UCAT
University Clinical Aptitude Test
The UCAT is required for relevant medicine and dentistry courses at the 50 UK universities and medical schools on the UCAT Consortium list for 2027 entry; some applicant groups have alternative requirements. A few partner universities abroad also use it, such as NUS and NTU in Singapore and Thammasat in Thailand, while Australian and New Zealand consortium universities accept only the separate UCAT ANZ. It is computer-based and taken at Pearson VUE test centres in the UK and 130+ countries, with online proctoring only for approved candidates. Four sections test verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning, and situational judgement (Abstract Reasoning was removed from 2025). For UK entry, results are valid only for the next UCAS admissions cycle (entry the year after the test, or deferred entry a year later); partner universities abroad set their own rules.
Frequency
Once a year, July to September (2026 window: 13 July – 24 September); one sitting per test cycle
Duration
Just under 2 hours (standard test)
Format
Computer-based
Score range
900–2700 (three cognitive subtests, each 300–900), plus a Situational Judgement band (1–4, band 1 highest)
Eligibility
Applicants to relevant medicine and dentistry courses at UK UCAT Consortium universities and its partner universities abroad. Australian and New Zealand consortium universities accept only the separate UCAT ANZ (same content), and you may not sit both tests in the same year — if you are applying to both regions, sit the UCAT ANZ, whose results UK and partner universities also accept. People affiliated with a UCAT coaching business may not sit it.
Conducting body
UCAT Consortium
Registration fee
£70 for tests taken in the UK / £115 outside the UK (2026 test cycle; set by test location, not nationality); the UCAT Bursary waives the fee for eligible UK candidates
Source: UCAT Consortium. Details here are for guidance only — fees, dates and eligibility change each cycle, so confirm on the official site before applying.
Verified against: UCAT Consortium — Test Format & Scoring; UCAT Consortium — FAQs (fees); UCAT — results; UCAT Consortium — UCAT 2026 test dates; UCAT Consortium — eligibility (UCAT vs UCAT ANZ; test centres in 130+ countries); UCAT Consortium — UCAT universities (UK and partner list); UCAT Consortium — UCAT essentials (computer-based, Pearson test centres); UCAT Consortium — OnVUE online proctored testing; UCAT Consortium — UCAT 2025 (Abstract Reasoning withdrawn); UCAT ANZ Consortium — universities.
Last verified: 29 September 2026.
Universities that accept UCAT
Acceptance can differ by level and programme — confirm on the programme’s own page.
Nanyang Technological University
National University of Singapore
University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
Imperial College London
University College London
University of Edinburgh
University of Manchester
King's College London
University of Warwick
University of St Andrews
University of Bristol
University of Glasgow
University of Leeds
University of Birmingham
The University of Sheffield
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