MBBS curriculum review

Overview

In 2024, UCL Medical School undertook a comprehensive review of its MBBS curriculum to ensure it remains coherent, clinically relevant, and aligned with national regulatory requirements and UCL’s educational vision. 

External drivers included the introduction of the Medical Licensing Assessment, the GMC’s updates to ‘Outcomes for Graduates’, and the national focus on primary care following the publication of the Wass report.  

The review was informed by extensive engagement with students, academic and clinical staff, professional services colleagues, patients, and alumni.

The revised curriculum has been formally approved by UCL through its Programme Excellence Project.

This is our new curriculum model:

Guiding principles

1. Reducing complexity

• Curriculum structures have been simplified to improve coherence, reduce fragmentation, and support deeper learning.

2. Enhancing integration of community medicine and primary care within the course

• Primary care and community medicine are embedded throughout the programme, reflecting their central role in modern medical practice.

3. Ensuring clinical relevance appropriate to stage of training

• Teaching and assessment are aligned more clearly with students’ level of training, with increasing clinical responsibility over time. There is clear mapping of learning to the Medical Licensing Assessment

4. Streamlining content

• Intended Learning Outcomes have been clarified to ensure relevance, appropriateness, and alignment with the MLA Content Map and Outcomes for Graduates.