Intercalated medical degrees

Discover whether an intercalated degree could be for you. 

It involves taking a year out of your medical or dental degree to study for an additional degree. Your course will be one year longer, but you will end up with two degrees, one in medicine or dentistry and another degree, eg BSc or BMedSci. Consult individual medical and dental schools to find out if intercalation is possible, and at what stage this can be done.

The main features of an intercalated degree

  • the degree you take is in a subject related to medicine
  • it usually takes one extra year of study
  • depending on your medical school, the degree is taken between years 2 and 3, 3 and 4, or 4 and 5
  • entry is competitive, especially for the more popular degree courses
  • in exceptional circumstances, there may be the option to take your intercalated degree at a different university

Benefits of taking an intercalated degree

  • it gives you a chance to study a subject that interests you in greater depth or to find out more about a particular specialty
  • the experience can help your application for foundation and specialty training
  • an intercalated degree can be particularly useful if you’re thinking of going into an academic career in medicine or into medical education
  • it’s an opportunity for you to develop skills, such as scientific techniques, research skills and critical evaluation
  • you may have the opportunity to present your work at national or international meetings and/or have it published in a medical journal

Some students take the opportunity to gain a further qualification whilst studying for their degree in medicine. Certain medical schools expect all their students to complete an intercalated degree, for others you must apply.

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