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Medicine

MB, BCh, BAO
School of Medicine

Entry requirements

Applicants will be selected for admission to the five or six-year entry point of the medicine programme on the basis of open competition using the following criteria:

  • Basic eligibility, i.e. achievement of minimum academic and English language entry requirements.
  • References and life experience, i.e. work / life balance, extracurricular activities, relevant work or voluntary experience, etc.
  • Performance at a structured interview.

During the application process candidates will be asked to indicate if they agree to participate in an online non-academic attributes assessment. If a candidate agrees they may be invited to participate in a pilot evaluation of this assessment tool. Whether a candidate agrees to participate or not will not impact a candidates application. A candidates result in the non-academic attributes assessment will not impact their application as the assessment is not formally part of the admissions process for the medical programme this current year.

The following requirements are the minimum standards for consideration for entry into the undergraduate medicine programme for academic year 2021/2022. Please note that attainment of these grades does not guarantee acceptance to the programme and admission to any stage will be determined by the RCSI Bahrain Admissions Committee.

Applicants who have a minimum of 12 years of school education and complete one of the following Foundation Programmes may be considered for the 5 or 6 Year  Programme.

Abbey College (Cambridge and Manchester) International Foundation Programme – Biomedicine and Science Pathway

5 year Programme

Minimum overall average score of 80%, to include 75% in Chemistry and no other individual module score less than 70%.

6 Year Programme

Minimum overall average score of 70%, to include 70% in Chemistry and no other individual module score less than 60%.

Bath Academy Foundation Programme

5 Year Programme

Minimum overall score of 75%, with no less than 75% in any major module.

6 Year Programme

Minimum overall score of 65%, with no less than 65% in any major module.

Bellerby’s College Foundation Programme

5 Year Programme

Minimum overall average score of 80% across all modules, to include minimum 75% in Chemistry and no other individual module score less than 70%.

6 Year Programme

Overall average score of 70% across the academic modules including a minimum score of 75% in Chemistry and no less than 60% in any individual module.

David Game College: University Foundation Programme (UFP) – Medicine Pathway

5 Year Programme

Applicants must complete three major modules, with a minimum grade of A in Chemistry, minimum grade of B in Biology and a minimum grade of B in the optional major module.

6 Year Programme

Applicants must complete three major modules with a minimum grade of B in each module.

DLD College London International Foundation Programme – Medicine Pathway

5 Year Programme

Minimum overall average score of 80%, to include 75% in Chemistry and no other individual module score less than 70%.

6 Year Programme

Minimum overall average score of 70%, to include 70% in Chemistry and no other individual module score less than 60%.

INTO UEA International Foundation in Pharmacy, Health and Life Sciences

6 Year Programme

Minimum overall average score of 70% across all modules, with no individual module score less than 65%. 

King’s College London International Foundation

5 Year Programme

Minimum score of 75%, with no less than 70% in each individual module

6 Year Programme

Minimum overall score of 70%, with no less than 65% in each individual module.

Kings Education Medical Foundation Programme

5 Year Programme

Minimum overall score of 75%, to include 70% in Chemistry and no other individual module score less than 65%.

6 Year Programme

Minimum overall score of 65%, with no individual module score less than 60%.

NCUK International Foundation Year*

6 Year Programme

Minimum grades AAAB in English for Academic Purposes, Maths for Science, Biology and Chemistry

* In Ireland, the NCUK International Foundation Year is offered at DIFC, Further information on NCUK, including centres where the International Foundation Year is offered, is available here. 

UCLAN On Campus Medicine University Foundation Programme

5 Year Programme

Minimum overall average score of 70% across three modules, with no individual module score less than 65%.

6 Year Programme

Minimum overall average score of 65% across the three modules, with no individual module score less than 60%.

UCLAN On Campus Life Sciences University Programme

6 Year Programme

Minimum overall average score of 70% across the three modules, with no individual module score less than 65%. 

University of St Andrew’s International Foundation Programme for Medicine

5 Year Programme

Overall average score of 14 across all modules with no individual module score lower than 13 including Inorganic and Physical Chemistry and Organic and Biological Chemistry 1.

6 Year Programme

Overall average score of 14 across all modules with no individual module score lower than 13 including Inorganic and Physical Chemistry and Organic & Biological Chemistry 1 plus achievement of an overall equivalent IELTS score of 6.0 with no band score less than 5.0.

Australian Foundation Programmes

The following foundation programmes are eligible for consideration for entry to the School of Medicine:

Monash University Program
Trinity College Foundation Program at the University of Melbourne
University of Queensland Foundation Program
University of New South Wales Foundation Program

5 Year Programme

Applicants who have completed one of the above programmes presenting English, Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics or Biology, and with a minimum overall score of 90%, will be eligible for consideration for entry to the 5 Year programme. Applicants must present a minimum score of 80% in Chemistry and no other individual module score should be less than 75%.

6 Year Programme

Students who have completed one of the above programmes presenting English, Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics or Biology and with a minimum overall score of 80% will be eligible for consideration for entry to the six-year Undergraduate Medicine programme. No individual module score should be less than 70%.

Other foundation programmes not listed above may be considered for entry into the 6 year programme. Enquiries should be emailed to the Admissions Office.

Applicants whose first language is not English, or those who have not been educated entirely in a native English speaking country, must satisfy an English language proficiency requirement.

Acceptance of IELTS indicator in lieu of IELTS during the current COVID-19 travel restrictions

RCSI Bahrain will accept the score of the IELTS Indicator; an English language test for candidates who reside in countries where they currently cannot attend a test centre in person to complete the IELTS test due to travel restrictions.

It will assess a student’s English language skills in Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking in a timed, online test. IELTS academic which is the form of IELTS we currently require is available in IELTS indicator tests.

This measure is a temporary modification to our entry requirements which acknowledges the difficulties some applicants will have obtaining their English language proficiency scores. It is recommended the university reserves the right to request any registered student who presents IELTS indicator to later submit a formal IELTS score during the course of their first year in their respective programme.

Five-year entry

IELTS Academic - A minimum score of 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in any band) or TOEFL equivalent. Please note: English language qualifications are only valid for two years from the date of the test.

Six-year entry

IELTS Academic - A minimum score of 6.0 overall (minimum 5.0 in any band) or TOEFL equivalent. Please note: English language qualifications are only valid for two years from the date of the test.

Applicants in Bahrain who require an IELTS Academic certificate, are advised to book an appointment at their earliest convenience by contacting the British Council through +973 1726 1555/1726 6166 or bc.enquiries@britishcouncil.org.bh.

Applicants who have been educated entirely through an English language curriculum in a native English-speaking country, or those who have achieved the following grades, will meet the English language requirement for entry into the undergraduate medicine programme.


IB Diploma

Minimum score of 5 in Standard Level English.

(I)GCSE/GCE

Minimum score of Grade C or 4 in English.

Irish Leaving Certificate

Minimum score of Grade 06 in Ordinary Level English.

Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education

Minimum of Level 5 in English.

5 Year Programme

Applicants who have completed a full Bachelor's Degree in a science or health professions field with a competitive GPA will be considered for admission. Candidates who present a Bachelor’s Degree in another discipline with post bachelor courses in science and test scores for MCAT or GAMSAT will be considered on a case by case basis.

Please note:

The completed Bachelor’s Degree should be from a university programme which has entry requirements that are equivalent to an A level or International Baccalaureate qualification according to UK ENIC equivalency guidelines.

All applicants presenting a Bachelor’s Degree must also have completed at least 12 years of schooling by the end of secondary school education.