Questions Nigerian applicants ask about UK Medicine

Not directly onto the standard five-year degree at any medical school we reviewed. UK universities that publish a Nigeria page treat WASSCE as the equivalent of GCSEs and ask for A-levels, the IB or a recognised foundation year before Medicine. See what each school says on our WAEC page.

Several universities publish that WASSCE covers the GCSE layer of a Medicine offer, while the main offer is made on A-levels or IB; the grades they ask for differ. Each school's wording is on our WAEC page.

Many university statements name WASSCE without NECO. Where a statement names NECO, it names it alongside WAEC. Where a school is silent, confirm directly. Details on our NECO page.

No UK medical school we reviewed lists JAMB/UTME, JUPEB or IJMB as an entry qualification for Medicine; they are routes into Nigerian universities. Only a few schools publish a route for National Diploma (OND) or HND holders, some only as a general undergraduate rule; check each school's statement on our WAEC page. Otherwise UK schools assess A-levels, the IB or a foundation programme they name, plus the admissions test, your statement and reference; a completed degree is assessed under each school's own rules (see graduate entry with a Nigerian degree). If anyone says an OND or HND gives entry to Medicine, ask them for the school's published statement.

Only a few foundation programmes publish Medicine as a destination for international students, and progression is competitive and conditional. We list the ones we found, with their published terms, on our foundation routes page. Treat any "guaranteed progression to medicine" claim with caution unless the provider publishes it.

A-levels (or the IB) are the school-leaving qualifications UK medical schools name in their standard offers; they take two years and are examined externally. A foundation year is a one-year university programme that only leads to Medicine where the provider publishes that progression route, and places are competitive and conditional. For a WASSCE holder both are possible. A-levels are the qualification standard offers are built on, while a foundation year leads only to the schools that publish Medicine as a destination; whether a school is open to you also depends on its international policy. Compare on our A-level page and foundation routes page.

Only by gaining the science qualifications medical schools require: published standard offers name the sciences required at A-level (or IB Higher Level), such as Chemistry, Biology or both, and a foundation year counts only where the school names it. An Arts background does not bar you, but the subjects have to be studied first. Start from the requirements hub.

Some of the university statements we hold name NECO; where they do, they name it alongside WAEC, and none we reviewed publishes it alone as the entry qualification for standard-entry Medicine. A few accept a NECO or WAEC English grade in place of IELTS for specific courses, and the grade they ask for differs by school. Both lists, with sources, are on our NECO page and the English requirements page.

We do not rank or recommend A-level providers and we have no arrangement with any. The school records we hold state A-level requirements without separate rules for Cambridge International; confirm with any school where it matters. Beyond that, what matters is the college's recent grade record in Chemistry and Biology, whether it can supply predicted grades and a reference, and whether it supports UCAT timing. The questions to ask are on our A-levels page.

The UCAT Consortium does not publish how many places each centre has, so treat every slot as scarce. Register the day registration opens, book on the day booking opens, and keep a later date as a fallback. The dates and fees are on our UCAT page.

Get the right qualifications (A-levels/IB or an approved foundation), sit the admissions test your schools name (such as the UCAT) in its testing window before you apply, apply through UCAS by the medicine deadline with up to four medicine choices, attend any interview, meet offer conditions, then pay the deposit, receive your CAS and apply for the Student visa. Our timeline page has the dates.

The UCAT is delivered at Pearson VUE test centres. The UCAT Consortium says test centres are available in many countries and asks candidates to use its test centre locator to find the nearest one; if travel to a centre is difficult because of distance, it points to online proctored testing (OnVUE UCAT). Book as soon as booking opens. See our UCAT page.

Since 2025 the cognitive total is out of 2700 (three sections) plus a Situational Judgement band. Thresholds vary by school and year; some schools publish that they rank international applicants separately. We do not publish cut-offs we cannot source.

Unless the school accepts other evidence, yes: each school publishes its own English requirement, as an IELTS band with component minimums or an equivalent test, and a few accept WAEC or NECO English for specific courses. Our English page lists what each school publishes, and the visa rule.

Each medical school publishes its own work-experience guidance, so read it for every school on your list. Where the guidance does not limit the setting, describe experience gained in Nigeria (hospital, clinic, pharmacy, community or caring roles) in the same terms as any other experience, and be ready to reflect on what you learned.

Graduate-entry programmes exist; each school publishes whether its programme admits international applicants. Graduates can also apply to the standard five-year course where the school allows it. See our graduate entry page.

Five years for the standard degree (A100 at many schools), six where a school adds a foundation or gateway year, and four on graduate-entry courses for applicants who already hold a degree. Training continues after graduation; our Medicine guide explains each route and working in the UK covers what comes after the degree. Be wary of figures quoting four years for the standard degree: that is the graduate-entry length.

For Medicine: confirm your route on your qualifications, sit the admissions test in its testing window before you apply, apply through UCAS (or directly, for a few schools) by the medicine deadline, attend any interview, meet offer conditions, pay the deposit, receive your CAS, then apply for the Student visa with maintenance evidence and a TB test. Each step is on how to apply and the timeline.

We publish fees in pounds only, because the naira figure changes with the exchange rate between the day you read it and the day you pay. Convert the published pound fee at the rate your bank will actually apply, and remember that visa fees, the Immigration Health Surcharge and the maintenance funds you must show are also set in pounds. The total cost page adds them up.

International Medicine fees vary by school, and some schools charge a higher rate in clinical years. Our fee guide lists each school's published fee with its fee year and source, and shows the overall range separately.

We do not rank schools. The fee guide lets you sort by published fee, but check whether the school accepts international applicants, whether clinical years cost more, and whether NHS levies apply.

It is not free: international students pay the international fee for every year of the course. Some university-wide international scholarships exclude Medicine (the total cost page shows sourced examples), and we list no Medicine scholarship because none has been verified. Plan on full self-funding and treat scholarship listicles with caution.

We do not rank medical schools and no official body does. The General Medical Council approves UK medical degrees; some newer schools are still under GMC review, and the directory shows each school's GMC status. The questions that matter for a Nigerian applicant are different: does the school admit international students, does it accept your qualifications, what does it cost, which test does it use, and how does it interview. The directory answers those from each school's own pages.

Most schools do not publish them, and we do not estimate what is not published. Some schools publish their number of international places and, sometimes, applicant numbers; where they do, we show it on the school's page with its source and date. Treat any site quoting precise acceptance rates without a university source with caution.

Of the 53 medical schools and programmes in our directory, 43 publish that they admit international applicants and 7 are home-only. International places are capped; where a school publishes its number of places, we show it on the school's page with the source. Use the directory filter "International applicants: accepted".

No. We support students applying to study Medicine in the UK from the start. Registration routes for doctors who qualified outside the UK are set by the General Medical Council, and the British Medical Association publishes guidance for international doctors; both are the right sources for that question.

UK medical graduates, including international students, apply to the UK Foundation Programme on the same basis as home graduates and need the Medical Licensing Assessment and GMC provisional registration; graduates who need a visa can be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa after allocation to a programme, or use a Graduate visa. Rules on post-study work and training prioritisation are changing; nothing is guaranteed. Our Working in the UK page sets out the steps and what is still proposed.

Recognition for practice in Nigeria is decided by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, not by us or by the UK university. Check the MDCN's current requirements before you choose a course.

No. We are an independent application-support service. We are not an agent of, or affiliated with, any university, UCAS, the British Council or the GMC, and we receive no commission from universities. See Our status.

We cannot answer that for you, and we do not try to. The honest inputs are whether a route is open on your qualifications, whether five to six years of international fees plus living costs is sustainable, whether you can meet the UCAT and English bars in your planned year, and what you intend to do after graduation. The Medicine pillar sets out each input with sourced facts.