A few medical schools in the UK offer 6 year medical degree courses, during which all medical students take a year out from the medical curriculum to study in a different area – generally a science subject – and to carry out a research project. Successful completion of this year leads to the award of a BSc (at Imperial College and University College, London) or a BA (at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge). At the University of Nottingham, all medical students on the 5 year BM BS course also obtain a BMedSci degree, after their third year, during which they have undertaken a research project, additional training in research methodology and some advanced training in biomedical science.

At most other medical schools in the UK, an optional additional year – called an Intercalated Year – is available to medical students who reach an adequate academic standard and want to study a subject other than medicine in more depth. The structure of these courses varies in different medical schools, but most involve carrying out a research project for a term or for the whole year, under the supervision of a member of the academic staff. Some intercalated courses have more or less taught modules during the year, depending on the medical school. This additional year leads to the award of a BSc or BMedSci degree (an Intercalated Bachelors Degree), in addition to the MB degree.

Read about the experiences of Dr Caroline Beardsmore, who chairs the Intercalated Degree Committee at the University of Leicester and Mandeep Kang, a recent student.