Gateway Year to Medicine

Medicine is one of the most demanding and rewarding careers available, and access to it has historically been uneven, with students from certain educational and socioeconomic backgrounds less likely to make it through the conventional entry routes despite having the ability and commitment that medical training requires. The Gateway Year to Medicine at Leeds is designed to address this directly. It is an extended programme that begins with a preparatory year and then leads into the full MBChB medical degree, creating a pathway to medicine for students from widening participation backgrounds who have the potential to become excellent doctors.

The gateway year provides intensive preparation in the sciences and the academic skills that medical study demands, ensuring that students are fully ready for the rigour of the main programme before it begins. From the second year onwards you will follow a fully integrated medical curriculum that combines biomedical science with clinical medicine, developing your understanding of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, and the full range of clinical disciplines while building your communication, diagnostic, and professional skills through increasing clinical exposure. Clinical placements in hospitals and primary care settings in and around Leeds give you experience of healthcare delivery from an early stage, and the full six-year programme leads to the degree that allows you to register as a doctor with the General Medical Council.

Medicine opens a lifetime of learning and a career that can take many forms, from general practice and hospital specialty medicine to academic research, global health, and medical leadership. Leeds graduates are well prepared for the foundation programme and beyond, and the university's commitment to widening access means that students who complete this route bring a diversity of experience and perspective that strengthens the profession as a whole.