List of medical schools in the United Kingdom

There are thirty three medical schools in the United Kingdom that are recognised by the General Medical Council and where students can study for a medical degree.[2] There are twenty-five such schools in England, five in Scotland, two in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. All but Warwick Medical School and Swansea Medical School offer undergraduate courses in medicine. The Bute Medical School (University of St Andrews) and Durham Medical School offer undergraduate pre-clinical courses only, with students proceeding to another medical school for clinical studies. Although Oxford University and Cambridge University offer both pre-clinical and clinical courses in medicine, students who study pre-clinical medicine at one of these universities may move to another university for clinical studies. At other universities students stay at the same university for both pre-clinical and clinical work.

For a list of past medical schools, see List of historical medical schools in the United Kingdom.

Charterhouse Square, home to Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, part of Queen Mary, University of London. Medical training has taken place at Barts continuously since its foundation in 1123. Its college of medicine was formally founded in 1843. Prior to this date, however, it was already referred to as a "medical school".[1]

History of medical training

The first medical school in the United Kingdom was established at the University of Edinburgh in 1726.[3] Medical education prior to this was based on apprenticeships and learning from observation. Professors of medicine did very little if any training of students. Few students graduated as physicians during this earlier period.

The earliest example of this earlier style of medical training in Britain was in 1123 at St Bartholomew's Hospital, now part of Queen Mary, University of London. The first Chair of Medicine at a British university was established at the University of Aberdeen in 1497,[4] although this was only filled intermittently and there were calls "for the establishment of a medical school" in 1787.[5] Medical teaching has taken place erratically at the University of Oxford since the early 16th century, and its first Regius Professor of Physic was appointed in 1546. Teaching was reformed in 1833 and again in 1856,[6] but the current medical school was not founded until 1936.[7] The University of St Andrews established a Chair of Medicine in 1772, but did not have a medical school (at Dundee) until 1897.[8] The Linacre Readership in Medicine at the University of Cambridge was founded in 1524, and the Regius Professor of Physic was established in 1540. Teaching was reformed in 1829,[6] but the current medical school was established in 1976.[9] Teaching of apprentices was first recorded in 1561 at St Thomas's Hospital, London, and formalised between 1693 and 1709.[10]

The University of Edinburgh Medical School was founded in 1726 and was the first formally established medical school in the UK. This was followed by Glasgow in 1744, although the school was without a teaching hospital until 1794.[11] The oldest medical school in England is St George's, University of London, which began formal teaching in 1751.[12] In 1768 teaching at St Thomas's and Guy's hospitals in London was formalised with the foundation of the United Hospitals Medical School, which lasted until the foundation of a separate medical school at Guy's in 1825 (now both part of King's College London).[10] The London Hospital Medical College (LHMC) was founded in 1785 and is now part of Queen Mary, University of London's School of Medicine. In the first half of the 19th century, the newly founded university colleges in London opened teaching hospitals in 1834 (University College Hospital)[13] and 1839 (King's College Hospital).[14] The Middlesex Hospital Medical School (now part of UCL) was also founded in this period, in 1835.[13] The London School of Medicine for Women was founded in 1874, the first medical school in Britain to teach women (now part of UCL).[15]

Outside of London and the universities, medical teaching began in Manchester in 1752[16] and lectures in Birmingham in 1767.[17] Medical schools in Manchester (1824),[18] Birmingham (1825),[17] Sheffield (1829),[19] Leeds (1831),[20] Bristol (1833),[21] Newcastle (1834),[22] Liverpool (1834),[23] and Belfast (1835)[24] were formally established in the first half of the 19th century. Durham University introduced teaching by a Reader in Medicine from its opening in 1833, but had no medical school until the affiliation of the College of Medicine in Newcastle in 1854.[25] In the later 19th century a medical school was established at Cardiff in 1894.[26] The newest medical school in the UK is the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) School of Medicine which opened to medical students in 2015.[27]

The Medical Act 1858 was a key development in the professionalising of medical practice and training, introducing the General Medical Council and the Medical Register.[28]

The next expansion of medical schools began following the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Medical Education (1965-1968) (the Todd Report), which called for the immediate establishment of new schools in Southampton, Leicester and Nottingham to aid medical education in the United Kingdom;[29][30] all were built between 1970 and 1980. Medical schools at Warwick (located in the City of Coventry), Swansea, Keele (located in the City of Stoke-on-Trent) and Hull (in partnership with York) eventually opened in the 1990s and early 21st century, as well as new medical schools at University of East Anglia (located in the city of Norwich) Durham, Brighton and Sussex, and Plymouth and Exeter. Buckingham University, the oldest private university in England, launched a graduate entry medical school in 2010[31] although it offers only postgraduate MD qualifications to doctors already qualified to MBBS or equivalent and does not offer initial medical training approved by the General Medical Council at present. It is due to accept its first batch of undergraduates for a four and a half-year MBBCh course in 2015 at a cost of £35,000 per year.[32] The school will be known as Buckingham Milton Keynes Medical School and will be in partnership with Milton Keynes NHS Trust.[32]

(Please note that in the tables below and noting the complexities described above in deciding what date some level of teaching became what we now recognise as a medical school, the establishment date generally reflects the formal commencement of the current medical school.)

England
Shepherd's House, King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Guy's Campus in London
The School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge
The Allam Medical Building, part of the Hull York Medical School at the University of Hull
Norwich Medical School, Bob Champion Building
The University College Hospital Cruciform building, used by the UCL Medical School
The Medical Teaching Centre at Warwick Medical School
The Keele University Medical School
Name University Established Comments Degree awarded Ref.
Aston Medical School Aston 2015 MBChB [33]
Anglia Ruskin School of Medicine Anglia Ruskin University 2018 First intake of students took place in the academic year of 2018/9, with a cohort of 100 students per annum. MBChB [34]
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Queen Mary
(University of London)		 1785 Current school formed by the merger of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital and the London Hospital Medical College which was founded in 1785. Teaching at St Barts dates from 1123. MBBS [35]
University of Birmingham Medical School Birmingham 1825 Formal medical education began at Birmingham in 1825[17] Merged with Mason Science College in 1900. MBChB [36][37]
Bristol Medical School Bristol 1833 Merged with the University College, Bristol (now University of Bristol) in 1893. MBChB [38]
Brighton and Sussex Medical School Brighton
Sussex		 2002 Affiliated with both the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex. BMBS [39]
University of Buckingham Medical School Buckingham 2015 4.5 year course, first cohort graduated in June 2019. January start date. Associated hospitals are: Milton Keynes University Hosptial; Warwick Hospital (South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust) and Stoke Mandeville Hospital (Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust); St Andrews Hospital Northampton. MBChB
School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge Cambridge 1976 Teaching of medicine began in 1540, but lay dormant for many years. An abortive attempt to put medicine on a proper footing was undertaken in the 1840s, but eventually petered out by the 1860s. It was not until 1976 in response to the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Medical Education that a complete medical course was re-established at Cambridge through partnership with Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. MB BChir [40]
UCLan School of Medicine Preston 2015 The school works in very close partnership with NHS Trusts and CCGs in both Lancashire and Cumbria.Recruiting international students from 2015,sponsored UK students from 2017 and UK government funded students from 2018 onwards. MBBS [41]
University of Exeter Medical School Exeter 2013
(Peninsula College: 2000)		 Established after the split of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry. BMBS [42]
Hull York Medical School Hull
York		 2003 Affiliated with both the University of Hull and the University of York. MBBS [43]
Imperial College School of Medicine Imperial College London 1997
(Charing Cross Hospital: 1818)		 Formed by the merger of St Mary's Hospital Medical School, the National Heart and Lung Institute, the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and the Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School. MBBS [44]
Keele University School of Medicine Keele 2003 Founded as the Department of Postgraduate Medicine in 1978; began teaching undergraduate clinical medicine in 2003 using the Manchester curriculum. As such, the MBChB degree was awarded by the University of Manchester until 2011. From 2012 (2007 intake) the MBChB degree was awarded by Keele University itself. MBChB (see comments) [45]
Kent and Medway Medical School University of Kent & Canterbury Christchurch 2020 The medical school has been formed as a collaboration between the University of Kent and Canterbury Christchurch University. The first cohort will consist of 150 students and is being supervised by Brighton and Sussex Medical School. BMBS [46]
King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry King's College London
(University of London)		 1988
(St Thomas's Hospital: 1550)		 Result of a merger between King's College London and United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals in 1998. Known as GKT School of Medicine until 2005. Teaching began in 1550 at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School. MBBS [47]
Lancaster Medical School Lancaster 2004 Education undertaken by the Cumbria and Lancashire Medical and Dental Consortium. The MBChB degree was awarded by the University of Liverpool. The General Medical Council approved Lancaster in 2012 to deliver their own medical degree independently. Students starting after September 2013, will graduate with a Lancaster degree. MBChB [48]
Leeds School of Medicine Leeds 1831 MBChB [49]
Leicester Medical School Leicester 1975 MBChB [50]
University of Lincoln Medical School Lincoln 2019 (anticipated) A new medical school that is planned to take its first students in 2019. MBBS [51]
Liverpool Medical School Liverpool 1834 MBChB [37]
Manchester Medical School Manchester 1824 Medical teaching began in 1752 when Charles White founded the first modern hospital in the Manchester area, the Manchester Royal Infirmary. The medical school was first constituted in 1824.[52] MBChB [53]
Newcastle University Medical School Newcastle 1834 Durham University College of Medicine 1851-1937, Medical School of King's College, University of Durham 1937-1963. Absorbed Durham University School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health (est. 2001) in 2017. MBBS [37]
University of Nottingham Medical School Nottingham 1970 Has an associated graduate school, the University of Nottingham Medical School at Derby. BMBS [54]
Norwich Medical School East Anglia 2000 Medical school of the University of East Anglia MBBS [43]
Oxford University Medical School,
(in the Medical Sciences Division)		 Oxford 1946 Medicine has been taught at the University of Oxford sporadically since the 13th century but lay dormant through the 19th century. The current medical school, teaching both clinical and undergraduate students, was established in 1946. BM BCh [55]
Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry Plymouth 2013
(Peninsula College: 2000)		 Established after the split of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry. BMBS [56]
UCL Medical School University College London
(University of London)		 1998
(Middlesex Hospital: 1746)		 A merger in 1987 between the medical schools of Middlesex Hospital (1746) and University College Hospital (1834), and a subsequent merger in 1998 with the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine (founded as the London School of Medicine for Women in 1874) formed the present school. MB BS [57][58]
Sheffield Medical School Sheffield 1828 Affiliated with the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. MBChB [37]
Southampton Medical School Southampton 1971 Students intercalate a Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci) degree within the 5 years of their course. An optional year-long Masters of Medical Science (MMedSci) intercalated degree is also on offer for students. BMBS, BMedSci (see comments) [59]
University of Sunderland School of Medicine University of Sunderland 2019 A new medical school that utilises state-of-the-art clinical simulation. The first cohort of students started in September 2019. MBChB
St George's, University of London St George's
(University of London)		 1733 The second institution in England to provide formal medical education and the only independent healthcare institution in the UK. MBBS [60]
Warwick Medical School Warwick 2000 A graduate-entry course in medicine. Previously Leicester-Warwick Medical School. MBChB [61][62]
The Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen

Scotland
The Wolfson Medical School at the University of Glasgow
Name University Established Comments Degree awarded Ref.
University of Aberdeen School of Medicine Aberdeen 1786 Medicine taught as early as the late 15th century, although no formal medical school was established until circa 1786 with a series of lectures offered by Dr George French and Dr Livingston from which the modern medical school emerged.[63] MBChB [64]
University of Dundee, School of Medicine Dundee 1967 From 1883 to 1897, University College Dundee was independent. From 1893 to 1967 medicine was taught in Dundee as part of the University of St Andrews. After 1967, medical teaching was under the auspices of the University of Dundee. MBChB [65]
University of Edinburgh Medical School Edinburgh 1726 Medicine has been taught in this city since the 16th century. The University of Edinburgh was the first to provide formal medical training beginning in 1726. MBChB [66]
Glasgow Medical School Glasgow 1751 Medicine first taught in 1637, however the current medical school can be said to have been established with the appointment of Dr William Cullen in 1751.[67] MBChB [68]
University of St Andrews School of Medicine St Andrews 1897 Medicine taught at St Andrews from 1413. First MD awarded 1696. First Professor appointed 1721. The medical school was established in 1897.[8] Clinical teaching undertaken at University College, Dundee until 1967. St Andrews awards BSc (Hons), with clinical teaching and MBChB degrees provided by Partner Medical Schools. BSc (Hons) (see comments) [69]

[70]

Wales
Name University Established Comments Degree awarded Ref.
Cardiff University School of Medicine Cardiff 1893 Founded in 1893 and previously known as the Welsh National School of Medicine and the University of Wales College of Medicine, it was re-amalgamated into Cardiff University in 2004. MBBCh [71]
Swansea University Medical School Swansea 2001 Swansea University Medical School provides a graduate-entry course in medicine only. MBBCh [72]

Northern Ireland
Name University Established Comment Degree awarded Ref.
Queen's University Belfast Medical School Queen's University Belfast 1821 Only United Kingdom medical school to award graduates Bachelor of Obstetrics (BAO) degree. MB BCh BAO [73]

Overseas Territories
St Matthews University Campus
Name Territory Established Comment Degree awarded Ref.
Saint James School of Medicine Anguilla 2010 in Anguilla (previously established in 1999 in Bonaire) Uses a US based curriculum MD [74]
St. Matthews University Cayman Islands 2002 in the Cayman Islands (previously established in 1997 in Belize) Uses a US-based curriculum[75] MD [76]
University of Science, Arts and Technology Montserrat 2003 MD, MBBS [77]

See also

Notes and references
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