MedSchoolGenie

With its first cohort of medical students starting in 2018, Anglia Ruskin is among the newest medical schools in the UK. The course was accredited by the GMC in 2017, meaning that Anglia Ruskin’s course is able to produce licensed doctors. Anglia Ruskin’s five-year medical programme is integrated and systems based, with the main campus situated in Chelmsford. The medical school takes pride in its innovative, community based, and student-centred curriculum.

Barts and the London School of Medicine & Dentistry was founded in 1785, making it one of the oldest medical schools in the UK. Its five-year integrated course is consistently ranked among the top ten in the UK, owing to high student satisfaction and high-quality research. Its teaching hospitals are based in the East End and the City of London, meaning that medical students can learn from the one of the most diverse patient groups anywhere in the UK. PBL forms a major part of the curriculum at Barts.

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.

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. 

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. 

Edinburgh Medical School’s six-year programme aims to produce doctors that are equipped for careers in general practice, hospital medicine, and academia. Having been ranked fourth in the UK for research power in 2014, Edinburgh highlights its academic rigor as a key feature of its medical curriculum. According to the school's website, "Medicine at Edinburgh offers a modern, innovative curriculum designed to prepare you for contemporary medical practice."

Glasgow’s medical programme was ranked joint first in the Complete University Guide 2021,  alongside Dundee. Utilising an innovative spiral curriculum, Glasgow delivers teaching via  lectures, problem-based learning, clinical placements, labs and e-learning. Core themes are revisited each year in more detail, with increasing clinical emphasis as the course progresses. 

Imperial College London, renowned for its internationally competitive research, delivers a six-year medical programme in partnership with NHS trusts in the North & West of London. In response to updated GMC guidelines, Imperial recently switched to a spiral curriculum, delivered in three phases. Teaching is delivered via lectures, small group teaching, computer workshops, and laboratory sessions. 

Accepting its first cohort of medical students in September 2020, Kent and Medway Medical School jointly run by the University of Kent and Canterbury Christchurch University. The integrated five-year curriculum is systems-based, aiming to prepare doctors for the realities of the NHS in the 21st Century. Teaching is delivered through lectures, tutorials, and seminars, using technology to enhance learning

Lancaster has one of the smallest medical programmes in the UK, with an intake of only 129 students each year. It is one of the UK's newest public medical school, with its first graduates, a cohort of 31, graduating in 2011. Problem based learning (PBL) forms a major part of the integrated five year curriculum, with clinical contact offered from the offset. 

Leicester's integrated five-year medical degree gives patients clinical experience from year one. The main medical building (George Davies Centre) was renovated 2016 to provide students with a state-of-the-art learning environment. Course highlights include the provision of iPads to first-year students to aid dissemination of lecture material, with course content rapidly revised and updated.

Liverpool's five year medical curriculum aims to produce doctors that are prepared for 21st century medical practice. The medical school prides itself on its use of technology to assist learning, including augmented reality, simulation, and virtual reality. Content is taught through a spiral curriculum, in which core themes are revisited each year in increasing clinical detail.

Newcastle offers a five-year integrated programme, utilising case-led teaching to integrate course teaching with the realities of clinical practice. As a centre of excellence for translational research, Newcastle prides itself on its teaching in academic medicine. The course uses a spiral curriculum, in which concepts are revisited each year with increasing clinical detail. Anatomy is taught by specialists in radiology, surgery, and emergency medicine, maximising clinical relevance. 

Nottingham offers a five-year medical programme, with students taught by world leaders in fields such as cancer research, mental health technology, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Course highlights include acquisition of a BMedSci degree within the five-year course, meaning no intercalating year is necessary, as well as the teaching of anatomy through full-body dissection. Case-based learning, in which students learn from real patient scenarios, forms the backbone of teaching at Nottingham.

The only medical school in Northern Ireland, Queen's Belfast offers an integrated five-year curriculum. Case-based learning is used to integrate theory with clinical practice, complemented by very early patient contact. Course highlights include full-body cadaveric dissection, student selected components, and a world-class interprofessional simulation centre. Queen’s is the only medical school in Northern Ireland and students are welcomed in all of the hospitals within the region and in over 150 general practices.

Southampton offers a five-year, integrated medical programme, with an impressive reputation in fields such as cancer research and immunology, rated as world class in 2014’s Research Excellence Framework. Teaching is delivered in a systems-base manner through lectures, tutorials, coursework, and independent learning, with anatomy taught via prosection. The course is divided into four phases.

St George's offers a five-year integrated MBBS degree, emphasising the patient-centred approach to Medicine and the importance of interprofessional care. Teaching is delivered through lectures, tutorials, seminars, PBL, and clinical placements, with anatomy taught through dissection and prosection. Case-based learning helps students integrate theory with real clinical scenarios. St George's is closely affiliated to St George's Hospital, located in Tooting (SouthWest London).

University College London Medical School offers a six-year integrated medical programme, with a compulsory intercalated BSc in year three. The course aims to equip graduates with a strong grounding in science, enabling success in ever-evolving medical practice. Applicants should be aware that UCL offers an MBPhD programme, in which students interested in academic research study for a PhD after their fourth year on the course. Anatomy is taught through dissection, prosection, and computer simulation.