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Sunderland — Undergraduate medicine
Figures are on the current UCAT scale of 2700 unless a cell says otherwise.
Sunderland - Medicine
MBChB Medicine (A100)
How this university scores applications, with the figures it publishes.
High level summary
Simple summary. Excruciating detail below.
| Question | Answer |
|---|
| Is there a score to clear? | Yes, but it is set as a national decile rather than a raw score, so the number it works out to moves with the test each year. The decile is further down this page, and the UCAT deciles by year tab turns it into a score. |
| How to read the UCAT figures here | A lowest score and an average are both published. Judge yourself against the average. The lowest is one person. |
| What else counts | GCSEs are a gate. Meeting the minimum is what counts; beating it earns nothing.
The personal statement is not used to shortlist.
The SJT band is a gate. Clear it; a better band earns nothing more. |
| Note | Sunderland released more than anyone else in this workbook: the full score-by-score distribution of everyone interviewed and everyone offered, for both cycles. Two things stand out. Contextual applicants hold a HIGHER mean UCAT than everyone else, because the contextual route here gives no UCAT reduction at all, only a lower grade offer after a successful interview. And the mean barely moves between interview and offer, so once the threshold is cleared the score stops mattering. |
UCAT requirements
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Score | Must fall within the top eight deciles of the cohort |
| SJT | Bands 1 to 3 |
Summary of the selection model
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Scoring approach | Decile-based floor - applicants must be in the top eight deciles with SJT band 1-3. Personal statement not scored |
| UCAT - how it is used | Scores must fall within the top eight deciles of the cohort, with SJT band 1-3 |
| UCAT threshold | A FIXED THRESHOLD, confirmed in terms under FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026: the score must fall within the top eight deciles of the cohort AND the SJT must be band 1 to 3. No weighting and no scoring matrix - Sunderland states these are used as a threshold only. Expressed as a raw score the bar moves each year with the test: the lowest score actually interviewed was 2260 of 3600 for 2025-26 entry (about 1670 now) and 1680 of 2700 for 2026-27 entry. |
| UCAT lowest accepted | Lowest score actually interviewed, from the full distribution released under FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026: 2260 of 3600 for 2025-26 entry, about 1670 on the current scale; 1680 of 2700 for 2026-27 entry, which is the 2nd decile boundary and matches the stated top-eight-deciles rule. Highest interviewed: 3240 and 2610. |
| UCAT average accepted | MEAN total cognitive UCAT (FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026). 2026-27 entry, of 2700: at interview 1927 contextual and 1890 non-contextual; at offer 1935 and 1901. 2025-26 entry, of 3600: at interview 2585 and 2540, about 1920 and 1880 on the current scale; at offer 2598 and 2543. All four 2026-27 means sit in the 5th decile band. Contextual applicants hold a HIGHER mean than non-contextual at both stages in both years. |
| Interview format | MMI |
| Contextual offer | AAB for applicants meeting North East and Cumbria postcode and widening participation criteria. Sunderland confirmed under FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026 that NO reduction is applied to the UCAT threshold: the reduced academic offer is issued only after a successful interview, so a contextual applicant must clear the same UCAT bar as everyone else. |
| Resits | AAB route allows one resit of the B grade only. GCSE maximum two resits per subject |
| Data status | COMPLETE for both cycles under FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026, and unusually granular: Sunderland released the full score-by-score distribution of every applicant interviewed and every applicant offered, in ten-point steps, together with means and SJT band counts at both stages, split contextual and non-contextual. Nothing was withheld. Home applicants only; the course does not take international students. |
Source
https://www.medschools.ac.uk/courses/mbchb-medicine-a100-8/ ; University of Sunderland FOI response FOI2627-08-10, 18 September 2026
Entry requirements
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Country | England |
| Course (UCAS code) | MBChB Medicine (A100) |
| GCSE | Five passes at grade 7, with minimum grade 6 in Maths, English Language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Maximum two resit attempts per subject |
| A level | AAA including Biology or Chemistry plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths/Further Maths/Statistics), third subject academic. All in one sitting, practical endorsement passed |
| Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers | Minimum AAAAB by end of S5 including Chemistry/Biology plus a second science at A; Advanced Higher AB from two sciences in S6; further S6 Highers at B minimum |
| IB | 35 points with three grade 6 passes at HL including Chemistry or Biology plus one from Chemistry/Biology/Physics/Maths, plus a rigorous third subject. SL 6,6,5 |
| English language | GCSE English Language grade 6 |
| Resits accepted? | Yes, with conditions - AAB route, one resit of the B grade only |
Volumes, places and competition
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Figures cover | A100, home applicants only, both cycles, from FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026. The course does not accept international students. Cap 117. |
| Places | 117 |
How the UCAT is turned into a score
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Is a UCAT points conversion published? | No points conversion has been published. What the University does say about the UCAT is in the row below. |
| How the UCAT is used, in the University’s own words | Scores must fall within the top eight deciles of the cohort, with SJT band 1-3 Decile-based floor - applicants must be in the top eight deciles with SJT band 1-3. Personal statement not scored |
Entry requirements and places, as shown on the comparison table
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| SJT - how the band is used | Bands 1 to 3 required. |
Volumes, A100, home applicants only (FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026)
| Stage | 2025-26 entry, contextual | 2025-26, other | 2026-27 entry, contextual | 2026-27, other |
|---|
| Applications received | 71 | 1034 | 77 | 1021 |
| Invited to interview | 40 | 691 | 46 | 674 |
| Offers made | 29 | 324 | 38 | 413 |
| Offers accepted, firm | 9 | 108 | 13 | 104 |
Totals: 2025-26 entry 1105 applications, 731 interviews, 353 offers, 117 accepted. 2026-27 entry 1098, 720, 451, 117. Two thirds of all applicants were interviewed in both years. Offers per interview rose from 48 per cent to 63 per cent.
Mean total cognitive UCAT, at interview and at offer (FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026)
| Group and stage | 2025-26 entry, of 3600 | Equivalent of 2700 | 2026-27 entry, of 2700 | National decile, 2026-27 |
|---|
| Contextual, at interview | 2585 | about 1920 | 1927 | 5th |
| Non-contextual, at interview | 2540 | about 1880 | 1890 | 5th |
| Contextual, at offer | 2598 | about 1930 | 1935 | 5th |
| Non-contextual, at offer | 2543 | about 1880 | 1901 | 5th |
WHAT THIS SHOWS. Contextual applicants hold a HIGHER mean UCAT than everyone else, at both stages and in both years, which is the opposite of the usual pattern. Sunderland applies no UCAT reduction for contextual applicants, so the contextual route here is an academic offer concession only, awarded after interview. The mean barely moves between interview and offer, so the UCAT is not doing the deciding after the threshold is cleared.
Range of scores actually interviewed and offered (FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026)
| Cycle | Lowest interviewed | Highest interviewed | Lowest offered | Highest offered |
|---|
| 2025-26 entry, of 3600 | 2260, about 1670 now | 3240 | 2260, about 1670 now | 3240 |
| 2026-27 entry, of 2700 | 1680, the 2nd decile boundary | 2610 | 1680 | 2560 |
Sunderland released the distribution score by score in ten-point steps, not as deciles or quartiles. The shape is worth knowing: for 2026-27 entry the bulk of those interviewed sat between 1750 and 1960, with the single commonest score 1870. Very few applicants above 2100 were interviewed at all, which reflects who applies rather than who is selected.
SJT bands, counts at each stage (FOI2627-08-10, response of 18 September 2026)
| Stage and cycle | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 | No band recorded |
|---|
| Interviewed, 2025-26 entry | 81 | 342 | 281 | 27 |
| Interviewed, 2026-27 entry | 159 | 353 | 190 | 18 |
| Offered, 2025-26 entry | 49 | 173 | 130 | 1 |
| Offered, 2026-27 entry | 112 | 227 | 109 | 3 |
Band 4 does not appear at either stage in either year, which matches the stated bands 1 to 3 rule. Band 2 is the commonest band throughout. Band 1 improved its share sharply between the two cycles, from 11 to 22 per cent of those interviewed.
What Sunderland says it does not do
| Item | Position |
|---|
| Weighting | None. The UCAT, SJT and academic requirements are thresholds only. |
| Scoring matrix | None, for either the UCAT or GCSEs. |
| Contextual UCAT reduction | None. The concession is a reduced academic offer after a successful interview. |
| International applicants | Not accepted on this course. |
| Withheld | Nothing. The full distribution was released for both cycles at both stages. |
Source
University of Sunderland Freedom of Information response FOI2627-08-10, 18 September 2026, with a thirteen page data annex. Request made 18 August 2026, treated as received 19 August.
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