The University of Liverpool School of Medicine is one of the UK’s largest and longest-established medical schools, with a spiral curriculum and an unusually wide network of specialist NHS partners across the North West. Liverpool is ranked 6th out of 40 for Medicine in the Guardian University Guide 2027, with 87% of students satisfied with their teaching and a career prospects score of 99, and 24th in the Complete University Guide 2027 (up from 26th in 2026).
Liverpool School of Medicine uses an integrated, spiral curriculum, in which key concepts are introduced early, revisited regularly and developed in increasing depth as your clinical experience grows. A range of teaching methods is used to support learning, including:
The first two years focus on building a scientific and professional foundation, taught using an integrated ‘systems’ approach, with each System Block covering physiology, biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, anatomy, genetics and cell and molecular biology. Within the programme, you’ll also gain the following clinical experience:
Anatomy is taught in the Human Anatomy Resource Centre (HARC), a dedicated facility for human anatomy teaching – which is also why accepted applicants must be 18 by the start of the course. Assessment combines online tests and quizzes for learning with end-of-year written papers and practical (OSCE-style) Clinical and Professional Skills Assessments, alongside support for the national licensing assessments in the final year.
You can find more information relating to the teaching and learning, and assessment, on Liverpool's website here.
Liverpool School of Medicine has links with the following NHS Trusts:
You’ll also have teaching and research links with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the Linda McCartney Centre and St Paul’s Eye Unit, plus community and General Practice placements supported by regular small-group teaching led by GPs. More detail is on the specialist clinical teaching page.
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At the end of your fourth year, you’ll have the opportunity to undertake a 4-week elective, exploring a subject of your choice, which can be carried out abroad.
In the final year you’ll also complete a five-week research, audit or quality improvement project, a community-based initiative or a specialist placement tailored to your interests, building on the research and scholarship skills – literature searching, critical appraisal and evidence-based practice – introduced in Years 1 and 2.
The University of Liverpool offers students from a range of disciplines, including medicine, the opportunity to study for one year at their sister university (Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University) in China. You can find more information about this opportunity here. There are also summer abroad options in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.
Liverpool Medical School also offers the option of an intercalated degree, which allows you to take one year out of your medical degree – usually after your third year – to study and gain an additional undergraduate or master’s degree. For more information about the intercalated degree offered by Liverpool Medical School, including subject options, visit here.
Away from the curriculum, Liverpool is home to more than 1,700 student doctors and a long list of student-led societies, including the Liverpool Medical Students Society (LMSS), which the School describes as the UK’s oldest and largest medical student society.
Liverpool School of Medicine offers a 'Year Zero' foundation programme which provides an alternative route on to the Medicine and Surgery MBChB course. It’s aimed at Home mature and non-traditional students, is studied at Carmel College in St Helens, and leads directly into Year 1 of the MBChB on successful completion. You can find out more about the programme here.
Other selling points you could mention at interview include:
The typical entry requirements for 2027 entry are:
You must be 18 years old by 1 October in the year you start the course, as students need to be 18 to access teaching in the Human Anatomy Resource Centre. For 2027 entry there are an estimated 315 places, including 23 for international students. T Levels and the BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma aren’t accepted in lieu of A Levels, but approved Access to Medicine courses are considered. You can check the full details on the course page, and compare schools in our guide to medicine entry requirements.
Widening access: Liverpool uses contextual data for UK applicants from the most deprived postcodes (Index of Multiple Deprivation deciles 1 and 2) and for care-experienced students. Contextual applicants would normally be expected to offer at least 12 GCSE points, with English Language, Maths, Chemistry and Biology still at grade 6, and the flexibility applied to UCAT and MMI performance is set each year once all scores are available. Special consideration is also given to students from approved Access to Medicine courses, the Liverpool Scholars programme and Pathways to Medicine, although the contextual policy doesn’t apply to graduate applicants. The Year Zero foundation programme is a further route for mature and non-traditional applicants.
Liverpool Medical School uses the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format for its interviews, and no applicant is made an offer without being interviewed. For 2027 entry, the School expects home applicants to be interviewed on campus, face to face, with international applicants invited to an equivalent online MMI. The admissions team – not the applicant – decides which format you’re offered, and home and Irish applicants are expected to travel to campus.
The interview is designed to be compatible with NHS Values Based Recruitment and the Medical Schools Council’s Selecting for Excellence principles, so you’ll be assessed on the values, attitudes and non-academic attributes Liverpool looks for: healthcare career awareness and insight, caring for the community, clear verbal and written communication, and the values that underpin good healthcare practice. Your personal statement isn’t routinely used to decide who gets an interview, but the experiences in it are likely to come up during the interview itself.
Interviews for 2027 entry are anticipated to take place in January and February 2027, with no interviews offered after 5 March 2027 and final decisions posted on UCAS by 31 March. You’ll be asked to book a slot from the dates offered, and you should request any reasonable adjustments when you reply to your invitation. Liverpool expects to offer around 1,830 interviews to school leavers, 120 to graduates and 120 to international and EU applicants.
For more information on the interview, visit the Liverpool Medical School website and read the A100 Departmental Supplement to the Admissions Policy.
Most UK medical schools require you to complete an admissions exam as part of the entry criteria and before you’ll be invited to interview.
Admissions exam for Liverpool: University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)*
*This applies to non-graduates only. If you’re a graduate, you’ll need to complete the GAMSAT, scoring at least 50 in each sub-component (only the March and September 2025 and 2026 sittings are accepted for 2027 entry). You can find out more in our entry criteria blog.
The UCAT is designed to assess your skills, characteristics and professional behaviours against those required for medical school. The exam now includes 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. Liverpool medical school uses your overall UCAT score and your SJT band to determine if you’ll be selected for interview. Home applicants must achieve a band 1, 2 or 3 in the SJT for their application to be processed, and are then ranked on their overall score rather than individual subtest scores. The SJT isn’t used for international and EU applicants, who may offer any of the 4 bands. The top-ranked applicants who also meet the academic criteria are invited to interview, so you must perform well in the SJT section and achieve a competitive overall UCAT score if you’re to be selected for an interview at Liverpool medical school.
Cut-off scores change every year with the strength of the applicant pool. For the 2026 entry cycle, Liverpool published the following thresholds:
| Applicant group | UCAT cut-off score for 2026 entry |
|---|---|
| Home | 1960 |
| International/EU | 2080 |
Source: A100 Departmental Supplement to the Admissions Policy, 2027 entry.
These figures are on the current four-subtest scale (900–2700). Liverpool has removed its older cut-offs from its website, because scores from cycles marked out of 3600 were on the previous format and aren’t directly comparable.
To help you to prepare effectively, we’ve created a UCAT question bank which adapts to your learning needs. Using artificial intelligence to automatically assess your strengths and weaknesses, our algorithm ensures you’re given questions tailored to your individual needs, so you focus on developing the areas which will make a difference to your UCAT score.
You can also use the question bank dashboard (below) to identify areas which you need to improve.
With your calculated skill level, response time and the number of questions you’ve answered correctly for each subtest, it’s easy to see what you’ve “mastered” and what you need to dedicate more time to if you’re to secure an interview for Liverpool medical school.
For more information and support with the UCAT, including the test dates and fees, and tips to help you prepare, visit our UCAT page.
You can also see how other medical schools use the test in our guide to UCAT universities.
Tuition fees for the MBChB are:
If you take the year in China, there’s a reduced year abroad fee of £1,505 for home students and £25,000 for international students. Check the course fees and funding section for the latest information, and note that fees may increase each year.
Good luck with your application to Liverpool! For more help, take a look at our guides to applying to medical school and the best medical schools in the UK.
