Foundation and gateway routes to Medicine for international students

1. Two very different things called "foundation"

Gateway or foundation-year medicine courses (A104 and similar) are six-year programmes run by medical schools themselves, mostly for UK students from under-represented backgrounds; they are usually home-only, and where they are not, the school says so explicitly. International foundation programmes are one-year pre-university courses run by universities or pathway providers; a few publish progression to Medicine, always competitive and conditional on grades, the UCAT and interview. A third pattern exists: a medicine degree with an integrated foundation entry year designed for international students, which is a six-year route into one named school. Read the published progression statement for the programme you are considering, not the brochure.

3. How a foundation route changes your calendar and cost

• One more year of tuition and living costs before the medical degree begins; the foundation year is charged at the provider's fee, the degree at the medical school's international fee (fee guide).
• The UCAT still applies where the destination school uses it, and it must be sat in the summer of the foundation year, before the UCAS deadline, often while you are still settling in. Programmes that publish a guaranteed or competitive progression route usually also publish the UCAT and interview conditions attached.
• The visa is for the foundation first. A Student visa is issued for the foundation programme; progression means a new CAS and visa application for the degree. Below-degree-level courses may require a Secure English Language Test (English requirements).
• Age and timing. Some schools publish a minimum age at the start of clinical placements; a student who finishes WASSCE young should check this before choosing a one-year route.

4. Questions to ask any provider before you pay

• Which medical schools, by name, have you progressed students to in the last two years, and how many?
• What exact grades, UCAT score and interview outcome does progression require, and is it guaranteed or competitive?
• Is the foundation year itself open to international students on a Student visa, and does it count towards the UCAS application timeline (UCAT in the summer of the foundation year)?
• What happens, and what do I pay, if I do not progress to Medicine: which other degrees are open, and is any fee refunded?
• Is the progression statement published on the university's own website, and will you put the answer in writing?

We hold no arrangement with any foundation provider and receive nothing for a referral; the statements above are the universities' own, and the gaps are marked as gaps.