Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland Medicine Entry Requirements – Sunderland UCAT Cut Off & Acceptance Rate
- The Medic Life
- 22 hours ago
- 14 min read
Applying to Sunderland Medical School in the 2026/27 cycle? The Sunderland University medicine entry requirements are demanding but transparent: AAA at A-Level (including Biology or Chemistry), at least five GCSEs at grade 7/A, a UCAT score within the top 8 deciles, and an SJT band of 1–3. At The Medic Life, our admissions expert Dr. Bakhtar Ahmad has guided hundreds of aspiring medics through Sunderland’s application pathway. This page distils everything you need to know about the Sunderland medicine entry requirements, the Sunderland UCAT cut off, the contextual offer, the MMI process and the realistic acceptance rate – so you can apply with strategy, not guesswork.
Last reviewed: May 2026 by Dr. Bakhtar Ahmad, Medical Admissions Lead at The Medic Life. All criteria reflect the published University of Sunderland MBChB Medicine (UCAS code A100) 2026/27 entry policy.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland Medicine at a glance: what you need to qualify
Before we deep-dive, here are the headline Sunderland uni medicine entry requirements every applicant must hit:
A-Levels: AAA in three subjects, including Biology or Chemistry plus another designated science, achieved in one sitting.
GCSEs: Five subjects at grade A/7, with a minimum of B/6 in Maths, English Language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
UCAT: Score within the top 8 deciles of the cohort (the historic adjusted UCAT cut off has hovered between 1650 and 1690).
SJT: Situational Judgement Test result in Bands 1–3 (Band 4 is an automatic rejection).
Interview: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) held in-person at the Murray Health building between December and early January.
Work experience: Required, in line with Medical Schools’ Council guidelines (clinical shadowing alone is not enough).
UCAS deadline: 15 October – no late applications are considered under any circumstances.
Eligibility: Home (UK) fee-payers only. International fee-paying applicants are not accepted.
Sunderland University medicine A-Level entry requirements (2026/27)
Sunderland requires AAA at A-Level in three subjects, achieved at the first attempt and in one sitting. The subject combination is non-negotiable:
Subject 1: Biology or Chemistry.
Subject 2: Another designated science – Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Further Maths or Statistics. (Only one of Maths/Further Maths/Statistics can count toward the three.)
Subject 3: A third rigorous academic A-Level.
Practical endorsement: Any science A-Level (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) taken in England from 2017 onwards must include a pass in the practical endorsement. Without it, Sunderland will class the qualification as a fail regardless of the headline grade.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: A-Level subjects Sunderland does NOT accept
The following will not count toward your AAA offer:
General Studies, Critical Thinking, Citizenship Studies.
Any AQA Applied A-Level (Applied Science, Applied Business, Applied ICT, Use of Mathematics, Science in Society and similar).
Any Edexcel Applied A-Level (Applied Art and Design, Engineering, Health and Social Care, Media, Performing Arts, Travel and Tourism, etc.).
Any OCR Applied A-Level (Applied Business, Applied Health and Social Care, Applied Performing Arts, Applied Science, etc.).
Any WJEC Applied A-Level (Applied Business, Applied ICT, Applied Science).
Key Skills qualifications (not used in assessing academic ability).
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland A-Level resit policy
Sunderland accepts A-Level resits only in narrow circumstances. If you were originally awarded AAB, you may resit only the B-grade subject – one attempt, in the same subject. If you achieved below AAB, resits will not be considered. Your primary academic qualification must have been completed within the past five years.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland medicine GCSE entry requirements
You need a minimum of five GCSE passes at grade A/7, with a minimum of B/6 in five specified subjects:
Mathematics.
English Language (GCSE English Language as a Second Language is NOT accepted).
Biology.
Chemistry.
Physics.
GCSE Double Award Science is also accepted as an alternative to the three separate sciences.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland GCSE resit policy
GCSE resits are accepted (unlike A-Level resits).
A maximum of two resit attempts per subject will be considered.
All resits must be completed prior to application – not in the application year.
Sunderland UCAT cut off: what score do you actually need?
The Sunderland UCAT cut off is expressed in deciles, not raw scores. Every applicant must take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) in the year of application and score within the top 8 deciles of the national cohort. In practical terms, this excludes the bottom 20% of test-takers.
Because the cohort changes each cycle, the raw score equivalent fluctuates year on year. The University of Sunderland publishes the adjusted minimum scores from the past five admissions cycles (adjusted to reflect the removal of Abstract Reasoning from the test):
UCAT Year | Adjusted Minimum Score |
2024 | 1670 |
2023 | 1680 |
2022 | 1650 |
2021 | 1670 |
2020 | 1690 |
Dr. Bakhtar Ahmad’s take: Targeting around 2500+ (current four-section UCAT scale) is a sensible buffer for Sunderland, but the absolute score is less important than your decile ranking. A strong UCAT also strengthens your position at the MMI shortlisting stage, where ranking against the rest of the academically-eligible pool ultimately determines who gets interviewed.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Situational Judgement Test (SJT) requirement
Sunderland is uncompromising on the SJT. Your band must be Band 1, 2 or 3. Band 4 is an automatic rejection – there are no exceptions, regardless of how strong the rest of your application is.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland medicine International Baccalaureate (IB) requirements
If you are studying the IB Diploma, Sunderland requires 35 points overall, including:
Three Higher Level (HL) subjects at grade 6, including Biology or Chemistry plus one further science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Maths) and a third rigorous subject.
Standard Level (SL) grades of 6, 6, 5.
Any science not offered at HL must be taken at SL grade 5 or GCSE grade B (or equivalent).
Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay must be completed but do not count toward the 35-point total.
IB English Language A at grade 6 can substitute for GCSE English Language.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland medicine Scottish Qualifications and Welsh Baccalaureate
Scottish Qualifications
National 5: Five subjects at A, with a minimum of B in Maths, English, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Higher: AAAAB minimum, including Chemistry or Biology plus a second science (both at A), to be achieved by end of S5 before applying.
Advanced Higher: Minimum AB in two Advanced Highers (both sciences) sat in S6. Any additional Higher in S6 must be at B or higher.
Scottish Baccalaureate (Science): AA in two Advanced Highers (one being Chemistry or Biology at grade A), plus AA in interdisciplinary project unit and one Higher, with National 5 requirements met.
Welsh Baccalaureate
An A-grade pass in the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma plus two full science A-Levels at A*A taken within two years. Chemistry or Biology is essential, plus one of Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Maths/Further Maths/Statistics. GCSE requirements still apply.
Sunderland University medicine graduate entry requirements
Sunderland does not run a separate four-year Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) programme. Instead, graduate applicants apply to the standard five-year MBChB Medicine (A100) course alongside undergraduate candidates. To be considered, you must hold:
Degree: A minimum 2:1 Honours degree in any subject, completed within the last five years of application (and confirmed at point of entry). A Masters or doctorate does NOT compensate for a degree below 2:1.
A-Levels: Minimum BBB in three A-Levels, including Biology or Chemistry plus another designated science and a third academic subject. Achieved in one sitting; no grade compensation.
Advanced Highers (Scotland): Minimum BB in two science Advanced Highers.
GCSEs: Maths, English Language and Sciences (double-award, triple-award/combined trilogy, or three separate) at minimum grade B/6. Reformed English Language GCSE in England must include a pass in the speaking and listening endorsement.
UCAT: Top 8 deciles and SJT Bands 1–3, as for undergraduate applicants.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: The Sunderland GAMSAT route
Graduate applicants who do not meet the A-Level grades, A-Level subjects or science GCSE requirements may still be considered if they have completed the GAMSAT before applying. Sunderland accepts:
55 overall with a minimum of 58 in Section III, OR
58 overall with a minimum of 55 in Section III.
No section score below 50 will be accepted.
Important: GAMSAT can only compensate for either the GCSE Science requirement or the A-Level requirements (grades or subjects), not both. GAMSAT is offered twice a year (March and September) and results remain valid for two consecutive admissions cycles.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland medicine contextual offer & widening participation
Sunderland operates a generous contextual offer of AAB at A-Level for applicants who meet both of the following:
Your home postcode is in the North East of England or Cumbria (check via the Office for Students postcode tool).
You meet at least one of Sunderland’s Widening Participation (WP) criteria.
Sunderland’s Widening Participation criteria
You qualify for the WP-eligible contextual offer if you meet one or more of the following:
You live in a POLAR4 Quintile 1 or 2 area (low higher-education participation, assessed via your home postcode).
You are in receipt of, or have been entitled to, free school meals within the last six years.
You are a refugee.
You received a UCAT bursary.
You are a UK Armed Forces family member (military service child).
You are from a low household income background – Band 1 (≤£25,000) or Band 2 (£25,001–£42,875).
Contextual applicants still need to meet the UCAT and SJT requirements – the contextual offer reduces A-Level grades only. WP-eligible applicants who also meet academic and UCAT thresholds may be guaranteed an MMI, depending on the cycle.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland medicine application timeline (2026/27 cycle)
Stage | Timing | What happens |
UCAS submission | By 15 October | Application submitted via UCAS – late applications never accepted. |
Phase 1 – Academic Screen | September–November | Sunderland checks every application against minimum academic requirements. |
Interview Selection Tool | Issued post-deadline | Shortlisted applicants complete a structured online survey reflecting on work experience. |
Phase 2 – Shortlisting | November–December | Applicants ranked using academic profile, UCAT and Interview Selection Tool. |
Phase 3 – MMI Interviews | December–early January | In-person Multiple Mini Interviews at the Murray Health building, Sunderland. |
Offers issued | February | Outcomes communicated by email; offers based on overall ranking. |
Offer Holder Day | March | Optional visit to meet staff, current medics and tour facilities before firming on UCAS. |
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: The Sunderland Interview Selection Tool: how to ace it
Once academic shortlisting is complete, Sunderland invites you to complete the Interview Selection Tool – a structured online survey that previously functioned as the Roles & Responsibilities (R&R) form. It is a critical scoring component for MMI selection.
Key features of the survey:
Focused on your work or care-giving experience from the past two years (ongoing experience that started earlier can be included).
Work experience must be hands-on and public-facing (paid or voluntary), or significant caring responsibilities for a family member.
You can list up to four experiences – but Sunderland looks at total commitment and depth, not number.
You must supply contact details for your most significant work experience provider, or a teacher who can verify your caring situation.
You write short reflective responses describing the values, attributes and skills you developed (teamwork, empathy, communication, resilience, leadership).
School- or college-organised programmes do not count unless you helped develop them.
Clinical shadowing is NOT accepted as work experience for this survey – but it is still helpful for the interview itself.
Dr. Bakhtar Ahmad’s tip: The Interview Selection Tool is essentially a structured, micro-personal-statement. Sunderland’s assessors value reflection over activity. Spell out what you learned, how it shaped you, and what you will carry into medical school. Vague descriptions of duties score poorly.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland Medicine Work Experience Requirements
Sunderland follows the Medical Schools’ Council Work Experience Guidelines. There is no fixed minimum hour count, but applicants are expected to demonstrate:
Experience engaging with a diverse range of people.
Insight into the realities of a caring profession.
Evidence of the core attributes of a future doctor: teamwork, leadership, communication, resilience and empathy.
What counts: hands-on public-facing roles (paid or voluntary), significant caring responsibilities, and the work experience element of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
What does NOT count: clinical shadowing alone, school-organised events, and short trips abroad arranged for you.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland medicine interview: the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)
Sunderland uses the MMI format, delivered in person at the School of Medicine in the Murray Health building. Interviews run between December and early January. You must be available for the entire interview period – rescheduling is only permitted in exceptional, evidenced circumstances.
What does the Sunderland MMI assess?
Motivation and experiences informing your decision to study medicine.
Empathy and insight.
Understanding the responsibilities and challenges of being a doctor.
Awareness of ethical issues in health and society.
Resilience under pressure.
Comprehension and structured reasoning.
Communication – including with simulated patients in role-play stations.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: The Sunderland numeracy test
On the interview day, you will also sit a 40-minute online numeracy test of around 20 clinically-relevant calculations. This is a pass/fail assessment – failing the numeracy test means your interview is unsuccessful, regardless of MMI performance.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland medicine acceptance rate: what are your real chances?
Sunderland Medical School deliberately maintains a small student intake – currently around 60–80 home places per cycle – which makes it one of the more competitive medical schools in the UK on a places-per-applicant basis. Application statistics released under Freedom of Information requests across recent cycles consistently show:
Several hundred applications per cycle for a tightly-capped intake of home-fee students.
Roughly 1 in 6 to 1 in 8 applicants ultimately receives an offer in a typical year (varying year-to-year).
Sunderland does not accept international fee-paying applicants, so the entire applicant pool competes for home-only seats.
Sunderland does not accept transfers from other medical, dental or veterinary courses, nor from other UK degrees.
Dr. Bakhtar Ahmad’s insight: The acceptance rate is more competitive than the published profile suggests, because the home-only pool is dense with strong UK applicants. The decisive lever is your UCAT decile combined with a polished Interview Selection Tool – the two largest discriminators between offer and rejection.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Qualifications NOT accepted by Sunderland medicine
Sunderland is unusually strict about equivalent qualifications. If you are applying with any of the following, your application will not progress:
BTEC qualifications.
Access to Higher Education Diplomas, including Access to Medicine courses.
Foundation in Medicine courses.
Irish Leaving Certificate.
Equivalent international qualifications (Sunderland does not assess equivalences).
Any combination of GCSEs or A-Levels that do not strictly meet the published profile.
Sunderland also does NOT accept: international fee-paying applicants; transfers from other UK universities or other medicine/dentistry/veterinary courses; applicants who have previously begun medical study elsewhere; or applications from students whose primary academic qualification was completed more than five years ago.
Sunderland University Medicine Entry Requirements: Sunderland medicine entry requirements: FAQs
What A-Levels do you need for Sunderland University Medicine?
You need AAA at A-Level in three subjects, achieved in one sitting. The compulsory mix is Biology or Chemistry + a second designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Maths/Further Maths/Statistics) + a third academic subject. Science A-Levels (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) completed in England from 2017 onwards must include a pass in the practical endorsement. A-Levels in General Studies, Critical Thinking and all Applied A-Levels are not accepted.
What is the UCAT cut off for Sunderland medical school?
Sunderland requires applicants to score within the top 8 deciles of the UCAT cohort, and the SJT must fall in Bands 1–3 (Band 4 = automatic rejection). The adjusted minimum scores published by Sunderland for the past five years were: 2024 – 1670; 2023 – 1680; 2022 – 1650; 2021 – 1670; 2020 – 1690. The exact 2026 cut-off will only be confirmed once the cohort’s scores are finalised, so the safest target is a UCAT score in the upper-mid range of the year you take it.
Does Sunderland Uni offer Medicine?
Yes. The University of Sunderland School of Medicine was established in 2019/2020 as one of five new medical schools created to address regional doctor shortages and widen participation. It offers a five-year, GMC-approved MBChB Medicine degree (UCAS code A100), delivered using a spiral curriculum and Problem-Based Learning. Sunderland is currently ranked top 20 for Medicine in the Guardian University Guide 2025 and 6th in the UK for student satisfaction (Complete University Guide 2026).
Does Sunderland accept A-Level resits?
Only in narrow circumstances. If you were originally awarded AAB, you may resit only the B-grade subject, one attempt, in the same subject. Anything below AAB at first sitting is not eligible for resit consideration. GCSE resits, by contrast, are accepted (maximum two attempts per subject, all completed before you apply).
What is the contextual offer for Sunderland medicine?
Sunderland’s contextual offer is AAB at A-Level for applicants who hold both a North East / Cumbria home postcode and meet at least one Widening Participation criterion (POLAR4 Quintile 1 or 2, free school meals in the last six years, refugee status, UCAT bursary, military family, or low household income). Contextual applicants still need to meet the UCAT and SJT thresholds.
Can graduates apply to Sunderland medicine?
Yes. Sunderland does not run a separate four-year graduate entry programme, but graduates can apply to the standard five-year MBChB. You need a 2:1 degree completed within the last five years, BBB minimum at A-Level (in the required subject mix), GCSEs at grade B/6 in Maths, English and Sciences, and the same UCAT and SJT thresholds. Graduates who don’t meet the A-Level grades/subjects or GCSE Sciences can be considered via the GAMSAT route.
Does Sunderland accept international students for medicine?
No. Sunderland Medical School does not accept international fee-paying applicants for the MBChB Medicine programme. Your fee assessment must classify you as a home fee-payer at the point of application.
Is there a Sunderland medicine entry requirements postgraduate route?
Sunderland does not run a postgraduate-only or four-year accelerated medicine course. If you already hold a degree, you apply to the same five-year MBChB Medicine (A100) as undergraduate applicants, using the graduate criteria (2:1 + BBB A-Levels, or GAMSAT compensation route).
How does Sunderland use the UCAT Situational Judgement Test (SJT)?
Your SJT band must be Bands 1, 2 or 3. A Band 4 is an automatic, non-negotiable rejection – no compensation by stronger cognitive UCAT performance is permitted. The SJT is therefore as important as the cognitive subtests in Sunderland’s screen.
Does Sunderland have a numeracy test on interview day?
Yes. Alongside the MMI, shortlisted candidates sit a 40-minute online numeracy test assessing clinically-relevant calculations. The test is pass/fail – failing it ends your interview cycle.
What is the Sunderland Medicine UCAS code?
The Sunderland medicine UCAS code is A100 for the five-year MBChB Medicine (full-time) course, taught at the City Campus.
When is the deadline for Sunderland Medicine applications?
All medicine applications close on 15 October via UCAS. Sunderland does not consider late applications under any circumstances – this includes technical issues, school administrative delays or extenuating circumstances
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