Guide to UK Medical School Fees for Students in Singapore (SMC-Recognised)

If you're a student in Singapore considering pursuing medicine in the UK, one of the most important questions you'll likely have is: How much does medical school cost in the UK for Singapore students?

The fees for studying medicine in the UK can vary significantly depending on the university, course duration, and whether you're an international student. In this blog, we'll explore the UK medical school fees of institutions recognised by the Singapore Medical Council, providing an overview of what to expect in terms of tuition, as well as additional costs that may come with studying abroad. We’ll also share information on scholarships and financial aid to help make your medical education more affordable.

An Overview of UK Medical School Fees for Singapore Students

Like many institutions all around the globe, the cost of attendance as an international student is higher than that for home students. In reality, you’ll have to account for at least two costs: your actual tuition fees and living expenses.

Often, these can differ on a case-by-case basis. However, you might notice that the fees for medical schools at different UK universities can vary substantially. For instance, Nottingham Medical School's fees are around £30,200, while Oxford charges about £46,600 for its pre-clinical programme. This difference in cost is influenced by several factors, such as

• University ranking: Universities that are ranked highly in reputable assessments, like those by QS, may set higher fees. Part of the cost reflects the quality and reputation associated with attending a top-ranked institution.
• The length of the program: While most medical degrees in the UK last five years, some schools, like the University of Edinburgh’s Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB), offer 6-year programs. The extra length, in this case, includes a Foundation year for those who do not have the necessary qualifications for direct entry, but the extra year will naturally increase the cost you pay.
• The degree pathway: As highlighted above, a typical undergraduate medical degree will take you about five years. However, if you’re opting to undertake a graduate-entry program, its accelerated curriculum takes four years to complete, and this variation in duration will have an impact on the fees you pay. Currently, 17 schools in the UK offer graduate-entry medicine programs.

Singapore Medical Council-Approved UK Medical Schools and Tuition Fees (SGD)

If you’re considering medical schools in the UK, but want to practise in Singapore, it is compulsory to hold a degree that is recognised by the Singapore Medical Council. With new additions for 2025, let’s delve into the tuition fees of the 23 medical schools in the UK that have earned a spot on the list!

Cardiff University (and the University of Wales), School of Medicine 

• Tuition Fees: £45,450 (~ SGD 77,650 per year for years 1 and 2). The future rate for clinical years 3, 4, and 5 have yet to be confirmed.

• Program Length: 5 years

• Unique Features: You’ll have access to clinics and hospitals across Wales, affording you a breadth of clinical experience from small, rural GP practices and cottage hospitals to fast-paced city A&E departments and complex surgical specialties.

• Further information can be found on the official course page.

Imperial College London, School of Medicine 

• Tuition Fees: £55,800 (~ SGD 95,333) per year

• Program Length: 6 years

• Unique Features: As an integrated course, students will graduate with both an MBBS and BSc qualification.

• Further information can be found on the official course page.

The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Medical School

• Tuition Fees: £51,961 (~ SGD 88,774) per year
• Program Length: Fully integrated 6 year program, divided into 3 years of pre-clinical study and 3 years of clinical study. 
• Unique Features: This degree is intercalated, meaning you’ll graduate with a Bachelor of Medical Sciences (Honours) and a MBChB.
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

The University of Manchester, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

• Tuition Fees: £38,000 (~ SGD 64,922) for years 1 and 2 of study. The rate for the clinical phase (years 3, 4, and 5) will be announced at the relevant time, though its estimated to be about £58,000 (~ SGD 99,013) based on previous rates.
• Program Length: 5 years
• Unique Features: The university offers a Personalised Excellence Path (PEP), which allows you to specialise in what you’re interested in, whether that’s in the field of medicine or adjacent to it. 
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

The University of Sheffield, The Medical School 

• Tuition Fees: £45,310 (~ SGD 77,411) per year

• Program Length: 5 years

• Unique Features: The university offers a Patients as Educators (PaE) program, which enables patients to be actively involved in research and teaching, and allows its students to be immersed in real care settings. 

• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Birmingham, School of Medicine 

• Tuition Fees: £31,390 (~ SGD 53,630) for pre-clinical years 1 and 2 and £50,360 (~SGD 86,040) for clinical years 3, 4 and 5
• Program Length: 5 years 
• Unique features: Home to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, a variety of specialist hospitals, and care centres, offering you access to diverse communities with varied health needs. 
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Bristol, Bristol Medical School

• Tuition Fees: £44,500 (~ SGD 76,027) per year 
• Program Length: 5 years 
• Unique features: Early clinical exposure to hospital, community and primary care settings, and a final year designed specifically to prepare you for your first job as a foundation doctor.
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Cambridge, School of Clinical Medicine 

• Tuition Fees: £70,554 (~ SGD 120,540), and an additional £12,000-£14,000 (~SGD 20,502-23,919) per year in college fees. 
• Program Length: 6 years, divided into 3 years for a course in medical sciences, followed by 3 years as a clinical student on placement. 
• Unique Features: During your first 3 years studying medical sciences, you’ll get to conduct a full-body dissection, which very few medical schools offer. The last 3 years of your tenure, you’ll be on the ground, learning directly from patients in GP surgeries and hospitals. 
• Further information, including a cost breakdown accounting for equipment and preparation, can be found on the official course page.

University of Dundee, School of Medicine 

• Tuition Fees: £53,370 (~ SGD 91,181) per year
• Program Length: 5 years
• Unique Features: A majority of teaching will take place in the Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, which means you’ll learn directly from the experience of working in a National Health Services (NHS) hospital. 
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Glasgow, School of Medicine

• Tuition Fees: £58,890 (~ SGD 100,612) per year
• Program Length: 5 years
• Unique Features: The program has links to schools abroad, which means that students will get to experience the practice of medicine in other cultures. 
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Leicester, School of Medicine

• Tuition Fees: £29,000 (~ SGD 49,546) per year, for pre-clinical years 1 and 2 and £47,000 (~ SGD 80,298) per year, for clinical years 3, 4, and 5
• Program Length: 5 years
• Unique Features: Offers a patient-focused curriculum, allowing you to earn your Health Care Certificate in your very first year so you can already start gaining experience as a Healthcare Assistant. 
• Further information, including the cost of equipment, can be found on the official course page.

University of Liverpool, School of Medicine

• Tuition Fees: £47,600 (~ SGD 81,323) per year
• Program Length: 5 years
• Unique Features: Across years 2 to 5, you’ll be rotated on placements throughout North West hospital sites, which will help you manage transitions and work across different clinical environments. 
• Further information, including additional study costs, can be found on the official course page.

University of London Medical Schools:

1. King’s College London, GKT School of Medical Education 

• Tuition Fees: £53,000 (~ SGD 90,549) per year
• Program Length: 5 years
• Unique Features: The partner hospitals for King’s include Guy’s, King’s College and St Thomas’ Hospitals, which are three of the most renowned and busiest teaching hospitals in London. 
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

2. Queen Mary University of London, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry

• Tuition Fees: € 35,000 (~ SGD 49,543) per year
• Program Length: 5 years
• Unique Features: The degree will be conducted in Malta, giving you the opportunity to be taught by both English academic staff and local clinicians from the region. 
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

3. St. George’s University of London, St. George's Hospital Medical School

• Tuition Fees: £44,700 (~ SGD 76,369) per year
• Program Length: 5 years
• Unique Features: St George’s is the only UK university to share their campus with a major teaching hospital, providing its students the opportunity to study and work alongside the full range of clinical professionals.
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University College London, UCL Medical School

• Tuition Fees: £53,400 (~ SGD 91,232) per year
• Program Length: 6 years
• Unique Features: If you’re interested in undertaking an academic career, you may apply for the MBPhD programme which is taken between years 4 and 5 of the MBBS programme.
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Nottingham, School of Medicine

• Tuition Fees: The 2025 fees for international students are yet to be announced. However, the fee for 2024/2025 was £30,200 (~ SGD 51,596), and could serve as an estimate for you!

• Program Length: 5 years

• Unique Features: The medical school is based at the Queen's Medical Centre, which is right across the main campus, allowing for a blend of student and professional life. 

• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Oxford, Medical Sciences Division

• Tuition Fees: £46,600 (~ SGD 79,615) for pre-clinical years 1, 2, and 3. The future rate for clinical years 4,5, and 6 have yet to be confirmed, but are estimated to be about £61,560 (~ SGD 105,090) per year.

• Program Length: 6 years

• Unique Features: Oxford’s course tends to emphasise the scientific principles which underpin the study of medicine, and therefore provides its students with strong foundations to be able to perform their own independent research projects further down the line. 

• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Southampton, Faculty of Medicine

• Tuition Fees: £30,300 (~ SGD 51,767) for pre-clinical years and £59,400 (~ SGD 101,483) for clinical years

• Program Length: 5 years

• Unique Features: You can take your year 5 elective anywhere in the UK, or abroad, which will allow you to gain a broader context for the practice of medicine. 

• Further information can be found on the official course page.

The Queen’s University of Belfast, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences (from 2025)

• Tuition Fees: £38,400 (~ SGD 65,554) per year, with an additional mandatory clinical placement levy of £11,500 (~ SGD 19,632). Financial support for the latter is available via the university.

• Program Length: 5 years

• Unique Features: This school also offers a ‘Patients as Partners’ program, which allows the students to have special access and a greater familiarity with the needs of the local community. 

• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Aberdeen School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition (From 2025)

• Tuition Fees: £50,100 (~ SGD 85,527) per year

• Program Length: 5 years

• Unique Features: You’ll have the opportunity to start working on your path to specialisation from the very first Student Selected Component project in your first year. This school was also ranked as the best place in the UK to study medicine by the Guardian!

• Further information can be found in the official course guide.

University of Leeds, School of Medicine (from 2025)

• Tuition Fees: £47,000 (~ SGD 80,235) per year

• Program Length: 5 years

• Unique Features: The programme allows students the opportunity to study abroad, even offering adjacent language courses if you’re interested in seeking placements, or employment abroad after graduation. 

• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Faculty of Medical Sciences (from 2025) 

• Tuition Fees: £44,500 (~ SGD 75,967) per year

• Program Length: 5 years

• Unique Features: With its partnerships to the Northern Region NHS, Newcastle offers its students access to one of the largest integrated teaching and hospital complexes in the country. 

• Further information can be found on the official course page.

University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School (from 2025)

• Tuition Fees: £30,670 (~ SGD 52,511) for year 1, and £53,460 (~ SGD 91,263) for years 2, 3, and 4.
• Program Length: 4 years
• Unique Features: This is a graduate-entry program that accepts students from both the arts and sciences, giving you the opportunity to work with classmates who bring diverse sets of skills and knowledge to the table.
• Further information can be found on the official course page.

Living Expenses in the UK

Alongside the cost of your tuition, you’ll also have to account for your living expenses in the UK. Broadly, this includes things like paying for transport, accommodation, food, and personal expenses. Of course, this will vary depending on your lifestyle and the city you’re in – you can expect that living in central London and frequenting restaurants, for example, will be more costly than living in Manchester and cooking your own meals!

The great thing about living in the UK as a student, however, is that student discounts are abundant! Making use of these can do wonders in helping you keep your costs down. Most public establishments, such as cafes or movie theatres, will allow you to simply flash your student ID for a discounted price. Alternatively, apps like UNiDAYS provide helpful, curated information on student discounts for everything from tech equipment you might need for class to checkout codes for delivery food – a real lifesaver during particularly busy seasons.

We’ve put together some yearly averages for the cost of living as an international student in some of the listed cities in the UK. While thinking about costs can feel quite overwhelming, it’s best to have this knowledge at your fingertips so you can budget appropriately and enjoy your experience as a student!

In London, Imperial College estimates that its students will spend about  £21,171 (~ SGD 36,142) on living expenses in a year, including private sector accommodation, food, travel in  and around central London, and personal expenses.

Oxford University estimates that its international students will spend between £16,140 (~SGD 27,553) to £23,460 (~ SGD 40,049) on their cost of living in a year, also taking into account its college accommodations, food, personal costs, and study costs such as the purchase of textbooks. As Oxford is well known as a walkable city, it’s unlikely that you’ll have to spend too much on transport within the bounds of the city itself. However, if you’re planning to take weekend trips around the UK, train tickets can get quite pricey, so make sure to grab them in advance!

Up in Manchester, the university estimates that its first-year undergraduates will spend about £12,435 (~ SGD 21,228) in a 41-week year as of 2024, covering everything from accommodation and transport to takeaways.

Outside of England, the University of Edinburgh estimates that its students will spend between £11,040 (~ SGD 18,847) to £27,084 (~ SGD 46,236) in a year, though this number depends heavily on the kind of accommodation you opt for. However, they do note that if you are applying for a student visa, you’ll need to provide evidence to show that you have enough money to cover the required minimum monthly cost of living, which stands at £1,023 for each month you will be studying in the UK.

On the other hand, Cardiff, which has been named one of the most affordable university cities in the UK, estimates that its international undergraduates will spend about £10,809.65 (~ SGD 18,454) in a 39-week year in 2024 if they were to opt for university accommodation.

What is the Average Total Cost of Studying Medicine in the UK?

Now that we’ve got all of the information you’ll need when it comes to calculating the cost of studying medicine in the UK, here are some of the average totals you’ll likely be looking at over the course of your degree.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Across organisations, there is a common understanding that medicine is one of the more costly degrees to pursue. As a result, many scholarships are available to fund the next generation of doctors, offered by government organisations, private institutions, and the universities themselves.

Grants and Financial Aid from Singapore

MOH Pre-Employment Grant: A merit-based scheme which functions to encourage Singaporean medical students studying abroad to return and practise locally. You can apply for this grant if you’re studying at one of the schools recognised by the SMC, midway through your course. The grant covers up to 60% of the remaining years of tuition fees, capped at $50,000 per year, up to a maximum sum of $150,000.

The Lee Foundation Overseas Medical Bursary Educational Fund: Administered by MOHH on behalf of the Lee Foundation, the bursary is a merit-based, bond-free financial aid scheme that supports Singaporeans studying medicine abroad at a school recognised by the SMC. Recipients would receive S$30,000 in the year of award, if successful. However, do make sure to note the eligibility criteria pertaining to household income and year of study!

Scholarships

Though medical faculties across the UK do offer their own specific scholarships, these tend to be aimed at postgraduate students who are performing their own research, or specialising in a specific area. These include prestigious scholarships such as the Rhodes Scholarship offered by Oxford University, or the Chevening Scholarship offered by the UK government.

Now that you have a better understanding of the UK medical school fees and what to expect in terms of costs, are you excited to begin your journey toward studying medicine? With the competition for medical school spots being fierce, it's crucial to have the right strategy in place. Crimson Education can help guide you through every step of the process, from UCAT preparation and medical interview coaching to building a standout profile with extracurriculars and leadership opportunities. Reach out to us today for a free consultation, and let's discuss how we can help enhance your chances of securing a spot at a top UK medical school.

*Please note that the costs mentioned throughout this blog are based on the current exchange rate at the time of writing, and both the costs and exchange rate may change over time. For the most up-to-date information, please check the official websites.

Key Resources & Further Reading

• Join Our Free Webinars on UK University Applications
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• How To Become a Doctor: Us vs UK