Pears Cumbria School of Medicine Entry Requirements 2027

Pears Cumbria School of Medicine (PCSM) is a graduate-entry medical school in Carlisle that teaches Imperial College London's four-year MBBS, UCAS code A102, with the degree awarded by Imperial. Applicants need home fee status and a 2:1 in a biosciences or allied healthcare degree; GCSE and A-level results are not taken into account. Candidates are ranked on UCAT or GAMSAT, and the thresholds applied for 2026 entry were UCAT 1960 (contextual 1910) and GAMSAT 59 (contextual 53).

Applications for 2027 entry closed on 15 October 2026, according to Imperial's A102 course page. PCSM says its cut-off "cannot be published prospectively", so the figures above are its 2026-entry ones.

Whose degree is it, and who do you apply to?

The course appears under two universities' names because two universities run it. PCSM's course page describes A102 as "a bespoke Imperial College London programme delivered in Cumbria, in collaboration with the University of Cumbria" and states that "the degree is awarded by Imperial College London". Its entry-requirements section puts the practical consequence plainly: "Students apply to Imperial College London."

On UCAS the course sits under institution code I50, which is also the code for Imperial's London MBBS (A100), a separate standard-entry course with its own rules on our Imperial College London medicine entry requirements page. PCSM's FAQ says the application is then reviewed by the PCSM team in Cumbria and that interviews take place in Carlisle. Teaching is based at the University of Cumbria's Fusehill Street campus, with clinical placements across the county.

PCSM's FAQ says it "is not a private school" and that it has been "founded specifically to benefit the NHS and the Cumbria region". A four-year course also leads to "the same degree and qualification as a school that offers this course over a longer period". The first cohort of 58 students started on 26 August 2025, according to the school's newsroom, and the school's opening was "made possible by a £5m gift from the Pears Foundation", PCSM reported on 20 March 2026.

Who can apply? Home fee status and a 2:1 in a relevant subject

Both are eligibility conditions. Imperial's course page says candidates are ranked on test scores only once they "have met (or are predicted to meet) the Academic Requirement". On fee status, PCSM's course page says the programme is "only open to home students", and its FAQ says PCSM "is not currently accepting applications from students who are assessed as having overseas fees status". Applicants from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible "as long as you’re considered to be a UK home student for funding purposes".

On the degree, the minimum is "a grade 2:1 (or above) in a Biosciences or Allied Healthcare degree". PCSM's examples include biomedical science, nursing, midwifery, paramedic practice, pharmacy, physiotherapy, psychology and sports science, and the school adds: "This list is not intended to be exhaustive." A degree title not on the list, or one awarded outside the UK, should be checked with the admissions team.

Four rules close the usual workarounds, each in PCSM's own words:

• No school grades. The programme "does not have any GCSE or A-level requirements", which PCSM presents as part of its commitment to widening access.
• No postgraduate rescue. Without a 2:1 in a relevant subject, "we are unable to consider your application, even if you have completed postgraduate study in a health or science related subject".
• No substitutes. "Work experience and postgraduate qualifications will not be accepted in lieu of the 2:1 undergraduate degree."
• No adjustment. PCSM says "we do not adjust our academic entry requirements on the basis of mitigating circumstances"; those belong with the institution that awarded the first degree.

Timing is more flexible. Final-year students may apply, but PCSM requires applicants "to have been awarded a 2:1 before the programme begins", and a degree that took four years rather than three "will not affect your eligibility to apply". Imperial's course page adds that you "must be 18 years of age by the time you would start this programme". The English language standard is Imperial's higher level requirement, and PCSM says students with a degree from the UK are exempt from it.

What UCAT or GAMSAT threshold applied for 2026 entry?

Once the degree condition is met, the test decides who is interviewed. PCSM's FAQ explains the mechanism: "Applicants will be ranked based on their GAMSAT or UCAT score, and we will invite candidates in rank order to fill our interview sessions." The threshold is therefore an outcome of each year's applicants rather than a target set in advance, and PCSM says it "will change each year". For 2026 entry, PCSM's course page lists these minimum totals:

One scale note applies to the UCAT figure. PCSM notes that "UCAT scores for 2026 entry are different due to the removal of the abstract reasoning section", so the maximum total is "2700 rather than 3600". Since the 2025 sitting the UCAT Consortium reports a total of 900-2700 from three cognitive subtests, each scaled from 300 to 900, plus a separate situational judgement band.

Where did the 2026-entry 1960 sit nationally? The UCAT Consortium's statistics for the 2025 test, the sitting 2026-entry applicants used, give a mean total of 1891 and these decile scores, which are the Consortium's national figures and not PCSM's: 1880 at the 5th decile, 1950 at the 6th and 2010 at the 7th. PCSM's 2026-entry home threshold of 1960 therefore sat just above the 6th-decile score and below the 7th, and the contextual threshold of 1910 sat between the 5th and the 6th.

Treat that as context, not a forecast. The 2026 sitting, which 2027-entry applicants used, had a national mean of 1918 across 42,359 tests, and the Consortium warns that "Mean scores can shift between testing years and so direct comparison is not always possible". PCSM ranks its own applicant pool each year, so a national figure is a guide, not a prediction of its 2027-entry cut-off.

How the GAMSAT is scored and which result counts

ACER, which runs the GAMSAT, says on its results page that each section score and the overall score are "expressed on a scale of 0 to 100". The overall score is (1 x Humanities and Social Sciences + 1 x Written Communication + 2 x Biological and Physical Sciences) ÷ 4, so the science section carries half the weight. PCSM's 2026-entry threshold was 59 for home applicants and 53 for contextual applicants.

Timing rules differ by test. PCSM says "The GAMSAT must be taken within the two years prior to the applicant’s UCAS submission date" and "The UCAT must be taken in the same year as the applicant’s UCAS submission date", with results reaching the admissions team "in the November prior to the applicant’s intended entry to the programme". Its FAQ says it will use "whichever mark that gives you the best ranking" if you sit both tests, and that for retakes it uses the latest GAMSAT score from ACER or the latest UCAT score from Pearson VUE. ACER's results page says universities automatically select your highest-performing score set unless told otherwise, so anyone with two GAMSAT results should ask PCSM which it will use.

PCSM's FAQ says "We are not currently providing GAMSAT or UCAT preparation". Our GAMSAT guide for UK applicants covers that test in more detail.

Who qualifies for the lower contextual threshold?

PCSM's course page says: "Candidates who meet the College’s contextual admissions criteria are required to meet a lower minimum threshold score (a contextual score) in the GAMSAT or UCAT admissions tests." The College is Imperial, and the criteria sit on Imperial's contextual admissions page, which says it covers "students applying for undergraduate study in 2027-28" and was last updated in September 2026. Imperial describes the benefit for these two tests as "A lower minimum score required to be eligible for an interview invitation".

For 2027-28 entry, an applicant with home fee status or an appropriate UK residential status may be considered if one of the following also applies, as Imperial lists them:

• you are a care leaver or have spent time in care under a local authority;
• your home postcode falls into England's index of multiple deprivation quintile one;
• you receive UK government funded free school meals, or received them during the last six years up until the end of your final year at school or college;
• your home postcode falls into POLAR4 quintile 1 or 2 and you are also the first in your immediate family to attend university, attended an English school whose key-stage 5 performance is below Imperial's 20% percentile threshold, or attended a school in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland whose free school meals percentile is above Imperial's 80% threshold.

Imperial says "Assessment is based on information provided in your UCAS application" and that changes to your situation after the application deadline "will not be considered". PCSM's FAQ adds that its "application process will identify students that may fall under our widening participation" criteria, and that it may ask for further information.

The route carries weight at this school. PCSM reported on 20 March 2026 that the first cohort included "45% of students from a widening participation background", and its notes on the school's opening on 26 August 2025 record that "Over 20 scholarships (of £5,000)" were awarded to Year 1 students who met the contextual admissions criteria.

How does the Pears Cumbria MMI work, and how is the Cumbria question assessed?

Interviews are multiple mini interviews (MMIs), and the two official pages word the format differently. PCSM's FAQ says "Our Multiple-Mini interviews (MMIs) will be conducted in-person at our Carlisle campus." Imperial's course page for 2027 entry says MMIs "may be conducted in a blended format with in person interviews". Follow whichever arrangements your invitation sets out.

Both pages list the same six areas the stations assess:

• Commitment to medicine and understanding the role of a doctor
• Potential to contribute to the medical school and the region
• Teamwork and leadership
• Ethics
• Empathy
• Resilience and adaptability

The second area carries the school's local mission. PCSM's applying page says that "In line with Department of Health and Social Care guidelines, our admissions policy is not restricted to residents of Cumbria", and that "Candidates who do not have links with the local area will be assessed on their understanding of and interest in improving the health outcomes for the people of Cumbria". The FAQ is more direct about local applicants: "Knowledge of and commitment to the region will be covered during the multiple mini-interview, so local knowledge will enhance your chances of securing an offer at the interview phase." It also says "There will be no preference allocated to where you studied your undergraduate degree." Imperial's course page refers to "data used to identify candidates with links to the local area".

Professor Mary Morrell, Head of PCSM, put the school's position this way in a newsroom article of 7 October 2025: "We welcome applicants from the North West or those with ties to the area."

Work experience is assessed at the same stage. PCSM says work experience with service users "is strongly recommended for candidates and will be assessed during the interview, together with other information from your personal statement", although its FAQ is clear that "You don’t need to complete work experience to apply". Imperial's course page lists the criteria that "may be considered": degree classification, GAMSAT or UCAT scores, "Evidence of commitment to the values of the NHS Constitution", motivation and understanding of medicine as a career, community activities, leadership and teamwork, extracurricular interests and the referee's report. Interviewers are staff and students, and their decisions "are ratified by the admissions tutors".

Imperial's general Faculty of Medicine guidance, which PCSM's FAQ links to, says answers are marked out of six for content and four for communication, and that candidates have 5 minutes for the questions at each station. That page describes Imperial's MBBS interviews in general, so treat it as indicative rather than as PCSM's confirmed 2027-entry format. Our guide to MMI station types and our list of NHS hot topics for medical school interviews cover the wider preparation.

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How competitive is Pears Cumbria? 58 places and 11 applications per place in 2025

PCSM's FAQ says "There were 58 places at the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine for 2025 entry" and that later cohorts "will be of similar numbers". Imperial's course key facts give the ratio of applications to places as "11 : 1 (2025)".

The first cohort shows who those places went to. In its report of 20 March 2026, PCSM's newsroom said the school "opened in August 2025 with an initial cohort of 58 students", that "More than half [57%] of the new school’s first year intake is from the North of England" and that "one in seven [14%]" students came from Cumbria itself. Most of that first intake came from outside the county.

PCSM's vision page carries a staff testimonial from Professor Vassilios Papalois, a transplant surgeon: "The purpose of this medical school is not to give the UK another 50 or 100 doctors, it’s to give Cumbria 50 or 100 doctors, the majority of whom will stay in the area, practise in the area, and help the area get an advanced healthcare system."

Can you reapply, transfer in or defer?

PCSM allows repeat applications within two limits. Its FAQ says: "You can reapply as many times as you wish as long as you meet the entry requirements for the Graduate Entry Medicine programme. However, if you have previously applied and been rejected following an interview you may apply a further two times. If your application has been rejected because it does not achieve conditions of offer you cannot reapply, even with a postgraduate degree." Our guide to reapplying to medicine after rejection works through the decisions involved in a second application.

Transfers are closed. The FAQ says "we do not accept transfers from other medical schools", and Imperial's course page adds that it does not accept students who have started at or are studying at another medical school, nor "students for transfer from other Imperial College London programmes".

Deferral is a second point where the two official pages diverge. Imperial's course page lists deferred entry as "N/A". PCSM's FAQ says "Requests will be considered in exceptional circumstances", in line with Imperial's deferred entry policy. An offer holder who may need to defer should raise it with the PCSM admissions team before relying on either statement.

What do the four years ask of you?

The course is split roughly evenly between campus and clinical work: the FAQ puts it at "approximately 50-50 over the course of the four-year programme, with increasing amounts of placement activity as you progress through your studies". Placements cover north and south Cumbria and "may necessitate travel and/or temporary accommodation", and because some are in rural areas the FAQ says "a driving licence will be an advantage".

Teaching includes large-group and small-group sessions, practicals and cases, and PCSM states: "It is not a problem-based learning programme." Assessments for the MBBS "are pass/fail", and Year 4 includes a pre-foundation assistantship and an elective period. On paid work, the FAQ warns that "Students should expect the time available for part-time work to be very limited."

PCSM's newsroom reported on 14 January 2026 that the first cohort had a one-week introductory placement with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) at the Cumberland Infirmary in December, and on 3 July 2026 that it had placements at Furness General Hospital as the first year drew to a close. In the January article, Dr Louise Buchanan, Medical Director for Professional Standards, said she was looking forward to "our first doctors from the school joining us at NCIC when they qualify from 2029".

PCSM says first-year accommodation "is guaranteed for applicants who select the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine as their first choice through UCAS", provided an accommodation application reaches the University of Cumbria by 30 June.

Where does the 2027 cycle stand, and what should a 2028 applicant do now?

For 2027 entry, applications are closed: Imperial's course page gave the deadline as Thursday 15 October 2026 at 18.00 UK time. The dates for this cycle:

PCSM's course page, whose key facts give a September 2027 start, requires the UCAT to be "taken in the same year as the applicant’s UCAS submission date". If the same rule holds for 2028 entry, a candidate applying in autumn 2027 sits the UCAT in 2027, and a GAMSAT result must have been taken within the two years before that submission.

After an offer, Imperial says the vaccination programme "can take eight months to complete", so start it as soon as the details arrive.

What does it cost, and which bursaries apply to a second degree?

Imperial's course page sets the home tuition fee for 2027 entry at £10,050 a year. Imperial publishes a bursary scale for this course on its Imperial Bursary page:

Imperial adds bursary funding in the clinical years, which for PCSM students "include years 2, 3 and 4". Its table for those years gives a total bursary of up to £5,300 in the 2027-2028 academic year at a household income up to £16,000; a 2027 entrant is still in Year 1 that year. The same page says the Imperial Bursary for care leavers and estranged students at the Cumbria school "for 2026 and 2027 entrants will be £3,000".

Imperial's NHS Bursary page gives the start of NHS funding two ways: its overview says "years 3 and 4 of our Graduate Entry (Cumbria) MBBS course", while its A102 example table puts NHS tuition funding under "Year 2 and 3" and "Year 4". NHS Bursaries are only available to students who were "ordinarily resident in England" when the course began. Imperial's representative example for A102 names no academic year and prices Year 1 tuition at £9,535 (£5,964 tuition fee loan plus £3,571 self-funded) rather than £10,050, so check the first-year position with your student finance body before you accept an offer.

How Leading Tuition helps Pears Cumbria applicants

For 2027-entry applicants waiting on an invitation, our medicine interview tutors run mock MMI stations built on the six areas PCSM publishes, with particular attention to the region: what you know about health in Cumbria, what you would contribute to the school, and how your work with service users shows it. Our MMI interview coaching and medical school interview preparation pages explain how sessions run.

For applicants sitting the UCAT in 2027 for 2028 entry, our UCAT tutors plan preparation around a ranked threshold rather than a fixed pass mark, and our medicine preparation hub brings the admissions test, the personal statement and the interview together. For other four-year courses, see our graduate-entry medicine programme list; for every other school, see the medical school guides.

Leading Tuition is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 59 reviews, read on 3 October 2026, and 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.

Reviewed 17 October 2026 against PCSM's own pages and newsroom, Imperial College London's A102, contextual admissions and bursary pages, the UCAT Consortium and ACER. Test thresholds are 2026-entry figures.

Frequently asked questions about Pears Cumbria entry