Chester Medicine Interview (MMI): Format, Entry and Status
Who can apply to Chester's graduate-entry medicine course, what its MMI is like, and where the course stands for 2027.
Chester's graduate-entry medicine course is closed to applicants for September 2027 entry, and its pages do not yet describe a 2028 intake. Its interview is six MMI stations over about one and a half hours, with two trained assessors scoring each station. Everyone who meets the academic criteria and the UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT threshold is invited.
Key facts (2027 entry)
- Status
- Closed to Home and International applicants for September 2027 entry. The official pages did not describe a September 2028 intake when we checked on 23 October 2026.
- Format
- Six Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs), about one and a half hours in total
- Assessors
- Two trained assessors score each station. They include medical professionals, academics, current students and lay people.
- Online or in person
- Not stated. The international applicant page says further details come once you are shortlisted.
- Who is interviewed
- All applicants who meet the academic criteria and the entry test standard (UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT)
- Entry basics
- A 2:1 degree in any subject (a 2:2 needs a Master's or doctorate), a UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT score that meets an unpublished threshold, 70 hours of relevant work experience and one reference
- Degree awarding status
- Still going through GMC approval. Warwick Medical School is the contingency partner, and under current arrangements the first graduating cohort is expected to receive a Warwick Medical School degree.
Is Chester open for 2027 or 2028 entry?
No for 2027. The course page says: "We are now closed for Home and International applications for September 2027 entry."
- 2028 intake. The page still lists a September 2027 start and gives no date for a 2028 intake.
- Work experience window. For the 2027 entry cycle, Chester counted work experience done between 15 October 2023 and 15 October 2026.
- Interview dates. Chester does not publish them.
Check the course page before you plan. The facts on this page describe the 2027 entry cycle, and they may change if a new intake opens.
What happens at the MMI
No place is offered without an interview.
- 6 stations. The interview is six Multiple Mini Interviews and takes about one and a half hours.
- Built on Good Medical Practice. The stations change every year, but all of them are designed to assess you against the GMC's guidance, Good Medical Practice.
- Two assessors per station. Two trained assessors observe and score you at each station.
- Who they are. Assessors come from many backgrounds, including medical professionals, academics, current students and lay people with an interest in medical education.
- Not published. Chester does not publish how long each station lasts or whether interviews are online or in person.
How offers are decided
After the MMIs, Chester reviews each candidate's score profile to decide who gets an offer.
- Weighting. Chester does not publish how the stations are weighted.
- No feedback. It does not give individual feedback on selection.
- Declarations. If you get an offer, you must declare any past or current health, welfare or conduct issues that could affect your fitness to study medicine and work as a doctor.
- Checks. You also need an Enhanced DBS check, which you pay for, and occupational health clearance, which starts with an online health questionnaire.
Who can apply and who is interviewed
Chester's MBChB is a four-year, graduate-entry course. You need a previous degree, but it can be in any subject, including arts, humanities or languages.
If you do not have a degree, you cannot apply.
What you need
- Degree. At least an upper second class (2:1) in any subject. With a lower second (2:2), you need a Master's or doctoral degree. If you are in your final year, any offer depends on getting a 2:1.
- Entry test. A score that meets the minimum threshold in the UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT. Chester says the threshold changes every year and is set above the national mean, but the current numbers are not published.
- Work experience. At least 70 hours relevant to medicine from the three years before you apply. An online course counts for no more than 10 hours.
- Shadowing and proof. The international page says shadowing counts for no more than 20 hours. You may need references to prove your hours if you are invited to a selection centre.
- Reference. One reference from someone who is not a relative or friend and who holds or has held a position of responsibility. If you were in higher education in the last two years, it should be an academic reference.
International applicants
- English. IELTS 7.0 (or equivalent) with no more than two component scores at 6.0 or 6.5.
- Past medical study. Chester does not consider applicants who left medical or dental school because of academic failure.
Meet the criteria and you are interviewed. Chester says everyone who meets the academic criteria and the entry test standard will be asked to attend an interview.
GMC approval and the Warwick arrangement
Chester Medical School is new, so the General Medical Council (GMC) is still reviewing it.
Where approval stands
The course page says: "Chester Medical School is progressing through the stages of the GMC approval process and have agreed the 2024 commencement date with the GMC."
The GMC lists "The University of Chester (Chester Medical School)" among institutions being reviewed to award UK medical degrees.
Warwick's role
The course page says: "The University of Chester's contingency partner is Warwick Medical School." It adds that this "collaborative arrangement ensures continuity of study for students if exceptional circumstances were ever to occur."
Chester's Graduate Entry Medicine page goes further: "Under the current arrangements, the first graduating cohort is expected to receive a Warwick Medical School degree. Arrangements for subsequent cohorts will be confirmed as the School continues through the approval process."
- You stay in Chester. Teaching, exams and placements stay in Chester and the surrounding region, so you do not travel to Warwick.
Hoping to work in the US? Chester says its students cannot take the USMLE until it has full GMC approval to award a primary medical qualification, which it expects in the program's final year in 2028. Sponsorship for the World Directory for the US and Canada will follow that approval.
How to prepare
- Read Good Medical Practice. Every station is built around it. Be ready to link your examples to its principles, such as acting with honesty and integrity, working in partnership with patients and treating colleagues with respect.
- Know the region. Chester says it will be a medical school for and in the community, and its placements are in GP practices, community services and hospitals across Cheshire, Shropshire and North Wales. Think about what care closer to home means for patients in that region, and why a doctor might choose to train and stay local.
- Use your degree and work history. Pick two or three real moments, such as a mistake you owned, a team you helped or a person you cared for. Practice telling each one in about two minutes.
Speak to both assessors. Two assessors watch each station, so talk to both of them. Reset after a weak station because the next one is a fresh start.
Practice questions
Questions in the style of a MMI station, written for applicants to University of Chester (Chester Medical School). They are practice questions, not the school's own. Open one for what a strong answer does.
The NHS talks a lot about integrated care and treating more patients in the community rather than in hospital. What do you understand by integrated care, and why is it a priority?
Explain the idea in plain words, then give one concrete example of a patient who would benefit and one risk to watch for.
What does probity mean to you, and why does the GMC's Good Medical Practice ask doctors to act with honesty and integrity? Why does this matter for a medical student too?
Define probity simply, give a realistic student example such as signing an attendance sheet, and say what you would do.
Medicine is a team effort. Tell me about a time during your work experience when you saw nurses, doctors and other staff working well together. What made the team work?
Describe one specific moment, name what each person did, and draw out a lesson you would bring to your own practice.
You are a ward clerk. An elderly patient is medically fit for discharge, but her daughter says she will not take her mother home because the hospital is the only safe place for her. Speak to the daughter.
Listen first, acknowledge her worry, avoid promising what you cannot deliver, and agree on who from the team will talk with her next.
Tell me about a routine part of a doctor's day that you observed on work experience, such as paperwork or a handover, and why it matters for patients.
Show you noticed the unglamorous work and can explain clearly how it keeps patients safe.
Doctors have a professional duty of candor, to be open and honest with patients when something goes wrong in their care. Why do you think doctors sometimes find this difficult in practice?
Name real pressures like fear of blame, then explain why honesty still comes first and what support helps doctors do it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chester Medical School open for 2027 entry?
No. Chester's course page says it is closed for Home and International applications for September 2027 entry. When we checked on 23 October 2026, its official pages did not describe a September 2028 intake.
How many stations are in the Chester MMI?
Six. The MMI lasts about one and a half hours, and two trained assessors score you at each station.
What UCAT score do I need for Chester Medicine?
Chester accepts the UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT and asks for a score that meets a minimum threshold. It says the threshold changes every year and is set above the national mean, but it does not publish the current number.
Is Chester Medical School GMC approved?
Not fully yet. Chester says it is "progressing through the stages of the GMC approval process," and the GMC lists it among institutions being reviewed to award UK medical degrees. Warwick Medical School is its contingency partner.
Can I apply to Chester Medicine without a degree?
No. The MBChB is graduate entry only. You need at least a 2:1 in any subject, or a 2:2 plus a Master's or doctoral degree.
Sources
Official pages only, read on the date shown. Schools change their process every year, so check the school's own page before you apply.
- University of Chester: Graduate Entry Medicine MBChB (A101) · read October 23, 2026
- University of Chester: Graduate Entry Medicine · read October 23, 2026
- University of Chester: Applying for Graduate Entry Medicine (international) · read October 23, 2026
- University of Chester: Chester Medical School · read October 23, 2026
- General Medical Council: Good medical practice · read October 23, 2026
- General Medical Council: New schools and programmes under review · read October 23, 2026