Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry - selection and admissions process

Our selection and admissions processes.
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry - selection and admissions process
Applications should be made through UCAS by the published deadline i.e. 15 October for clinical courses such as medicine and dentistry, and 15 January for all other courses including dental therapy and hygiene and diagnostic radiography. You should apply to no more than four of the same clinical course choice i.e. four dental courses and one medical course would be permitted.  

Deferred entry

We welcome students who wish to defer their entry. However, you must indicate this when you apply.

Age

Whilst there is no strict upper age limit for starting your degree, the length of the course and period of time in which you can practise after qualifying will be taken into account.

For detailed selection and admissions process guidance please review our technical manual for the current application cycle.

Students with disabilities

We are committed to meeting the needs of students with disabilities and we recognise that they are an integral part of the academic community which we strive to make as inclusive as possible. 

We will need to consider the impact of a disability on an applicant’s fitness to practise medicine, dentistry, dental therapy and hygiene, diagnostic radiography or healthcare science because we have a special responsibility to ensure that all students admitted to our programmes will be eligible for registration by the GMC or GDC or HCPC on graduation.

We are committed to ensuring that all applicants, who are judged to be academically suitable, are neither treated less favourably nor placed at a substantial disadvantage on the grounds of their disability. If you consider that you have a disability you should tick the relevant box on the UCAS form. Disclosing a disability on your UCAS application form will not affect the screening of your application, or, indeed, influence the decision to invite you to interview. If an offer is made, we will seek advice from the University’s Disability Services and the health and wellbeing service, so that the type of assistance needed to enable you to successfully follow our degree programmes can be assessed in more detail. 

There may be rare occasions when, following professional assessment of a disability, a student’s suitability for admission may be affected. However, we will take a positive view and will try to meet the needs of students with disabilities by making, where possible, reasonable adjustments to their programme of study.

If you would like to discuss this further or would like general advice and information about the support available at the University of Plymouth for students with a disability, or a specific learning need, please contact our Disability Co-ordinator Debbie Couch (debbie.couch@plymouth.ac.uk | +44 752 437332)

For further information about our Student Gateway Support Services please visit Disability Services.

The interview 

Prior to receiving an offer to study on one of our clinical programmes you will be invited to attend an interview.

The interview attempts to identify whether a candidate has the personal attributes required to become a doctor, dentist or dental care professional of tomorrow. We place great value on the following qualities and we are looking for you to demonstrate these at your interview:

  • integrity
  • veracity and honesty
  • flexibility
  • motivation and commitment
  • empathy and being non-judgmental
  • communication skills
  • potential for leadership
  • insight into the roles and responsibilities of a doctor, dentist, dental care professional or healthcare scientist
  • ability to be a team player
  • ability to deal with stress appropriately
  • problem solving skills
  • students who know their limitations, their strengths and weaknesses
  • reflectiveness
  • students who demonstrate a suitable approach to life and people.


The interviews follow a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) structure. You will be assessed across seven single assessor stations. The interview will take approximately 50 minutes. It is not a test of medical or scientific knowledge, but aims to explore your attitudes, outlook and way of thinking.

The interview assessors are made up of clinicians, the public and patients. The interview process is patient and public inclusive. We expect students to demonstrate the values set out in the NHS constitution including: working together for patients, respect and dignity, commitment to quality of care, compassion and improving lives. The full list of values can viewed on the nhs.uk website.

Feedback

Typically, feedback will only provide the numerical score from the interview and the position of this score in the overall ranking. Feedback is only given directly to unsuccessful applicants who request it in writing by email or letter. Please contact the schools’ Admissions Team should you wish to receive feedback on your application at meddent-admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.