The University of St Andrews School of Medicine offers a unique route into medicine: three years at St Andrews, then clinical training at one of six partner medical schools. St Andrews is ranked 13th out of 40 for Medicine in the Guardian University Guide 2027, where it records the highest teaching satisfaction score of any medical school in the table at 97.2%, and 14th in the Complete University Guide 2027.
The University of St Andrews Medical School offers a unique experience, as you’ll complete the first three years of your course at St Andrews and the final three years at one of their partner medical schools:
When you apply you’ll choose a pathway: the Scotland route (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh or Glasgow), the England route (Manchester or Barts) or No Preference. Places are allocated in your second year, based on your academic performance and your location preference, and overseas applicants progress to Manchester.
During your time at St Andrews Medical School, the curriculum will be delivered through a variety of teaching methods, including:
You can find out more information about the course structure and different modules covered here.
You’ll also gain the following clinical experience:
Anatomy is taught through cadaveric dissection from the start of the course – you’ll dissect the back in your first semester, then the limbs, then the major body systems, with clinical imaging integrated throughout. You’ll be assessed through written exams, anatomy practicals and clinical exams.
Clinical experience throughout Years 4 – 6 will depend on the partner medical school at which you're based. These are as follows:
With each partner university, you’ll join the third year of their programme, with the exception of Edinburgh Medical School, which will be the fourth year. You can find out more information about the partner universities here or within their individual sections in this guide. You’ll sit both parts of the national Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) at your partner school before graduating with an MBChB, or an MBBS from Barts.
Your first three years are based in St Andrews, with placements in community and primary care settings in Fife and hospital attachments in third year. One example highlighted by the GMC as good practice is an interprofessional day placement at Glenrothes Community Hospital, alongside nursing students from the University of Dundee.
The School’s partnership with NHS Fife has grown considerably: ScotCOM students now take their main clinical placements in NHS Fife, including a refurbished education hub at Cameron Hospital, plus NHS Forth Valley and NHS Borders.
From Year 4, your teaching hospitals depend on the partner school you progress to, from Ninewells in Dundee to the Royal London.
Gain access to a recording of our free webinar and find out what a day in the life of medical student Helen looks like. There's also videos covering all aspects of medical school applications and the UCAT.
"I would like to thank you for providing a useful and detailed webinar giving me a better understanding and an insight into what medicine has to offer."
You’ll have the opportunity to experience interprofessional working through a ward simulation learning activity within your third year, which develops your teamwork skills and your understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the healthcare team on a ward.
You’ll undertake a student selected component, which will give you the opportunity to explore an area of interest through a research project. It runs in the second semester of third year and involves critical appraisal, a dissertation and an oral presentation – excellent preparation if you’re interested in academic medicine.
Away from the curriculum, the Bute Medical Society, established in 1915, is one of St Andrews’ oldest and largest student societies, with over 500 members, academic talks, sports teams and three balls a year.
Following your three years at St Andrews, you’ll graduate with a BSc Honours degree, before progressing to one of the partner universities (listed above) and completing your final three years, following which you’ll graduate with a MBChB/MBBS.
Other selling points you could mention at interview include:
The typical entry requirements for 2027 entry are:
You’ll also need paid or unpaid work or shadowing experience in a caring or health environment to reflect on in your personal statement. Applicants who resit A Levels or Highers to meet the requirements aren’t normally considered, and Access courses, HNCs and HNDs aren’t accepted for the graduate route. Overseas applicants are welcome, but complete their clinical years at Manchester. Check the full requirements on the course page, and compare schools in our guide to medicine entry requirements.
Widening access: the minimum entry grades above are for applicants who live in the lowest 40% most deprived areas of the UK, are care experienced, are registered young carers, are estranged or are refugees. Widening participation applicants who meet the criteria also receive a 10% increase in their UCAT score for ranking for interview. The one-year Gateway to Medicine programme (UCAS code LQV9) supports Scottish students from under-represented backgrounds who narrowly miss the grades, with entry at BBBB in Highers in S5 and progression to the A100 or ScotCOM.
St Andrews Medical School uses the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format for its interview. It specifies that the MMI “usually consists of four ‘mini’ interviews held at stations which last about six minutes each”.
The interview will assess your understanding of medicine as a career and whether you appreciate the realities of working in a caring profession. Your communication and interpersonal skills are assessed at every station, at least one station involves role-play with an actor, and you may also be assessed on critical thinking, reflection and your ability to discuss ethical issues.
Invitations are emailed from November up to March, and interviews usually take place in early December and then in January, February and March. For 2026 entry, home-funded applicants were interviewed in person in St Andrews while all other fee statuses were interviewed online; the School hasn’t yet confirmed whether the same split applies for 2027 entry. You’ll need to send photographic ID in advance and bring it with you. You can find out more information about the interview process at St Andrews Medical School here.
Most medical schools require you to pass an admissions exam before you’ll be invited for interview.
Admissions exam for St Andrews: University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)
The UCAT assesses your characteristics, attitudes and professional behaviours against those required for medical school. The exam is divided into 4 sections: 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.
St Andrews takes a “hurdle” based approach: your application isn’t scored and no weighting is applied to any one part of it. If you have a strong academic record, a positive reference and relevant, medically related work experience, you’ll be ranked on your UCAT global score, and the top 650 or so applicants are invited to interview. Offers are based on your interview score and the route you applied to, with the UCAT score separating applicants with the same interview score. No SJT band cut-off is published.
The minimum UCAT scores selected for interview for 2026 entry were:
| Applicant group | Minimum UCAT score |
|---|---|
| BSc and MBChB (Home funded and Scottish) | 1500 |
| BSc and MBChB (UK domicile) | 1640 |
| A100 (Overseas) | 1710 |
| A990 (Overseas) | 1940 |
Source: University of St Andrews Medicine entry requirements.
The School publishes five years of admissions data online, but figures from 2025 entry and earlier are on the previous format scored out of 3600, so they aren’t directly comparable, and the scores considered vary each year with the strength of the applicant pool.
To help you to successfully prepare for all sections, the free Medibuddy AI-powered, adaptive question bank carefully selects questions based on your strengths and weaknesses within the syllabus, to ensure that you’re focusing on areas which will have the biggest impact on your UCAT score.
You can also clearly see in the question bank dashboard the areas you have “mastered” and those which you need to focus more time on.
It’s crucial that you prepare well for all areas to ensure that you get the best UCAT score possible and secure your interview place!
For more information and guidance, see our complete guide to the UCAT and our UCAT preparation tips.
You can also see how other medical schools use the test in our guide to UCAT universities.
Tuition fees for your three years at St Andrews are:
UK fees for 2027 entry haven’t been set yet, and fees for Years 4 to 6 depend on the partner school. Check the undergraduate fees and funding page and the School’s Medicine funding arrangements for the latest information.
Good luck with your application to St Andrews! For more help, take a look at our guides to applying to medical school and the best medical schools in the UK.
