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Medicine - Graduate Entry Programme (4 year)

Entry Year: 2024

Key information

Degree
MBBS
Duration
4 years
Start
September 2024
UCAS code
A101
Institution code
Q50
Entry Requirements
Full entry requirements (including contextual admissions)
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£48,700
Funding information
Paying your fees
Medicine - Graduate Entry Programme (4 year)
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Overview

Already have a science or health-related degree? Fast-track your MBBS at a world-class University.

Fascinated by the human body? Driven to shape the future of healthcare? Ready to make a difference to countless lives? Prepare for a rewarding career as a qualified doctor by studying at one of the oldest medical schools in the UK.  

You'll develop foundational knowledge and skills, as well as the fundamentals of professional practice behaviours necessary for being a new doctor.

Our curriculum is underpinned by our world-leading bench to bedside research, linking your learning to the work of the faculty, who pioneer the discovery and development of new drugs globally, through to design and delivery of effective public health interventions for our local community and beyond.

Because you already have a degree, you’ll be able to complete this programme in four years, rather than the standard five years. This means you’ll be able to finish sooner and kickstart your career in medicine.  

We're excited to announce that Health Education England have funded a project for the Graduate Entry Programme to enhance content delivery with a blended approach, utilising bespoke premium digital content alongside active and social learning principles. 

Confident in clinical scenarios 

Expect evidence-based educational approaches whether for small or large group teaching, and focus on developing your self-regulated learning ability necessary for independent clinical practice. 

You’ll start seeing patients from your very first week, in community and hospital settings, across all years of the course.

You can also self-select modules where you have interest or passion, from the fundamental or clinical sciences through to the psychological or social sciences as well as any area of study you want to pursue with our support in order to become the doctor you want to be.

Join us at Queen Mary University London to become part of the next generation of doctors and enter the world of medicine with confidence. 

Discover more about the programme including entry requirements and selection criteria.

Remember, the UCAS application deadline is 15 October for this programme. 

Structure

Year 1

Phase 1 (Year 1)

Campus-based teaching

You will undertake seven modules in Year 1, covering themes including Digestion, Metabolism and Growth, Infection and Immunity, Human Sciences and Public Health.

You will be introduced to applied biological sciences and address key topics, including:

  • normal biological structure and function of cells, organs and body systems
  • the effect of illness on people and their families
  • the impact of environmental and social factors on health.

Our evidence-based teaching methods in Phase 1 are carefully chosen to ensure you securely acquire the knowledge necessary for developing the skills and behaviours required for applying in clinical settings and mastering in Phase 2 and 3 of the course. We use small and large group methods such as lectures, practical (anatomy and physiology) teaching, and group work in problem-based, team-based learning, clinical and communication skills settings.

Clinical placements 

Clinical placements are an essential part of your professional identity development as a medical student through to becoming a doctor. Our course ensures patient contact from the first year of the course, and across every year of the programme ensuring knowledge and skills learnt in the classroom, are consolidated into professional values and behaviours learnt in clinical settings.  

Clinical placements for Graduate Entry Programme (GEP) MBBS students at Queen Mary University of London start in September of Year 1 and you will spend every Thursday in a practice-based setting or learning clinical skills.   

Students in groups of 8 work with a GP tutor on a fortnightly basis through the length of Year 1.  You will be introduced to the GP team at the surgery, the local area served by the practice and most importantly the patients. You will learn about the impact of ill health on the patient, their family and their community, as well as the factors that contribute to the experience of living with disease for the patient.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Years 2 - 3

Phase 2 (Years 2 and 3)

Clinical placements

On successful completion of your Year 1 you will join with students in Year 2 of the five-year course to form a new Year 3 MBBS cohort.

The amount of time spent in clinical placement after this first year is significantly increased. You will rotate through one of our partner trusts for placements generally lasting 6 - 10 weeks in length.  You will also return at regular intervals to the University for campus-based teaching blocks to support and scaffold your learning in the clinical environment. 

Clinical placements will be in a variety of locations including those in inner city areas such as the Royal London Hospital, Homerton Hospital, Newham Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital, King George Hospital and Queens Hospital.  Placements at these locations are classified as in-firms due to their proximity to the University, and with the expectation that you would commute there every day rather than stay there on site.  

You will also be placed at out-firms including Southend Hospital, Colchester Hospital and Princess Alexandra Hospital.  Most students will stay in hospital accommodation while on out-firms due to the distance away from the University. 

In Year 4 you will have placements in one of our mental health trusts alongside a series of primary care placements attached to GP surgeries. The variety of community and hospital-based experiences are designed to develop your clinical, communication consultation and reasoning skills so that by Year 5 you are able to be see patients independently under the supervision of your GP tutor. 

Each placement site will offer a different experience, with different patient demographics and different specialist services. 

Student Selected Components (SSCs)

SSCs are self-selected modules that allow you to broaden your knowledge, skills and professional behaviours in areas where you have passion or interest. SSC modules vary in length with some ranging from two to five weeks, and others spanning throughout an academic year.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 4

Phase 3 (Year 4)

The final year of the programme provides you with emergency medicine, intensive care, surgical and anaesthetics placements and an eight-week GP apprenticeship where you will see patients independently under the supervision of your GP tutor. 

Throughout the year you’ll again return at regular intervals to the University for campus-based teaching blocks to support and scaffold your learning in a clinical environment. 

You’ll complete your SSC programme, which may include spending time in a specialism not previously experienced or gaining a deeper understanding in an area that already interests you. 

You will also complete your Intermediate Life Support qualification. 

Elective 

After your final examinations, you’ll complete a six-week elective in the UK or outside the UK, depending on your choice and circumstances. For many students, this is one of the most eagerly anticipated and memorable experiences at medical school – an opportunity to explore medicine in an entirely new environment, both socially and culturally. 

Student assistantship 

Following your elective, you’ll spend three weeks shadowing a current Foundation Year (FY1) doctor in the hospital where you’ll be based for your own FY1 training. 

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Additional Costs

The elective period in your final year is self-funded.

For some electives the host institution charges up to £6,000, while others incur no additional expense. You’ll also need to factor in the cost of flights and accommodation. Placements taken within the UK can be a more financially viable option for students on a limited budget.

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Testimonial

It is such a privilege to be able to talk to patients of all backgrounds who live in East London – I have learned so much about medicine and people that cannot be captured in a textbook. I love how hands-on everything is – getting to see everything I learn happening in real life. The anatomy teaching I had in GEP year was also beyond excellent, and doing dissection was one of the most valuable and powerful experiences I have ever had.

Bruna Giribaldi Cunha, Medicine - Graduate Entry Programme MBBS (2025)

Teaching

Teaching and learning

We're excited to announce that NHS England (NHSE) Workforce, Training and Education have funded a project for the Graduate Entry Programme to enhance content delivery mixed mode education (MME) in Year 1 of the course, utilising bespoke premium digital content alongside active and social learning principles.

From Year 2-4, we then use a variety of evidence-based educational approaches depending on the knowledge, skill or behaviours that need to be developed:

  • Large group activities such as lectures
  • Small group activities problem-based learning and team-based learning
  • Tutorials
  • Practicals
  • Ward rounds
  • Simulation
  • Multi-professional trainin

You’ll have access to an extensive online virtual learning environment (VLE), which also includes more rich multimedia content.

Assessment

Your progress is evaluated through a system of programmatic assessment that includes monitoring of learner engagement continuously across the academic year, through to performance in written and practical examinations at end of each academic year.

A scheme of merits and distinctions recognises excellent or outstanding attainment across each area of the curriculum. Prizes reward outstanding achievement across all the assessment methods and in specialist areas of the curriculum.

 

Resources and facilities

As a medical student studying on the London MBBS course, you’ll learn across three Queen Mary campuses - Whitechapel, Mile End and West Smithfield, benefitting from the excellent resources of each to aid your studies:

  • The Blizard Building, housing state-of-the-art facilities for students and staff, including open-plan research laboratories, a 400-seat lecture theatre and a café
  • The Garrod building which has been recently opened (Jan 2024) following a £11.2 million refurbishment project by the university. This space is the new home for Barts and The London Students Association and the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry’s Institute of Health Science Education. The Garrod also houses The Griff which is the heartbeat of student life on this campus serving delicious coffee, food and drinks.
  • Dedicated teaching rooms equipped with anatomical specimens, medical images, videos and specialised computer imaging
  • Extensive library facilities – the Queen Mary library at Mile End, large medical archives at the Royal London and Barts hospitals, and access to the University of London library with 1.4 million volumes
  • Multi-user labs with computers and CCTV for practical classes
  • A purpose-built Clinical and Communications Centre, where you can practise clinical methods on mannequins and models, and develop your communication skills with the help of specially trained actors

We have recently opened a new satellite campus in the heart of Ilford. The space will be used for education purposes, enabling medical students to learn both in the classroom and mock ward environment.

Watch this video which showcases the facilities at Lynton House. 

Entry requirements

Below is a brief overview – take a look at the full entry requirements.

UCAT

Fourth decile or above, SJT Bands 1- 3

Degree

You may apply in the final year of your degree. You must be predicted or have achieved at least an upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) in any subject. Degrees are divided into the following categories:

  1. Bioscience degrees which contain sufficient biology and chemistry. No further A-levels or AS-levels are required.
  2. Science degrees with no biology or chemistry. Candidates must have minimum grade C in A-level or AS-level biology and/or chemistry (depending on what is missing from your degree).
  1. Non-science degrees. Candidates must have minimum grade B in A-level or AS-level chemistry or biology, plus another science subject, also at grade B. Accepted science subjects are biology, chemistry, physics, maths and psychology.

Please see our degree title checker for more information.

English language

Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.

You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.

Individual circumstances

We will take into account some of your personal circumstances and background when considering your application.

Funding

Loans and grants

Home and EU students will need to self-fund the first £3,465 of your tuition fees in the first year. In subsequent years, you’ll receive a £3,465 bursary from the NHS.

Loans to cover the balance of your fees and your living costs are available to home and EU students from Student Finance England.

Read more about financial support for medical students.

Scholarships

Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.

Find out what bursaries and scholarships are available to you. 

Find out more about fees and funding.

Support from Queen Mary

We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.

Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:

  • additional sources of funding
  • planning your budget and cutting costs
  • part-time and vacation work
  • money for lone parents.

Careers

Most graduates work as doctors within the NHS, following training programmes in general practice or hospital medicine. Some of our overseas students return home to work.

A small number defer starting work as a doctor to pursue a specialist postgraduate degree.

Recent graduates have been hired by a range of NHS Trusts and hospitals in London including:

•    Bart’s Health NHS Trust
•    Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
•    Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
•    Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
•    St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Our graduates also work across the UK and beyond from Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust to Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and States of Jersey. Other destinations include the Ministry of Defence (MOD), Department of Health, and Health Education England (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20 and 2020/21). 

Career support

You will have access to a bespoke careers programme, which includes a medical careers fair, talks by consultants and the opportunity to rotate through many different medical specialisms, covering both hospital and primary care.

In your final year we give you specific support in applying for foundation training.

The Queen Mary careers team can also offer:

  • support with finding work experience, internships and volunteering services
  • feedback on CVs, cover letters and application forms
  • interview coaching.

Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.

About the School

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry is one of the oldest medical schools in the UK.

We’re in an unrivalled position to offer you the very best student experience. You’ll be taught by experts who are passionately engaged with their subject, and our degrees have extremely high satisfaction rates – in the most recent National Student Survey, 92 per cent of our students were satisfied overall with the quality of their programme.

You'll also get exceptional support throughout your degree and as you transition into employment: we pride ourselves on being a friendly School, with excellent staff–student relationships and a General Medical Council-commended student support and mentoring programme.

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