Number 1 in the UK for Medicine (The Complete University Guide 2025)
Medicine graduate course at Cambridge
This course combines core medical science with clinical medicine.
You’ll have the opportunity to develop your clinical skills through direct patient contact in hospital and community environments throughout the East of England.
This is an intense course, so you won’t have the time to do an additional degree, undertake optional study or exchange programmes at the same time.
The University departments collaborate with the 4 Cambridge Colleges that offer the course:
This course is for you if:
- you have an undergraduate degree in any subject
- you're a home fee status student
If you don’t already have another undergraduate degree or you’re an international fee status student, you can:
If you successfully complete this course, you’ll graduate with Bachelor of Medicine as well as Bachelor of Surgery MB, BChir.
Teaching and facilities
Teaching
Your pre-clinical teaching will take place in Cambridge alongside students on the standard medical course. Some of the course is also delivered in regional hospitals or practices, to take advantage of the different educational opportunities they offer.
Clinical teaching is based largely at the West Suffolk Hospital, a large district general hospital in Bury St Edmunds.
You will also be placed on general practise placements across East Anglia throughout the course.
In third year, you’ll spend half of your time on specialist rotations at Cambridge University Hospital.
Facilities
This Cambridge Medical course features teaching from world experts, progressive technology and modern facilities.
You'll also have access to the impressive Cambridge University Library, one of the world’s oldest university libraries.
Course costs
When you go to university, you’ll need to consider two main costs – your tuition fees and your living costs (sometimes referred to as maintenance costs).
Your living costs will include costs related to your studies that are not covered by your tuition fees. There are some general study costs that will apply for all students.
Find out more about general study costs.
Other additional course costs for Graduate Medicine are detailed below. If you have any queries about the costs, please contact the School of Clinical Medicine.
Equipment
To buy and maintain essential equipment for the course, the estimated cost is £60. Equipment includes:
- University approved scientific calculator
- Lab coat
- Safety glasses
- Dissecting instruments
- Gloves
You will also need:
- Theatre clogs – estimated contribution £10
- Stethoscope – estimated cost £60 to £100
Clinical Placements
Clinical placements take place in all 4 years of the course and will vary from student to student. You will be on placement at hospitals across the East Anglia region.
The types of cost you will be expected to cover and those covered by the School of Clinical Medicine are detailed below.
- The School will pay the cost of one return journey for each clinical placement.
- Costs of accommodation near the clinical placement hospitals are covered by the School.
- You are expected to cover basic subsistence costs during your placements.
College accommodation
Teaching on the course also takes place outside of term time. You’ll need around 9 weeks of additional accommodation in the first 2 years of the course and some additional weeks in Years 3 and 4. The cost of this will vary by College. Individual Colleges will be able to provide guidance on costs and the process for arranging additional accommodation.
Optional study abroad
There is an opportunity to take a medical placement outside of Cambridge (either in the UK or abroad) for 7 weeks. Depending on travel, accommodation and local placement fees, particularly for those who travel overseas, this could cost £3,000 or more. College and national grants may be available to help you cover these costs.
Course funding
You may be able to get funding from the NHS to help pay for your studies. Find out more about the NHS Bursary.
You may also be able to get funding from the Cambridge Bursary Scheme. See the Cambridge Bursary Scheme website for details.
Disabled students
The University respects and adheres to the GMC's guidance on supporting disabled learners. You can view the guidance on the GMC's Welcomed and valued website.
In your first 3 years, your College and the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC) will arrange most of your support.
During your clinical studies, the School of Clinical Medicine can arrange support. The School has a Student Academic Support Lead. They are a member of academic staff and they facilitate learning for disabled students.
Becoming a doctor
As a graduate you’ll be able to get provisional registration with the General Medical Council (GMC). The GMC has certain expectations about attitudes, behaviour and performance of medical students.
Read about registering as a doctor on the General Medical Council website.
You can then go anywhere in the country to complete two years as a junior doctor. These are known as Foundation Years. At the end of these two years you can register with the GMC as a doctor.
Read about the foundation programme on the UK Foundation Programme website.
Those graduating from 2025 onwards, will need to take the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA).
This is a test introduced by the General Medical Council to test the core knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to practise safely in the UK.
Read about the medical licensing assessment on the General Medical Council website.
Your future career
We enable students to develop the excellent communication, clinical, interpersonal and professional skills required for good medical practice.
As a graduate you’ll be ready to pursue for a range of careers across, across all areas of medicine.
If you’re interested in an academic research career, our MB/PhD Programme leads to the MB, BChir and PhD degrees. Read about the MB/PhD on the School of Clinical Medicine website.
