The University of Sunderland School of Medicine is one of five new medical schools opened in 2019 to widen access to medicine, and it offers a small-intake, problem-based course on a city-centre campus by the sea. Sunderland is ranked 32nd out of 40 for Medicine in the Guardian University Guide 2027 and 35th in the Complete University Guide 2027 – but students rate it far more highly than that suggests, with 92.6% satisfied with their teaching, making it 1st in the north-east for student satisfaction in the Guardian and 4th in the UK for student satisfaction in the Complete University Guide. It was also named Medical School of the Year at the Educate North Awards 2026.
The University of Sunderland School of Medicine adopts an integrated, spiral curriculum, using a range of teaching methods to support learning, including:
The MBChB is delivered in three phases. Phase 1 (Years 1 and 2) gives you an overview of biomedical, behavioural and social science with early clinical exposure, alongside research, study and communication skills, basic clinical skills and professionalism. Phase 2 (Years 3 and 4) takes you through the science again with more emphasis on complexity and pathology, combined with clinical placements in primary and secondary care. Phase 3 (Year 5) consists of “extensive student assistantships to prepare you for practice as a Foundation Year 1 doctor”. Years 1 and 2 are based predominantly at City Campus, while clinical placements in Years 3–5 are based in local teaching hospitals and GP practices.
You’ll gain clinical experience in general practice in every year of the course: six half days between January and March in Year 1, eight half days between October and March in Year 2, a four-week block in Years 3 and 4, and a ten-week block in Year 5. Because of the early simulated communication skills training on campus, you’ll be ready to lead consultations with real patients from January of Year 1, and from Year 3 you’ll run parallel surgeries with your GP tutor remaining responsible for patient care.
Anatomy is taught in a purpose-built Anatomy Centre, opened in early 2022, which blends digital approaches with anatomical dissections prepared by experts (prosections). In Year 1 you’ll have two hours of taught anatomy a week, using Adam Rouilly models, body painting, touch-screen Virtual Human Dissector software, Complete Anatomy on your own device, an Anatomage table for virtual cadaveric dissection, and portable ultrasound – and you’ll be taught by anatomists alongside surgeons, radiologists and sonographers from local trusts.
You’ll be assessed by in-year written work, information management skills assessments, written knowledge examinations, reflective assignments and practical examinations, and you’ll need to pass the GMC’s Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA), which is built into the degree. You can find more information about the course structure here.
Sunderland is partnered with three hospital trusts, two mental health trusts, community services and 63 GP practices, with five dedicated Directors of Undergraduate Clinical Studies – consultant clinicians who oversee teaching and placements. You could be placed with:
You can read about the clinicians who lead this teaching on the Directors of Undergraduate Clinical Studies page.
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Sunderland School of Medicine offers an intercalated degree, which allows you to take a year away from your MBChB course to study for an additional qualification. You’ll have the option to undertake an intercalated BSc degree (after Year 2) or an intercalated MSc degree (after Year 4), either at Sunderland or a different university. You can find out more on the course page.
Research is supported by the School’s Clinical Academic Training Office (CATO), which is the contact point for students doing academic work. As a medical student you can apply for a funded six-week NIHR research internship over the summer, working with a supervisor on a topic of your choice and disseminating your findings, and CATO also supports intercalation and Academic Clinical Fellows in specialties including general practice, anaesthetics, acute medicine, renal, rheumatology and cardiology.
You’ll also learn alongside biomedical, sports and physiological scientists, pharmacists, nurses and paramedics, which is good preparation for interdisciplinary teamwork in the NHS.
Away from the curriculum, the University of Sunderland Students’ Union hosts Sunderland Medical Society (MedSoc) plus more specialist groups including a Medical Education Society, an Academic Medicine Society and Friends of Medics and Me, a widening participation charity society. You can browse them all on the Students’ Union groups page.
The curriculum has a significant general practice focus, with placements in primary care in every year of study across a network of 63 GP practices; if you have a particular interest in general practice this may be a valuable discussion point for you at your interview, especially if you’re asked why you are interested in studying at Sunderland.
Other selling points you could mention at interview include:
The typical entry requirements for 2027 entry are:
You must be 18 years old by 31 December in the year you start, because of the early clinical placements. Sunderland is unable to accept international fee-paying applicants, doesn’t accept Access to Higher Education or Access to Medicine courses, doesn’t accept equivalent qualifications in place of A Levels and GCSEs, and doesn’t use predicted grades. There are 117 places available per year. You can check the full details on the course page, and compare schools using our guide to medicine entry requirements.
Widening access: Sunderland offers a contextual offer of AAB if you receive free school meals (or were eligible in the last six years) or received a UCAT bursary. There’s a further contextual offer of ABB if you make Sunderland your firm choice on UCAS, live in a local postcode (North East and Cumbria) and meet one or more widening participation criteria – these include POLAR4 quintiles 1 and 2, being a refugee, free school meals eligibility, a UCAT bursary, or being from a UK armed forces family. The A grade must be in Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Maths, and you’ll still need to meet the UCAT requirement. Sunderland also runs Medstart, a series of targeted sessions that help local students prepare for applying and interviewing for the MBChB.
Sunderland School of Medicine uses the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format for its interview. This will include a ‘series of short interview stations’ which may vary from a ‘one-to-one traditional interview, through to role-play, and data analysis’.
The interview will assess a variety of skills and personal attributes, including your motivation for studying medicine, your empathy and insight, your understanding of the responsibilities and challenges you’ll face, your awareness of ethical issues in health and society, your resilience, comprehension and communication.
Shortlisting for interview is based on three things: your academic requirements, your UCAT score and Sunderland’s interview selection tool – an online survey about your work or caregiving experience from the past two years, issued once your application is received. You can list up to four experiences, must provide contact details for your most significant one, and will be asked for brief written responses about the values and attributes you gained.
For 2027 entry, interviews will take place in person in the School of Medicine, Murray Health building, from the week commencing 7 December 2026, running through December and early January. You need to be available throughout the interview period, as Sunderland can’t offer interviews outside it. All interviews are completed before any decisions are made, so you should expect to hear the outcome in February, with an Offer Holder Day in March. You can read more about the process on the Applying for Medicine page.
Most medical schools require you to pass an admissions exam before you’ll be invited for interview.
Admissions exam for Sunderland: 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 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.
Sunderland Med School select applicants for interview based on their UCAT scores, alongside the academic requirements and the interview selection tool. To be eligible, applicants must score within the top 8 deciles of the cohort – in other words, the top 80% of test takers that year – and the situational judgement test (SJT) must be within bands 1-3. Your personal statement isn’t scored. Sunderland publishes the minimum score needed in each of the last five cycles, recalculated to take account of the removal of Abstract Reasoning:
| Year of test | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum score | 1670 | 1680 | 1650 | 1670 | 1690 |
Source: University of Sunderland – Applying for Medicine.
Because the threshold is set by decile rather than a fixed number, it moves each year with the cohort – so aim comfortably above these figures rather than at them. For context, the Medical Schools Council lists 10.1 home applicants per place at Sunderland, and 2.4 applicants per interview.
To help you to successfully prepare for all sections, the free Medibuddy UCAT 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.
The fee listed for the MBChB is:
Sunderland notes that undergraduate fees are set in line with government rules and forecast inflation, and may increase each year based on the Retail Price Index, so check the all fees page for confirmed figures for 2027/28.
Good luck with your application to Sunderland! For more help, take a look at our guides to applying to medical school and the best medical schools in the UK.
