Lincoln Medical School is Lincolnshire’s own medical school, based at the University of Lincoln’s Brayford Pool campus, and for 2027 entry you’ll be applying for the University of Lincoln’s five-year MBChB rather than the University of Nottingham degree offered in previous cycles. Because the school is so new as an independent provider, it doesn’t yet appear in either the Guardian University Guide 2027 or the Complete University Guide 2027 Medicine tables in its own right – its founding partner and contingency awarding school, the University of Nottingham, sits 29th in the Complete University Guide 2027 (up from 33rd) and 35th in the Guardian 2027, where it scores 98 out of 100 for career prospects. What Lincoln offers instead of a long league-table history is small cohorts, early patient contact and a clear mission to train doctors for rural and coastal communities.
For 2027 entry, Lincoln Medical School offers the MBChB Medicine (A100), a five-year degree taught entirely in Lincolnshire. The programme is subject to approval by the General Medical Council, with the University of Nottingham acting as the contingency school – if approval isn’t in place in time, students would graduate with a University of Nottingham BMBS, which still allows provisional GMC registration and entry to the UK Foundation Programme.
Currently, the curriculum at Lincoln Medical School is delivered using a range of teaching methods, including:
Each year, the content is delivered and assessed through three common modules – Professional Knowledge, Professional Skills, and Professional Values and Behaviour – with cases organised into blocks across the year, so the biological, psychological and social sides of a condition are taught together.
During the programme, you’ll undertake the following clinical placements:
Anatomy at Lincoln is taught through prosection in the Anatomy Suite, supported by models and bones, radiological imaging and online resources, with significant emphasis placed on surface anatomy. Teaching takes place in the purpose-built Ross Lucas Medical Sciences Building, which houses lecture theatres, laboratories, a clinical skills suite with consultation rooms, the prosection anatomy suite and a biomedical and health sciences library.
You can find more information about the learning and teaching at Lincoln Medical School here, and the full course structure here.
Whilst at Lincoln Medical School, your clinical placements may take place in the following:
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During the course, you’ll undertake three four-week Student Selected Components – one in Year 3 and two in Year 4 – providing opportunities to explore areas of interest in depth. Optional modules are also offered alongside the core curriculum from the first year, with previous examples including Global Health, History of Medicine from Antiquity to the Present, Introduction to Psychiatry, Safeguarding, and The Science and Myths of Sleep.
In Year 5 you’ll complete a six-week elective, and throughout the course you’ll take part in inter-professional education events with students and staff from other healthcare professions.
Research is supported by the medical school’s Clinical Academic Training Office (CATO). After Year 2 you can apply for a paid six-week research internship over the summer, and between Years 3 and 4 you can choose to intercalate by completing a 12-month MSc by Research. These NIHR-funded opportunities currently cover specialties including cardiology, endocrinology and diabetes, haematology, rheumatology, respiratory medicine and general practice. You can find out more here.
Away from the curriculum, the University of Lincoln Medical Society (MedSoc) runs events, educational sessions, sports and socials – including the annual Medic Ball – designed to fit around a medical student timetable.
Lincoln Medical School was established in 2018 with the specific aim of improving the recruitment and retention of doctors in Lincolnshire, which was the largest English county without its own medical school. If you want to train in rural and coastal healthcare and build relationships with local trusts from Year 1, that focus is a genuine strength.
Lincoln Medical School also offers MBChB Medicine with a Gateway Year (A106). This provides applicants from widening participation backgrounds with an alternative route, allowing you to complete a one-year gateway course before progressing automatically on to the five-year MBChB Medicine programme. Find out more information about the programme here.
Other selling points you could mention at interview include:
The typical entry requirements for 2027 entry are:
Medicine at Lincoln is not currently open to international applicants, so you’ll need UK home fee status to apply. An Access to HE Diploma in Medicine is accepted (15 credits at Distinction including Biology, 24 at Merit and 6 at Pass, plus five GCSEs at grade 6), and all offers are subject to a DBS check and satisfactory occupational health clearance. Lincoln expects some relevant work experience but is flexible about the amount and type, and won’t view your application negatively if opportunities have been hard to find. You can check the full details on the course page, and compare schools using our guide to medicine entry requirements.
Widening access: eligible applicants receive a contextual offer one grade lower, at AAB with one of the A grades in Biology, and contextual applicants also gain extra points in the selection score (see below). The Gateway Year (A106) route asks for BBB including Biology and five GCSEs at grade 6, and is only open to UK-based applicants who haven’t attended a fee-paying school, haven’t previously studied at university, and meet at least one widening participation criterion – being a care leaver, receiving free school meals, or living in an area of low participation in higher education (POLAR4 quintiles 1 or 2).
Lincoln Medical School uses the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format for both the MBChB Medicine and MBChB Medicine with Gateway Year programmes. Interviews take place in person on the Brayford Campus, and the circuit consists of seven stations in rotation, each scored across several domains to give a total interview score out of 70. You’ll need photographic ID with you on the day.
No offers are made without an interview, but Lincoln can’t interview every applicant – invitations are based on your Combined Academic Score, and there’s no set threshold, as it varies year by year. After your MMI, your interview score out of 70 is added to your halved Combined Academic Score (out of 30) to give a total out of 100, and offers go to the highest ranked candidates. Your personal statement isn’t scored, but it is checked after interview before offers are made.
At the time of writing, Lincoln hasn’t published its interview dates for 2027 entry, so keep an eye on the Interviews and Selection Guide and make sure you’re available to travel to Lincoln over the winter months. The purpose of the interview is to give you the chance to demonstrate skills and attributes appropriate to a career in medicine, and insight into a range of topics related to working as a doctor, as outlined by the Medical Schools Council.
The majority of UK medical schools include an admissions test as part of their entry criteria, which you must pass before you’ll be considered for interview.
Admissions exam for Lincoln: University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)
The UCAT is designed to assess the skills, characteristics and professional behaviours which are needed for medical school. The exam is now divided into 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, and you must sit it in the same year you apply.
Lincoln Medical School awards you points based on your UCAT score (including your SJT band) and your GCSE grades. These points are combined into a Combined Academic Score out of 60 and used to determine if you’ll be selected for interview. Applicants who achieve an SJT Band 4 are rejected at the point of application, so you must achieve at least Band 3 to be considered. GCSEs are worth up to 30 points (a grade 9 scores 5, down to 0 for a grade 4, across your best six including Biology, Chemistry or Double Science, Maths and English), and the UCAT is worth up to 30 points. If your most recent relevant qualification isn’t GCSEs – for example if you’re applying after your A Levels or with a degree – your UCAT score is doubled instead.
The UCAT points are awarded as follows:
| UCAT element | Result | Selection score |
|---|---|---|
| SJT band | Band 1 | 15 |
| SJT band | Band 2 | 10 |
| SJT band | Band 3 | 5 |
| SJT band | Band 4 | 0 – application not progressed |
| Cognitive total | Above 2300 | 15 |
| Cognitive total | 2170 – 2290 | 14 |
| Cognitive total | 2050 – 2160 | 12 |
| Cognitive total | 1970 – 2040 | 11 |
| Cognitive total | 1910 – 1960 | 10 |
| Cognitive total | 1860 – 1900 | 9 |
| Cognitive total | 1810 – 1850 | 8 |
| Cognitive total | 1750 – 1800 | 6 |
| Cognitive total | 1680 – 1740 | 4 |
| Cognitive total | 1580 – 1670 | 2 |
| Cognitive total | Below 1580 | 0 |
Source: Lincoln Medical School Interviews and Selection Guide.
These bands are based on the current scoring format out of 2700 and are reviewed each year against UCAT’s published deciles. Lincoln doesn’t publish its UCAT cut-off scores, as the score needed for interview varies between cycles. Contextual applicants for A100 can also gain extra points – for example 10 for UCAS Multiple Equality Measure quintile 1, 12 for care leavers or refugee status, 6 for a UCAT bursary, and 2 for living in a Lincolnshire local authority area – capped at 12 points in total.
To achieve the best possible UCAT score you can, and increase the number of points you’ll be awarded by Lincoln medical school, it’s essential that you prepare well. Our adaptive UCAT question bank will help you. Powered by artificial intelligence, it automatically assesses your strengths and weaknesses, and provides questions to specifically develop these areas. This adaptive, personalised learning makes more efficient use of your UCAT revision and avoids wasting time answering questions that won’t develop your learning.
You can also use the question bank dashboard (below) to identify any areas which may bring down your total UCAT score and affect your chances of being selected for interview.
With your calculated skill level, the number of questions you’ve answered correctly, and your response time, you can clearly see which areas you’ve “mastered” and which you need to dedicate more time to.
For more general information about the UCAT, check out our complete guide, which includes UCAT exam dates, fees and a breakdown of the different subtests. And for more preparation help, there’s our step-by-step preparation guide.
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 Lincoln Medical School! For more help, take a look at our guides to applying to medical school and the best medical schools in the UK.
