University of Oxford - Medicine

• Duration of the degree is 6 years (Bachelor degree holders in applied or experimental science majors at 2:1 or above can apply for 5 year version of this program)
• Domestic students’ competition in getting admitted: 20%
• International students’ competition in getting admitted: 3%
• 18 years old on 1 November
• Can accept UCAT ANZ

Subjects required: Chemistry plus just one more science or maths subject.

• A Levels
  • A*AA
  • 61.3% of applicants taking A-levels were doing/had done 3 A-levels,
  • Math and Further math are 2 distinct subjects but biology and human biology is counted as 1
  • All A levels need to be taken in same academic year
• International Baccalaureate (IB): 39 (including TOK & EE), 7, 6 and 6 in Higher Level (AA or AI math are fine)
• Bachelor degree holders: 4 year applied or experimental science majors with 2:1 or above, see list of majors applicable in graduate entry section
• HKDSE: Grade 5 in Core Maths and Core English + Grades 5*55 in three electives, 5* for chemistry
• USA:
  • Four APs at grade 5 or Three APs at grade 5 + 32 or above ACT or 1470 or above SAT (all APs will be taken in the same academic year)
  • Calculus AB or Calculus BC is counted as 1 subject
  • The following physics courses are counted as 2 APs, but if you are taking both Physics C courses, or both Physics 1 and Physics 2, you will not be able to count any additional Physics courses towards your offer requirements. In addition, only the specified combinations of Physics 1/2 and Physics C are permitted.
    • Physics C: Mechanics, and Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
    • Physics 1 and Physics 2
    • Physics 1and Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
    • Physics 2 and Physics C: Mechanics

• Canada: 91%
• GCSE: over 50% has 11 A*

English Language Proficiency

• IELTS 7.5 (all band 7), no UKVI
• TOEFL 110 (L 22, R 24, S 25, W 24)
• IB English B with a score of 7 at HL
• PTE 76 (Minimum 66 in each band)
• GCSE English first language Grade 6, plus Merit in the Spoken Language endorsement
• Cambridge O level English B

Interview Shortlisting Requirements: UCAT (double weight if no GCSE) + GCSE (if available)

University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) Situational Judgement Test (SJT) will not be taken into account for interview shortlisting

University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) scores from the past:

• UCAT average for shortlisted: 3092.8 / 3600 (much higher than top 10%)
• UCAT average for offered: 3130 / 3600 (much higher than top 10%)
• UCAT average raw score for applicants
  • Verbal Reasoning 679.2,
  • Decision Making 714,
  • Quantitative Reasoning 749.2

4 year degree in the following majors at 2:1 or above standing + high school graduating requirements listed above

• Anatomy
• Anatomy with Physiology
• Astronomy (must have biology or dual-award science at GCSE or O-level, or an equivalent qualification.)
• Biochemistry
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Biomedical Science
• Biology
• Botany
• Chemistry (must have biology or dual-award science at GCSE or O-level, or an equivalent qualification.)
• Chemical Engineering (must have biology or dual-award science at GCSE or O-level, or an equivalent qualification.)
• Dentistry
• Earth Sciences (must have biology or dual-award science at GCSE or O-level, or an equivalent qualification.)
• Engineering (must have biology or dual-award science at GCSE or O-level, or an equivalent qualification.)
• Experimental Psychology
• Geology (must have biology or dual-award science at GCSE or O-level, or an equivalent qualification.)
• Human Biology
• Human Genetics
• Human Sciences
• Immunology
• Marine Biology
• Materials Science (must have biology or dual-award science at GCSE or O-level, or an equivalent qualification.)
• Mathematics
• Medical Sciences
• Molecular Biology
• Molecular Genetics
• Microbiology
• Natural Sciences
• Neuroscience
• Neuroscience with Psychology
• Pathology
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Pharmacology
• Pharmacy
• Experimental or Applied Physics
• Physiology
• Physiology with Philosophy
• Physiology with Psychology
• Plant Sciences
• Experimental Psychology
• Veterinary Pathogenesis
• Veterinary Science
• Virology
• Zoology

a. Where is it going to take place?

The clinical placement will take place in the hospitals, general practices in Oxford and other centres in the Oxford Teaching Network, primarily Northampton, Swindon, Buckingham and Reading, some are listed as below:

• The John Radcliffe Hospital,
• The Churchill Hospital
• The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC)
• The Horton General Hospital in Banbury

b. What is The Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust like?

• The Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust provides a local service as well as acting as a regional referral centre for speciality treatment. The other hospitals in the Teaching Network are busy district general hospitals.
• The Trust provides a wide range of acute clinical services including an accident and emergency service, general medicine and surgery, paediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology.
• It also provides a number of speciality services including cardiology, cardiac surgery, a special care nursery, a regional transplant unit, dermatology, oncology, clinical genetics, urology and infectious diseases, orthopaedics and trauma. There is a unit for palliative care.

c. How is clinical placement going to be for undergraduate students?

For the undergraduate students, the clinical placement will take place from Year 4 to Year 6 with its own focus for each year:

Year 4: skills for effective clinical practice and the understanding of the work of the general practitioner and the primary health care team

Year 5: Major clinical specialties rotations

Year 6: Senior rotations in medicine and surgery

For the graduate students, the clinical placement will take place from Year 3 to Year 4.

d. What is the course structure?

The six-year curriculum comprises the following:

• Year 1-3 (Pre-Clinical):
  • Term 1 -5: First Bachelor of Medicine (BM)
    - the fundamental aspects of the structure and function of the healthy body, and the basic mechanisms underlying disease
    - the principles of medical sociology and of psychology for medicine
  • Term 6-9: Final Honour School (leading to a BA degree in Medical Sciences)
    - gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding in specific areas of biomedical science
    - undertake an experimental research project

• Year 4-6 (Clinical) leading to the award of BM, BCh:
  - apply the scientific foundation in the clinical setting

e. Does the course require the students to do the research work?

All A100 students are required to undertake an experimental research project in a field of interest to the students as part of their BA in Medical Sciences.

f. What is the teaching style in University of Oxford medical school?

The following teaching methods are adopted in the course:

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Clinical Placement
• Self-directed study
• Extracurricular Activities

g. Can the students study for an intercalated degree at University of Oxford?

University of Oxford does not accept students who wish to spend a year at the University as part of an intercalated course in Medicine.

The interviewees will be interviewed by two colleges: the college of preference, and one other allocated randomly. The number and format of interviews at each college may vary but the interviewees will be interviewed by at least two academics at each college and by at least one practising clinician.

• Motivation for Medicine

1. Why do you want to study Medicine?
2. Why Oxford?
3. What appeals to you about our tutorial system and the split degree (BA then BM BCh)?
4. Can you describe a defining moment or experience that solidified your decision to pursue medicine?
5. What steps have you taken to understand the day-to-day realities of being a doctor, and how have these shaped your perspective?
6. Which aspects of medicine align most with your personal values, and how do you think these values will influence your career?
7. Medicine often involves dealing with uncertainty and setbacks. How have you prepared yourself mentally and emotionally for this?
8. What do you hope to achieve in medicine beyond your clinical duties?
9. If you were to inspire someone else to consider a career in medicine, what would you share about your journey and aspirations?
10. What qualities are needed to be a good doctor?

• Scientific Reasoning & Medicine-Based Knowledge

1. Why do you think antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health today, and how can it be mitigated
2. How does the body regulate blood pressure, and what happens when this mechanism fails?
3. Why is the discovery of CRISPR considered a revolutionary breakthrough in medicine?
4. Explain how a vaccine works and discuss the challenges in developing vaccines for rapidly mutating viruses.
5. What happens at the cellular level during a myocardial infarction (heart attack)?
6. Describe the physiological response of the body to extreme cold and its limits.
7. What are the concentration of water?
8. Why do red blood cells exist?
9. How does the auditory nerve carry signals to the brain?
10. Why does heart rate increase during exercise?
11. How do animals detect seasonal changes?
12. You are in a boat on a lake and drop a heavy bowling ball overboard. Does the water level of the lake rise or fall?
13. Why might developing a fever actually help you fight off an infection?
14. How would you estimate a person’s cardiac output using only basic tools?
15. Design an experiment to test if a new antiseptic reduces surgical wound infections.
16. How could you estimate the number of alveoli in a human lung?
17. Put these countries in order by their crude mortality (deaths per thousand of the population): Bangladesh, Japan, South Africa, the UK.
18. The viruses that infect us are totally dependent on human cells for their reproduction; is it therefore surprising that viruses cause human diseases?

• Ethical Awareness

1. In cases like Archie Battersbee or Indi Gregory, what role should doctors and courts play in deciding the continuation of life-sustaining treatment against parental wishes?
2. How would you approach a situation where a colleague appears to be underperforming or acting unethically, as seen in the Harold Shipman or Bawa-Garba cases?
3. Considering the Francis Report and Mid Staffordshire failings, how can doctors balance patient safety with pressures to meet targets or cut costs?
4. In light of the Shropshire maternity scandal, what safeguards would you implement to ensure patient safety in resource-limited settings?
5. How should doctors balance autonomy with beneficence when patients refuse life-saving treatments, such as blood transfusions for religious reasons?
6. Should patients be allowed to sell their organs?
7. Is it ever ethical to withhold treatment from a patient?
8. A parent refuses a blood transfusion for their 7-year-old child on religious grounds. How do you approach this as a doctor?
9. Should non-urgent surgeries be delayed for patients who are smokers (until they quit)?
10. Is it ethical to incentivise living kidney donors with financial compensation?
11. You have one ICU bed left and two patients who need it – a 70-year-old and a 20-year-old. How do you decide who gets it?
12. A patient asks to see the raw notes your team has been writing about them. What are the pros and cons of saying yes?

• Teamwork & Communication

1. Explain a complex scientific concept – for example, CRISPR gene editing – in simple terms to a non-scientist.
2. How would you explain the concept of herd immunity to a vaccine-hesitant individual?
3. Describe a situation in a lab or classroom where you faced uncertainty. How did you handle it?

• NHS Awareness & Current Issues

1. How would you address the challenges posed by staff shortages in the NHS while maintaining patient care quality?
2. What are your thoughts on the rising role of artificial intelligence in diagnostics and patient management within the NHS?
3. Following the Lucy Letby case, what measures would you propose to improve whistleblowing culture in healthcare?
4. Should the NHS shift towards a more privatized funding model to alleviate financial pressures? Why or why not?
5. How can the NHS better manage public health crises, such as antimicrobial resistance or obesity?
6. What is your opinion on the current state of NHS mental health services, and how would you improve access and outcomes?
7. What is the most important medical breakthrough of the last 50 years?
8. How would AI or technology transform the role of doctors in the next decade?

• Abstract & Creative Thinking

1. Why are manhole covers round?
2. How much does a mountain weigh?
3. How would you describe a human being to a Martian?
4. If the wheel had never been invented, how would society differ?

• Data, Graphics or Article Interpretation

1. Describe which anatomical structures are shown in this diagram.
2. Look at this genetic tree and tell me about it.
3. Given you a microscope slide image – describe what you see and tell us what you think it means.
4. Calculate the concentration of a solution if I dissolve X grams of solute in Y milliliters of water.
5. This CT scan slice shows an unusual dark area (radiolucency) – what could be the cause, and how would you test your hypothesis?
6. Here’s a graph with a sigmoidal curve of oxygen saturation vs. oxygen pressure. Explain why it’s sigmoidal, and what factors might shift this curve.

• Empathy, Resilience & Professionalism

1. Can you describe a time when you turned a failure into a learning opportunity, and what did you take away from it?
2. How do you handle situations where your personal values conflict with the needs of a team or organization?
3. Tell me about a time when you had to persuade others to adopt your point of view in a professional or academic setting. What strategy did you use?
4. Describe a situation where you identified a problem others had overlooked. How did you address it?
5. Reflect on a time when you received constructive criticism. How did you respond, and how has it influenced your approach since?
6. Can you give an example of when you successfully juggled multiple responsibilities under tight deadlines, and what was the outcome?