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Learn About Our Programme See How We Can Support Your Application →A 6-year pathway into medicine for students from the North West of England
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We compile these profiles from each university's own published admissions pages and review them monthly. Entry requirements do change mid-cycle, and universities sometimes publish updates without announcing them.
Use this page to get oriented quickly, build your shortlist, and work out which questions to ask — then confirm the specifics that your application depends on (grades, admissions test, fees, eligibility) directly with the university before you apply. If you spot something that looks out of date, tell us and we will check it.
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Entry year covered: 2027
Interested in Edge Hill Foundation Medicine? This programme provides an alternative pathway with an additional preparatory year. Here you'll find the entry requirements, eligibility criteria, and application process for 2026 entry.
Edge Hill University's Medicine with Foundation Year (A110) is a 6-year programme specifically designed for students from the North West of England who have the potential to become excellent doctors but may not meet the standard entry requirements for the 5-year programme.
The foundation year provides an additional year of preparation, covering the scientific foundations needed for medical training along with essential study skills and an introduction to healthcare. After successfully completing the foundation year, students progress directly into Year 1 of the standard MBChB programme.
Considering Edge Hill Medicine with Foundation Year? Future Doc's Predictable Offer Protocol™ coordinates every element of your application as one interconnected system, from UCAT preparation to university selection to interview readiness. 93% of our students receive at least one offer. Find out how it works.
The Foundation Year programme is designed for students from the North West who:
| Route | UCAS Code | Length | A-Level Offer |
|---|---|---|---|
| MBChB Medicine with Foundation Year | A110 | 6 years (1 + 5) | BBB including Biology and Chemistry |
| MBChB Medicine (direct entry) | A100 | 5 years | AAA including Biology and Chemistry |
Edge Hill offers medicine only — there is no dentistry course, and no graduate-entry medicine route.
The Foundation Year programme has lower academic entry requirements than the standard 5-year programme, recognising that potential matters as much as prior attainment.
| Qualification | Requirement |
|---|---|
| A-Level Grades | BBB including Biology and Chemistry |
| Required Subjects | Biology and Chemistry required (minimum grade B in each) |
| Third Subject | Grade C in any subject (except General Studies) |
| Science Practicals | Practical endorsement required where applicable |
Critical: Applicants must have lived in the North West of England (Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, or Cumbria) for at least 1 year prior to the date of application. You will need to provide evidence of this residency.
Not eligible
Edge Hill states that this course is not available to international students. EU/EEA/Swiss nationals with settled or pre-settled status and Irish nationals are the exception, provided they also meet the North West of England residency requirement.
| Qualification | Requirement |
|---|---|
| BTEC | Considered on a case-by-case basis alongside A-Level Biology and Chemistry |
| Access to HE Diploma | May be considered - contact admissions directly |
| International Baccalaureate | 28 points minimum including HL Biology and Chemistry |
"The Foundation Year at Edge Hill is a fantastic opportunity for North West students who might have missed out on the grades first time around or faced challenges that affected their schooling. What matters most is your potential and your commitment to medicine. If you can demonstrate that in your application, you've got a real chance."
— Dr. Ash, Future Doc
All applicants to the Foundation Year programme must sit the UCAT in the same year they apply. Edge Hill uses a holistic approach to assessment.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| UCAT Required | Yes |
| Cut-off Score | No fixed score published — a UCAT threshold is set each cycle depending on the number of interviews to be held |
| How UCAT is Used | Considered holistically alongside academics and personal qualities |
| SJT Consideration | Yes — any candidate scoring in band 4 is automatically rejected |
While no fixed cut-off score is published, Edge Hill sets a UCAT threshold each cycle depending on the number of interviews to be held, and applicants who meet that threshold are invited to interview. The threshold is extended for candidates who meet specific widening participation criteria or who have successfully completed Edge Hill's Widening Access to Medicine Programme.
Important: Any candidate scoring within band 4 of the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) will be automatically rejected, regardless of their cognitive UCAT score.
Note: The UCAT format changed in July 2025 with the removal of Abstract Reasoning, reducing the maximum score from 3,600 to 2,700. Cut-off scores and statistics from previous years may not directly apply to the current format.
Foundation Year applicants go through the same MMI process as standard entry applicants. The interview assesses your suitability for medicine and your potential to succeed.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) |
| Number of Stations | 6-8 stations |
| Duration per Station | Approximately 5-7 minutes each |
| Interview Period | December to March |
Preparing for your Edge Hill Medicine with Foundation Year interview? Future Doc's Think Like a Doctor™ module includes university-specific practice, high-pressure simulations, and an intensive In-Person Interview Day. Our near-100% interview-to-offer conversion rate reflects months of preparation across the full application, not just last-minute coaching. Learn more.
The Medicine with Foundation Year is a 6-year programme structured as follows:
The foundation year provides intensive preparation for medical school, including:
Upon successful completion of the foundation year, you progress automatically into Year 1 of the standard MBChB programme.
After the foundation year, you follow the same curriculum as students on the 5-year programme:
These are the criteria you must meet to be allowed to apply at all — not factors that are "looked on favourably". You need the North West residence requirement, one essential school or postcode criterion, and one additional criterion. The full published wording is in the Contextual & Widening Participation Offers section below.
| Layer | What Edge Hill requires |
|---|---|
| Residence (everyone) | Lived in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire or Cumbria for at least one year immediately before applying |
| Essential criterion (pick one) | Non-selective state secondary school with below-average Attainment 8; or non-selective state secondary school and POLAR4 quintile 1–2 or IMD decile 4 or below |
| Additional criterion (pick one more) | Household income below £35,000; parents without higher education; local authority care; aged 25 or under with caring responsibilities; refugee status; travelling community; care-experienced or estranged; POLAR4 quintile 1–2; IMD decile 4 or below |
| Double-counting | Not allowed — if you used the postcode route for the essential criterion, you cannot tick the same postcode criterion again as your additional one |
| Evidence | You tick the criteria on application; Edge Hill asks for proof later, before any offer is made |
Tick every criterion that genuinely applies to you and be ready to evidence it. If your school has no Attainment 8 data, Edge Hill asks you to contact it before applying so eligibility can be assessed individually.
Edge Hill expects Foundation Year applicants to demonstrate insight into medicine and healthcare. Quality matters more than quantity:
If access to clinical experience has been limited, Edge Hill will consider alternative evidence of your commitment to medicine. Focus on reflecting meaningfully on whatever experience you have had.
"Don't be discouraged if you haven't had access to the same opportunities as other applicants. Edge Hill understands that not everyone has connections to doctors or easy access to hospital work experience. What matters is that you've made the most of the opportunities available to you and can reflect on what you've learned about yourself and about healthcare."
— Dr. Ash, Future Doc
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| July - September | Sit the UCAT |
| 15 October | UCAS application deadline |
| November - December | Applications reviewed |
| December - March | MMI interviews conducted |
| January - April | Offers made |
| September | Programme begins |
A contextual offer is an adjustment a university makes for applicants whose circumstances have made their education harder than the grades alone suggest. Universities use them because they recognise that two students with the same predicted grades have not always had the same run at them. They are a formal, published part of the admissions process — not a favour, and not something you have to argue for.
What the adjustment actually is varies by school, and it matters more than most applicants realise. Depending on where you apply, qualifying can mean: a lower grade offer; being ranked against other widening participation applicants rather than the whole field; a guaranteed or prioritised interview; a lower admissions test threshold or extra shortlisting points; relaxed GCSE or subject requirements; or access to a separate gateway or foundation year route.
At Edge Hill the widening participation scheme is this course. The six-year MBChB with Foundation Year is not a flag applied to a standard application — it is a separate UCAS code with its own, lower entry bar, and you cannot apply to it unless you meet the criteria below.
Edge Hill's criteria come in three layers, and you need all three.
1. Residence (required of everyone):
2. One essential school/area criterion:
3. One additional criterion on top:
You tick these on your application and Edge Hill will ask you to evidence them later, before any offer is made. If you meet them, Edge Hill does not lower the grades on its five-year MBChB for you — it opens a different six-year course with a much lower bar, and extends the UCAT threshold on the direct-entry route.
| How it helps | What that means for you |
|---|---|
| A three-grade lower offer | BBB including Biology and Chemistry, against AAA including Biology and Chemistry for direct entry to the five-year MBChB. That is the single biggest grade concession on any Edge Hill route. |
| An unusual third-subject concession | Biology and Chemistry must both be at grade B or above, but if you achieve A or A* in either (or both), Edge Hill will accept your third A Level at grade C. Few medical schools publish anything this flexible. |
| A lower GCSE bar than the five-year route | Five GCSEs at grade B/6 or above including Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Maths. Double Science at 6-6 or B-B is accepted in place of separate Biology and Chemistry. |
| Automatic progression — no second application | Pass the Foundation Year at the required mark and you move straight into Year 1 of the five-year MBChB. No reapplication, no second UCAT, no second interview. |
| An extended UCAT threshold (five-year MBChB) | If you are applying to the direct-entry five-year course instead, Edge Hill extends — that is, lowers — its UCAT threshold for candidates meeting its widening participation criteria or who have completed its Widening Access to Medicine Programme. The academic offer stays at AAA. |
For a side-by-side comparison, see every UK medical and dental school's widening participation scheme.
| Fee Status | Annual Tuition |
|---|---|
| UK full-time (Foundation Year and each subsequent year) | £10,050 |
| EU/EEA/Swiss with settled or pre-settled status, and Irish nationals | £10,050 (UK rate) |
| Other international students | Not eligible — the course is closed to them |
| Total programme cost (6 years) | 2027/28: TBC. Only the 2027/28 rate is set; fees for years 2–6 have not been published |
Note: As this is a 6-year programme, you will pay tuition fees for an additional year compared to the 5-year programme. Student finance is available for all 6 years, and UK students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan covering the full cost.
£10,050 is the figure Edge Hill publishes for the 2027/28 academic year on its Medicine with Foundation Year course page, and it matches the English regulated cap. Edge Hill notes the rate is subject to Parliamentary approval and is likely to rise with inflation (RPIX) in later years, so do not assume £10,050 × 6. We have written the six-year total as TBC rather than guess at it.
Applying to medical school requires more than meeting the minimum entry requirements. Here are practical steps to strengthen your application:
For an overview of all UK medical schools and how they compare, see the UK Medical Schools hub page.
No. The Foundation Year programme is exclusively for students who have lived in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, or Cumbria for at least 1 year prior to application. This is a strict eligibility requirement. Edge Hill also states plainly that the course is not available to international students, other than EU/EEA/Swiss nationals with settled or pre-settled status and Irish nationals who meet the residency rule. If you're from outside these regions, you should consider the standard A100 programme or other medical schools with foundation year options.
The minimum requirement is BBB at A-Level including Biology and Chemistry. This is lower than the AAB required for the standard 5-year programme, reflecting the widening participation aims of the foundation year.
Yes. All applicants, including Foundation Year applicants, must sit the UCAT in the same year they apply. No fixed cut-off score is published — a UCAT threshold is set each cycle depending on the number of interviews to be held, and it is extended for candidates meeting widening participation criteria or who have completed Edge Hill's Widening Access to Medicine Programme. Note that a band 4 SJT result leads to automatic rejection.
Approximately 20 places are available on the Foundation Year programme each year. Competition is significant, so it's important to submit a strong application.
If you successfully complete the foundation year, you progress automatically into Year 1 of the standard MBChB programme. You'll then follow the same curriculum as students who entered via the 5-year route.
No. While the entry requirements are lower, the Foundation Year itself is academically demanding and designed to prepare you fully for the MBChB programme. You'll need to work hard and demonstrate your potential throughout the year.
Generally, you can only apply to one medicine programme at Edge Hill. However, check with admissions directly as policies may vary. Remember that you only have 4 UCAS choices for medicine.
Focus on achieving the best possible grades in Biology and Chemistry, prepare thoroughly for the UCAT, gain meaningful work experience (quality over quantity), and demonstrate genuine commitment to medicine and the North West region. Most applicants treat these as separate tasks, which is why the national success rate is just 16%. Future Doc's Predictable Offer Protocol coordinates every element as one interconnected system, which is why 93% of their students receive at least one offer.
Most applicants treat the medical school application as a series of separate hurdles: the UCAT, personal statement, work experience, university selection, and interviews. They try to solve each one independently. This creates a fragmented approach where the pieces never add up.
Future Doc works differently. Through the Predictable Offer Protocol, a dedicated coach who knows your complete profile coordinates every element of your application as one interconnected system. Every decision is made with the full picture in mind.
The result: 93% of our students receive at least one offer. If they don't, they come back next year for free.
Find Out How It Works
Last updated: March 2026. Information verified against Edge Hill University admissions pages and Medical Schools Council guidance.
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