Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) is a partnership between the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex, and is known for its early clinical experience and full-body dissection. BSMS is ranked 19th out of 40 for Medicine in the Guardian University Guide 2027, with over 94% of students satisfied with their teaching, and 31st in the Complete University Guide 2027.
During the first two years, the curriculum at Brighton and Sussex Medical School is delivered using a systems-based approach, with communication and clinical skills developed within the classroom setting, as well as in primary, secondary and third sector placements. From Year 3 onwards, your clinical attachments will play a dominant role in developing your knowledge and skills, supported by weekly teaching sessions within Year 3.
At Brighton and Sussex Medical School your clinical experience begins in the first week of Year 1, with the curriculum outlining the following clinical opportunities:
Around 15% of the course is spent in general practice, building up to “student-led surgeries” where you’ll see patients yourself under supervision. You’ll be assessed through a combination of written knowledge tests, OSCEs, case-based discussions and coursework, and you’ll sit the national Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) before you graduate.
From the beginning of the course, dissection and live anatomy is taught to small groups, to encourage active participation. BSMS is one of the medical schools that still teaches anatomy through full-body cadaveric dissection, starting in your second week of Year 1, with an average of around eight students per cadaver. Anatomical teaching is also delivered through a number of other approaches, for example interactive lectures, small group tutorials, prosection, imaging and ultrasound sessions.
More information about the course structure, including assessment information and places of study, can be found here.
During your third and fourth year, you'll be based at the Royal Sussex County Hospital and the Audrey Emerton Building in Brighton, as well as sites across Sussex and Surrey. BSMS’s main teaching partners are University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and you may also be placed with associate trusts including:
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Brighton and Sussex Medical School offers opportunities for Student Selected Components (SSCs) to allow you to “explore selected topics in depth”, with the option to complete research-based SSCs from Year 1.
Within Year 5, you will also have the opportunity to undertake an elective, allowing you to gain clinical or non-clinical experience in a different environment, either in the UK or abroad.
In addition to this, Brighton and Sussex offer the option to undertake an intercalated BSc or Master’s degree between the third and fourth year of your medical degree. Places are limited to 40% of the year group and depend on your performance, with priority given to students who don’t already have a degree. More information about the intercalated degree can be found here.
Brighton and Sussex Medical School boast “purpose-built, modern facilities [which] include anatomy and clinical science laboratories, simulated consultation rooms” and more. Within the simulated consultation rooms, professional actors are used to provide opportunities to practise patient consultations and key clinical examinations, allowing you to develop key skills in general practice.
Brighton and Sussex Medical School also has a focus on inter-professional education, working closely with a range of healthcare professionals to support you to “learn with, from and about other professions” and develop collaborative practice which produces positive outcomes for patients.
Other selling points you could mention at interview include:
The typical entry requirements for 2027 entry are:
You must be at least 18 years old at the start of the course. BSMS has 197 places for UK students and 10 places for international students. For a comparison with other medical schools, take a look at our guide to medicine entry requirements.
Widening access: eligible applicants can receive a contextual offer of AAB (IB 35, and GCSE English and Maths at grade 5/C). BSMS also offers guaranteed interviews to students at a sixth form or college in Sussex, care leavers, and students on the BrightMed widening participation programme, provided they meet the academic requirements and score Band 1 to 3 in the SJT.
Brighton and Sussex Medical School uses the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format for its interviews. It specifies that your MMI will consist of five discussions, each lasting ten minutes, with a short break between each discussion, taking around an hour in total. The format, questions and marking are the same whether you choose to interview in person or online.
For 2027 entry, interviews will take place between December 2026 and February 2027. You’ll be able to choose an in-person interview in early December or early January, or an online interview via Zoom in late January or early February.
Brighton and Sussex advise reflecting on your work experience in relation to the Medical Schools Council’s ‘Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine’ in order to prepare for the MMI.
You can find more information about the MMI process at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, including an example MMI discussion, here.
Most medical schools require you to pass an admissions exam before you’ll be invited for interview.
Admissions exam for Brighton and Sussex: University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)
The UCAT assesses the mental abilities and professional behaviours required to be a doctor, such as problem solving, critical thinking and decision making. It doesn’t test scientific knowledge.
The exam now consists of 4 subtests: Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Situational Judgement (SJT). Abstract Reasoning has been removed from the test.
For 2027 entry, the UCAT is being held between 13 July and 24 September 2026. BSMS doesn’t invite applicants with an SJT score in Band 4 to interview. Applicants in Bands 1 to 3 are then ranked by their total UCAT score, with around 30% of interviews reserved for contextual applicants, who are ranked separately. Your personal statement isn’t used in selection.
For 2026 entry, home applicants needed a UCAT score above 1990 (or exactly 1990 with an SJT in Band 1) to be invited to interview, and international applicants needed 1980. According to BSMS’s figures, there were 1,618 applicants, 824 interviews and 670 offers.
To help you prepare for every part of the UCAT, we’ve developed the free Medibuddy adaptive question bank, which uses artificial intelligence to identify your strengths and weaknesses within the syllabus, and carefully selects questions to meet your individual learning needs.
You can also use the question bank dashboard to see how you’re performing in each of the subtests, with your calculated skill level, response time, total number of questions answered and the number of questions answered correctly, for each section of the UCAT. This allows you to easily identify which areas you’ve “mastered” and which you need to dedicate more time to.
To gain a high UCAT score and secure an interview at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, it’s essential that you prepare well for each area of the UCAT!
For more information about the UCAT entry exam, visit our Medicine Entry Requirements blog. 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 fees and funding page for the latest information.
Good luck with your application to Brighton and Sussex! For more help, take a look at our guides to applying to medical school and the best medical schools in the UK.
