BMBS Medicine with a Foundation Year Degree at the University of Nottingham
BMBS Medicine with a Foundation Year at University of Nottingham. Rather than treating the foundation year as a bolt-on, the course uses it as a genuine springboard, giving students the grounding they need before moving into the standard medical curriculum.
About this course
Our Medicine with a Foundation Year course is designed for ambitious and aspirational students whose circumstances might make it harder for them to realise their full potential. From the provider’s course page.
BMBS Medicine with a Foundation Year is a Degree (BMBS) at the University of Nottingham. It runs 6 years, studied full-time.
For Medicine and dentistry graduates from this provider, 98% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 94% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £37,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)
For the typical curriculum, specialisations, career paths and graduate earnings for Medicine & Dentistry, see the sections below.
Course evidence score
The arithmetic mean of the official measures available for this course: NSS satisfaction, graduate activity and continuation.
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Stronger evidence Published sample: 115. Cohort 2022-23. Graduate Outcomes work or further study 98% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Published threshold met Discover Uni suppresses continuation data below its publication threshold. Cohort 2022-23. Continuation 96% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Curriculum & modules
Real modules published for this course, grouped only where the source gives a year, stage or level.
Foundation year 6 modules
- Biochemical Molecules and ProcessesCore
Module details
This module will explore the basic concepts of biochemical matters and processes relating to health and diseases. It will consider the individual processes involved in major metabolic pathways implicated in the maintenance of normal human body physiological functions, and the application of common biochemical laboratory procedures in clinical medicine.
- Body Structure and FunctionCore
Module details
This module explores the architecture and compartments of major body systems and organs, and the interaction between different anatomical structures and body functions. It covers topics including the alimentary system, nervous systems, circulatory system, respiratory system, renal system, reproductive organs and muscles and skeleton.
- Cells and TissuesCore
Module details
This module considers the particulars of cell and tissue biology. You will explore a number of topics including: prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure and function, organelles, biological membranes, cell division, transport across membranes, and tissue types. For this module you will have a blended mix of taught classes, laboratory practicals, independent study exercises and e-learning.
- Integrative moduleCore
Module details
This module covers all the systems of the human body. It aims to integrate and consolidate understanding of the normal structure and function of the human body and of key ways in which these are disturbed in the diseases and conditions studied in the earlier modules of the GEM programme. This is done by basing learning around a number of clinical cases involving multi-system disease. It includes review of aspects of microbiology, pharmacology, population medicine (epidemiology, public health, ev
- Public HealthCore
Module details
This module introduces the basic concept of population healthcare with respect to the impacts of disease and psychosocial influences on human populations, from both a regional and global perspective. It considers global medicine, microbiology including zoonosis, and metabolic and inherited diseases.
- Professional and Communication SkillsCore
Module details
This module begins to introduce the process of personal and professional development of future doctors by requiring regular reflection, action planning and documentation of their progress through the Foundation Year. It also comprises an introduction to the areas of basic communication and clinical skills and professionalism through exploring lifestyle factors and their influence on health, the NHS and topical medical and ethical issues, health psychology and health promotion. The module develop
Source: provider course page. Modules can change; required/optional status, credits, descriptions and assessment are shown only when explicitly published.
Course in depth
What this course covers, who it suits and where it leads.
What you'll study
The programme is structured to build knowledge and clinical competence in stages, starting with the foundation year and then moving through the phases typical of a medical degree. Across the course you can expect to engage with core theory covering the biomedical and clinical sciences that underpin medical practice, alongside research & methods work that introduces you to how medical knowledge is generated and evaluated. Applied practice forms a significant part of the later years, giving you exposure to clinical environments and patient contact under supervision. As you progress, there is scope to explore specialist options, allowing some tailoring of your studies towards particular areas of interest within medicine. An independent project gives you the chance to investigate a topic in depth, while professional skills teaching runs throughout, covering the communication, ethical and practical competencies expected of a doctor. Together these elements are designed to take you from foundational science through to the readiness required for clinical training.
Who it's for
This course is aimed at students who have the drive and academic ability to pursue a career in medicine but who may not have had the same advantages or preparation as other applicants. If you're someone who has had to work hard against circumstances that made access to opportunities more difficult, and you still want to reach a demanding, people-focused career, this route is designed to give you a fair chance to prove yourself. You should be genuinely curious about how the body works and motivated by the idea of caring for people, but you don't need to arrive with a polished, conventional academic profile. Most students accepted onto Medicine courses at Nottingham have typically held A-levels or equivalent, with a common UCAS tariff band of 160-175 points among those admitted, though this reflects who has been accepted rather than a fixed requirement. Studying this course will feel demanding and, at times, intense, particularly once you move from the foundation year into full medical training, but it is built to support students who need an additional year to consolidate their footing before that begins. You should be resilient, self-motivated, and comfortable with a long course of study that asks a great deal of your time and commitment.
Careers & job market
Medicine leads towards a defined professional pathway, and national data for Medicine & Dentistry courses gives a sense of what graduates typically go on to do. Across the field nationally, 89% of graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating, and of those in work, 75% are in highly skilled roles or continuing their studies, figures that reflect the structured progression into clinical training and postgraduate medical education that follows a medical degree. Nationally, 90% of students on these courses continue past their first year, either still enrolled or having completed. On earnings, national Graduate Outcomes and LEO data (not specific to Nottingham) show starting salaries in the region of £27,000 to £32,000 at 15 months after graduating, £24,650 to £34,800 after three years, and £29,325 to £41,400 after five years. These are national figures across the Medicine & Dentistry field rather than guarantees tied to this course, and actual outcomes will depend on specialisation, location and career choices after qualifying.
University & format
The course is delivered full-time over six years at the University of Nottingham, a public university founded in 1881 and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. It holds a Silver award in the Office for Students' TEF 2023 for teaching quality, and the university was. Teaching and the degree itself are delivered in English, and the BMBS is awarded by a recognised UK degree-awarding body, meaning the qualification carries national recognition. The university also offers bursaries and scholarships, and prospective students are advised to check the university's own funding pages for current details on what support may be available to them.
Student satisfaction
How students on this course answered the National Student Survey, by theme.
Share of students responding positively.
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Applicant information
The next application dates for this course, followed by facts the provider publishes.
- 2027 entryCompleted applications can be submitted
Your application needs a reference before you can send it.
- 2026 entryFinal date for 2026 applications
Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.
- 2027 entryEarly equal-consideration deadline
18:00 UK time for Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses.
- 2026 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice
Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.
Provider-published requirement; check the linked course page before applying.
contextual offer criteria. Eligibility and any reduced offer are applicant-specific.
See and book current events. Dates can fill or change.
Entry & how to get in
Who gets in
What recently admitted students actually held, official admissions data, not a stated requirement.
UCAS tariff of entrants
Grades are the A-level equivalent of each points band. Tap a band to check your own chances below.
Qualifications held on entry
| Qualification | Share |
|---|---|
| A-levels or equivalent | 59% |
| a previous degree | 34% |
| a Baccalaureate | 5% |
| another higher-education qualification | 1% |
Entry & your chances
An honest read from the official entry data, plus your personal match.
Accepted students typically held strong UCAS tariffs. Check how your predicted grades compare and whether a contextual offer applies.
Will you get in? Plot your grades
Pick your predicted A-levels and watch your UCAS points land on the real spread of students admitted to this course.
Each bar is the share of admitted students in that UCAS-points band (lower → higher). Grades show the A-level equivalent.
Based on the official admitted-student tariff distribution. Many universities make contextual (reduced-grade) offers, so a result below the range doesn’t rule you out.
How to apply
Undergraduate applications go through UCAS. Here’s what matters for this course, the right deadline, the grades to aim for, and the steps in order.
- 1Register on UCAS Hub
Create your UCAS application and add this course (code A108). One application covers up to five choices.
- 2Write your personal statement
A single statement covers all your choices, so keep it broad enough for similar courses while showing genuine interest in this subject.
- 3Submit by 15 October 2026, 18:00 UK time
UCAS equal-consideration deadline for Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses. Source: UCAS 2027 dates.
- 4Sit any admissions test & interview
Courses with the October deadline often need an admissions test (e.g. UCAT, BMAT or a subject test) and interviews, register early and prepare.
- 5Reply to your offers
When decisions are in, pick a firm (first) choice and an insurance (back-up) choice with slightly lower grades.
- 6Results day & confirmation
On results day (mid-August) your place is confirmed if you meet the offer. Just missed? Talk to the university, or find a place through Clearing.
Fees & funding
What this course costs and how UK student finance covers it.
Tuition per year
Provider fee page (England 2026/27 cap where not stated).
Check fees at University of Nottingham →For students who normally live in England
2026/27 Student Finance England figures. Maintenance support is means-tested and this two-point view is not an entitlement calculator. The course total uses its published length and home fee where both are available; a missing full-time fee uses the clearly labelled England-cap scenario, while part-time fees and unknown lengths are never guessed. Use the official calculator. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use separate systems: SAAS, Student Finance Wales, and Student Finance NI.
Starting on or after 1 January 2027?
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement is a separate system. A new learner’s tuition entitlement is currently stated as £39,160 (about 480 credits at 2026/27 fee levels), subject to prior study and eligibility. Check the official LLE guide.
Paying for it
- Tuition Fee Loan: can cover eligible tuition up to the applicable limit and is paid straight to the provider.
- Maintenance Loan: up to £10,830/yr away from home outside London (England, 2026/27), means-tested on household income.
- Repayment: 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below it; written off after 40 years.
- Earn alongside: most students work part-time in term, part-time roles on the StudySmarter job board.
England figures shown; Scotland, Wales & NI run their own schemes, check gov.uk.
Scholarships & bursaries you could qualify for
That does not mean no funding exists. Check the university directory for current amounts, eligibility and application dates.
National funding for this subject
- NHS Bursary: Eligible medical and dental students can receive NHS support in the later years of study. Official guidance
We only display a named award when its provider source identifies the award and who it is for.
Still deciding what to study?
StudyKit brings course choice, applications and funding together in one place, with a personal AI assistant. Find what really fits you and start your UCAS application step by step.
Careers & earnings
What Medicine & Dentistry graduates actually earn, from real outcome data, 15 months, 3 years and 5 years after graduating.
Graduate earnings: this course
| When | Median | Typical range | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 months after | £37,000 | £32,000 – £42,000 | 115 |
| 3 years after | £47,000 | £41,500 – £54,500 | 730 |
| 5 years after | £52,000 | £47,000 – £59,000 | 725 |
Nominal earnings for graduates of this course/subject at this provider. Stronger evidence. Published sample: 115. Cohort 2022-23.
Graduate outcomes, 15 months on: this course
- 1Graduate roleFirst role after the degree · 0–2 yrs
- 2Specialist / PractitionerWorking in medicine & dentistry · 2–5 yrs
- 3Senior / LeadLeading work and people · 5–10 yrs
- 4Head of / ExpertSenior leadership or deep expertise · 10+ yrs
How pay grows: this course vs Medicine & Dentistry nationally
National figures for Medicine & Dentistry graduates, HESA Graduate Outcomes (15 months) and the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset (3 & 5 years). These are national, not university-specific; actual pay varies by employer, region, role and experience. Different cohorts, so the bars are not one group over time.
Work out your pay
Headline figures hide a lot. Calculate realistic take-home pay for this field by role, region and experience, then check your CV before you apply.
What happened to 100 students?
Choose an outcome to translate the published percentage into a simple 100-person view. Each dot represents one percentage point, not an individual tracked student.
were in work or further study
15 months after graduation
Source: Discover Uni, using Graduate Outcomes and continuation data. Cohorts: 2022-23. Stronger evidence. Published sample: 115. Cohort 2022-23. Each tab is a separate published measure; categories can overlap and should not be added together.
Value compared with similar courses
How this course’s 5-year median earnings compare with Medicine & Dentistry courses at the same study level.
Compared with 804 courses with compatible official earnings data. This is a course-value comparison, not a quality ranking.
UK occupations graduates enter
Published graduate destinations, joined conservatively to UK SOC 2020, ONS pay and Skills England demand.
- Medical PractitionersSOC 2020 221 · 92% of published destinations · ASHE median £71,918
Discover Uni JOBLIST/JOBTYPE; ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, all employee jobs; Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025. SOC is shown only for an exact normalised label match; demand is shown only at exact four-digit SOC. Published sample: 340; response rate: 50%. Pay describes the occupation across workers, not a guaranteed graduate salary.
Is BMBS Medicine with a Foundation Year worth it?
Generally yes. On its graduates’ median earnings, BMBS Medicine with a Foundation Year is worth about +£221,260 more over the first ten years of work than going straight to a job, a solid return once you net out the fees.
Cumulative earnings vs. going straight to work at 18, counting tuition and 6 years of wages given up while studying. The line clears zero around year 12.3. This is a simplified gross-earnings comparison, not a forecast of cash loan repayments.
Model: this course’s own median graduate earnings (Graduate Outcomes / LEO) above the £24,000 non-graduate baseline (ONS), net of £9,790/yr over 6 years (published course home fee). Eligible England-domiciled students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan; repayments are 9% only on income above the threshold, with anything left written off after 40 years. That makes the cash flow different from conventional commercial debt. Opportunity cost assumes £18,000 gross earnings forgone in each study year; figures are nominal and exclude tax, living costs, investment returns and loan interest. A simplified estimate. Earnings and actual fees vary by graduate, provider, fee status and UK nation.
Job market & outlook
How Medicine & Dentistry graduates fare in the labour market, and how AI is reshaping the work.
How AI is changing the work
AI doesn't replace the profession, it shifts it: routine tasks get automated, while judgement, working with people and using AI well become more valuable.
What AI takes off your plate
- Routine information gathering
- First-draft writing and summaries
- Standard analysis and admin
- Repetitive processing tasks
More human than ever
- Judgement and original thinking
- Working with and leading people
- Owning and sense-checking AI output
- Ethics and accountability
The strongest graduates pair subject depth with the ability to use AI tools critically.
Roles & employers
Where Medicine & Dentistry graduates typically go, indicative destinations from graduate career data. Each role links to live openings on the StudySmarter job board.
Roles graduates go into
Where they work
- The NHS
- Private practice
- Research & academia
- Public health
Jobs after this course
Current roles from the StudySmarter job board that suit Medicine & Dentistry graduates.
Medicine-Focused Veterinary Surgeon | Patient Care LeaderMedivet & PartnersMedicine Service Delivery Manager - Operations ImprovementNHSMedicine Occupational Therapist - StaffordshirePulse HealthcarePart-Time Palliative Medicine Consultant | 1-in-5 On-CallEvora Hospice (formerly Southern Area Hospice Services)Consultant Medicine - ElderlyPertemps Medical ProfessionalsSpecialty Doctor in Acute MedicineTriple West MedicalIs this course right for you?
The essentials UK applicants ask about: finance, outcomes, entry and quality.
Student finance
Published home tuition is £9,790/year for this course. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years.
Where graduates go
98% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with a median salary of £37,000. See the full breakdown in Careers & earnings above.
Your entry chances
Use the UCAS points calculator above to see how your predicted grades compare with admitted students, and whether a contextual offer could apply.
Official-data snapshot
Averaging the official measures published for it, this course scores 8.8 out of 10: NSS 69.9% · in work or study 98% · continued 96%.
Who studies here and in this subject?
Provider- and UK subject-level context.
University of Nottingham
Medicine and dentistry across the UK
HESA student record 2024/25. Counts are rounded.
Local crime-data context
A neutral snapshot around the published teaching location.
Around The University of Nottingham
844 street-level reports returned within roughly one mile across 2026-04 to 2026-06.
Police.uk street-level API. Approximate locations, not confined to campus. England, Wales and Northern Ireland; not Scotland.
Is Medicine & Dentistry right for you?
Tick what applies to you and see how good a fit it is.
International students
What applying to University of Nottingham from outside the UK involves: fees, English, visa, funding and living costs.
Tuition fees
International tuition is £36,616 / year for this course (from the provider’s fee page). You’re not eligible for UK Tuition Fee or Maintenance Loans, so plan for fees plus living costs upfront.
English language
Most UK undergraduate courses ask for around IELTS 6.0–6.5 (no band below 5.5–6.0), or an accepted equivalent. If you’re just short, most universities run a pre-sessional English course that counts towards the requirement.
Student visa
You’ll usually need a Student visa (Student Route). After you accept an offer the university issues a CAS; you then show funds for fees plus about £1,023–£1,334/month living costs and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS access.
Scholarships & funding
Many universities offer international/global scholarships (often £2,000–£6,000/yr), check University of Nottingham’s funding pages.
Living costs
Budget roughly £1,100–£1,400/month outside London and £1,400–£1,800/month in London for rent, food and travel; the figure also matters for your visa.
Working while you study
A Student visa usually allows up to 20 hours/week in term time and full-time in holidays, useful alongside study, though not something to rely on for fees.
Visa rules and fees change. Always confirm the current requirements with University of Nottingham and gov.uk before you apply.
Related courses
More at University of Nottingham
Common questions
How competitive is entry?
What are the entry requirements?
What do graduates go on to do?
What will it cost me?
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