Buckingham Medical School Entry Requirements 2027

The University of Buckingham Medical School is an independent medical school that teaches a 4.5-year MB ChB beginning each January. Its course page asks for ABB at A level including Chemistry or Biology, with grade 4 in GCSE Maths and, for native speakers, GCSE English, and its Selection Days page describes Academic Screening followed by a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). Its January 2027 fee illustrations use £41,500 a year for UK and £47,000 for international students.

What grades does Buckingham ask for, qualification by qualification?

Buckingham publishes its academic thresholds in two places: the MB ChB course page, last modified on 28 October 2026, and a country-by-country PDF that the course page links as its “Entry Requirements Document”, saved under the file name Med-2627-Entry-Requirements. Each row below names the document it comes from, because the two do not agree on every figure.

One rule sits across every route: the course page says “Academic qualifications older than 5 years will not be considered.” On BTECs it is equally direct: “we do not accept BTECs as this qualification is not sufficient.”

The GCSE science condition is easy to miss. An applicant with only one of Biology and Chemistry at A level needs the other at GCSE with “at least a grade B”, a letter grade, so a candidate holding 9 to 1 GCSEs should ask the admissions team which numerical grade it accepts.

IB 32 or 34? Where Buckingham’s own documents disagree

The course page, modified on 28 October 2026, says International Baccalaureate applicants “should be expected to achieve or to have achieved a total score of at least 32 points to include 3 Higher Level subjects”, with at least Higher Level 6 in Chemistry or Biology and at least HL5 in the other. The PDF it links, file-named Med-2627-Entry-Requirements, reads: “We require a minimum of 34 points overall, to include 3 HL subjects.” Its science rule is the same H6 and H5 split, and it excludes Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay from the total.

The two documents give different totals. An IB candidate predicted 32 points or more but below 34 should email the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences admissions team at FMHS-admissions@buckingham.ac.uk and ask which figure applies to their year of entry, and keep the written reply.

A third document still circulates: the second Google result for the search “buckingham medical school entry requirements” on 16 October 2026 was a country list created on 22 November 2019, according to its file metadata. Its UK rows are out of date: it asked for 34 IB points with HL6 in both Biology and Chemistry, AAABB in Scotland with three Advanced Highers at BBB, and 85% in the European Baccalaureate. The Med-2627 PDF reads H6 and H5, AABBB with two Advanced Highers at BB, and 76%.

Can you apply to Buckingham after resitting A levels?

Yes, but only under conditions that Buckingham spells out. The Med-2627 PDF says: “Only applicants who attain BBB at their first A Level attempt and significant mitigation can apply with a resit. Applicants with lower grades at their first A Level attempt and significant mitigation can apply after they have attained the required grades of ABB. Predicted grades will not be considered for such applicants.”

That is two routes, and both require significant mitigation. BBB at the first sitting allows an application while resitting; anything lower means sitting the resits first and applying once ABB is in hand, because predicted grades are not considered.

The five-year rule also limits how far back a resit history can reach, since qualifications older than five years are not considered. Transfers are excluded as well: Buckingham’s admissions FAQs say “We do accept transfer students*”, with the footnote “*excluding programmes offered by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences”, the faculty that runs the MB ChB.

Our guide to A-level resits for medicine sets out how resit applications work more generally.

Is Buckingham on the UCAT list? What the Consortium shows, and Buckingham’s MMI

The UCAT Consortium’s list of UK universities using the UCAT for 2027 entry, read on 31 October 2026, does not include Buckingham, and nor does the list of partner universities on the same page where, it says, “UCAT is also used in selection”. The Consortium says candidates “are required to sit the UCAT 2026 if you are applying for entry in 2027 (or deferred entry in 2028) to a relevant course at a UCAT Consortium University”, so a 2027 applicant to Consortium universities needed the UCAT 2026 for those applications. Our guide to medical schools without the UCAT for 2027 covers the wider picture.

Buckingham’s own selection, as its Selection Days page describes it, runs in two stages.

Stage one: Academic Screening

“The first stage is to submit an application with all supporting documents – either via UCAS or directly to us.” A direct application needs a form, an academic reference and certified transcripts or certificates. The Selection Days page calls this stage Academic Screening, as does the course page, and states: “It is not intended that ability to pay the fees for the course should compensate for academic achievement that is less than usual for entry to a medical course in the UK.”

Stage two: the Multiple Mini Interview

The second stage is, in Buckingham’s words, “intended to judge personal attributes relating to suitability for practice as a doctor”, and its tasks relate to the GMC’s Good Medical Practice. Buckingham adds that “Exceptionally high performing students may receive an offer after stage 2 in the process, however all other offers are made after the MMI events.” The course page sets one firm rule: “The use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the MMI is not permitted.” Suspected use is investigated and can lead to exclusion from that event and all future events.

The course page, read on 31 October 2026, lists MMI events on 12 November, 17 November, 1 December, 3 December and 10 December 2026, without saying which intake they serve. The Selection Days page says Buckingham holds “numerous selection days during each admissions cycle”. Our overview of which medical schools use the MMI covers the interview formats at other UK schools.

When does the course start, and when should you apply for January 2027 or 2028?

Buckingham’s MB ChB has a January start. Its term-dates page says: “The MB ChB Medicine programme starts in January and follows a separate academic calendar.” The 2027 MB ChB term-dates PDF puts the induction of the MED27 cohort, the January 2027 intake, in the week beginning 11 January 2027.

The course page has already moved on a cycle. When read on 31 October 2026 (modified 28 October 2026), it listed a single cohort, January 2028, lasting 4.5 years, with the UCAS course code 71A8. The university’s UCAS institution code is B90.

For January 2027 itself, the university’s How to apply page, read on 31 October 2026, gives general January 2027 deadlines of Monday 7 December for international students and Monday 11 January for home students, with a footnote that reads: “*January 2027 Medicine MB ChB application deadline TBC”. The same page notes that “deadlines vary for Medicine and Education programmes.” The course page says “You can apply until shortly before the course starts” and “There are no application fees.”

Three practical points follow from Buckingham’s pages:

• Decision time. Buckingham’s university-wide admissions FAQs say: “From the date we receive a complete application (including all supporting documents) we aim to make a decision within three weeks.” For the MB ChB, the Selection Days page says exceptionally high performers may receive an offer after stage 2, and all other offers are made after the MMI events.
• Age. Students “must have attained 18 years of age at the point of registration”. Exceptionally, a student who is 17 at registration and turns 18 during the first term may be granted an exemption by the Dean of Faculty or a nominated deputy.
• Open Day. The course page lists a Buckingham Open Day on 9 January 2027.

What does the MB ChB cost for January 2027 entry?

Buckingham publishes separate fee illustrations for UK applicants and international applicants, each headed “January 2027 entry”. Each uses an average annual fee for illustration.

The course page’s January 2028 listing shows the same per-year figures, “From £41,500 per year” for UK fees and “From £47,000 per year” for international fees, and says “The University reserves the right to increase course fees annually in line with inflation linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI).”

The deposit. The course page says the £10,000 deposit “acts as a credit against your first year’s fees. If you do not meet the conditions of the offer, your deposit will be refunded in full.” It is not refunded if an applicant accepts, meets the conditions and then decides not to come, apart from force majeure cases such as a global pandemic. In the UK illustration, the first instalment after the deposit is £3,834, due on or before 31 March 2027.

Student Finance. For courses starting on or after 1 January 2027, the course page says UK applicants apply through the new Lifelong Learning Entitlement. Read on 31 October 2026, it sets out the limit that matters at Buckingham: “tuition fee loan support would be restricted to the maximum available under your provider category (currently £6,525 or the equivalent credit-based amount), regardless of the actual fee charged by the institution.”

Scholarships and discounts. The Swains Scholarship offers up to £5,000 per year, lists Medicine MB ChB among its eligible courses, and is open to long-term (more than one year) residents of Buckinghamshire or Milton Keynes who can demonstrate financial need. For the January 2027 intake, applications must be submitted before Monday 9 November 2026, after the course application. Buckingham’s discounts page limits the 5% alumni discount to the first two years of the MB ChB and excludes the MB ChB from the 5% family discount.

Other costs. The course page says stethoscopes “typically start at around £90”, students use their own IT devices, and Phase 1 placement travel costs around 55p per mile, with mileage over 25 miles in one direction refunded.

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Applying from outside the UK: English tests, fee status and country rules

The Medical School page says: “As an independent medical school, we have no cap on international student places.” For international applicants, three further questions arise: English, fee status and whether their school-leaving qualification counts.

English language. Applicants whose native language is not English need an IELTS UKVI or IELTS Academic certificate with “a minimum overall score of 7 and no less than 6.5 in each component.” Because IELTS Academic is unsuitable for MB ChB applicants who may be offered the Pre-Med instead, the course page says: “we strongly recommend all MB ChB applicants to take the IELTS UKVI test.” IELTS General Training is not sufficient. Cambridge English: Advanced is accepted at an overall average of 185 with at least 176 in each paper. A completed UK Bachelor degree, or nationality of a listed country such as Australia or the USA, exempts an applicant.

Fee status. Buckingham’s definition of fee status requires Home applicants to be settled in the UK on the first day of the course and ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands “for the full 3-year period” before it. Anyone not assessed as Home pays international fees.

Country rules. The Med-2627 PDF lists minimums country by country. A selection:

Visas. Fees paid in advance are refunded if a student visa is refused, but the course page says “£300 will be retained if the CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) was released to you.” Our page on medicine interview preparation for international students covers interview practice from outside the UK.

What is the Pre-Med CertHE, and how does it lead to the MB ChB?

The CertHE in Pre-Medical and Health Studies is Buckingham’s own one-year, full-time Level 4 course, and the Med-2627 PDF names it, at 70%, as the alternative route for the school-leaving certificates it rates as not sufficient. Its course page lists a September 2027 start, with fees of £15,408 for UK students and £23,040 for international students. Entry is BBC at A level including Chemistry and Biology, or 28 IB points, with IELTS UKVI Academic 6.5 and no less than 6.0 in each section.

The progression rule is the reason to know about it. The Pre-Med page says a student who wants to move on to Medicine must “submit a Medicine application for your intended year of entry as well as achieve a minimum of 70% overall on the Pre-Med programme in order to be eligible for a Medicine offer.” It then adds: “you would not need to interview for the Medical School if you were offered a place on our Pre-Med programme, as you would have already passed the interview process.”

The route can also come as an offer in place of the MB ChB: the course page refers to applicants “who may be offered an alternative course following Selection”. The Pre-Med page describes its own second selection stage both as “a digital Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)” and, under its own heading, as a Multiple Mini Assessment, “a computer-based test”.

Where would you train? The Buckingham campus, then a base hospital as far as 140 miles by road

Buckingham’s Medical School received General Medical Council accreditation in May 2019, and a Buckingham news item dated 2 May 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of its founding cohort, MED15. The Locations and Travel Requirements page says Phase 1 placement experience “starts in year 1 and runs throughout year 2”, and that “Students do not get a choice of where they will be allocated”.

Phase 2 is where geography matters. The same page says: “During Phase 2 (years 3 and 4) students are allocated to a base hospital which is where the majority of their studies are undertaken. Students can be allocated to any Local Education Provider across the country”, and students are expected to move close to their base hospital. Its table of approximate distances by road from the Buckingham campus reads:

Leighton and Macclesfield are among the partner hospitals the course page lists “near Crewe”. Buckingham announced on 4 March 2024 that it would move teaching from its Crewe campus to Buckingham, “with full completion expected by the end of 2026”, and that “our Phase 2 clinical placements will be unaffected.” The page also says: “We strongly advise that you have access to a car where possible”.

How our tutors prepare applicants for Buckingham’s MMI

Buckingham’s Selection Days page describes two stages: Academic Screening on the written application, then the MMI, whose tasks relate to the GMC’s Good Medical Practice. Our tutors prepare applicants for both. For the MMI, our MMI interview coaching runs timed stations drawn from the GMC’s Good Medical Practice, practised without AI aids, since Buckingham bans AI within the MMI.

The course page says the first stage is judged on the written application, so tutors also help applicants put together a complete application with its supporting documents; our medicine preparation hub brings application, interview and test preparation together. Applicants planning to sit the UCAT 2027 for 2028 entry at Consortium universities can add UCAT tuition, and our medical school interview service covers other UK medical schools. 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.

Reviewed 31 October 2026: every Buckingham figure on this page was checked against the University of Buckingham’s own MB ChB course, Medical School, Selection Days, How to apply, admissions FAQs, term-dates, fee-status, discounts, Swains Scholarship, Pre-Med and Locations and Travel pages, two Buckingham news items, its entry-requirements (including the November 2019 list), 2027 term-dates and January 2027 fee-illustration PDFs, and the UCAT Consortium’s university list. Each figure carries the cycle and document it comes from.

Frequently Asked Questions

For the other UK schools, see our guide to UK medical schools.