Entry requirements

If you are interested in applying to study Medicine or Dentistry at Queen Mary, please see the detailed information about our entry requirements, admissions policy and procedures available on our dedicated webpages for the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.

We understand that many students are now taking a combination of qualifications at Level 3.  We will always consider your full academic profile and make offers on a case-by-case basis depending on the combination of qualifications you are taking.

We encourage you to contact our Admissions Office before making your application so we can offer you advice based on your individual circumstances.

We consider every application on its individual merits and may take into consideration your individual educational experience and context. For more information on how academic schools and courses use this information as part of the admissions process, please refer to our Contextual Admissions page.

Many of our programmes have subject requirements, details of which are within the entry requirements of the relevant Course Finder entry.  In some cases, a minimum grade will be required.

We recommend that you consult the Russell Group Informed Choices publication to help you assess the suitability of the subjects you are taking for your chosen programme.  If you have any concerns about the suitability of your A-Level subject profile, our Admissions team is happy to advise you before making an application.

We will consider all modern foreign language A levels for entry regardless of an applicant’s native language. We will usually include native language A levels in offer conditions where they are taken alongside any subject specific requirements provided all three A levels have been sat together and taken within a two year period. We may make exceptions to this policy, for example, for applicants applying to competitive subjects where an applicant is taking four A levels. In these cases offer conditions will normally exclude the native language A level. Similarly exceptions may apply where a student applies having already attained a native language in a previous year or sitting.

We advise applicants to contact Admissions before they apply to obtain specific and individual advice on whether their native language A level will be included in offer conditions or not.

For certain courses, it is possible to transfer to Year 2 or to Year 3 of a four-year programme. It is not possible to transfer to the final year of any degree programme. 

For information on how to apply, our entry requirements, and which Schools consider transfers, please see our page on Transfer and Advanced Entry.

For students taking three or more A-levels, all our offers are normally expressed in terms of three A-Level grades.

Science Practical Exams

If you are taking Science A-levels (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) with an Awarding Body in England you will normally be asked to achieve a Pass in the practical endorsement, in addition to the overall A-level grade.  

This requirement will not apply if you are taking science A-levels privately.

Excluded subjects

Most of our courses do not accept A-levels in General Studies or Critical Thinking, and others may exclude Use of Mathematics.  

AS-Levels

We do not take into consideration AS grades when making a decision on your application.  The only exception to this is if you are applying for Medicine or Dentistry and started your A-levels before September 2015. 

We consider applications from applicants taking Access qualifications for most of our Undergraduate programmes.  Full details of specific entry requirements can be found on each Course Finder entry.

We typically ask for a minimum number of overall credits as well as specifying a number of credits that you must achieve at either Merit and/ or Distinction.

We have a dedicated page that lists our BTEC requirements by course.  We have listed our requirements in terms of the grades required in reformed RQF BTEC Qualifications (introduced from September 2016 onwards). 

Some of our courses still accept applications from applicants with unreformed QCF BTEC qualifications as well as combinations of BTEC and A-Level qualifications.  If you require further information about the suitability of your qualifications before applying please contact our Admissions Office. We don’t currently consider any International BTEC qualifications for entry.

We welcome applications from applicants studying the Cambridge Pre-U in Principal Subjects.  We will consider applicants taking this alongside other suitable Level 3 qualifications.

We map Cambridge Pre-U grades to A-Levels as follows:

Please note the Cambridge Pre-U Short Course qualification is not suitable for entry.

If you have any concerns about the suitability of your qualification profile, please contact our Admissions Office before making your application.

We welcome the introduction of the new Core Maths qualifications and believe they will be beneficial to students wishing to study Social Science subjects that may involve the use of applied mathematical skills, such as Business Management, Geography, and Politics.

We may consider the Core Maths qualification in lieu of the GCSE Mathematics requirement for your chosen course.  Please list Core Maths as one of the qualifications you are taking when you apply through UCAS.

We welcome applications from students taking an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) alongside their A-levels.  An EPQ enables you to explore a topic in depth and to develop academic skills that will provide a strong foundation to support your transition to university.

Alternative offer making

Once we receive your application and full details of the qualifications you are taking, we may make you an alternative offer which includes a specific grade in the EPQ in addition to three A-level grades.

For further information, please see our Extended Project Qualification webpage.

We normally expect you to have achieved grades A*–C or 9–4 in at least five subjects, including English.  Some courses have specific higher requirements and you can find further details in our Course Finder.

We welcome applications from students studying the Irish Leaving Certificate.

Our exact requirements depend on the course you are applying for.  Applicants will typically be required to pass a minimum of five subjects at Higher level with particular grades in subjects relevant to the course being applied for.  Please use our Course Finder to see the A-Level requirements for your chosen course.

We recognise Scottish Higher qualifications and generally require one Advanced Higher alongside four Highers for entry to our Undergraduate Programmes.  For course specific entry requirements, please contact our Admissions Office directly.

T Level applicants may be considered on a case-by-case basis with additional experiential experience where appropriate. Please be aware any applicant applying to a programme that has a Mathematics requirement will be required, in addition, to have an A-Level Mathematics qualification or equivalent.

We are committed to assess the suitability of further T Level qualifications for entry onto our undergraduate programmes once their course specifications are available.

We recognise the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate as an appropriate Level 3 qualification for entry to the majority of our Undergraduate degree courses*.

Generally, this Certificate can be accepted in lieu of one A-Level and offers will specify a grade to achieve in the Skills Challenge.  Specific A-Level subject requirements will still apply.  Please see our Course Finder for details of the A-Level requirements of your chosen course.

*Please note our School of Law will not include the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate in the conditions of any offers of study.  However, we may consider the qualification when we receive your final results (if you slightly miss the conditions specified in your offer).

We welcome applications from students studying the European Baccalaureate qualification. We will typically ask for an overall percentage plus any subject specific requirements (depending on the course you are applying to).  Please see our Course Finder for the A-Level requirements for your chosen course.

We welcome applications from students studying the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.  We will typically ask for an overall score (out of 45) and specify grades in three subjects taken at Higher Level (HL).  In some cases, we may also specify a minimum grade in Standard Level (SL) subjects.

This table shows how we generally map our IB requirements to A-Levels.  There are a handful of exceptions to the equivalences.  Course specific IB requirements are published on each Course Finder entry.

 IB Mathematics 

Our Schools will accept both Mathematics: Analysis and approaches or Mathematics: Applications and interpretation routes at Higher Level. Both will also be considered at Standard Level except for programmes within the School of Mathematics. Where Mathematics is required at Higher Level, we do not generally consider Maths Studies. 

IB Career-related Diploma (IBCP)

We may consider applicants taking the IBCP when offered as a combination of IB certificates and Level 3 BTEC diplomas (where BTECs are accepted for entry). Please refer to our BTEC webpage for further details on our BTEC entry requirements. Alternatively, we may consider the IBCP in combination with other acceptable Level 3 qualifications on a case-by-case basis. 

Additionally, we will require applicants to have met any subject-specific requirements to the programme they are applying to, through an A Level or IB Higher Level subject.

We strongly advise you to contact our Admissions Office with details of the course you wish to apply to and the combination of qualifications you are taking.

Middle Years Programmes

We may consider subjects studied as an IB Middle Years programme in lieu of any required GCSE requirements provided that a formal certificate is awarded. We are not usually able to consider statement of results documents from schools confirming the award. Please contact our Admissions Office directly for more information.

We accept a wide range of international qualifications including most International A-Levels. We routinely consider International A-Levels where they are awarded from Pearson, AQA, LRN and OCR exam bodies. If your International A-Level is awarded by an alternative exam body please contact our Admissions Office directly to enquire.

Our students come from over 162 countries and we accept a wide range of international qualifications.  Please see our dedicated pages for international students where you can find our international entry requirements listed by your country or region. 

We expect all students to have a good standard of English in order to successfully study on a course.  Our minimum English language requirement at GCSE is grade C or 4 although many of our courses have higher requirements. 

Please see our English Language requirements pages for full details, including the alternative English language qualifications we accept.

You can find out all the necessary details about our international foundation programmes on our dedicated webpages.

Alternatively, we are able to consider a wide range of external international foundation programmes for undergraduate entry.