The University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine offers a “broad-based clinical curriculum encompassing primary, community–based and hospital care”. It structures its programme into pre-clinical studies (Years 1–3) and clinical studies (Years 4–6).
Clinical teaching is delivered on the wards and in general practice. There will also be opportunities to attend general and specialist outpatient clinics.
Although the course is based in Cambridge, some of it is delivered in regional hospitals or practices, to take advantage of the different educational opportunities they offer.
Gain access to a recording of our free webinar and find out what a day in the life of medical student Helen looks like. There's also videos covering all aspects of medical school applications and the UCAT.
"I would like to thank you for providing a useful and detailed webinar giving me a better understanding and an insight into what medicine has to offer."
During your third year, you will have the opportunity to choose a ‘specialist study’ from a range of subjects offered at the University, following which you will receive a BA degree. The ‘Preparing for Patients’ module also continues throughout your third year, to ensure continued patient contact.
Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine emphasises the importance of learning in small groups, ensuring that Undergraduate Clinical Supervision groups and groups within clinical settings are limited.
Cambridge also offers a Graduate Course in medicine (CGC) which is open to arts, humanities and science graduates who meet the admissions requirements. You can find more information on their website here.
No specific information about the interview process is provided; however, the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine does state that "admissions decisions are informed by national guidance on what makes a good doctor, for example, the Medical Schools Council’s ‘Consensus Statement on the Role of the Doctor’ and ‘Guiding Principles for the Admission of Medical Students’."
You can find general information about Cambridge's interview process here.
For 2024 entry, interviews were either conducted online or in person, depending on the specific college.
You can find more information about the interview process for Cambridge, including what the interview involves and how to prepare, on their website here.
Most medical schools require you to pass an admissions exam before you’ll be invited for interview.
Admissions exam for Cambridge: University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)
The UCAT is used to determine if you’ll be invited to an interview, assessing your characteristics, attitudes and professional behaviours against those required for medical school. The exam is made up of 5 subtests: Abstract Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Situational Judgement (SJT) and Verbal Reasoning.
To help you prepare for each area of the UCAT, we’ve created the free Medibuddy adaptive question bank, which uses artificial intelligence to identify your strengths and weaknesses within the syllabus, and carefully selects questions to meet your specific learning needs.
You can also use the question bank dashboard (below) to see how you’re performing, with your calculated skill level, response time, total number of questions answered and the number of questions answered correctly, for each section of the UCAT. So you can easily identify which areas you’ve “mastered” and which you need to spend more time on.
To achieve the best possible UCAT score and secure an interview at the University of Cambridge, it’s important to prepare well for all areas!
For more information about the UCAT entry exam, visit our Medicine Entry Requirements blog.
