Oxford
Published IB offer39 points including core; 766 at Higher Level. Chemistry and at least one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics at HL. UCAT is required.
Oxford’s official guidanceSUBJECTS / MEDICINE
Medicine at
Oxford &
Cambridge.
Two exceptional courses, each with its own way of teaching you to think, investigate and care.
Explore the comparison
OXFORD & CAMBRIDGESTANDARD ENTRY · A1002027 ENTRY REFERENCE
YOUR ROUTE INTO MEDICINE
What applies
to you?
Choose where you study and the qualification you will present. Your location does not determine your qualification, and a national equivalence never overrides Medicine’s subject and admissions requirements.
The IB Diploma is scored out of 45. These are the published standard-entry Medicine offers, with the required Higher Level subjects.
2027 ENTRY · CHECKED 22 OCTOBER 202639 / 45
Cambridge
Published IB offer41–42 points with 776 at Higher Level. Chemistry plus one or two science or Mathematics subjects, depending on College. UCAT is required.
Cambridge’s official guidanceBEGIN WITH THE EDUCATION
Six years to learn medicine.
One choice to make.
Oxford and Cambridge each offer six years of standard-entry Medicine: three years grounded in medical science, followed by three clinical years. Their approach to those years—and to selecting students—deserves more than a quick comparison of grades.
THE COURSES, SIDE BY SIDE
What changes
between the courses.
Both offer deep scientific study and small-group teaching. The emphasis and sequence of the first three years are where a student may feel the difference.
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Oxford Medicine.
A distinct pre-clinical phase, with particular emphasis on the research that underpins medicine.
- Years 1–2
- Medical science through lectures, practicals, independent study and college tutorials, often in very small groups.
- Year 3
- A Medical Sciences BA with an experimental research project undertaken by every A100 student.
- Years 4–6
- Full clinical training follows the pre-clinical course, applying that scientific foundation in care.
- Patients
- Patient contact begins in the first term, but is limited during the scientific years.
- Clinical sites
- Later rotations include Oxford and district general hospitals; the final year includes a ten-week elective.
2027 ENTRY · ANNUAL TUITIONFee details ↗
Home£10,050First undergraduate degree, years 1–3
Overseas£52,360Years 1–3; clinical years cost more
The published £69,160 annual overseas clinical fee applies to continuing students entering clinical study in 2027. It is only a guide for new 2027 entrants, whose clinical-year fees are not yet confirmed. Eligible UK students have different NHS fee support in years 5–6.
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Cambridge Medicine.
Medical science taught alongside Preparing for Patients, which introduces patient contact early.
- Years 1–2
- Scientific teaching, practical work and small-group supervisions, with patient experience woven into the course.
- Year 3
- A choice of specialisation for the BA while Preparing for Patients continues.
- Years 4–6
- The clinical course builds through core practice, specialist practice and applied clinical work.
- Patients
- Preparing for Patients introduces contact in the first year and continues through Year 3.
- Clinical sites
- Placements span Cambridge and hospitals and GP practices across the East of England, with a possible seven-week overseas period in Year 5.
2027 ENTRY · ANNUAL TUITIONFee details ↗
Home£10,050First undergraduate degree, 2027/28
Overseas£70,554Medicine University tuition; College fee extra
The overseas fee in Year 3 follows the subject taken that year. International students also pay an annual College fee. Home fees can change; living costs are additional. Home fee guidance ↗
WHICH WOULD SUIT YOU?
Oxford might suit you if…
you want a clearly defined scientific phase and a compulsory experimental project before full clinical training.
Cambridge might suit you if…
you want patient contact threaded through the scientific years and a choice of third-year specialisation.
FINANCIAL REALITY · OVERSEAS FEE STATUS
Budget for the course,
not just the first fee.
A comparable first-year illustration uses nine months of each university’s published 2027–28 living-cost guidance. It is a planning figure, not a six-year quote.
£52,360 overseas tuition plus nine months of estimated living costs (£1,475–£2,175 per month).
Oxford fees and living-cost guide ↗£70,554 overseas Medicine tuition plus nine months at Cambridge’s £1,330 monthly living estimate. The separate annual College fee depends on your College.
Cambridge tuition and College fees ↗The later years change the calculation. Oxford has not confirmed clinical-year fees for a new 2027 entrant; £69,160 per year is its guide for continuing students entering clinical study in 2027. Cambridge charges the fee for your chosen subject in Year 3, plus an annual College fee. Clinical years can require longer residence; allow for travel, visas and course costs. These first-year illustrations exclude Cambridge’s College fee and any financial support.
Cambridge living-cost basis ↗Checked 22 October 2026 for 2027 entry. Academic review pending. These requirements do not determine eligibility or predict an offer. Consult the linked university guidance for your entry year.
THE ADMISSIONS TEST
One test.
Two ways of weighing it.
Both universities require the UCAT for standard-entry Medicine. They consider the cognitive score differently, and neither publishes a fixed score that guarantees an interview.
THE SHORT ANSWERNo fixed UCAT cut-off.
Oxford has no single score cut-off in its combined shortlisting process. Cambridge publishes no minimum UCAT threshold for 2027 entry.
Oxford gives UCAT and comparable GCSE results equal weight in initial shortlisting. Without usable GCSE data, UCAT carries double weight. SJT is not used for that initial shortlist; Oxford’s latest admissions report says colleges saw the SJT band after interviews.
Cambridge uses the overall cognitive score to help select interviewees and may consider it when making offers, alongside the rest of the application. It will not use SJT in its 2027 assessment.
OXFORD · 2025 ROUND, FOR 2026 ENTRY
2,377.5mean UCAT · shortlisted
2,407.1mean UCAT · offered a place
Scores out of 2,700. These are group averages, not cut-offs or predictions for a future applicant. Oxford’s 2025 statistics ↗
ADMISSIONS IN CONTEXT
The numbers
worth knowing.
Academic requirements are only one part of the picture. Select your fee status to see the published places context, then consider the full applicant field below.
2027 ENTRY · OVERSEAS FEE STATUS
Places are limited.
Maximum international fee-status Medicine places across standard and graduate entry.
Oxford source ↗Overseas fee-status places listed for the standard six-year course.
Cambridge source ↗These figures have different course scopes. Fee status depends on nationality, immigration and residence circumstances; school location alone does not decide it.
ANTICIPATED HOME INTAKE · OFFICE FOR STUDENTS
Home places, in context.
Anticipated Home intake across Oxford’s medical routes in the current funding allocation.
OfS allocation ↗Anticipated Home intake across Cambridge’s medical routes in the current funding allocation.
OfS allocation ↗These are institution-wide anticipated Home intakes, not A100-only admissions promises or a count of actual offers. The Office for Students says the allocation applies from 2025–26 onward unless changed.
2025 ADMISSIONS ROUND · FOR 2026 ENTRY
An overseas applicant’s path, in real numbers.
210+Oxford complete applications provisionally classed as overseas for fees
32shortlisted
8offered a place
OXFORD · THE SAME SHORTLIST2,537.2 / 2,700
Mean UCAT of the 32 shortlisted applicants provisionally identified as overseas fee status. This is a historical group average, not a score needed for interview.
Cambridge publishes 22 A100 overseas fee-status places for 2027 entry. Its 2025 course-wide application total below includes every fee status, so it cannot be used to calculate an overseas offer rate or compared with Oxford’s figures above.
Oxford’s 2025 Medicine report ↗THE APPLICANT FIELD · ALL FEE STATUSES
How many apply?
UCAS applications in the 2025 round for 2026 entry. Around 425 applicants are usually interviewed.
2025 admissions statistics ↗Applications in the 2025 admissions cycle; 307 offers and 270 acceptances.
2025 admissions report ↗These application totals include both Home and overseas applicants. They remain the same when you switch fee status above; the places figures have a different scope.
Other checks
Both courses require UCAT, relevant scientific study and applicants to be at least 18 on 1 November in their entry year. Check English-language rules and your chosen Cambridge College’s conditions.
Timing
The UCAS deadline for 2027 entry was 15 October 2026 and has passed. Use these 2027 criteria as a reference and verify the next cycle before applying.
PREPARATION
What the application
asks of you.
A compelling applicant is ready to reason, to reflect, and to show an honest understanding of the work.
Science you can use
Build secure foundations, then practise applying familiar principles to questions you have not seen before.
UCAT with purpose
Both courses require the UCAT. Make preparation deliberate and understand how the test fits the wider application.
Experience worth reflecting on
Care or clinical experience is most useful when it changes what you notice about patients, teams and responsibility.
A DIFFERENT ENTRY ROUTE
Already have
a degree?
The accelerated graduate-entry routes have different admissions and fee-status requirements. Cambridge currently limits its graduate Medicine course to applicants with Home fee status.
Arnab studies graduate-entry Medicine at Oxford. Emmanuel came to Medicine through Cambridge’s graduate course.
AN INDIVIDUAL PATH
Begin with the course.
Then make it your own.
We can help you examine academic fit, understand your qualification route and prepare with purpose.
Discuss your application