Brighton and Sussex Medical School

UCAS course code: A100
UCAS institution code: B74
Length: 5 years
Location: Brighton and Sussex
Entry cycle: 2027
Application deadline: October 2026 UCAS Medicine deadline

Course overview

Brighton and Sussex Medical School, usually known as BSMS, offers a five-year BM BS delivered jointly through the Universities of Brighton and Sussex.

The early years combine biomedical science with clinical teaching, and BSMS introduces clinical skills and patient contact from the beginning of the programme. Around 20% of learning in Years 1 and 2 is clinically based, including hospital, primary-care and community experience.

From Year 3, students spend much more time on clinical placements across Sussex and Surrey, including at the Royal Sussex County Hospital and regional partner hospitals.

For September 2027, BSMS currently expects approximately:

• 197 Home places
• 10 international places

GCSE requirements

For standard applicants, BSMS only looks at:

• English Language OR English Literature: grade 6/B
• Mathematics: grade 6/B

There is no requirement for a certain number of grade 7s, 8s or 9s, and BSMS does not score the rest of your GCSE profile.

Contextual applicants

Applicants eligible for an adjusted offer need:

• English Language or Literature: grade 5/C
• Mathematics: grade 5/C

Are GCSEs scored?

No.

BSMS explicitly states that once an applicant meets the minimum academic requirements, achieving grades above the threshold gives no additional advantage in the admissions process.

The Med Step note: BSMS is therefore potentially very different from GCSE-heavy medical schools such as Birmingham or Aston. A student with mostly 6s and 7s is not automatically disadvantaged compared with someone with all 9s once the threshold has been met.

A-level requirements

For 2027 entry, the standard offer is:

AAA

You must study:

• Biology OR Chemistry
• plus one further subject from:
  • o Biology
  • o Chemistry
  • o Mathematics
  • o Physics
• plus a third A-level

Major change for 2027

This is important.

For previous entry cycles, BSMS required both Biology and Chemistry.

For 2027 entry, this has changed.

You now need:

Biology OR Chemistry + another science from Biology/Chemistry/Maths/Physics.

Therefore combinations such as:

Biology + Maths + History ✓

Chemistry + Physics + Psychology ✓

Biology + Chemistry + English Literature ✓

would satisfy the subject combination requirement.

You no longer necessarily need both Biology and Chemistry.

Third A-level

BSMS does not prescribe the third subject and specifically says it welcomes applicants taking subjects outside the mathematical and physical sciences.

It does not accept:

• General Studies
• Critical Thinking
• For a non-native English speaker, an A-level in their original language of instruction

EPQ

BSMS welcomes the EPQ but:

• it does not add points
• it does not improve interview selection
• it is not included in the offer

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UCAT requirements and selection

All applicants for 2027 entry must take the UCAT in summer 2026.

Once the academic requirements have been met, BSMS uses UCAT to select applicants for interview.

The process is essentially:

Meet academic threshold

↓

SJT Band 1–3 required

↓

Ranked by cognitive UCAT score

↓

Highest-ranked applicants invited to interview

Does BSMS score GCSEs or A-levels alongside UCAT?

No additional credit is given for exceeding the academic requirements.

Once applicants meet the academic threshold, BSMS moves on to UCAT-based selection.

That makes BSMS particularly straightforward compared with universities that create complicated GCSE + UCAT composite scores.

SJT requirements

This is important:

SJT Band 4 = rejection

Applicants achieving:

• Band 1 ✓
• Band 2 ✓
• Band 3 ✓
• Band 4 ✗

can only progress with Bands 1–3.

The SJT is therefore an eligibility hurdle rather than something applicants should ignore.

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Previous UCAT cut-off

For 2026 entry, the latest published interview thresholds were:

Standard Home applicants

Above 1990 + SJT Band 1, 2 or 3

Applicants scoring exactly 1990 needed SJT Band 1.

Overseas applicants

Above 1980 + SJT Band 1, 2 or 3

Contextual applicants

For the 2026 cycle, BSMS invited all adjusted-offer applicants who:

• met the academic requirements
• achieved SJT Band 1, 2 or 3

regardless of their total cognitive UCAT score.

Very important for 2027

1990 is NOT a confirmed 2027 cut-off.

BSMS ranks each year's applicants, so the score required depends on:

• the UCAT performance of that year's applicants
• the number of applicants
• the number of interview places available

For 2027, BSMS states that eligible applicants with SJT Band 1–3 will be ranked by their total UCAT score out of 2700.

Do not treat 1990 as a guaranteed safe score for 2027.

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How applicants are selected

For a standard Home applicant:

Stage 1

Meet the minimum GCSE and A-level requirements.

↓

Stage 2

Must achieve:

SJT Band 1, 2 or 3

Band 4 applicants are rejected.

↓

Stage 3

Applicants are ranked by:

Total cognitive UCAT /2700

↓

Stage 4

Highest-ranked applicants receive an MMI.

↓

Stage 5

MMI performance is considered by the Admissions Review Group when offers are made.

UCAT may be used again as a final discriminator if necessary after interview.

Personal statement

This is one of the clearest BSMS policies:

BSMS does not use the personal statement at any point in the undergraduate admissions process.

That means it is not:

• scored
• used to shortlist for interview
• used as an academic tie-break
• used as part of the standard admissions ranking

Obviously, your UCAS statement may matter to your other three medicine choices, so this does not mean applicants should neglect it.

The Med Step note: If BSMS is one of your choices, a brilliant personal statement cannot compensate for a UCAT below the interview threshold.

Interview format

BSMS uses Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs).

For the current format:

• 5 stations
• 10 minutes per station
• short break between stations
• approximately one hour overall

For 2027 entry, Home interviews are planned between:

December 2026 and February 2027

Applicants can choose between: