What Are The Minimum Age Requirements To Study Medicine?

Why do medical schools have age requirements, what do you do if you don’t meet them and what are the requirements for each UK medical school? Find out today.

Last Updated: 10th January 2020

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If you are wondering what the minimum age requirements are to study Medicine in the UK, then you have come to the right place.

The age requirements to study Medicine differ from university to university as they have different policies. If you will be under the age of 18 when you start the course, then you must check with the medical school before applying. We’ll go through why medical schools have age requirements, what to do if you don’t meet them and what the requirements are for each UK medical school. 

Why Do Medical Schools Have Minimum Age Requirements?

This age requirement is usually in place due to early clinical/patient contact. Medical students are often expected to work and study in hospitals and clinical locations. Many courses have early patient contact, allowing students to assist and perform procedures. From a purely practical and operational standpoint, these are very difficult to organise if a student is under 18 years old due to legal reasons.

Therefore, any student under the age of 18 could not partake in any clinical elements of the course which would seriously hamper their progress.

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What If You Are Too Young To Study Medicine?

Ordinarily, if a candidate has got all the entry requirements to apply to study Medicine, the applicant would be old enough to apply. However, if an applicant is under 18 and wishes to apply there are options:

It is important to note that, while some medical schools do accept younger candidates, they do so after stating the applicant should consider the commitment to the medical field and their personal maturity.

UK Medical School Age Requirements

With over 40 medical schools in the UK, each with a different stance on the minimum age to study Medicine, we have made life easier for you by putting together a table of requirements for every medical school in the UK.

Medical SchoolAge Requirement Policy
AberdeenThere is no minimum age requirement for Aberdeen medical school.
Anglia RuskinDue to the early clinical contact in the first months of the course, students must be a minimum of 18 years of age by 1 November, in the year their course starts.
Aston Aston permits applicants under the age of 18 to apply to study and enrol onto its programmes.
East AngliaUEA has significant patient contact throughout the first year meaning that students who are not 18 in their first year should consider deferred entry.
Barts All students for the A100/A200 programmes must be 18 years old or over by the end of course enrolment.
BirminghamNo minimum age is listed.
Brighton And SussexBrighton and Sussex Medical School have accepted applicants aged 17 to study their Medicine course. They will not accept applicants who are 16 at the time of entry.
BristolStudents must be 18 years of age (or above) by registration, which takes place in September, in their year of entry to undertake the clinical experiential learning.
Buckingham No minimum age is listed.
BrunelNormally require applicants to be 18 years old by the start of first year.
Cambridge Medical students are required to be 18 years of age by the start of the second term of Year 1.
CardiffApplicants need to be 18 years of age or older by the beginning of the academic year.
Central LancashireThere is no minimum age requirement specified.
DundeeThere is no minimum age requirement specified to study Medicine at Dundee.
Edge HillYou must be aged 18 or above on the first day of the course.
EdinburghThey do not specify a minimum or maximum age requirement to study there, however, applications from Scottish S5 (15-17 years old) applicants will not normally be considered.
ExeterApplicants must be over the age of 17 to study.
GlasgowThere is no minimum age requirement specified.
Hull YorkYou must be 17 or over on 1 October in the year you enrol.
Imperial College LondonYou must be 18 years of age by the time you would start this course.
KeeleStudents should have reached the age of 18 before commencing the A100 course or by 1 October of the year in which they start the course.
Kent And MedwayAll applicants must be 18 years old or above when they undertake their first clinical placement in week seven of the first term of Year One.
King’s College LondonKing’s is only able to accept applicants who will turn 18 years of age before commencing the second year of the Medicine degree.
LancasterThere is no minimum age requirement specified.
LeedsCandidates must be a minimum of 17 years old at the beginning of the course.
LeicesterApplicants need to be 18 years of age or older by the beginning of the academic year.
LiverpoolThere is no minimum age requirement specified.
LincolnYou must be 17 or older on 1 September of the year you will begin your course to be considered.
ManchesterThey accept students who are 17 years old and above onto their medicine course.
NewcastleThere is no minimum age requirement specified.
NottinghamYou must be 17 or older on 1 September of the year you will begin your course to be considered.
OxfordRequires all applicants to be at least 18 years of age by 1st November in the year they intend to start the degree course.
PlymouthEarly patient contact means that students must be at least 18 years old at or before the 1st of September to study at Plymouth medical school.
Queen’s BelfastQueen’s do not accept any medical applicants under the age of 16.
SheffieldApplicants to Sheffield medical school must be 18 years of age when they start the course.
SouthamptonStudents must be a minimum of 18 years of age when they start the Medical Degree programmes.
St AndrewsAccept any candidate who meets their minimum requirements, however, they do advise applicants to consider their experience and maturity prior to applying.
St George’sStudents under the age of eighteen are not able to attend placement, interact with patients or undertake certain other activities, so it might be worth waiting until you can start your studies at the age of 18.
SunderlandStudents must be 18 years of age (or above) in first year so they can be involved in clinical placements.
SwanseaGraduate entry.
University College LondonStudents must be 18 years of age at the time they start the medical degree programme. Applicants who apply but would be under 18 at the start of that year’s programme will be considered for a deferred place.
Warwick Graduate entry.

Medicine is incredibly competitive and it helps to have an edge. Our expert support will help you receive your dream offer. 

We help you craft the perfect Personal Statement, achieve a highly competitive BMAT and UCAT score and teach you how to Interview effectively – covering all areas of your Medicine application.

Discover our Oxbridge Medicine Programme by clicking the button below to enrol and triple your chances of success.

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