Our Graduate Entry Medicine programme is unique in Wales and one of just a handful of similar programmes of medical study in the UK open to graduates of any discipline from the UK, EU and overseas.
This accelerated, four-year medical degree follows an innovative, integrated spiral curriculum designed to reflect the way in which clinicians approach patients and how patients present to doctors.
You will study the basic biomedical sciences in the context of clinical medicine, public health, pathology, therapeutics, ethics, and psycho-social issues in patient management.
Together with a strong focus on clinical and communication skills, you will develop the academic, practical, and personal qualities to practise medicine competently and with confidence.
Our entry interview process is structured to take account of these qualities needed as a doctor, as set out in ‘Good Medical Practice’, and the capacity to meet the outcomes of ‘Outcomes for Graduates’. In summary:
Communication Skills
Problem solving skills
Coping with pressure
Insight and Integrity
Passion for medicine/resilience to succeed
Why Medicine (Graduate Entry) at Swansea?
The Medical School has an enviable reputation, being ranked 3rd in the UK and top in Wales (Guardian University Guide Subject Table 2019). It is also ranked 1st in the UK for research environment and joint 2nd for research quality.
We are a small medical school with around 100 spaces, so you will benefit from extensive contact with teaching staff and you will have contact with patients right from the first semester.
If you speak Welsh, you can study a 50 credit ‘Doctor as Professional’ module in each year through the medium of Welsh and may be eligible for internal scholarships or financial support through Coleg Cymraeg.
If you are not a Welsh speaker but would like to gain some basic Welsh language skills geared towards healthcare settings, then you can enrol on our unique Welsh for Medicine courses.
Your Medicine (Graduate Entry) Experience
You will have a high level of structured clinical contact as your studies progress, covering the following areas:
Clinical Apprenticeships, including one week of nursing practice
Junior Assistantship
Specialty attachments, including acute surgery, acute medicine, women’s health, child health, mental health, sub-specialities of medicine and surgery, and frailty.
Community based learning
Senior Assistantship, shadowing F1 doctors
Elective
Medicine (Graduate Entry) Employment Opportunities
On successful completion of the course, you will graduate with an MBBCh Medicine from Swansea University, allowing you to progress to Foundation 1 within a clinical environment.
The Programme consists of Phase I (Years 1 + 2) and Phase II (Years 3 + 4). Each year is mapped onto the GMC’s Outcomes for Graduates (2015) where 3 Modules reflect the outcome areas:
Scholar and Scientist
Practitioner
Professional
Phase I
Learning Weeks (Case based, includes Integrated Clinical Method)
Community-Based Learning (CBL) in General Practice for one day every fourth or fifth week
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LORS – Learning Opportunities in a Research Setting
Early Apprenticeships (1-3)
Phase II
Case of the Week (Case Based Learning Weeks)
Clinical Apprenticeships and Assistantships(Medicine, Surgery and Primary Care) (4-8) including 8 weeks in CBL
Specialty Attachments– Eight 5 Week placements in Medicine (at Singleton and Morriston Hospitals), Acute Surgery, Women’s Health, Child Health, Mental Health, Sub-Specialities of Medicine and Surgery, and Frailty. These include Integrated Clinical Method and simulation.
Elective in Year 4 (5 Week Clinical Placement mostly taken overseas)
Senior Assistantship / Shadowing period at end of Year 4 prior to F1 (5 Week Clinical Placement where students “shadow” F1 doctors in their allocated post in Wales or join the all-Wales ‘shadow’ programme)
In order to be eligible to apply for Graduate Entry Medicine, you must have achieved, or be predicted to achieve, the following (or equivalent) by 31st July of the year of intended enrolment:
either an upper second (2.1) or first class degree in any subject
or a merit or distinction (equivalent to 2.1 or first) in an integrated undergraduate masters degree
or a lower second (2.2) PLUS a Postgraduate Masters or PhD
GCSE Mathematics and English/Welsh at grade C or above
IELTS 7.0 with no less than 7.0 in speaking and 6.5 in listening, reading and writing (all candidates from non-English speaking countries)
Degrees awarded in countries other than the UK can be accepted if they are confirmed to be equivalent to awards in the UK system. If you hold more than one undergraduate degree, the result from the most recent degree is considered.
GAMSAT
You must have or be expecting a valid GAMSAT score at the time of application. GAMSAT is a professionally designed selection test for medical schools offering graduate entry programmes.
You must achieve a minimum overall GAMSAT score of 50, together with a minimum of 50 in Paper 3 (Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences) in order to be considered.
Interviews will be offered to candidates that meet the cut-off score in the GAMSAT, which is determined annually once all scores have been received.
Graduate Entry Medicine is not open to transfers with credit from other Medical courses but applicants who have previously been students at other medical schools may apply to join the programme from Year 1, provided that they meet the entry requirements.
MCAT
We also accept the MCAT for International Applications. International Applicants must sit the MCAT or the GAMSAT prior to applying.
You must achieve a minimum overall MCAT score of 500 in order to be considered.
Interviews will be offered to candidates that meet an international cut-off score in the MCAT, which is determined annually once all scores have been received.
Our core modules are guided by the standards set out by the General Medical Council (GMC) for Medical Education. Modules build the foundation of scientific knowledge and clinical skills required for the practice of medicine. You will participate in a combination of case-based lectures and skill building within a safe but clinically-focused environment. You will also be introduced to the concept of professionalism; an approach that is essential for good medical practice.
Throughout the programme the focus is on increasing knowledge and skills in clinical practice. This spiral approach will allow you to consolidate your learning by re-visiting topics through new cases to deepen your understanding and make you a confident and competent doctor. The final year is a consolidation of scientific knowledge within the context of clinical practice and you will be based primarily at Health Boards and General Practices. The year culminates in a 5-week Elective in any area of medicine anywhere in the world according to your own interest and 5 weeks shadowing in preparation for the Foundation Programme. This is when you transition from being a medical student to being a medic.
This course offers some modules taught through the medium of
Welsh or bilingually for students who consider themselves to be
fluent Welsh speakers. For more details on the provision available
see the Welsh Provision expander below.
There are opportunities for Welsh speakers to study this subject through the medium of Welsh and our dedicated academy, Academi Hywel Teifi, is here to support you throughout your time at Swansea University. We offer you:
An interview through the medium of Welsh when applying for a place.
The option to receive your personal correspondence in Welsh, English or bilingually - we will then communicate with you in your language of choice.
Access to modules taught wholly or partly in Welsh.
The option to write and submit your coursework or exams through the medium of Welsh (even if you have chosen to study in English), and your work will be marked in Welsh.
A Welsh-speaking academic tutor.
One-to-one support to improve your academic Welsh language skills.
An opportunity to gain an additional free qualification that serves as evidence of your Welsh language ability for future employers.
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Since 2011, there has been a 40% increase in the number of students studying through the medium of Welsh at Swansea University and our *TEF data over the last two years shows that Welsh-medium students are high achievers in regards to employability (*Swansea University TEF return 2017 and 2018).
Annual tuition fees for entry in the academic year 2019/20 are as follows:
UK/EU
International
MBBCH
Full Time
£ 9,000
£ 36,750
Fees for full time Undergraduate UK/EU students may be increased in subsequent years of study by an inflationary amount determined by Welsh Government.
Fees for full time Undergraduate International students will increase by 3% for each subsequent year of study.
You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.
You may be eligible for funding to help support your study.
To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.
Current students: You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.
You may be eligible for funding to help support your study.
To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's
scholarships and bursaries
page.
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As well as subject specific support by college teaching staff and your
personal academic mentor, the Centre for Academic
Success provides courses, workshops and one-to-one support in areas
such as:
Academic writing
Maths and statistics
Critical thinking
Time management
Digital skills
Presentation skills
Note taking
Revision, memory and exam techniques
English language skills (if English is not your first language).
In addition, if you have a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD), disability,
mental health or medical condition, the Centre for Academic Success have
Specialist Tutors to support your learning, working alongside the Disability Office and Wellbeing Service to support all your needs and
requirements whilst studying at Swansea University.
Personal Academic Mentor:
You will be assigned an Academic Mentor from a pool of trained personnel drawn from academic staff in the Medical School, or possibly clinical staff from Health Boards for GEM and PA.
Personal Academic Mentors are your first point of contact while studying at the Medical School and can provide assistance and guidance on a range of issues that may affect your wellbeing, attendance and educational progress. Personal Academic Mentors may also help with your personal development planning and careers advice. Your mentor may also direct you to Welfare and other support services as appropriate.
Student Life Officer:
Our Student Life Officer focuses on student support and identifying students who may need to be referred on the services both within and outside of the University, and working with these students to put a plan in place to manage their welfare. This officer is trained to recognise signs of domestic abuse, hate crimes through to dealing with homesickness and any other pastoral issues.
Medical School Information Office:
Our team of administrators and student information co-ordinators are on hand to support with your academic queries and signpost you to additional services where required.
Your degree programme may already give you an option to study or work abroad
but in addition to this you can also consider an international summer
programme.
These programmes are open to all our undergraduate students and include
culture and study tours, volunteering programmes and internships across
destinations such as China, Zambia, South Korea, Japan, Europe and Canada.
Programmes are typically 2 – 6 weeks long and funding is available. See our
Summer Programmes for further information.
Applicants, who meet the minimum entry requirements are ranked based upon their GAMSAT scores. The applicants who have scored most highly are then invited to attend our Assessment Centre in the Spring.
GAMSAT is a professionally designed and marked selection test for medical schools offering graduate-entry programmes open to graduates of any discipline. You will need to sit GAMSAT if you intend to apply for entry to the GEM Programme here in Swansea. There are no exemptions from the GAMSAT test.
GAMSAT evaluates the nature and extent of abilities and skills gained through prior experience and learning, including the mastery and use of concepts in basic science, as well as the acquisition of more general skills in problem solving, critical thinking and writing.
We accept results from GAMSAT UK, Ireland and Australia dated within the two years prior to your application.
For more information, or to apply for the GAMSAT examination, please contact GAMSAT UK directly.
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Benefits to You
The test is a situational judgement test, similar to the type of test you will take at our assessment centre and is similar to tests you will take at the end of medical school to determine which foundation role you will be matched with.
This voluntary test will not be assessed, however it may be useful experience for you for our application process and could prove useful for future applications. Information relating to your performance, will be used for research purposes only and not shared. It will not be used to assess your application to us.
Please direct any enquiries on the test to support@takecasper.com. Alternatively, you may use the online chat facility in the bottom right hand corner of CASPer website.
How CASPer Works
The test typically takes 75-90 minutes and is comprised of 12 sections of video and written scenarios, followed by questions to be answered under a time limit. Each response is graded by a different person, giving a robust and reliable assessment of your personal and professional characteristics.
What you need
No studying is required, although you may wish to familiarise yourself with the test structure at takeCASPer.com. To complete the test you will need access to a computer with audio, a webcam, a reliable internet connection, and a quiet enviroment.
When and How to book a test
To book a CASPer test you will need your UCAS number and a government-issued photo ID. You will then be given a number of testing dates and times. Please note that these are the only testing dates available. Please use an email that you check regularly as there may be updates to the test schedule.
Tests dates for this admission cycle will be open for registration in October 2019.
How you are helping us
The aim of the CASPer test is to provide an assessment of the non-cognitive and essential communication skills of applicants. We plan to use results from this pilot test, in conjunction with our current selection process to detemrine whether this will provide a more holistic overview of applicants and qualities required for a career in medicine.
You will first sit a 30-minute written situational judgement assessment. This will not assess your academic ability, but try and identify those applicants who have decision making skills suitable to a career in medicine.
You will then attend two separate 20-minute interviews, where your personal statement will be considered and discussed. These are conducted by pairs of interviewers taken from our highly trained panel of clinicians, academics, medical students and members of the public.
The interview process is designed to take account of the personal and academic qualities needed as a doctor, as set out in ‘Good Medical Practice’, and the capacity to meet the outcomes of ‘Outcomes for Graduates’. In summary these are:
Communication Skills
Problem solving skills
Coping with pressure
Insight and Integrity
Passion for medicine/resilience to succeed
Once the interviews are completed, we will assess the overall performance of each candidate. Due to the very competitive nature of the selection process, only candidates who scored highest will be offered a place at Swansea.
PLEASE NOTE: all UK/EU candidates must attend in person and that we do not have the capacity to offer remote interviews, for example via Skype.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has introduced a Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) to demonstrate those who obtain registration with a licence to practice medicine in the UK meet a common threshold for safe practice. Applicants should be aware that to obtain registration with a licence to practice from 2022 onwards, all medical students will need to pass both parts of the MLA, pass university finals and demonstrate their fitness to practice.
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Swansea University is an equal opportunities institution and actively encourages applications from persons of all ability. For Medicine, each application is assessed on an individual basis, on the candidate’s ability to fulfil the learning outcomes and skills and competencies required to complete the MB programme and as required by the GMCs Outcomes for Graduates. The GMC requires all medical schools to ensure that the applicant is able to complete in full the medical curriculum, and when considering applicants with disabilities, the School follows the advisory guidelines set out by the GMC in their document ‘Gateways to the Professions’ (this can be accessed on the GMC website). The University monitors carefully the selection process, in order to ensure that no applicants are disadvantaged.
There is no fixed upper age limit for entry onto the Graduate Entry Medicine Programme. However, we do advise that all applicants carefully consider not only the length of the programme, but the subsequent demanding nature and intensity of a career in medicine, and the long term commitment that is required after successfully completing the course.
