The University of Buckingham Medical School is the UK’s first independent, not-for-profit medical school, and runs a condensed 4.5-year MB ChB that starts in January rather than September. Buckingham is ranked 40th out of 40 for Medicine in the Complete University Guide 2027, but that headline hides a real strength – it scores 98% for graduate prospects, among the highest in the table, and the University reports being joint 1st for Graduate Prospects in Medicine in the 2025 table. Buckingham isn’t included in the rankings of the Guardian University Guide 2027 Medicine table, although the Medical School reports scoring 100% for career prospects in Medicine in the Guardian’s 2025 guide.
The University of Buckingham Medical School separates its four and half year course into two phases: phase 1 refers to the first two years and phase 2 is the remainder of the course. The Medical School received General Medical Council (GMC) accreditation in May 2019, and the GMC has commended the University for the “excellent professional, academic and pastoral support that extends throughout the University and clinical learning environments”.
You’ll be assessed through a combination of written examinations, structured clinical examinations and an e-portfolio of evidence of your progress. You can find more detail on the MB ChB course page.
Buckingham Medical School’s partner hospitals and placement providers include:
Travel matters more here than at many medical schools: Warwick Hospital is around 42 miles from the Buckingham campus and the Cheshire sites are over 100 miles away, so Buckingham strongly advises having access to a car. Travel over 25 miles from your base can be claimed back at around 55p per mile – see the Locations and Travel Requirements page.
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You’ll undertake Student Selected Components (SSCs), which provide choice within the curriculum and opportunities to explore areas of interest.
You will also undertake an elective programme and student assistantship towards the end of your course, both of which sit within the Senior Rotation of Phase 2.
Buckingham’s Student Support Team runs workshops and career education talks, and can help you with career choice, applying for electives, CV checking and interview skills.
Buckingham also offers a one-year CertHE in Pre-Medical and Health Studies, a September-start course that can act as a route into the MB ChB if you achieve at least 70% overall.
Launched in January 2015, the University of Buckingham Medical School is the first independent, not-for-profit Medical School in the UK.
The ratio of students to clinical teachers and patients is low to allow students the “best chance to interact with a wide variety of patients and doctors”.
Other selling points you could mention at interview include:
The typical entry requirements for 2027 entry are:
Buckingham also accepts Scottish Highers (AABBB at S5 with two Advanced Highers including Chemistry, at BB or above), but does not accept BTECs, and qualifications more than five years old won’t be considered. Transfers from other medicine or science programmes aren’t accepted, and you can’t apply if you’ve previously enrolled on a medical programme. If English isn’t your first language you’ll need IELTS 7.0 overall with at least 6.5 in each component, and as an independent school Buckingham has no cap on international places. Check the full list on the MB ChB course page, and compare schools in our guide to medicine entry requirements.
Widening access: Buckingham receives no government subsidies, so fees are high and tuition fee loan support through the new Lifelong Learning Entitlement is capped at the provider limit (currently £6,525 a year) – something to plan for carefully. The University does offer means-tested bursaries and scholarships, including the Swains Scholarship of up to £5,000 a year for undergraduates from Buckinghamshire with financial need, and the CertHE Pre-Medical and Health Studies course is a second-chance route if you narrowly miss the grades. We couldn’t find a published contextual offer scheme for Medicine, so contact admissions if your circumstances need to be taken into account.
The selection process for Buckingham Medical School is made up of three stages:
Only applicants who meet, or are predicted to meet, the academic threshold are invited to the MMA, and only those who achieve a satisfactory grade in the MMA progress to the MMI. Exceptionally high performing applicants may receive an offer at the MMA stage, but all other offers are made after the MMI. Buckingham also states that using artificial intelligence within the MMA and MMI is not permitted, and that any suspicion of AI use may result in exclusion from that event and all future events.
Buckingham holds numerous selection days each admissions cycle, but at the time of writing no dates had been published for the next intake – the course page says only that upcoming dates will be featured soon, so keep checking the MB ChB course page and the Selection Days page. According to the Medical Schools Council, work experience carries no weight in Buckingham’s decision making, although the school may consider all the information in your application before deciding.
Most UK medical schools require you to pass an admissions exam before you’ll be invited for interview. However, Buckingham is one of the few that don’t!
Admissions exam for Buckingham: none – Buckingham uses its own Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA) instead of the UCAT
The MMA is a computer-based test, sat as stage two of selection, made up of tasks designed to test your analysis, interpretation and judgement abilities in relation to the GMC’s Good Medical Practice. There’s no separate registration window or test fee to plan around as there is with the UCAT – you’ll be invited to an MMA once your application clears academic screening, and a strong performance can even earn you an offer without an MMI.
If you’re applying to other medical schools alongside Buckingham, you’ll almost certainly need the UCAT. The UCAT 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.
To find out more about the different admission exams and which medical schools require them, visit our Medicine Entry Requirements blog.
You can also see how other medical schools use the test in our guide to UCAT universities.
Buckingham receives no government subsidies, so tuition fees are much higher than at publicly funded medical schools. For both the January 2027 and January 2028 intakes, the published fees are:
You’ll also need to pay a £10,000 deposit when you accept an offer, which counts as credit against your first year’s fees and is refunded in full if you don’t meet your conditions, but is non-refundable if you simply change your mind. Fees can rise annually in line with RPI, and you’ll need to budget for extras such as a stethoscope from around £90, an enhanced DBS check at £65.80 plus £16 a year for the update service, and placement travel. Check the MB ChB course page for the latest fees.
Good luck with your application to Buckingham! For more help, take a look at our guides to applying to medical school and the best medical schools in the UK.
