Swansea graduate-entry medicine interview guide
Swansea's accelerated four-year medical degree takes graduates from any subject. You are shortlisted on a single admissions test (GAMSAT or UCAT for home applicants), and once you reach the assessment day your test score no longer counts: offers rest solely on your performance across three face-to-face stations. This guide covers eligibility, the test rules and the assessment day.
Facts checked against Swansea's official pages on .
Independent service: Key2MD is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Swansea University. Everything below is general guidance drawn from publicly available information, may change between cycles, and is not official advice. Always confirm current requirements, fees and program details on Swansea's official pages.
Read facts and coaching advice separately. Facts on this page are taken from Swansea's published pages and linked in the sources list. Preparation advice is Dan's independent guidance. This page does not reproduce confidential interview questions, and your invitation from Swansea takes precedence over anything here.
On this page
Published selection and interview guidance
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Eligibility
A 2:1 in any subject, a Merit in an integrated master's, or a 2:2 plus a postgraduate degree.
- Pending degree results must be confirmed by 31 July of the year you would start.
- You must provide GCSE, A-level and degree results (or equivalents) when you apply.
- Transfers from other medicine programmes are not allowed, and applicants who left a medical degree for academic, fitness to practise or professionalism reasons are not considered.
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Shortlisting
One admissions test score above the annual cut-off.
- A cut-off is set each year from the number of applications for each test, and may be higher than the minimum. Interview slots are shared out in proportion to how many applicants took each test.
- If you took more than one test, you choose which counts. Otherwise Swansea uses GAMSAT first, then UCAT, then MCAT.
- Tests sat after the UCAS October deadline cannot be considered.
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Assessment day and offers
Early in the New Year. Offers on performance alone.
- Once you are selected for interview, test scores are not considered further. The highest-scoring candidates on the day receive offers.
- Swansea does not accept deferred entry applications for this course; offer holders can only defer in exceptional circumstances.
- Pathway covered
- Four-year graduate-entry MBBCh Medicine
- Entry cycle / source status
- 2027 entry
- Published format
- Face-to-face assessment day of three stations lasting 20 to 30 minutes each, which may be interviews, presentations or acted scenarios; your personal statement may be discussed
- Shortlisting
- Ranked on one admissions test score above an annual cut-off (GAMSAT, UCAT, or MCAT for international applicants)
- Offers
- Based solely on assessment day performance
Official sources: Swansea University: Medicine (Graduate Entry) MBBCh; Swansea University: becoming a doctor.
Selection facts checked: . This check covers the pathway and interview summary above. Fees, eligibility exceptions and course details must be checked separately. Your university invitation takes precedence for your assessment.
Test requirements
| Test | Minimum considered | Which results count |
|---|---|---|
| GAMSAT | 50 overall and 50 in Section III | Scores from the last four sittings before the UCAS October deadline |
| UCAT | 1900 (the SJT is not considered) | Tests taken in the year of application |
| MCAT (international applicants only) | 500 | Tests within 24 months of the closing date |
The assessment day
| Format | Three face-to-face stations of 20 to 30 minutes each. Stations may be interviews, presentations or acted scenarios. You may be asked about your personal statement. |
|---|---|
| Assessors | A trained panel of clinicians, academics, medical students and members of the public. |
| Qualities assessed | Communication skills; problem solving; coping with pressure; insight and integrity; passion for medicine and resilience to succeed; organisation and research; ethics and values. |
| Preparation | Details of the day and anything to prepare are sent with your invitation. Swansea may change station formats between cycles. |
Swansea's careers pages have previously described the interview as two 20-minute panels (an academic panel with an academic and a medical student, and a clinical panel with a practising doctor and a lay member) plus a written task. The course page for the current cycle describes three stations; follow your invitation.
Published by Swansea
- Test minimums and validity
- How shortlisting works
- Station length, types and qualities assessed
- That offers rest only on the day
Not published
- This year's test cut-offs
- Applications, interview and offer numbers
- How stations are scored
Pathways to Medicine
Swansea's Pathways to Medicine degrees (BSc Medical Sciences courses) offer the chance of a guaranteed interview for Graduate Entry Medicine, with a lowered GAMSAT score, by the time you graduate. They are aimed at students without a degree who want a route into the graduate programme.
Dan's preparation advice for Swansea
The following is independent coaching advice, not Swansea's rubric.
- Prepare for long stations. Twenty to thirty minutes allows deep follow-up. Expect to be pushed on your reasons and examples, not just your first answer.
- Be ready to present. Stations may include a presentation. Practise explaining a topic clearly for a few minutes and taking questions.
- Know your personal statement. Swansea says it may come up. Be ready to expand on anything in it.
- Show organisation and research. It is a named quality. Graduates can draw on dissertations, projects or workplace responsibilities.
Fees and funding
| Home students | Swansea's course page lists £9,790 a year. Check the page for the fee that applies to your year of entry. |
|---|---|
| International students | Swansea's course page lists £50,750 a year. |
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply to Swansea graduate medicine with any degree?
Yes. You need a 2:1 in any subject, a Merit in an integrated master's, or a 2:2 plus a postgraduate degree.
Does Swansea accept UCAT for graduate entry?
Yes. Home applicants can apply with GAMSAT (minimum 50 overall and 50 in Section III) or UCAT (minimum 1900). International applicants can also use MCAT.
What is the Swansea medicine interview like?
An assessment day of three face-to-face stations of 20 to 30 minutes, which may be interviews, presentations or acted scenarios.
How does Swansea decide offers?
Solely on assessment day performance. Test scores are only used to decide who is interviewed.
What does the Swansea interview assess?
Communication, problem solving, coping with pressure, insight and integrity, passion for medicine and resilience, organisation and research, and ethics and values.
Can I defer a Swansea graduate-entry offer?
Deferred entry applications are not accepted. Offer holders can only defer in exceptional circumstances, such as bereavement or serious illness.
How Key2MD fits
Key2MD is independent practice for the skills an interview rewards, not a copy of Swansea's interview.
- 255 MMI stations and 100 CASPer scenarios across ethics, teamwork, communication, professionalism and current health topics.
- Longer stations with follow-up questions, closer to Swansea's 20 to 30 minute format.
- Ethics and values practice for one of the qualities Swansea names.
- Feedback on six criteria, including communication, reasoning and empathy, with your progress tracked over time. Your first AI-marked review is free.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the sources below, checked on .
- Swansea University: Medicine (Graduate Entry) MBBCh: eligibility, tests, shortlisting, assessment day, deferral, fees
- Swansea University: becoming a doctor: previous interview description, Pathways to Medicine
Practise interview answers for Swansea
Key2MD offers independent practice and feedback. Its stations and scores do not reproduce Swansea's interview, questions or selection rubric.
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