Teaching methods
- Anatomy sessions
- Case-based learning
- Clinical skills sessions
- eLearning
- Full-body dissection
- Lab sessions
- Lectures
- Placements
- Practical classes
- Self-study
- Seminars
- Small group learning
- Tutorials
This course is only open to Home students.
Course overview
We are planning significant changes to our BMBS Medical degree programme from 2026 onwards, it’s important you understand these changes before applying to this course. Find out more
Indicative modules
About modules
The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer, but is not intended to be construed or relied on as a definitive list of what might be available in any given year. This content was last updated on Monday 15 April 2024. Due to timetabling availability, there may be restrictions on some module combinations.
Foundation year
In your first year, you'll study all the important elements of biology and chemistry required for your studies throughout the rest of your course.
You'll cover key topics in professionalism and communication and have your learning set in a clinical context where appropriate.
You'll undertake learning in fundamental subjects including anatomy, microanatomy and microbiology.
This year is predominantly studied at the Derby Medical School at Royal Derby Hospital.
Year two
Your second year is the first year of the five-year Medicine BMedSci and BMBS course. You'll begin your degree by developing an understanding of the scientific and professional basis of medicine. You'll examine the major sciences underlying medicine: biochemistry, immunology, cell biology, physiology, pharmacology and genetics.
You'll then learn through a case-based approach, studying themes based on clinically relevant topics and patient examples, specifically respiratory, cardiovascular, cancer and the musculoskeletal system. This will all be linked with teaching in anatomy clinical skills and therapeutics.
There is also the opportunity to reinforce your learning through hospital and general practice visits.
Year three
Your third year continues your theme-based teaching, looking into a variety of other clinical problems, based around the gastrointestinal, renal, endocrine, reproductive, and central nervous systems. You will continue with hospital and general practice visits, anatomy, clinical skills and therapeutics teaching.
In the spring semester of your third year (or year 2 of the Medicine BMedSci and BMBS course), you usually have the chance to study an optional module, looking into specific topics in more depth.
Year four
Your fourth year begins with a supervised research project in an area of your choice and an accompanying Evidence Based Medicine module to help with the project. You will also take two optional advanced medical science modules which may or may not be related to your project.
You will undertake a short compulsory early primary care module, developing skills to assess patients in a general practice environment and a module in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, which will develop your prescribing skills further as you move into the clinical phases of the programme.
Following the successful completion of these modules, you'll be awarded the BMedSci.
You'll then move into the final years and begin the Clinical Phase which will see you rotate through a series of placements at various teaching hospitals, community, and partnership trusts and within primary care facilities across the region.
Final years
Your final two years form the Clinical Phase of the programme. You'll focus on full-time clinical training and rotate through a series of placements at various teaching hospitals, community, and partnership trusts and within primary care settings across the region. These years will provide you with the professional knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours to succeed through direct experience.
The first component is a 47-week Foundations for Practice (FFP) phase, covering specialities such as junior medicine, junior surgery, mental health and primary care. This concludes with two four-week student-selected modules and a four-week junior assistantship (JAST).
The second component is our Advanced Phase (AP), which is broken down into a 26-week Advanced Practice phase 1(AP1), comprising obstetrics and gynaecology, child health, integrated medicine, palliative care and healthcare of later life. This leads into a 24-week Advanced Practice phase 2 (AP2), covering senior medicine, senior surgery, critical illness and senior primary care.
The final component of the course is a Preparation for Practice (PFP) phase, which includes a
- six-week elective placement of your choice, which can be at home or abroad
- six-week medical assistantship (MAST) to prepare you for the UK Foundation Programme.
The clinical phase is taught using a blended learning approach of clinical placement activities, self-directed learning (supported by extensive learning resources provided on our Virtual Learning Environment, Moodle), clinical tutorials and clinical skills/simulation training.
Assessment methods
- Case studies
- Clinical exams
- Coursework
- Dissertation
- Examinations
- Formative assessments
- Logbooks
- Objective structured clinical exams
- Poster presentation
- Practical exams
- Presentation
- Short project
- Workplace-based assessment
During your first year, you'll have around 12 hours of teaching contact with 25 hours of independent study per week.
During your second, third and fourth years you'll have approximately 16 to 18 hours of teaching contact time with around 20 hours of independent study per week. You'll spend around five days on placement each semester.
During your time on the Clinical Phase, you'll spend between 35 to 40 hours across five days every week studying and on placements. You'll spend around two to three days on ward, clinic or GP placement visits per week with one day of independent study and one to two days of teaching contact time. This will include some time on call and some out of hours work.
Your holidays will also differ during the Clinical Phase from the standard student timetable. You'll have around six weeks' holiday in each of the clinical phases. This is usually taken as two weeks at Christmas, two weeks at Easter, and two weeks during the summer.
Some of the modules listed below are currently being reviewed and we expect to make some changes to their content and/or structure. We will publish the revised module details as soon as we are able. If you wish to apply to study on the foundation year for medicine, please check this page directly before you apply to ensure you have the most up to date information.
In addition, please note that the course to which you will progress if you successfully complete the foundation year for medicine, the A100, is currently under review and we expect to make some changes to it for the 2025/26 academic year. These changes to the A100 course will be confirmed at the start of 2024 and we will then update the A100 course details on our website as soon as we are able.
On graduating, you'll be able to provisionally register with the General Medical Council (GMC) for a licence to practice medicine in the UK. We'll help you through this process and provide support as you transition to the UK Foundation Programme.
To fully register with the GMC and be able to practice medicine unsupervised in the NHS or as part of a private practice, you will need to complete a Medical Licensing Assessment and complete the UK Foundation Programme.
Find out more about the GMC registration process.
While most students continue in a traditional medical career to become doctors, a medicine degree can lead to careers in research, sales, journalism, illustration, communications, and economics and more.
Average starting salary and career progression
A doctor on the UK Foundation Programme can expect to start at £27,689 to £32,050.
As you gain experience as a doctor and develop your professional skills, you may progress on to senior clinical posts and earn up to £107,688 depending on your role and years of service.
96.5% of undergraduates from the School of Medicine secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual starting salary for these graduates was £35,089.
HESA Graduate Outcomes (2017- 2021 cohorts). The Graduate Outcomes % is calculated using The Guardian University Guide methodology. The average annual salary is based on graduates working full-time within the UK.
Studying for a degree at the University of Nottingham will provide you with the type of skills and experiences that will prove invaluable in any career, whichever direction you decide to take.
Throughout your time with us, our Careers and Employability Service can work with you to improve your employability skills even further; assisting with job or course applications, searching for appropriate work experience placements and hosting events to bring you closer to a wide range of prospective employers.
Have a look at our careers page for an overview of all the employability support and opportunities that we provide to current students.
The University of Nottingham is consistently named as one of the most targeted universities by Britain’s leading graduate employers (Ranked in the top ten in The Graduate Market in 2013-2020, High Fliers Research).
For me, there were multiple reasons for choosing Nottingham. A big one was full body dissection, only offered by a handful of other medical schools. It’s the best way of learning gross anatomy and it helped me choose my anatomy-based BMedSci project on dissection of the facial nerve. "
Romana Jan
Medicine with a Foundation Year student
Course data
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