oxford medicine essay competition 2022

Essay  COMPETITION

2024 global essay prize, registrations are now open all essayists must register  here  before friday 31 may, 2024.

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.

The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?

Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?

Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?

Q3. When is compliance complicity?

Q1. What is the optimal global population?  

Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?

Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?

Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?

Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?

Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?

Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?

Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?

Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?

In the original version of this question we misstated a statistic. This was caused by reproducing an error that appeared in several media summaries of the study. We are grateful to one of our contestants, Xinyi Zhang, who helped us to see (with humility and courtesy) why we should take more care to check our sources. We corrected the text on 4 April. Happily, the correction does not in any way alter the thrust of the question.

Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?

Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?

Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?

Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?

Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

JUNIOR prize

Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?

Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?

Q3. Is there life after death?

Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise? 

Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?

Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies? 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS

Please read the following carefully.

Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.

Registration  

Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition. To register, click here .  

All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on  the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 .  Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)

Entry is free.

Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration). 

The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:

Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf

Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.

The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself. 

Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.

Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.

Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of th e deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.

Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.  

Late entries

If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:

a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and

b) Your essay must be submitted  before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.

To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.

Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.

Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful .

Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.

The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.

All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate. 

There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.

The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes. 

The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.

Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)

Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.

Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)

Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.

Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.

Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive helpful tips  from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024  essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .

Thanks for subscribing!

The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition. 

We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry. 

I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize. 

We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.

I hope to see you in September!

Best wishes,

Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB ) 

Chairman of Examiners

Q. I missed the registration deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?

A. No. Only candidates who registered before 31 May will be able to submit an essay. 

Q. Are footnote s, endnotes, a bibliography or references counted towards the word limit?

A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted. 

Q. Are in-text citations counted towards the word limit? ​

A. If you are using an in-text based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

Q. Is it necessary to include foo tnotes or endnotes in an essay? ​

A. You  may not  include footnotes, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. You should give your sources of any factual claims you make, and you should ackn owledge any other authors on whom you rely.​

Q. I am interested in a question that seems ambiguous. How should I interpret it?

A. You may interpret a question as you deem appropriate, clarifying your interpretation if necessary. Having done so, you must answer the question as directly as possible.

Q. How strict are  the age eligibility criteria?

A. Only students whose nineteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior category, only students whose fifteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. 

Q. May I submit more than one essay?

A. Yes, you may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.

Q. If I am eligible to compete in the Junior category, may I also (or instead) compete in another category?

A. Yes, you may.

Q. May I team up with someone else to write an essay?  

A. No. Each submitted essay must be entirely the work of a single individual.

Q. May I use AI, such as ChatGPT or the like, in writing my essay?

A. All essays will be checked for the use of AI. If we find that any content is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified. We will also ask you, upon submission of your essay, whether you used AI for  any  purpose related to the writing of your essay, and if so, you will be required to provide details. In that case, if, in our judgement, you have not provided full and accurate details of your use of AI, your essay will be disqualified. 

Since any use of AI (that does not result in disqualification) can only negatively affect our assessment of your work relative to that of work that is done without using AI, your safest course of action is simply not to use it at all. If, however, you choose to use it for any purpose, we reserve the right to make relevant judgements on a case-by-case basis and we will not enter into any correspondence. 

Q. May I have someone else edit, or otherwise help me with, my essay?

A. You may of course discuss your essay with others, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses in your writing or content, leaving you to address them.

However, no part of your essay may be written by anyone else. This means that you must edit your own work and that while a proofreader may point out errors, you as the essayist must be the one to correct them. 

Q. Do I have to attend the awards ceremony to win a prize? ​

A. Nobody is required to attend the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London. But if we invite you to London it is because your essay was good enough - in the opinion of the First Round judges - to be at least a contender for First, Second or Third Prize. Normally the Second Round judges will agree that the short-listed essays are worth at least a commendation.

Q. Is there an entry fee?

A. No. There is no charge to enter our global essay competition unless you submit your essay after the normal deadline, in which case there is a fee of 20.00 USD .

Q. Can I receive a certificate for my participation in your essay competition if I wasn't shortlisted? 

A. No. Certificates are awarded only for shortlisted essays. Short-listed contestants who attend the award ceremony in London will receive a paper certificate. If you cannot travel to London, you will be able to download your eCertificate.

Q. Can I receive feedba ck on my essay? 

A. We would love to be able to give individual feedback on essays but, unfortunately, we receive too many entries to be able to comment on particular essays.

Q. The deadline for publishing the names of short-listed essayists has passed but I did not receive an email to tell me whether I was short-listed.

A. Log into your account and check "Shortlist Status" for (each of) your essay(s).

Q. Why isn't the awards ceremony in Oxford this year?

A. Last year, many shortlisted finalists who applied to join our invitation-only academic conference missed the opportunity because of capacity constraints at Oxford's largest venues. This year, the conference will be held in central London and the gala awards dinner will take place in an iconic London ballroom. 

TECHNICAL FAQ s

Q. The system will not accept my essay. I have checked the filename and it has the correct format. What should I do?  

A. You have almost certainly added a space before or after one of your names in your profile. Edit it accordingly and try to submit again.

Q. The profile page shows my birth date to be wrong by a day, even after I edit it. What should I do?

A. Ignore it. The date that you typed has been correctly input to our database. ​ ​

Q. How can I be sure that my registration for the essay competition was successful? Will I receive a confirmation email?

A. You will not receive a confirmation email. Rather, you can at any time log in to the account that you created and see that your registration details are present and correct.

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR SUBMISSION

If you are unable to submit your essay to the John Locke Institute’s global essay competition, your problem is almost certainly one of the following.

If so, please proceed as indicated.

1) PROBLEM: I receive the ‘registrations are now closed’ message when I enter my email and verification code. SOLUTION. You did not register for the essay competition and create your account. If you think you did, you probably only provided us with your email to receive updates from us about the competition or otherwise. You may not enter the competition this year.

2) PROBLEM I do not receive a login code after I enter my email to enter my account. SOLUTION. Enter your email address again, checking that you do so correctly. If this fails, restart your browser using an incognito window; clear your cache, and try again. Wait for a few minutes for the code. If this still fails, restart your machine and try one more time. If this still fails, send an email to [email protected] with “No verification code – [your name]” in the subject line.

SUBMITTING AN ESSAY

3) PROBLEM: The filename of my essay is in the correct format but it is rejected. SOLUTION: Use “Edit Profile” to check that you did not add a space before or after either of your names. If you did, delete it. Whether you did or did not, try again to submit your essay. If submission fails again, email [email protected] with “Filename format – [your name]” in the subject line.

4) PROBLEM: When trying to view my submitted essay, a .txt file is downloaded – not the .pdf file that I submitted. SOLUTION: Delete the essay. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “File extension problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

5) PROBLEM: When I try to submit, the submission form just reloads without giving me an error message. SOLUTION. Log out of your account. Open a new browser; clear the cache; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Submission form problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

6) PROBLEM: I receive an “Unexpected Error” when trying to submit. SOLUTION. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If this resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Unexpected error – [your name]” in thesubject line. Your email must tell us e xactly where in the submission process you received this error.

7) PROBLEM: I have a problem with submitting and it is not addressed above on this list. SOLUTION: Restart your machine. Clear your browser’s cache. Try to submit again. If this fails, email [email protected] with “Unlisted problem – [your name]” in the subject line. Your email must tell us exactly the nature of your problem with relevant screen caps.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US.

Do not email us before you have tried the specified solutions to your problem.

Do not email us more than once about a single problem. We will respond to your email within 72 hours. Only if you have not heard from us in that time may you contact us again to ask for an update.

If you email us regarding a problem, you must include relevant screen-shots and information on both your operating system and your browser. You must also declare that you have tried the solutions presented above and had a good connection to the internet when you did so.

If you have tried the relevant solution to your problem outlined above, have emailed us, and are still unable to submit before the 30 June deadline on account of any fault of the John Locke Institute or our systems, please do not worry: we will have a way to accept your essay in that case. However, if there is no fault on our side, we will not accept your essay if it is not submitted on time – whatever your reason: we will not make exceptions for IT issues for which we are not responsible.

We reserve the right to disqualify the entries of essayists who do not follow all provided instructions, including those concerning technical matters.

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Oxford Sixth-form prize in Medicine winners announced

Outreach Trauma

20 October 2021

The winners of the 2021 sixth-form prize in medicine are Lucy Addis and Rosa Morgan-Young.

Lucy Addis and Rosa Morgan-Young have been announced as the winners of the 2021 sixth-form prize in medicine. Their prize includes a 7-day work-experience placement within the Major Trauma Centre, Oxford.

Verdant Bhardwaj and Sakshi Dutta were the runners up and will be able to cite their prize on future applications as they pursue their studies.

The sixth-form prize in medicine is an annual competition for Year 12 (Lower 6th) students from across the UK who are considering applying to study medicine. An essay competition, this year's topic was: "Sometimes when the broken bone heals, the trauma continues". Applicants were asked to discuss the possible biopsyhchosocial effects of orthopaedic trauma in the first year after injury.

Prof Steve Gwilym, Associate Professor in Orthopaedics, University of Oxford said: "I'm delighted that this access-initiative is proving so popular. This is the third year we have run the prize and each year we have seen an increased number of applicants from a wider geography. This year we received over 50 essays and the insights they demonstrated were really very impressive. The applications were overwhelmingly from female students, so we hope to encourage more male applicants next year to level the balance. Winners will be encouraged to use this prize on their UCAS applications and will be invited to visit Oxford for a period of work experience."

The competition is open to all students currently studying at a state-funded school, college or sixth-form. This prize is hosted jointly by the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS foundation trust.

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School Competitions And Prizes For Aspiring Medics

Learn about all of the competitions and prizes you can enter at school to boost your Medicine application.

If you’re an aspiring medic at school, you can boost your Medicine application by entering competitions and prizes. Regardless of whether you win or not, you’ll be able to include the experience in your Personal Statement and talk about it at Med School interviews . Here are some Medicine competitions you can enter to be proactive and make your application stand out.

Imperial College London – Science in Medicine School Teams Prize

Imperial College London has three team competitions to choose from:

• The British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Prize – Submissions should focus on a topic with interactions between the cardiovascular system and the nervous system.
• The Lung Prize – Submissions can focus on any aspect of the prevention or treatment of respiratory disease.
• The Scleroderma and Raynaud’s UK Prize – Submissions should focus on promoting the health and wellbeing of individuals with Scleroderma and/or Raynaud’s.

For each competition, the challenge is to design an ePoster. A team can have up to six members (they recommend assembling a team with varied interests) and schools can enter one team per prize.

The top ten shortlisted teams in each contest will be invited to present their ePosters at an online finals event. In each stream, first, second and third prizes of £3,000, £2,000 and £1,000 will be awarded to schools in order to support science-related activities.

Deadline – midnight on 30th June 2023.

University of Cambridge – Robinson College Essay Prize

The Robinson College Essay Prize is open to Year 12 students in the UK, providing an opportunity to develop and showcase independent study and writing skills. It also allows students to experience the type of work that they might be expected to do at Cambridge.

Entrants submit an essay (no more than 2,000 words) answering a question from various options. Last year, one of the possible titles was ‘Can science tell us how we should live?’. Up to three entries can be submitted per school, so you should discuss your application with your school before entering.

Five prizes are awarded, with each winner receiving book tokens to the value of £50. Winners will also be invited to Robinson College for a prize-giving ceremony.

The 2023 prize will open with more info in June.

Specialist Application Advice

Want expert advice to navigate the Medicine application process?

Medic Mentor – National Essay Competition

Medic Mentor’s National Essay Competition requires students to write an essay (up to 1,500 words) from the perspective of a medical professional.

There are essay titles available for Medicine, Dentistry , Veterinary Medicine and Allied Health .

For 2023, the essay questions are:

• Medicine – Should the patient be viewed as part of the multidisciplinary team?
• Dentistry – How can the holistic approach minimise periodontal disease in patients?
• Veterinary – What is the importance of a holistic approach when caring for livestock?
• Allied Heath – How can the multidisciplinary team optimise the care of the older person in hospital?

Deadline – midday on 1st May 2023.

Minds Underground Medicine Essay Competition

Minds Underground Medicine Essay Competition is aimed at students in Year 12, but younger students are also welcome to enter, and there are various essay title options to choose from. For the 2023 competition, one of the possible titles was ‘Should all healthcare be free? Discuss.’

The competition is designed to give students an opportunity to engage in research, hone their writing and argumentative skills, and prepare for university interviews. Minds Underground also runs essay competitions for other science subjects like Psychology and STEM.

The submission deadline is typically around March/April. Get more info here.

The Libra Essay Prize

The Libra Essay Prize is for students in Years 12 and 13 who are looking to prepare for university. Inspired by the admissions process at All Souls College, Oxford, entrants write an essay (1,500-2,000 words) responding to a single-word title.

For the 2023 prize, the single-word options were: Control, Collaboration, Exchange, Freedom, Claim.

Entrants are encouraged to use imagination in their essays to build interesting links between their chosen title and their school learning. There are prizes available of £50 for first place, £30 for second place and £20 for third place.

The deadline has varied from year-to-year: it was June in 2022 and April in 2023, so keep an eye on their website for more details.

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Year 12 essay competitions for medicine (updated 2022), essay competitions you can enter to make your medicine application stand out..

Why should I enter an essay competition?

One unique way of making your medicine application stand out is by entering various essay competitions that are relevant to science, technology, or healthcare.

By entering (and winning) essay competitions, medical schools will see that:

• You take an interest in medicine and education beyond what you're taught in your curriculum
• You're very proactive and dedicated
• You have excellent time management skills as you can juggle this with other academic commitments
• You're interested in writing and research

You don't need to win the competition for this to look good in your application. The fact that you've gone through all the effort to apply is fantastic in itself. It's something you can write about in your personal statement and bring up in your interviews. It's also something your teachers can write on your UCAS reference too.

It's important to remember there are many other important skills admission tutors andinterviewers will be looking for during your application. Our Medmentor SuperPack is tailor-made to help track your progress and plug any gaps to ensure you're the holistic candidate that every medical school is looking for.

Essay competitions for Year 12 students applying to medicine

Throughout the year, there are different essay competitions open for sixth form students to enter. We've compiled a list of some of the ones that are most relevant for your medicine application. Some of the deadlines are soon, whilst others are in a few months, so be selective and make sure you're giving yourself enough time to write something that is of a high standard.

American Society of Human Genetics Annual DNA Day Essay Contest

https://www.ashg.org/dna-day/ - Deadline: 2nd March 2022

You're expected to write a 750 word essay answering the following questions:

• How do Mendel’s discoveries help us understand Mendelian disorders?
• How does the study of Mendelian disorders help us understand complex diseases?

Please note essays must be submitted by a teacher or administrator however if you are home schooled parent submission is acceptable.

Newnham College University of Cambridge Medicine Essay Prize

https://newn.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Medicine-Information-and-Questions-2022.pdf - Deadline: 11th March 2022 at 12pm

Open to all female students currently in Year 12 at a UK state school. Choose 1 question from:

• How realistic is it to develop a small molecule therapy for Covid-19? Could such a therapy be rolled out in a timeframe that it could have an impact on the current pandemic?
• Sleep deprivation in clinical health settings. Does it matter?
• Looking to the future. Will stem cell therapies be outpaced by machine-brain interfaces for the treatment of retinal disease?

Minds Underground Medicine Competition

https://www.mindsunderground.com/medicine-competition - Deadline: 31st March 2022

Choose 1 question from:

• If you could invent a new drug, what would it be and why?
• What will the impact of an ageing population on the NHS look like?
• "This idea must die: We can't find new antimicrobials fast enough to make a difference." Do you agree?

Minds Underground Psychology Competition

‍ www.mindsunderground.com/psychology-competition - Deadline: 31st March 2022

• What is more important: nature or nurture?
• Psychology Challenge: Design a research study.
• Does consciousness exist – how can we test for it?

Minds Underground Advanced Sciences Competition

www.mindsunderground.com/sciences-competition - Deadline: 31st March 2022

The questions you can choose from cover the different STEM subjects. Therefore, it may be preferable to select the one most closely related to medicine:

• Some people have argued that the discovery of DNA was the greatest scientific discovery of the 20th Century. Do you agree?

The Libra Education Essay Prize

‍ www.libraeducation.co.uk/essay-prize ‍ - Deadline: 24th June 2022

You have a lot more flexibility and autonomy with this competition, where you can choose any essay title inspired by the following words.

The words that are arguably most relevant to medicine, science, and healthcare include 'sustainability', 'memory', and 'senses', though you can definitely make links with any of the words. For example, somebody could choose to write an essay on "Why is sustainability important in healthcare?" or "How has the pandemic impacted healthcare sustainability ?"

For these types of essays, think boldly and be unique if you want your essay to stand out.

Essay competitions for Year 12 students that will open later this year

Various other competitions will open up throughout the year. Keep tabs on these two pages below as their competitions will open up later this year.

• Robinson College Essay Prize (University of Cambridge) - https://www.robinson.cam.ac.uk/prospective-students/essay-prize
• University of Oxford Sixth-form prize in Medicine - https://www.ndorms.ox.ac.uk/research/research-groups/oxford-trauma/university-of-oxford-sixth-form-prize-in-medicine

How important are essay competitions for Year 12 students? 

We would only recommend going out of your way to participate in essay competitions if you're quite comfortable with your academic grade. To write a good essay, you'll need to do extra reading and research in the topic area, and this can take some time. If your time is better spent revising and securing your grades, then please prioritise this. Essays are just another way to help your medicine application stand out, but they are by no means essential.

If you do have the time for it and you're not compromising your other commitments, then you've got nothing to lose - so give it your best shot!

Can I do anything else besides enter an essay competition? 

If you're not quite ready to commit to an essay, you can also consider submitting articles to particular magazines or news outlets. If you're lucky, your piece may feature on their magazine, and this is sure to impress medical schools.

These don't have to be related to medicine or healthcare, it can be about your life as a student and any challenges you're experiencing. Even though it may not directly relate to medicine, it's certainly impressive and will show the medical school that you're not afraid to put yourself out there. For example:

• Consider writing for the Llama magazine: https://www.llamamag.com/about-the-llama/
• Push yourself further and submit a pitch to the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/sep/23/blogging-students-how-to-pitch-and-blog

Discover more golden opportunities to help you stand out in our Blog , Navigator and/or Superhub.

Recommended articles: How to Become a COVID-19 Vaccinator , Summer School Opportunities for Medical School Applications & Online Courses for Medical School Applicants

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Medicine: Shortlisting Process and Admissions Statistics

Outline of the shortlisting & offer-making process for the A100 Medicine undergraduate course at the University of Oxford as well as relevant statistics from the most recent admissions cycle.

Please note that the Medical School is only able to provide basic feedback to candidates who were not shortlisted for interview. For interviewed candidates, any such requests should be directed to the Tutor for Admissions of the college to which you applied or to which you were subsequently assigned, whether as a result of making an open application or through reallocation. To find out more, read the University’s policy concerning feedback on admissions decisions .

Neither the Medical School nor the colleges are legally allowed to discuss individual applicants with third parties, including parents, without the applicant’s express written permission via the email address listed on their UCAS form.  This is to protect both our staff and individual applicants.

Shortlisting process in 2024

Please note that the shortlisting process and statistics outlined on this page related to the 2023 admissions round (for 2024 entry). For more information about the shortlisting process in 2024, please see the relevant section of our FAQs.  

general Statistics from the 2023 admissions round (for 2024 entry)

In 2023 we received 1,500 UCAS applications (1,713 in 2022). Of these applicants:

• 1,420 successfully registered for and sat the BMAT (1,637  in 2022).
• 69 did not meet our requirements for entry (most often because they were too young, did not submit explanation through our extenuating circumstances process as to why they were applying on the basis of a resit, did not possess suitable academic credentials or did not meet our academic entry requirements for the qualifications taken). (64 in 2022)
• 11 withdrew from the application process before shortlisting.

The data below, unless otherwise stated, refer to the subset of 1,350 applicants (90.0%) who were eligible to apply and had registered for the BMAT (with almost all of these sitting the test) and had not withdrawn their application by the time of shortlisting.

21 eligible applicants applied for deferred entry (32 in 2022). Of these, 7 were shortlisted and interviewed, and 2 received an offer of a place for 2025 (compared to 1 last year who were offered deferred places for 2024).

• 63.8% of eligible applicants were female (61.4% in 2022).
• 80.7% of eligible applicants offered A-levels.
• 23% of eligible applicants resided outside the UK; of these, 6.5% resided inside the EU and 16.5% outside the EU.
• 5 graduates submitted eligible applications.

Overall, approximately 31.8% of applicants who made complete applications were shortlisted (27.3% in 2022).

how SHORTLISTING worked in 2023 & relevant 2023 statistics

Initial shortlisting was based on a combined BMAT and GCSE score (the latter only if available and if the candidate had not sat their GCSEs between summer 2020-summer 2021).

 GCSE performance data for schools in Great Britain and Northern Ireland were used, where available, to assess whether an applicant’s grades at GCSE reflected an under- or over-performance within the context of the school at which they were taken.

 As the 2020 and 2021 GCSE results were teacher-assessed grades rather than examined grades, these data are not robustly comparable between schools across England and Wales; the Department for Education were also unable to provide school performance data for this cohort. GCSE performance was therefore not used systematically in the 2023 admissions round for those applicants who completed their GCSEs between summer 2020 – summer 2021. Instead, their BMAT score was double-weighted. For applicants who did not complete the majority of their GCSEs between summer 2020-summer 2021, any individual GCSEs that were taken in this period were discounted from our measure of overall GCSEs taken, number of A*/9/8 and mean proportion of A*/9/8 used in the automatic shortlisting stage.

 Tutors nominating non-automatically shortlisted applications for the shortlisting committee deciding on the last 80 places did have access to candidates’ individual GCSE grades (including for those who had taken GCSEs in 2020 and 2021).

 We do not ascribe equal weighting to all sections of BMAT. In 2023, weightings were: section 1=40%, section 2=40%, and section 3=20%. In calculating the section 3 score, double weight was ascribed to the ‘Quality of content’ score and single weight given to the ‘Quality of English’ score (with A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1, and X=0).

A very small number of candidates were unable to take the BMAT due to extenuating circumstances which we were informed of. A further small number failed to receive results despite completing the test. Admissions tutors reviewed all aspects of the affected applications to determine whether they merited addition to the shortlist. Where we had received such information pertaining to BMAT via the CAAT special considerations process or extenuating circumstances at the time of GCSEs, it was noted at the appropriate stage of shortlisting.

 All non-shortlisted applicants were then reviewed by tutors to identify any candidates whose applications gave us cause to believe that the algorithmic process underestimated their academic potential. Those applications nominated by tutors were scrutinised further along with the 80 applicants just below the cut-off point by the Shortlisting Committee for A100 Medicine. As a result of this process, 80 additional applicants were added to the shortlist.

After shortlisting, we were made aware that Section 3 marks were inadvertently weighted less than they should have been by a factor of 0.86. All candidates’ BMAT marks were updated with the correct weighting and the numerical ranking checked. As a result of revised BMAT scores and queries received after shortlisting had been completed, 6 candidates were added to the shortlist. This brought the shortlist to a total of 431 instead of the usual 425. 

• For those shortlisted the mean adjusted BMAT score was 64.3% (65.7% in 2022).
• 1 graduate was shortlisted.
• 35 international fee-status applicants were shortlisted.

how interviews and offers work & relevant 2023 statistics

Each applicant was interviewed by two colleges: the college of preference (where possible), or allocation if an open application was made, and one other randomly assigned by computer so as to equalise as far as possible the strength of the applicant field at each college (as measured by the numerical ranking produced by the shortlisting algorithm). The number of applicants called for interview is usually fixed at around 425, in other words about 2.5 applicants per place available.

Interviewers assessed each candidate against our explicit list of selection criteria. To find out more, read our selection criteria . The composition of interview panels was arranged such that every candidate was interviewed by at least one practising clinician. To get a sense of what interviews are like, watch our demonstration interview with one of our current students and two college tutors, recorded for the 2020 Virtual Open Days, on YouTube.

Following interviews, colleges ranked all the candidates they had seen, on the basis of all information available to them at that time. After disclosure of the candidate rank from the second college, BMAT score and BMAT essays, colleges reviewed their ranking and submitted a final version. On the basis of this final ranking, candidates were provisionally assigned offers at a particular college, taking into account the preferences of the college the applicant had chosen (or had been allocated to). Admissions decisions were confirmed by correspondence between colleges and the Medical Sciences Office. 

Please note that colleges interviewed blind of college of choice (or allocation) and BMAT score.

Colleges made 153 quota offers, 2 deferred offers and 15 open offers (which means the applicant is guaranteed a place at Oxford to study Medicine, but will not be assigned to a college until after A-level results are known).

• The overall success rate for male applicants was 16.9% (11.7% in 2022); the overall success rate for female applicants was 10.3% (8.1% in 2022).
• For those with an offer of a place, the mean adjusted BMAT score was 66.8%.
• 1 graduate applicant received an offer of a place (graduates compete with school-leavers for places; there is no separate quota).
• 9 international fee-status applicants received an offer for 2024.
• 39.4% of offers were made by colleges other than the college of preference (or allocation). This compares with 37.7% in 2022. 17.0% of eligible applicants submitted an open application, meaning they did not specify a college of preference on their application and were allocated one.

relevant 2023 statistics for bmat

In 2023, as in 2022, male applicants did slightly better on BMAT than female applicants (mean 56.9% vs 51.9%).

The following chart shows adjusted BMAT scores for the 2023 cohort

Read the text equivalent to this chart.

The mean BMAT score was 54.7%, which rose to 64.3% for those shortlisted and 66.8% for applicants receiving offers.

[The BMAT scores shown above are the sum of Section 1, 2 and 3 scores calculated in the following way to give the weightings: Section 1=40%, Section 2=40%, and Section 3=20%:

Section 1 & 2: These are originally reported on a scale of 1-9. One mark is removed from this score (to give a scale of 0 to 8), and the resulting figure multiplied by 5 (to give a score out of 40).

Section 3: The ‘Quality of content’ score is multiplied by 2 and added to the ‘Quality of English’ score (with A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1, and X=0). This gives a score out of 15, which is converted to a score out of 20 by multiplying by 4/3.]

relevant 2023 statistics for gcse pERFORMANCE

The data on GCSEs below refer to the subset of applicants who did not complete their GCSEs between summer 2020 – summer 2021.

Read the text equivalent to these charts .

 The mean number of total GCSE qualifications offered (not including short courses or other GCSE-equivalent qualifications) was 9.75.

The mean number of A* at GCSE for all applicants was 8.3; this rose to 9.9 for those shortlisted and 9.9 also for applicants receiving offers.

The mean proportion of A* at GCSE was 0.85; this rose to 0.97 for those shortlisted and was 0.98 for applicants receiving offers.

relevant 2023 statistics for A-levels and equivalent qualifications

All A-level applicants must take Chemistry. The table below summarises the distribution of other subject choices amongst applicants this year taking A-levels.

With regard to 'Other subjects', the most popular subjects were Psychology (10.6%), English Literature (3.4%) and History (3.4%), followed by Geography (2.4%), French (2.4%), Spanish (2.1%) and Religious Studies (1.9%).

11.5% of applicants taking A-levels were studying Chemistry plus just one more science or maths subject. This compares with 5.2% of shortlisted applicants and 4.5% of those offered places.

7.9% of applicants taking A-levels were studying Chemistry, Biology, Physics AND Mathematics (compared to 10.4% of shortlisted applicants and 5.7% of applicants offered places). 

N.B. Despite the fact that most applicants offering A-levels tend to take Biology (or Human Biology), this subject is NOT required at A2 level (or indeed at AS-level). However, do be aware that not having A-level Biology is associated with a greater risk of having difficulty at the early stages of the course (and other medical courses).

63.6% of applicants taking A-levels were doing/had done 3 A-levels, 31% were doing 4 A-levels and approx. 2.6% were doing 5 or more A-levels (though not necessarily all being completed in one academic year).

19.3% of applicants offered alternative qualifications, the most popular of which was the IB (11.3%), with US qualifications (SAT subject tests/AP tests), Canadian qualifications, the Singaporean SIPCAL, and Scottish Advanced Highers representing the next most popular options. 10.7% of applicants who were shortlisted and 8.2% of applicants with an offer studied for qualifications other than A-levels (including the IB). 

relevant 2023 statistics for SCHOOL TYPE

77.3% of applicants attending school in the UK were from state schools (including sixth form and further education colleges), while 22.7% were from independent schools.

The overall success rate in 2023 was 13.7% for state school applicants and 21.2% for independent school applicants. 

relevant 2023 statistics for International applicants

295 applicants identified as international for fee-paying purposes submitted complete applications for 2024 entry. Following shortlisting, which is conducted in line with the quota imposed on the Medical School by the UK Government for the available international places, 35 of these applicants were shortlisted and 9 applicants received an offer for 2024. 

[Prospective candidates are reminded that the Medical School is required by the Higher Education Funding Council to limit the number of international (meaning non-UK/ROI in the most recent admissions round) medical students admitted to a maximum of 7.5% across both the standard (A100) and Graduate Entry (A101) courses - see  our advice for international applicants ]

• Course Structure
• Academic Entry & Age Requirements
• Selection Criteria
• Health & Fitness to Practise
• Application Checklist
• Application Process
• Introductory Reading
• Writing your Personal Statement
• Anatomy of a Personal Statement
• Graduate Applicants
• Mature Applicants
• International Applicants
• Mitigating circumstances
• Shortlisting Process and Admissions Statistics
• Fees and Funding

• Admissions Requirements
• Fees and Funding
• Studying at Oxford

Course overview

UCAS code: A100 Entrance requirements: A*AA (excluding Critical Thinking and Thinking Skills) Course duration: 3 years (BA); 6 years (BM BCh)

Subject requirements

Required subjects: Chemistry with either Maths, Further Maths, Biology or Physics. Recommended subjects: Not applicable Helpful subjects: Not applicable

Other course requirements

Admissions tests:  UCAT Written Work: None

Admissions statistics*

Interviewed: 23% Successful: 8% Intake: 149 *3-year average 2021-23

Email:  [email protected]

Unistats information for this course can be found at the bottom of the page

Please note that there may be no data available if the number of course participants is very small.

About the course

This page is about the standard-entry Medicine course (A100).  

The standard Oxford medical course has separate pre-clinical (years 1-3) and clinical (years 4-6). Students first gain a comprehensive grounding in medical science, before applying that scientific foundation in the clinical setting.

Visit the A101 page  to find out about our graduate-entry/accelerated medical degree.

The practice of Medicine offers a breadth of experiences impossible to find in any other subject. Every day brings different patients with different needs. It’s a great choice for scientists who strive to understand and apply research findings to improve the lives of the patients in their care. It offers a meaningful career that is prestigious, secure and well paid.

However, practising Medicine can be arduous, stressful, frustrating and bureaucratic and is not suited to everyone. You need to be sure that Medicine is the right choice for you. These pages will help you work that out, but there’s no better way to find out for sure than by gaining insight into medical practice by seeing it in action and talking to those who provide healthcare. Studying Medicine because that is what is expected of you is never a good idea; make sure that your motives for choosing to do so are well-reasoned.

The Medicine course at Oxford provides a thorough intellectual training with particular emphasis on the basic science research that underpins medicine. We have retained a distinct three-year pre-clinical stage that includes studying towards a BA Honours degree in Medical Sciences, followed by a three-year clinical stage. 

The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Oxford is relatively small, allowing students and staff to get to know one another and benefit from a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Research work

All A100 students at Oxford undertake an experimental research project as part of their BA in Medical Sciences. This will be in a field of interest to the student, and will offer valuable first-hand experience of scientific research. Students have the opportunity to undertake research in a laboratory from a wide range of departments within the Medical Sciences Division.

Unistats information

Discover Uni  course data provides applicants with Unistats statistics about undergraduate life at Oxford for a particular undergraduate course.

Please select 'see course data' to view the full Unistats data for Medicine. 

Please note that there may be no data available if the number of course participants is very small. 

Visit the Studying at Oxford section of this page for a more general insight into what studying here is likely to be like.

The pre-clinical stage

Applicants are initially admitted to the pre-clinical stage of the course.

The first five terms of this course are devoted to the First BM. This addresses not only much of the science that underpins Medicine, but also the clinical problems that arise when systems fail. Students are introduced to the major systems of the body and study all aspects of their structure and function in health and also the principles of disease processes.

Students are encouraged to develop an enquiring approach and to consider the experimental basis of the science in the course. Matters of clinical relevance are illustrated from the outset with students making regular visits to GP tutors.

The First BM is followed by a four-term BA Honours course (the Final Honours School) in Medical Sciences. Students specialise in areas of biomedical science selected from a range of options. They will become adept at working from primary research literature, and will be encouraged to think both critically and creatively. Students will gain in-depth knowledge of their chosen options, as well as advanced technical skills at the laboratory bench and in scientific data handling and presentation.

A typical week

During the First BM, lectures and practicals occupy about half of the time, and the remainder is free for tutorial work, self-directed study and extracurricular activities.

During the BA course, formal lecturing is kept to a minimum, and students are mostly free to pursue their research and to prepare for tutorials and seminars. 

The college tutorial system is a central feature: students see their tutors and are taught weekly in groups often as small as two. This teaching can be tailored to individuals’ needs and interests and strong academic support ensures that students manage their time effectively. Classes and seminars usually contain between 10 and 50 students, while lectures are for up to 200 students.

In the pre-clinical stage of the course (years 1-3), most tutorials, classes, and lectures take place in the Medical Sciences Teaching Centre in the Science Area and are delivered by members of academic staff, research staff or NHS clinicians (usually at the level of consultant). Many are world-leading experts with years of experience in teaching and research.

Some tutorial and class teaching may also be delivered by postgraduate students who are usually studying at doctoral level.

In the clinical stage of the course (years 4-6), most teaching is delivered by clinicians from the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust as well as local primary care physicians, and University academic staff.

To find out more about how our teaching year is structured, visit our  Academic Year  page.

Course structure

Terms 1-3 (first bm part i), terms 4-5 (first bm part ii), terms 6-9 (final honour schools in medical sciences).

The content and format of this course may change in some circumstances. Read further information about potential course changes .

Progress to clinical training

Registered Oxford medical students who are eligible to progress to Clinical studies may apply to transfer to Oxford Clinical Medicine during the final year of their pre-clinical studies.

Academic requirements 

Wherever possible, your grades are considered in the context in which they have been achieved.

Read further information on  how we use contextual data .

Visit the Medical School's guidance on submitting information about extenuating circumstances . 

Please note that we have no preference for whether the third or fourth A-level subject (or further subject in equivalent qualifications) is a science or not.

Level of attainment in Science and Mathematics

There are no formal GCSE requirements for Medicine. However, in order to be adequately equipped for the application process and for the academic demands of the course, applicants will need to have received a basic education in Biology, Physics and Mathematics. For example, students should have received at least a grade C/4 at GCSE, Intermediate 2 or Standard grade (Credit) or equivalent. The GCSE Dual Award Combined Sciences is also appropriate.

Visit the  Medical Sciences Shortlisting  page for further details on how we assess GCSEs.

Students with degrees may apply for the standard course. There are no places specifically reserved for graduates, and there is no separate application process. Graduates are in open competition with school-leavers, and need to fulfil the same entrance requirements.

If English is not your first language you may also need to meet our English language requirements .

All candidates must follow the application procedure as shown on our  Applying to Oxford  pages. 

The following information gives specific details for students applying for this course. 

No student is admitted without interview. Successful candidates must meet our requirements for  health and fitness to practise .

Admissions test

All candidates must also take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) as part of their application.

Separate registration for this test is required and it is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that they are registered.

We strongly recommend making arrangements in plenty of time before the deadline. Please visit our UCAT webpage for further information.

Written work 

You do not need to submit any written work when you apply for this course.

What are tutors looking for?

Please note that competition to study Medicine at Oxford is particularly strong and only around 425 applicants are shortlisted for interview each year. No student is admitted without interview. 

Students are selected for their scientific ability and for their aptitude for Medicine. Applicants are expected to show that they have a realistic understanding of what a medical career will involve, and that they have the potential to become effective and caring doctors.

All colleges use a common set of selection criteria that relate to academic potential and suitability for Medicine. 

Visit the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences website for further information about selection criteria .

Applicants are free to make reference to skills or experience acquired in any context to illustrate how they might fulfil the selection criteria.

Sometimes candidates refer to voluntary work and other extra-curricular activities, but many forms of evidence can help demonstrate to tutors that a candidate has made an informed decision regarding their own suitability to study Medicine.

The Medical Schools Council has released some useful advice on gaining relevant experience in healthcare when it is difficult to find volunteering or work opportunities. 

International student quota

Please note that the number of international fee status medical students at each medical school in the UK is subject to a government quota. For Oxford this quota is currently a maximum of 14 per year across both the standard entry A100 and A101 graduate-entry/accelerated Medicine courses.

Application conditions 

Oxford conforms to the UK Department of Health’s requirements regarding immunisation status and the GMC’s conditions on Fitness to Practise, and a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Students may be refused entry to, or be removed from, the University’s Register of Medical Students on grounds that may be either academic or non-academic (for instance health or conduct).

Applicants should be aware that some practical studies involving living animal tissue are an obligatory component of the course. 

Note that students must have reached their 18th birthday by 1 November in the year they intend to start the course.

Fitness to Practise advice and support:  General Medical Council  and  University of Oxford Occupational Health Service . 

A vast array of speciality training pathways are available after obtaining a medical qualification, ranging from general practice or emergency medicine through obstetrics or ophthalmology to paediatrics or psychiatry.

Of course, you need not remain confined to the clinic, the ward or the operating theatre: the lecture theatre or the laboratory could also beckon. Some of our graduates end up leading the education of the next generation of doctors or directing biomedical research.

You don’t need to know right now what you want to do when you qualify. The Clinical School organises careers sessions for final-year clinical students and helps students learn about and apply for foundation posts.

BM BCh graduates are entitled to provisional registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) with a licence to practise, subject to demonstrating to the GMC that their fitness to practise is not impaired.

Tzveta is a consultant in oncology. She says:

‘Many universities can teach you how to be a foundation doctor. Oxford taught me how to work through problems carefully and logically from first principles, and gave me the theoretical grounding to be able to do so. I had the opportunity to read key papers in my subject, then discuss them with the academics who had published them. Most importantly, Oxford taught me that I was capable of much more than I imagined or believed. Though I have gone from essay crises to night shifts, from finals to Royal College exams, the focused determination it instilled within me remains, driving me through any challenges faced along the way.’

Kanmin graduated from pre-clinical medicine in 2003. He is now a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Academic Clinical Lecturer in ophthalmology at the University of Oxford. He is undergoing 50:50 surgical retina fellowship training and translational research into gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases. Kanmin says:

‘The weekly essays and tutorials with world-leading academics in the colleges were an invaluable experience. In those intimate ‘mind sparring’ exercises, you go beyond the standard curriculum and probe the boundaries of the fundamental science behind modern medicine. In this way, Oxford nurtures not only sound medical practitioners but also future explorers and leaders in medicine… Of course, studying medicine at Oxford involves a lot of hard work. But the opportunities are also there to take part in the most vibrant student society/club life, whatever your hobby or background.’

Note: These annual fees are for full-time students who begin this undergraduate course here in 2024. Course fee information for courses starting in 2025 will be updated in September.

We don't want anyone who has the academic ability to get a place to study here to be held back by their financial circumstances. To meet that aim, Oxford offers one of the most generous financial support packages available for UK students and this may be supplemented by support from your college.

These annual fees are for full-time students who begin this undergraduate course here in 2024.

Pre-clinical fees are charged in years 1, 2 and 3.

Fees for the later years have not yet been confirmed but please note that these may be different from the pre-clinical fees. Clinical fees are charged in years 4 to 6. As a guide, these are the annual fees for students who will complete the pre-clinical stage of their course and progress to the clinical years in 2024.

Please note that these fees apply to continuing students only. 

Further details about fee status eligibility  can be found on the fee status webpage.

For more information please refer to our  course fees page . Fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our  guidance on likely increases to fees and charges.

Living costs

Living costs at Oxford might be less than you’d expect, as our  world-class resources  and  college provision  can help keep costs down.

Living costs for the academic year starting in 2024 are estimated to be between £1,345 and £1,955 for each month you are in Oxford. Please refer to the ‘Additional Fees and charges’ section below for information about the extended terms which apply for each year of the course in order to estimate your living costs. For further details please visit our  living costs webpage .

• Financial support

**If you have studied at undergraduate level before and completed your course, you will be classed as an Equivalent or Lower Qualification student (ELQ) and won’t be eligible to receive government or Oxford funding

Fees, funding and scholarship search

Additional Fees and Charges Information for Medicine

Pre-clinical medicine.

In the third term of the second year, students who undertake a research project may wish to remain in Oxford after the end of full term to facilitate completion of their project. However, this extended residence in Oxford is not a requirement and students should be aware that no financial support is available to help with any additional living costs during this time.

View the  likely range of living costs  for an additional month in Oxford.

Clinical Medicine

Students in the Clinical School study for extended terms. You will need to budget for higher living costs in these three years, as you will be required to be in Oxford for longer than the standard terms. 

• Year 4 – 40 weeks
• Year 5 – 48 weeks
• Year 6 – 48 weeks, including 10 weeks elective study

Visit  Funding for UK/EU Medical Students  for more information about fees and funding for this course.

Elective study

Each final-year student has a period of 10 weeks for elective study within the overall 48 weeks of the course. (This is year 6 for A100 students).

Your elective study may be conducted in Oxford, elsewhere in the UK, or anywhere in the world provided the content of the placement is appropriate experience for medicine. Approval must be granted by the Director of Clinical Studies.

A student who stays in Oxford for their elective would be expected to incur no additional costs apart from their living costs. Many students opt to travel outside the UK in which case the additional cost is on average around £3,000, but may be lower or higher depending on location (very occasionally a student has spent up to £9,000).

Students who have not completed the core training in clinical medicine may be required to follow a prescribed course of study in Oxford for all or part of their 10-week elective instead of arranging a placement.

There are opportunities to apply for additional financial support which varies depending on the destination proposed. This support is usually around £300 to £500 towards travel costs.

Contextual information

Unistats course data from Discover Uni provides applicants with statistics about a particular undergraduate course at Oxford. For a more holistic insight into what studying your chosen course here is likely to be like, we would encourage you to view the information below as well as to explore our website more widely.

The Oxford tutorial

College tutorials are central to teaching at Oxford. Typically, they take place in your college and are led by your academic tutor(s) who teach as well as do their own research. Students will also receive teaching in a variety of other ways, depending on the course. This will include lectures and classes, and may include laboratory work and fieldwork. However, tutorials offer a level of personalised attention from academic experts unavailable at most universities.

During tutorials (normally lasting an hour), college subject tutors will give you and one or two tutorial partners feedback on prepared work and cover a topic in depth. The other student(s) in your tutorials will be doing the same course as you. Such regular and rigorous academic discussion develops and facilitates learning in a way that isn’t possible through lectures alone. Tutorials also allow for close progress monitoring so tutors can quickly provide additional support if necessary.

Read more about tutorials and an Oxford education

College life

Our colleges are at the heart of Oxford’s reputation as one of the best universities in the world.

• At Oxford, everyone is a member of a college as well as their subject department(s) and the University. Students therefore have both the benefits of belonging to a large, renowned institution and to a small and friendly academic community. Each college or hall is made up of academic and support staff, and students. Colleges provide a safe, supportive environment leaving you free to focus on your studies, enjoy time with friends and make the most of the huge variety of opportunities.
• Porters’ lodge (a staffed entrance and reception)
• Dining hall
• Lending library (often open 24/7 in term time)
• Student accommodation
• Tutors’ teaching rooms
• Chapel and/or music rooms
• Green spaces
• Common room (known as the JCR).
• All first-year students are offered college accommodation either on the main site of their college or in a nearby college annexe. This means that your neighbours will also be ‘freshers’ and new to life at Oxford. This accommodation is guaranteed, so you don’t need to worry about finding somewhere to live after accepting a place here, all of this is organised for you before you arrive.
• All colleges offer at least one further year of accommodation and some offer it for the entire duration of your degree. You may choose to take up the option to live in your college for the whole of your time at Oxford, or you might decide to arrange your own accommodation after your first year – perhaps because you want to live with friends from other colleges.
• While college academic tutors primarily support your academic development, you can also ask their advice on other things. Lots of other college staff including welfare officers help students settle in and are available to offer guidance on practical or health matters. Current students also actively support students in earlier years, sometimes as part of a college ‘family’ or as peer supporters trained by the University’s Counselling Service.

Read more about Oxford colleges and how you choose

We regret that the University of Oxford Medicine course cannot accept requests from students wishing to transfer from other universities to Oxford.

Additionally, Oxford does not accept students who wish to spend a year at the University as part of an intercalated course in Medicine.

Applications will also not be considered from people already studying medicine elsewhere who wish to apply to study the course from Year 1.

Read the Medical School's guidance on submitting information about extenuating circumstances .

The Medical Schools Council website is a useful resource for anyone thinking of applying for Medicine, offering advice, resources and events for students and their teachers and supporters.

Read the Medical Schools Council's advice on gaining relevant experience in healthcare when it is difficult to find volunteering or work opportunities. 

FIND OUT MORE  

• View the course structure
• Visit the Medical School's website

Our 2024 undergraduate open days will be held on 26 and 27 June and 20 September.

Register to find out more about our upcoming open days.

BEST IN THE WORLD FOR MEDICINE

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RELATED PAGES

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Feel inspired?

You might like to have a look at the  Introductory Reading for Medicine . 

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Study with us | Schools liaison | What we do | Events and prizes | Rex Nettleford Essay Prizes: Colonialism and its Legacies

Rex Nettleford Prize for Year 12 Students: Essays on Colonialism and its Legacies

In November 2021, Oriel College inaugurated the Rex Nettleford Essay Prize for year 12 students.

The prize is intended to encourage students to engage with the legacies of colonialism in all its forms – historical, political, economic, social, cultural. Colonialism is a major theme in British history. Its legacies are all around us. By writing an essay for the prize, a student has an opportunity to uncover the enduring influence of colonialism in our society and culture and to address some of the difficult and uncomfortable questions that it poses.

Whilst interest in British colonialism and its legacy provides the specific context for these prizes, colonialism is an activity with a much longer and more geographically diverse extent. Essays can address any relevant aspect, historical phase, cultural manifestation or geographical centre of colonialism, ancient or modern.

The prizes will be awarded on the occasion of an annual lecture also on the topic of ‘Colonialism and its Legacies’, which will take place in Trinity Term (early summer).

The prizes and annual lecture series are dedicated to Oriel alumnus Rex Nettleford, in recognition of his distinguished contributions in the fields of scholarship, culture, and education.

Rex Nettleford

Ralston “Rex” Nettleford (3 February 1933 to 2 February 2010) was an author, academic, dancer, and activist.

Born in Falmouth, Jamaica, Nettleford grew up in the country and graduated with a degree in History from the University of the West Indies. In 1957, he received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oriel College, Oxford and obtained an MPhil in Political Science. He returned to Jamaica in order to take up a position at the University of the West Indies, where he was Vice-Chancellor from 1998 to 2004.

In his academic work, Nettleford focused on issues of cultural identity particularly in the wake of colonialism. He repeatedly stressed “the importance and force of the exercise of the creative intellect and the creative imagination […] in shaping a new and civilised society out of slavery, colonialism and their aftermath, and building democratic nations out of erstwhile colonial fiefdoms’; ‘for the arts are a form of action.”

Rules of the Competition

The Rex Nettleford Prize is an essay competition open to students in Year 12. The prize is £250.

The purpose of the Prize is:

• To promote awareness amongst students in Year 12 of issues relating to colonialism and its legacies.
• To encourage students in Year 12 to develop their abilities for independent research and thought.
• To support teachers of able pupils by providing interesting and challenging further work and by bringing such students into contact with Higher Education.
• To encourage able students to consider applying to study subjects in the Humanities and Social Sciences, either at Oxford or at another university, by giving them experience of the type of work involved.
• To recognise the effort and achievement of the most successful submissions by a prize and commendations.

Note: the judges will not able to provide feedback on submissions.

Assessment Criteria

• Entrants should be in Year 12 (or equivalent) at a UK school or college.
• Students must address a topic that is not directly related to their A level course.
• The judges will look for a clear grasp of issues addressed, clarity in structuring and presentation of the argument, a critical approach to primary and secondary source materials, and originality of thought.

How to Apply

• Essays should be no more than 2,500 words in length and should be on ONE of the given questions below.
• The candidate may answer the question they select from the perspective of any discipline of their choosing (e.g. History, English Literature, Economics, etc.) but they must indicate at the head of their essay which discipline they have chosen.
• Essays should be word processed and submitted to [email protected] . Submissions should be in PDF format and attached as a copy to email. Essays that are submitted as cloud files may not be considered.
• A font size not less than 12pt should be used; page margins should be set to no less than 2.54cm.
• Essays should be accompanied by a bibliography, which does not count towards the word limit.
• Entries must be sent with a completed entry form, which is available to download below.
• Submissions should be accompanied by a signed statement from a teacher that the essay is the student’s original, unaided work and that it does not directly relate to the syllabuses of the A level subjects they are studying.

Essays must be received by 12 midnight on Friday 15 th March 2024.

Prizes will be awarded at Oriel College on the occasion of the Rex Nettleford Lecture during Trinity term 2024.

Questions for the 2024 Competition

Candidates must answer ONE of the following questions. Candidates should feel free to focus their answer in terms of its historical period, geographical centre and cultural range.

• How have ideas about nature shaped the histories and legacies of colonialism?
• What role has education played in the history of colonialism? Discuss in terms of specific educational practices, institutions, or curricula.
• How, if at all, has ancient imperialism influenced modern imperialism?
• Pick an example of popular or vernacular culture (for example, a song, film, sartorial style, novel, poem, dance, dish, meme, etc.) and explain it in relation to the histories of colonialism. How does your chosen example represent, contest, reflect, or otherwise respond to some specific aspect of colonialism?

Discover the 2022 prize winners

Discover the 2022 rex nettleford prize winners, further information, schools liaison and outreach, lloyd davies philosophy prize, about the rex nettleford prizes.

2022 Essay Competition Winner – Anais W

Home › Essay Competition 2024 › Essay Competition Winners › 2022 Essay Competition Winner – Anais W

Table of Contents

Take a look at one of this year’s winning entries to the Immerse Education Essay Competition from the Creative Writing category. Congratulations to all participants and in particular to those who have won 100% scholarships!

Which key attributes make a protagonist likeable?

Protagonists shape the way we interact with stories. They become our immediate association with a series or perspective – Harry Potter memorably recalled by its titular figure – and their memorable attributes accumulate iconic significance over time – such as the emergence of ‘Bah. Humbug!’ as a loveably universal aphorism.

Likeable protagonists form the eyes we see narratives through attracting our empathy and admiration through a mix of relatability, growth, and iconic memorability. These protagonists often embody a liminal dual role of relatable and aspirational quality. Author Amanda Skenandore cites a mix of ‘all-too human flaws and larger-than-life qualities’ [1] to construct a grounded, likeable protagonist. This hybridised concept is manifest quite literally in the mischievous student/talented wizard- ‘Chosen One’ Harry Potter. Sadie Hoagland extends this tenet through her assertation of powerful, ‘revealable’ characters [2]. Authors may also embrace a relatable image of ‘nuanced, human selves’ through initially complex or murky characterisation, leading to cathartic ‘reveals’ or vicarious self-discovery throughout a series; the magical backstory of Jackson and Potter intensifies and symbolises their own, otherwise relatable ‘coming-of-age’ arcs.

Contrasting consistently familiar qualities, to be likeable, protagonists must also be fluid. Protagonists, coined by Barthes as the ‘accomplices’ to discourse [3], mirror the progression of narrative: microcosmically modelling thematic change. Harry Potter’s role as a primarily relatable insert of the audience into the wizarding world expands as stakes grow higher- culminating in his self-realisation after Dumbledore’s death, and eventual legacy/family of his own. Scrooge initially commands little sympathy, yet in fable-like fashion comes to epitomise lofty ideals of Christmas cheer, courting the favour of both moralistic Christian and generally festive readers [4].

Conversely, gradually corrupted, less-reliable characters, consumed by Robert Garner McBrearty’s concepts of ‘strong longings’ [5], attract the adoration of immersed readers. Aristotle notes in Poetics that heroes should be ‘consistently inconsistent’ [6] with flaws, even fatal hamartia, which reads as engaging and, to some degree, justified. In Rebecca, the obsessive, morally grey unnamed narrator commands our loyalty through ambiguating resurged Gothic fantasy and deceptive reality- even as Mrs de Winter grows disconnected from logic and reality, her amplified human desires engender a likeability in her eventual self-determination- ‘I am Mrs de Winter’ [7]. Protagonists, as they evolve and shift, embrace an essentially human fluidity and fragility, captivating audiences to engage with their journey.

Ultimately, likeable protagonists are memorable: they encourage devotion and engagement in the reader. McBrearty notes effective protagonists ‘surprise us!’ [5]; even subtly, they subvert. In conservative Victorian Britain, Scrooge’s arc of humanist redemption embodies revolutionary empowerment and individual autonomy. Harry Potter’s adolescent struggles, recontextualised into fantasy fiction, achieve a memorable rendition of relatable human experience. In Rebecca, the distinctive voice of an ironically unnamed narrator – ‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again’ [8] – constructs a dark, psychological reflection on self-determination [9].

Each protagonist exemplifies an essentially relatable body of social ideas through distinctive, iconic individual voice- resonating with readers, and inspiring likeability. The popularity of Harry Potter, A Christmas Carol and Rebecca is evidenced by countless contemporary engagements in fanfiction, and even reinterpretations in film. Each uniquely likeable protagonist – Harry Potter as an audience stand-in; Scrooge as an allegorical parable of redemption; and Mrs de Winter as an abject reflection of shadowed Romanic urges – exemplifies reliability, fluidity and memorability to impress their engaging narrative message, embodying a character ultimately ‘worthy of readers’ investment’ [10].

Bibliography

Aristotle. “Poetics”. In The Internet Classics Archive. Translated by S. H. Butcher. 350BCE. 2009. [classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.1.1.html last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Barthes, Roland. “The Reality Effect.” In The Rustle of Language. Transcribed by Richard Miller. New York: Hill and Wang, 1986.

Cox, Don Richard. and Gilbert, Elliot L. “Scrooge’s Conversion”. PMLA, 90:5 (1975): 922-924. Du Maurier, Daphne. “Rebecca”. London: Virago Press, 2018.

Hoagland, Sadie. “What makes a good protagonist?”. Interviewed by Jack Smith. The Writer. 15 Nov. [https://writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/what-makes-a-good-protagonist/ last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Linkin, Harriet Kramer. “The Deceptively Strategic Narrator of “Rebecca””. Journal of Narrative Theory, 46:2 (2016): 223-253.

McBrearty, Robert Garner. “What makes a good protagonist?”. Interviewed by Jack Smith. The Writer. 15 Nov. 2021. [https://writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/what-makes-agood-protagonist/ last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Rohan, Ethel. “What makes a good protagonist?”. Interviewed by Jack Smith. The Writer. 15 Nov.[https://writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/what-makes-a-good-protagonist/ last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Skenandore, Amanda. “What makes a good protagonist?”. Interviewed by Jack Smith. The Writer. 15 Nov. 2021. [https://writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/what-makes-a-goodprotagonist/ last accessed: 26th August 2022].

Why Apply To The Immerse Education Essay Competition? 

Are you a highly motivated student aged 13-18? Have you ever wanted to experience studying at Cambridge or Oxford? 

The Immerse Education essay competition allows you the chance to submit an essay for the chance to be awarded a scholarship to the award-winning Cambridge summer school . 

How To Apply To The Immerse Education Essay Competition? 

The Immerse Education annual essay competition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win a scholarship to a Cambridge or Oxford summer school . 

If you’re aged 13-18 and you’re interested in applying to the Immerse Education essay competition then please visit our essay competition page for more details.

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Watch our Explainer Video

How Our Essay Competition Works

Submit your entry.

Research and write your essay and then submit it, along with your references, via our short form below.

Entries close at 9pm UK time on 15th April 2024 !

Awards Ceremony

All shortlisted entrants and their parents and teachers will be invited to attend our Awards Ceremony in May 2024, where the winners will be announced.

Over £100,000 Worth of Academic Prizes

Free Conference place

The first thousand students who are successfully shortlisted will be awarded a free place at one of our OxBright Conferences (worth £95) in the autumn. Alternatively, you can put this credit towards an Online Course or Online Internship .

All shortlisted entrants and their parents and teachers will be invited to attend our online Awards Ceremony in May 2024, where the winners will be announced.

Matilda Winner, History, 2023

I’m both thrilled and flabbergasted at the outcome of the competition.

Winning this competition undoubtedly made me feel much more confident in researching and writing in my field from now on, opening a lot of new doors for me!

Regina Winner, Psychology, 2023

I’m very happy and grateful to win such a meaningful competition. I truly learned a lot.

My advice to anyone considering entering is to try to think deeper and further about your chosen topic.

Alex Winner, Philosophy, 2023

Frequently Asked Questions

Entering the essay competition, how will entering the oxbright essay competition help me in the future, why do you run an essay competition.

OxBright is about giving students the edge to help them to succeed, find their purpose and make a difference in the world.

We think it’s the greatest time to be alive, but we’re aware that young people face challenges their predecessors didn’t. We’re passionate about encouraging students to be optimistic about the future by being active thinkers interested in collaborating to create a better future for the long-term. You can read more about this in our Worldview .

Our essay competition combines these two elements – encouraging students to think actively about the future, and giving them tools to help them to succeed.

Who can enter?

Anyone can enter – the only eligibility criteria is that you must be aged between 15-18. You don’t need to have previously joined an OxBright programme in order to take part.

Kindly be aware that to be eligible to take up any of the free places offered as prizes, such as our online courses/internships, winning students must be between the ages of 15 and 18 at the commencement of the programme.

Can I write more than one essay?

Sorry, we only accept one essay per student in each Essay Competition. This is due to the volume of essays we receive.

Can I enter jointly with a friend?

No, we can only accept entries from individuals, and it’s important to make sure that your work is entirely your own.

Is there a fee to enter the OxBright Essay Competition?

No, the essay competition is completely free to enter.

When is the entry deadline?

The deadline has been extended, and is now the 15th April 2024, at 9pm.

Are you connected to any university?

No, OxBright is an independent education organisation which is not connected to any university.

Where can I see the results of the Essay Competition 2023?

You can see the results of our previous Essay Competition, including the winning essay in full, here .

Writing Your Essay

What are the subject categories i can enter for, how long should my essay be.

There are three parts to the essay:

• Essay title: the title of your essay can be up to 100 characters long, including spaces
• Essay: your essay can have up to 3,800 characters , including spaces (this is about 500 words). This includes everything you write, like the main text and in-text citations. In-text citations are little notes you put in your essay to show where your information came from. For example, if you quote something from a book by John Smith, you would add (Smith, 2010, p. 50) right after the quote. These citations are part of your word count, so make sure to include them
• References: as for references, there’s no word limit – you can include as many as you need! These are important for showing where your information came from. Please use the Harvard Referencing Style for your references (you can find how to do this in the guidelines provided here ). This won’t count towards your essay character limit, so please list all the sources you used

What are the evaluation criteria?

We’ll be assessing essays on the following criteria:

• Fluency of written English
• Relevance to the question
• Creativity and originality of ideas
• Use of evidence or examples
• Relevance to the OxBright Worldview

Should I use references?

Please make sure to include references to your sources, using the Harvard Referencing Style (guidelines here ).

What makes a good essay?

Make sure to read our criteria carefully (you can find it in the FAQ above).

We want essays that are thoroughly researched, packed with examples and solid evidence. What really catches our attention are essays with unique analysis. So, we’re not just interested in essays that simply describe things – we want your thoughts, analysis, and fresh ideas.

Don’t forget, it’s crucial to use and mention trustworthy sources for the evidence you provide.

Do you accept personal or descriptive essays?

We’re looking for clear, concise and compelling answers to the question above, written and formatted in an academic style. Please don’t submit personal essays or creative writing samples.

What Happens Next?

When will i hear the results.

We’ll be in touch within two weeks of your entry to let you know whether or not you’ve been shortlisted (all entrants who meet our core standards of relevance and coherence will be shortlisted).

All shortlisted entrants and their parents and teachers will be invited to our Awards Ceremony in May 2024, when the winners in each subject category will be announced.

How are essays assessed?

You can read about the criteria we use to assess your essay in the FAQ above (“What are the evaluation criteria?”).

Essays are assessed using our proprietary system which combines a mixture of technology and personal assessment. Essays which are deemed to be plagiarised or be written by AI will be rejected and our decision on this is final.

There are two stages to our assessment process:

Shorlisting Our first stage assessment reviews whether the essay is relevant and coherent. If so, your essay will be shortlisted, you will be offered a free place at an OxBright Conference and you will be invited to the Awards Ceremony.

Awards Shortlised essays are then given further assessment by our panel. This includes a review of the References. In the application form, we ask for a the name of a teacher who is familiar with your academic work. If your essay is nominated for an Award, we will ask this teacher to confirm that the essay was genuinely written by you.

What are the prizes?

Please click here for more information about the prizes and awards.

Why is the overall prize a place at Oxford Scholastica in 2025, not 2024?

Will i receive feedback.

Unfortunately, due to the volume of entries received, we are unable to provide feedback on essays.

Does everyone who enters get a free place at a Conference?

The first thousand students to who make a valid submission and are shortlisted will be invited to attend an OxBright Conference of their choice, free of charge (worth £95). Conference subjects include Business, Medicine, Law and Psychology. It is optional to attend a Conference.

Alternatively, you’ll be able to choose to apply the £95 credit toward another programme with us.

Does everyone receive a certificate?

Only students who win one of the awards receive a certificate. Certificates are issued in online format.

Do you publish the names of the award winners?

Yes, award winners will be published on our website after the Awards Ceremony.

How can I pass on some feedback about the essay competition?

Learn more about this year's exciting essay prize

Cottrell essay prize for medicine and veterinary medicine.

As a College, we aim to tackle the pressing issues of the twenty-first century, and we have designed this year’s questions to get to the heart of the most important issues affecting Medicine and Veterinary Medicine during this extraordinary time.

Students in Year 12 (S5 - Scotland, Y13 - N.I.) attending a UK state school  are invited to choose one question from either Medicine and Veterinary and submit an essay of between 1,000-1,500 words by the 6th June 2022 .

We will award one £100 first prize and two £50 second place prizes in both Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Both Medicine and Veterinary Medicine will also have an unlimited number of highly commended prizes available.

Select only one question and answer from either a medical perspective or a veterinary perspective, or a perspective that considers both:

• Assess how successfully the government has mitigated the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the profession and the sector.
• There is a strong ecological case for becoming a vegan. Consider the implications if everyone did.
• ‘Diet plays a far greater role in determining health than we like to admit. Practitioners should be far more honest about this, and far less concerned about causing offence.’ Discuss. If discussing from a veterinary perspective, consider within your answer the recent increase in popularity of raw meat-based diets (RMBDs).
• Should people who refuse vaccination for themselves/their pets be denied treatment for any associated illnesses they develop?
• ‘The fact that we can prolong life does not mean that we always should.’  Discuss.
• Microbial resistance to antibiotics is an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality. How should we reduce our dependence upon antibiotics?

How to Enter

Read our guidance document for full details on the Cottrell Essay Prize 2022

All completed entries must be received no later than 9am on Monday 6th June 2022 . Your entry must be verified by your teacher by 9am on Monday 13th June 2022 . 

Once you are ready to submit your entry, you can do so using the link below. Please ensure you have fully read and understood our guidance document before writing and submitting your essay.

Submit your essay

Support Sessions

This year, we are running a programme of support sessions to provide guidance to students entering the Cottrell Essay Prize. These sessions will offer you the opportunity to develop your essay-writing skills and gain an insight into university-level study. The live sessions have now taken place, but recordings and slides for each session can be found in the dropdown boxes below.

Date: Monday 9th May, 4pm-5pm

In this session, the Lucy Cavendish College Librarian provides advice on how to research and explore available materials in preparation for your essay, and offers an introduction to referencing.

Date: Monday 16th May, 5pm-6pm

In this session, our Outreach Officer will discuss how to think analytically about your chosen essay question and the resources you have engaged with. The session will also provide advice on how to evaluate material and make compelling arguments. 

Date: Monday 23rd May, 5pm-6pm

In this session, our Outreach Officer will discuss how to thread together your research and critical thinking into an engaging essay. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our Outreach & Admissions Team at [email protected].

Exploring your subject

Interested in finding resources to explore Medicine or Veterinary Medicine?

Applying to study in October 2020?