Medicine (Graduate Course)

At Cambridge, we offer two medicine courses – the Standard Course and the Graduate Course. Throughout, our aim is to educate students to become compassionate, thoughtful, skilled members – and leaders – of the medical profession.

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Overview

Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine (CGCM)

Success in medicine requires application and hard work, both while studying and when in practice. However, Medicine brings great personal rewards, offering a breadth and variety of career opportunities and excellent job satisfaction. No day in the life of a doctor is the same! The application of knowledge and research evidence to patient care provides a unique opportunity to combine scientific expertise with the human interactions that lie at the heart of the profession.

Our courses are intellectually stimulating and professionally challenging. As a medical student, you'll experience a rigorous, evidence-based medical education within the research-rich environment of the University. Students have opportunities to pursue research and project work throughout the courses.

In addition to the Standard Course (A100), we also offer the Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine (CGCM, A101). Open to outstanding graduates of any discipline, successful completion of the accelerated Graduate Course leads to the MB, BChir degrees in four years. The course is open only to applicants who qualify for home fee status. International/overseas graduates may apply for the Standard Course (A100) as an affiliated student (places are limited).

This four-year course (43 study weeks a year) integrates core medical science with clinical medicine, with an emphasis on the development of clinical skills through direct patient contact in hospital and community environments throughout the East of England. The CGCM (A101) is intensely programmed and does not have the flexibility to allow additional degrees, optional study or exchange programmes.

The University departments collaborate with the four Cambridge Colleges offering the course, six general practices in West Suffolk, and the West Suffolk Hospital (in Bury St Edmunds) – the main clinical base for the course.

Full details of the course can be found on the Graduate Course in Medicine website.

Course costs

Tuition fees

Information on tuition fee rates for the Graduate Course in Medicine is available on the tuition fees page.

Additional course costs

Years 1 and 2

One lab coat (estimated £12 to £14)
Replacement of instruments in the dissection kit, sharpening of scissors, gloves, laundering of white coats (estimated)
Safety glasses (estimated £3 to £5)
University approved calculator (estimated £14)
Travel in year 1 (estimated maximum £25)
College rent fees in Year 2 for Preparing for Patients course (Estimated maximum £130)
Stethoscope - estimated cost £60 -100
Tablet device for use during clinical placements – Estimated cost £100 (highly recommended but not essential)

Year 3

All clinical courses include a seven-week elective – students choosing a local elective may incur no additional costs, but students choosing to travel abroad (as most prefer to do) will typically incur costs of around £2,000 (College and national grants may be available)
Travel costs to regional hospitals reimbursed by Clinical School

Year 4

Travel costs to regional hospitals reimbursed by Clinical School

Details about additional course costs during Years 1 and 2 of the Graduate Course can be found on the Faculty of Biology’s website, and information about additional course costs during the clinical studies (Years 3-4 of the Graduate Course) are available on the Clinical School’s website.

UK Foundation Programme and Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA)

Graduates are entitled to hold provisional registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) with a licence to practise, subject to demonstrating to the GMC that they are fit to practise (please note that this may be subject to change). To apply for full registration as a doctor, you must satisfactorily complete the first year of a Foundation Programme post and continue to meet fitness to practise requirements. Please refer to the UK Foundation Programme website for information.

A national MLA, to be taken by students in the final year of Medical School, will be introduced in 2022. Further information can be found on the GMC website.

Cambridge Bursary Scheme

You may be eligible for the Cambridge Bursary Scheme which now supports CGCM students throughout their course. Please see the Cambridge Bursary Scheme website for more details.

NHS Bursaries

NHS Bursaries are currently available for eligible Medicine students from Year 2 of the Graduate Course (A101). See the NHS Student Bursaries website for further information.

Careers

We enable students to develop the excellent communication, clinical, interpersonal and professional skills required for good medical practice. Our focus on combining training in the core medical sciences with a broad-based clinical curriculum, encompassing primary, community-based and hospital care, prepares our students for a range of careers across general practice, medicine, psychiatry and other specialities.

Course outline

Applicants for this course must complete a Graduate Course in Medicine application form (see related documents, right), in addition to their UCAS application.

Level 1 (Years 1 and 2)

Core Medical Science and Clinical Medicine

In Level 1, you follow the same core medical science teaching as those on the Standard Course in Medicine pre-clinical studies for four and a half terms (see the Graduate Course website for details).

In addition, there are five clinical placements in West Suffolk (during the University vacations) through which you learn clinical skills. One and a half days a week are spent in a local general practice and the other days in a hospital environment.

This intercalation of clinical experience and the study of core science helps to demonstrate the relevance of the core science and its integration into clinical medicine.

At the end of this period, you complete your Second MB exams and have a level of clinical competence comparable to the standard Clinical Studies students at the end of their first clinical stage.

Level 2

Specialist Clinical Practice

Level 2 consists of placements in the medical specialties and is based around the stages of the human lifespan:

growth, development and childhood illness
women’s health
major adult diseases – cardiothoracic medicine, oncology, infectious disease
neurosciences, rheumatology and orthopaedics

These placements may be at Addenbrooke's Hospital or other hospitals in East Anglia, learning alongside the Standard Course clinical studies students.

Level 3

Applied Clinical Practice

Level 3 (the final year) is spent in clinical placements in West Suffolk, when Levels 1 and 2 skills and knowledge are reinforced and developed in preparation for practice.

The emphasis in Level 3 is on integration of primary care, secondary care and the specialties, and following the 'patient journey'.

Throughout the course, learning is supported by small-group sessions with a Graduate Course Tutor (a senior clinician in West Suffolk); groups in general practice and the Colleges; and hospital groups led by a clinical supervisor (a doctor in training).

For further information about studying the Medicine (Graduate course) at the University of Cambridge see the School of Clinical Medicine website.

Entry requirements

The Graduate Course in Medicine (A101) is open only to applicants who qualify for home fee status. See Tuition Fee Status for more information.

Applicants must have:

a good Honours degree (2.1 or above) in any discipline
passes at A Level (or equivalent) – see course requirements below. Competitive applicants will have A*A*A (if you graduated with a 2.1 or have yet to complete your first degree) or ABB (if you have graduated with a 1st class degree)

Please note that you must complete a separate Graduate Course in Medicine application form in addition to your UCAS application to apply for this course.

Applications for 2024 entry can be submitted from 1 September 2023.
The deadline for receipt of your UCAS application is 16 October 2023.
The deadline to email your Graduate Course in Medicine application is 23 October 2023.

If you are eligible to apply for the Graduate Course in Medicine (A101) you may also apply for the Standard Course in Medicine (A100). This is the only instance when it's possible to apply for more than one course at the University. If you choose to do so, you must apply to the same College for both courses (ie Lucy Cavendish, St Edmund's or Wolfson).

It is not possible to apply for deferred entry to the Graduate Course in Medicine.

Applications for the Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine are collectively assessed by all four admitting Colleges (Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St Edmund’s and Wolfson) and the Clinical School. Whilst original College choice will be taken into account where possible, applicants may be offered a place at any of these four Colleges. In order to ensure that the number of admitted students is evenly distributed, successful offer holders may be admitted by a different College to that making the original offer.

You may enter up to four medical courses in your UCAS application. Your remaining choice can be used for an alternative course without prejudice to your commitment to medicine.

Course requirements

All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the Cambridge Colleges. College-specific information on this website has been provided by the individual Cambridge Colleges – please contact the relevant College admissions office if you have any queries about College-specific requirements. See also Entrance requirements and The Subject Matters for additional advice about general requirements for entry, qualifications and offers.

Please note that in the following ‘science/mathematics subjects’ refers to Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. It does not include Psychology.

A Levels

Applicants must have A Level Chemistry (normally passed at grade A or above within seven years of entry) and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics (at A or AS Level).

International Baccalaureate

A Level subject requirements also apply to the IB.
Higher Level subjects will satisfy A Level subject requirements.

Other examination systems

We expect applicants taking other recognised examinations to demonstrate a level of understanding in science and mathematics roughly equivalent to those applying with A Levels. Refer to the Entrance requirements page for details of other qualifications and please consult any College Admissions Tutor for further advice.

Work experience

To develop understanding of what a career in Medicine involves and your suitability for your intended profession, you are strongly advised (though not required) to undertake some relevant work experience, either paid or voluntary, in a health or social care organisation. We are not prescriptive about how this is obtained, recognising the widely differing opportunities available.

Admission assessment

Applicants for the Graduate Course in Medicine (A101) are not required to take an admission assessment. However, if you wish to apply to both the Standard Course (A100) and Graduate Course (A101), you’re required to take the Biomedical Admission Test (BMAT) – see the Standard Course (A100) entry requirements information for details of the BMAT.

Selection requirements

You must be a keen scientist, with a sound scientific understanding. As selection for medical school implies selection for the medical profession, admissions decisions are informed by national guidance on what makes a good doctor, for example, the Medical Schools Council's Consensus Statement on the Role of the Doctor and Guiding Principles for the Admission of Medical Students.

Applications from students who have failed at or been excluded from another medical school will not normally be considered for entry to Medicine at Cambridge.

Professional expectations

The GMC has certain expectations regarding the attitudes, behaviour and performance of medical students. Trainee doctors at Cambridge must satisfy the GMC's fitness to practise requirements, both when applying and throughout the course. These requirements are in place to ensure the safety of patients.

Disclosure and Barring Service check

All offers of a place on a Medicine course are subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or equivalent overseas check.

Applicants that have lived in the UK for the whole of the last 5 years will need to complete a DBS check which will be arranged through the University.

Applicants that have lived outside of the UK for 6 months or more in the last 5 years will still need to complete a satisfactory enhanced DBS check but will also have to provide relevant overseas checks to cover these periods of time and complete a self-declaration form.

Applicants who have not lived in the UK at all in the last 5 years will have to provide relevant overseas checks to cover these periods of time and complete a self-declaration form.

Overseas checks need to be obtained by the applicant, the University will not apply for overseas checks on the Students’ behalf.

Further guidance on overseas checks can be found on the Government website.

Applicants will be responsible for paying the costs of DBS and/or criminal record checks.

Minor misdemeanours will not necessarily prevent you from entering the medical profession but you should declare these in your UCAS application and you will be sent the relevant forms to complete if you are offered a place.

More details can be found on the University's Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) webpage and on the Faculty of Biology website.

Your health

Doctors, even as students and trainees, have a responsibility to be honest and open about their own health and all successful applicants are required to complete a confidential occupational health assessment. A questionnaire will be included with your offer letter and, once completed, should be returned directly to Occhealth@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Your answers to the health questionnaire help to ensure that your medical training will not place your own or others' health at risk and determine, in terms of fitness to fulfil the requirements of the General Medical Council (GMC), your suitability to work as a doctor. Further information from the General Medical Council (GMC) can be found on the GMC website.

The assessment is also to identify any long-term health conditions or disabilities that you may have, which require specific support. Where necessary, you will be contacted by Occupational Health for further information in order for support to be appropriately considered and implemented.

Vaccinations for medical school

The University requires all prospective medical students be immunised against certain infectious diseases in order to comply with national guidelines. You will be sent details of the vaccination programme with your offer.

Blood-borne infections

In accordance with Department of Health guidelines and NHS requirements, you will be offered blood tests to check that you are not infected with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV infection before you can be cleared to participate in certain surgical procedures, known as exposure prone procedures (EPPs). Additional information can be found on the government website.

In the event that any test shows infection, following discussion with OH, you will be able to continue with the course but your practice may be restricted EPPs unless the infection can be eradicated or satisfactorily suppressed. It will not prevent you from qualifying or practising as a doctor, except for a restriction on EPPs.

Disability, neurodiversity and health conditions

A disability, specific learning difficulty (SpLD) or long-term health condition needn't prevent you from becoming a doctor if you can satisfy the professional fitness to practice requirements.

In these circumstances, please contact a College Admissions Tutor as early as possible to discuss your needs and the course requirements. Such disclosures are considered independently of academic qualifications and the interview process.

The University's Disability Resource Centre (DRC) can provide general advice and guidance to prospective and current students with a disability, SpLD or long-term health condition.

For further information about studying the Medicine (Graduate course) at the University of Cambridge see the School of Clinical Medicine website.

Resources

Find out more about Medicine Graduate Course at Cambridge

Work experience during the coronavirus pandemic - MSCSA guidance on gaining relevant experience to study medicine in the time of Covid-19

Cambridge Medicine Graduate Course - Explore Medicine Graduate Course in more detail on the faculty website.

General Medical Council (GMC) - Information on the General Medical Council (GMC).

Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine Bursary - Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine Bursary.

NHS Student Bursaries - Information about NHS Student Bursaries.