry and another science, achieved in one sitting.
GCSE subjects to include Biology, English, and Mathematics at least to Grade B/6, if not studied at A-Level (A2).
Advanced Higher subjects not specified
Scottish Highers must include Chemistry and another science subject, all to be obtained at the same sitting. Biology is required to at least Standard grade.
National 5 results must include Biology at grade A, Maths and English at least to grade B, if not studied at Higher
IB applicants must achieve 6,6,6 at Higher level, including Chemistry and one subject from Biology, Physics, or Maths.
Additionally, three subjects at Standard level with an average of grade 6, including Biology at grade 6.
Widening access factors are considered prior to interview.
As explained in discussion of 'Widening access' on the website, Dundee coordinates several Widening Access programmes: "If you have the drive and ambition, we want to help you succeed and look forward to helping you. To achieve these aims we coordinate the following programmes: Access Summer School, OSS, Reach, ACES, Discovering Degrees, DLAD."
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 |
210 students in this cohort | 165 Home students | 45 International students |
2019-20 |
185 students in this cohort | 150 Home students | 35 International students |
2018-19 |
175 students in this cohort | 145 Home students | 30 International students |
2017-18 |
175 students in this cohort | 145 Home students | 30 International students |
2016-17 |
180 students in this cohort | 145 Home students | 35 International students |
2015-16 |
165 students in this cohort | 130 Home students | 35 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.
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
Integrated, spiral curriculum
Systems-based learning, lecture-based.
Dissection via Thiel-embalmed cadavers
Clinical training in years 4-5 in a variety of clinical attachments.
As explained in its overview of teaching, "We use a range of teaching methods as we know that not everyone learns in the same way, and we know from experience that certain subjects are better taught in a particular way. We'll help you to get the most out of your studies through our varied, engaging, and challenging curriculum.... You'll learn via: traditional lectures; problem-based lectures - where you'll explore a specific problem; case-based lectures - where you'll look into cases related to the topic you're learning about; team-based lectures - where you'll work in teams throughout the class."
After third year, students are able to undertake an intercalated BMSc, before moving into clinical training. As explained in discussion of intercalation on this medical school's website, "The intercalated year is an intense year requiring good planning an organisation on your part and normally involves a considerable amount of independent research leading to a dissertation. Working on your research project will expose to new people and broaden your contacts, often from multiple disciplines."
Years one, two, and three:
Dundee’s medical degree begins with an eight-week teaching block, covering the science that underpins. Normal and abnormal function are taught in a system-based fashion, with problem-based learning (PBL) used to integrate theory with real clinical presentations.
Years four and five:
After third year, students are able to undertake an intercalated BMSc, before moving into clinical training. The final two years involve a transition into hospital-based learning. Clinical placements aim to give students a well-rounded experience, preparing graduates for the realities of life as an FY1.
Reported demographics
This chart highlights gender and disability data reported by Dundee 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 | 61.6% female students | 38.4% male students | 7.1% students with disability | 92.9% students without disability |
| 2016-17 | 60.1% female students | 39.9% male students | 6.7% students with disability | 93.3% students without disability |
Medical school history
From 1967, medical teaching in Dundee came directly under the auspices of the University of Dundee. Previously, from 1893 to 1967, medicine in Dundee was taught as part of the University of St Andrews.