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The University of Aberdeen is one of the UK's most established medical schools, and one of its most consistently well-ranked in recent years. Aberdeen was ranked 1st in the UK for Medicine in both the Guardian University Guide 2024 and 2025, and 6th in the UK (2nd in Scotland) in the Guardian University Guide 2026. In the latest Guardian University Guide 2027, Aberdeen places 15th out of 40 for Medicine, with a perfect score for graduate career prospects and almost 90% of students satisfied with their teaching.
The University of Aberdeen Medical School uses an integrated systems-based approach, using clinical cases to teach you the anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, as well as the disease processes, of each of the body systems. Your first term covers the underlying medical sciences, before the systems-based course begins in the second term of Year 1.
Running through all five years are five cross-cutting themes: diagnostics, end of life care, health data science, quality improvement, and the cost and value of healthcare. These reflect the realities of working in the modern NHS, so they’re well worth being aware of before your interview.
During your studies, you'll undertake the following clinical placements:
You can find more information about clinical attachments here.
Anatomy at Aberdeen is taught mainly using prosected cadaveric specimens in a purpose-built anatomy facility within the Suttie Centre. Full dissection isn’t part of the core course for everyone, but the university states that some students will have the opportunity to engage individually in whole body dissection and clinically orientated dissection projects. The university also boasts a “state of the art 3D anatomy learning resource” which provides 3D virtual anatomy teaching, as well as an Anatomy Museum dating back to the 1870s.
The University of Aberdeen Medical School is based at the Foresterhill Health Campus, alongside Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, meaning you have opportunities to gain experience in a large teaching hospital, as well as the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and the maternity hospital, on “one of the largest clinical sites in Europe”. The campus is also home to the Suttie Centre for Teaching and Learning in Healthcare and a dedicated Clinical Skills Centre.
Beyond Aberdeen, placements take place across the north of Scotland, including Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin, and hospitals and GP practices in Wick, Fort William, the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland.
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There are a number of Student Selected Components (SSCs) included in the curriculum at Aberdeen Medical School, with one in each of Years 1 – 4. These include a group project in Year 1, a project on the molecular mechanisms of disease in Year 2, Medical Humanities in Year 3 and a Clinical Effectiveness project in Year 4. You can find more information about SSCs at Aberdeen here.
During your final year, you will have an eight-week elective project, which you can undertake almost anywhere in the world. This is a great opportunity to experience healthcare in a different setting, and to enhance your CV with a publication or presentation based on your project.
You’ll also have the option to intercalate, taking an extra year to complete a degree in Medical Sciences or Medical Humanities. You can read more about the pros and cons in our intercalation guide.
The course at Aberdeen provides a rare opportunity to undertake remote and rural placements, which could be a useful insight when answering a question about why you chose this particular medical school, if you have an interest in gaining experience within this area. There is also a great deal of flexibility in the amount of time you spend in remote and rural attachments; at least one of your clinical blocks in your fourth year will take place in Inverness, but you can choose to be based at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for the entirety of the year through the Remote and Rural option. If you choose this route, two of your three fifth-year attachments can also take place in rural settings, such as Stornoway, Orkney or Shetland.
Other selling points you could mention at interview include:
The typical entry requirements for 2027 entry are:
Requirements for the International Baccalaureate and other qualifications are listed on the course page. For a comparison with other medical schools, take a look at our guide to medicine entry requirements.
Widening access: Aberdeen offers reduced grade requirements (AAAB at Higher, or AAB at A Level) for eligible applicants, and a UCAT uplift of 10% for applicants from SIMD20 areas and care-experienced school leavers (5% for SIMD40). Scottish-domiciled applicants who meet the minimum academic requirements and score in the top 75% of UCAT scores are guaranteed an interview. Aberdeen also runs Gateway2Medicine, a one-year programme for Scottish widening access students which can lead onto the MBChB. You can find more information on the widening access page.
The University of Aberdeen Medical School uses a modified Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format for its interviews. It specifies that your MMI will last approximately one hour and you’ll be given five minutes at each station, with two selectors at each, to explore one question area/domain.
On their website, Aberdeen Medical School identify that you may be asked to:
All stations will also assess your communication and interpersonal skills independently of the task given. The domains assessed across the stations are motivation, core qualities, critical thinking and problem solving, teamwork, and professionalism.
For 2026 entry, interviews were held in person at the Suttie Centre between 15 and 19 December 2025. Dates for 2027 entry haven’t been published yet, but keep an eye on the university’s FAQs, which note that medicine interviews can run between November and March.
You can find more information about Aberdeen’s interview process for medical school on their website, where you’ll also find an example teamwork station video, which is worth viewing, as it may provide good insight into what you can expect from their interview in particular.
Most medical schools require you to pass an admissions exam before you’ll be invited for interview.
Admissions exam for Aberdeen: University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)
The UCAT assesses the characteristics, attitudes and professional behaviours required for medical school. The exam is now made up of 4 sections: Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Situational Judgement (SJT). Abstract Reasoning has been removed from the test. The three cognitive sections are each scored between 300 and 900, while Situational Judgement is reported as a band from 1 to 4.
For 2027 entry, the UCAT is being held between 13 July and 24 September 2026.
The entry requirements for Aberdeen state that your academic achievements/predictions are combined with your UCAT score, and only the highest scoring candidates will be invited to interview. Aberdeen doesn’t use a minimum UCAT cut-off score; instead, your score is ranked against other applicants to Aberdeen. Your UCAT score makes up 20% of your overall application score (academic achievements/predictions is 30% and interview performance is 50%), so it’s vital that you perform well in your UCAT.
For 2026 entry, the UCAT scores of applicants to Aberdeen were as follows:
| Applicant | Lowest score invited to interview | Average score invited to interview | Average score of those made an offer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish | 1700 | 1960 | 1990 |
| Rest of UK | 1720 | 1990 | 2000 |
| International | 1730 | 2010 | 2120 |
Source: University of Aberdeen admissions data. These scores are based on the previous UCAT format and aren’t directly comparable with scores from the current test.
The free Medibuddy AI-powered question bank will help you to prepare effectively. With carefully selected questions based on your strengths and weaknesses within the syllabus, our artificial intelligence ensures that you’re focusing on the areas which you need to improve, rather than working through hundreds of randomised questions with no direction.
The question bank dashboard (below) will also clearly show you how you’re performing in each section of the UCAT, with your calculated skill level, total number of questions answered, number of questions answered correctly and response time for each. That way you know which areas you’ve “mastered” and which you need to spend more time on.
You’ll find more information about the UCAT in our complete guide and guidance on how to prepare on our website.
You can also see how other medical schools use the test in our guide to UCAT universities.
Tuition fees for students starting in 2026/27 are:
Fees for 2027/28 haven’t been confirmed yet, so check the tuition fees page for the latest information.
Good luck with your application to Aberdeen! For more help, take a look at our guides to applying to medical school and the best medical schools in the UK.
