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Learn About Our Programme See How We Can Support Your Application →The University of Lancashire's medical school in Preston — formerly the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)
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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 If you spot something that looks out of date, tell us and we will check it.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
Name change — and a newer medical school: UCLan is now the University of Lancashire and uses lancashire.ac.uk. It is also one of the newer UK medical schools, so verify current information directly with the university before you apply.
Considering medicine at the University of Lancashire (formerly the University of Central Lancashire, UCLan)? Here's a complete breakdown of entry requirements, admissions criteria, and the application process for 2027 entry. The university changed its name and now uses lancashire.ac.uk; the old uclan.ac.uk addresses redirect. The course, the campus and the UCAS code are unchanged.
The University of Lancashire's Medical School in Preston was established to help address the shortage of doctors in Lancashire and the wider North West. The school has a strong focus on community medicine and training doctors to work in underserved areas, and it states on its own course page that it applies "a weighting to applicants who meet our widening participation criteria" in line with its aim of creating a representative workforce.
Preston offers affordable living with good transport links to Manchester and Liverpool. The medical school has strong links with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and other regional healthcare providers.
One change worth knowing if you looked at this course in an earlier cycle: the University of Lancashire previously restricted UK applications to the North West of the UK. It states that with increased UK places it has now opened applications to students from across the UK.
| Route | UCAS Code | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine & Surgery MBBS | A100 | 5 years | Preston Campus, in person. September 2026 and September 2027 start dates listed. Open to UK and international applicants |
| Graduate entry (4-year) MBBS | Not offered | The university states: "We do not currently offer a graduate entry (4-Year MBBS Programme), but graduates who meet the entry requirements above will be considered for the 5-Year MBBS programme" | |
| Foundation year | Not published | Not published | The MBBS page flags "Foundation year available" and links to separate foundation year routes for UK and for international students. We have not verified a UCAS code or length for these, so we are not printing one |
| Qualification | Requirement |
|---|---|
| A-Level Grades | AAA (in one sitting) |
| Required Subjects | At least two sciences, including Chemistry |
| Third Subject | Any subject accepted |
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| UCAT Required | Yes |
| Cut-off Score | Not published. The university states only that "your UCAT score will be used as part of the selection process prior to interview" |
| SJT Band | Not published. The MBBS course page makes no reference to the Situational Judgement Test or to minimum SJT bands |
| Widening participation weighting | The course page states a weighting is applied to applicants meeting the School's widening participation criteria. The size of the weighting and the criteria are not published |
"The University of Lancashire offers medicine in an affordable, friendly city with strong community links. If you want to train in the North West without the intensity of Manchester or Liverpool, Preston is a great option. The smaller cohort means you won't get lost in the crowd."
— Dr. Ash, Future Doc
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.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Multi-station Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs). At the Preston Campus you also get a guided tour of the School facilities |
| Number of Stations | Not published. The university describes "multi-station mini interviews" without giving a count |
| Station Duration | Not published |
| Interview Period | January to June for the general interview stage, with interviews for Home residency applicants held from December 2026 |
| Overseas interview locations | Dubai in December, with further dates to be confirmed in Botswana, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Toronto |
| Transferable skills statement | Some applicants are asked to complete one after applying. Guidance is published on the university's site |
Integrated biomedical sciences with early clinical exposure. Teaching at Preston campus.
Hospital and community placements across Lancashire NHS trusts including Royal Preston Hospital.
Eligible
The course is open to international (non-UK) students as well as UK students, and the university holds interviews overseas (Dubai confirmed, with Botswana, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Toronto to be confirmed). Two things to plan for: the £15,000 non-refundable deposit on an offer, and the fact that international applicants are not eligible for contextual admissions under the Fair Access Scheme unless they are an asylum seeker currently living in the UK.
Yes for medicine, but capped — and excluded entirely for dentistry
Medicine is included in the university's Fair Access Scheme, but at half the reduction available on most other courses. Dentistry is excluded outright. The detail is in the Contextual & Widening Participation section below, and if you are also applying to this university's BDS it is worth reading carefully.
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.
Medicine is included in the University of Lancashire's Fair Access Scheme, but at a reduced rate, and the university says so plainly: "Our Medicine degrees are included but offers will only be reduced by a maximum of 8 UCAS points" — against the 16 UCAS points available on most other courses. Eight UCAS points is one A-level grade. Separately, the MBBS course page states that the School applies "a weighting to applicants who meet our widening participation criteria" before interview, but does not say how much weight or publish the criteria. And by far the most valuable thing on offer here is not a grade reduction at all — it is a full-tuition scholarship.
| How it helps | What that means for you |
|---|---|
| One A-level grade off the offer | The standard MBBS offer is AAA at A2 with at least two sciences including Chemistry, taken in one sitting. A Fair Access applicant can have that reduced by a maximum of 8 UCAS points, which is one A-level grade. All other entry requirements, including the subject requirements, must still be met in full. |
| A weighting in MBBS selection before interview | The course page states: "In line with our aim to create a representative workforce, we will apply a weighting to applicants who meet our widening participation criteria." This appears to be a shortlisting advantage applied before interview, where UCAT is used to decide who is interviewed. The size of the weighting and the exact criteria are not published. That is worth a direct question to admissions, because it may well matter more than the eight points. |
| Two Livesey Scholarships: full tuition for the whole degree | Open to students who have successfully completed the university's Lancashire Scholars Programme. These cover all tuition fees for the duration of the five-year MBBS, with UK MBBS places attached. If you are eligible for the Scholars Programme, completing it is the single highest-value action available to you at this school — a full-tuition scholarship is worth vastly more than one A-level grade. |
| Dr Kate Granger and MacKenzie Scholarships: full tuition, regionally targeted | The Dr Kate Granger Scholarship is for successful applicants from East Lancashire; the MacKenzie Scholarship is for successful applicants from West Cumbria. Both cover all tuition fees for the duration of the programme. |
| A bursary for free school meal and refugee applicants | Free school meals and refugee applicants with a household income under £25,000 may also receive a bursary of £500 per year, rising to £750 in Year 3. |
| Applications now open from across the UK | Not a contextual mechanism as such, but relevant: the university previously restricted UK applications to the North West. It states that with increased UK places it has now opened applications to students from across the UK. |
Two practical steps if any of this applies to you. First, if you are eligible for the Lancashire Scholars Programme, pursue it — the Livesey Scholarships attached to it cover your entire tuition and are tied directly to completing it. Second, email admissions and ask what the MBBS widening participation weighting actually is and which criteria it uses. It is real, the university says so on its own course page, and it is completely undefined in public. You are entitled to know.
For a side-by-side comparison, see every UK medical and dental school's widening participation scheme.
The University of Lancashire has not yet published tuition fees for 2027/28 entry, although its MBBS page lists September 2027 as a start date. Its published fee table runs to 2026/27 only.
| Fee Status | Annual Tuition |
|---|---|
| Home (UK) | £10,050 — the statutory cap for English universities in 2027/28. The university's own published figure is £9,790 for 2026/27, and it states UK fees are subject to annual increase in line with RPI inflation and increases permitted by government |
| International | 2027/28: TBC — 2026/27 published rate £49,950 (2025/26 was £49,000) |
International applicants: there is a £15,000 deposit. The university states that an international student who receives a conditional or unconditional MBBS offer must pay a deposit of £15,000, that no extensions to the payment period are offered, and that the deposit will not be refunded if you meet the conditions of the offer (or hold an unconditional offer) and then choose not to take up your place. Factor that into your UCAS strategy before you accept.
The three UK scholarships are the most financially significant widening participation measure at this school by a wide margin — considerably more valuable than the eight-UCAS-point grade reduction described below.
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.
Preston is affordable, friendly, and well-connected. It's smaller than Manchester or Liverpool but has a growing student population. The city centre is compact with good nightlife and amenities.
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Last updated: February 2026
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