 | |
| Acronym | UCAT |
|---|---|
| Type | Multiple choice |
| Administrator | Pearson |
| Year started | 2006 |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Score range | 900–2700 and Bands 1–4 |
| Score validity | For admission to Consortium universities in the year following the test |
| Offered | Early July–late September for UCAT UK and early July–early August for UCAT ANZ |
| Restrictions on attempts | Once per cycle |
| Languages | English |
| Annual number of test takers |
|
| Website | www |
TheUniversity Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an admissions test used by most medical and dental schools in theUnited Kingdom,Singapore,Australia andNew Zealand in their applicant selection processes.[1] Launched in 2006 as theUK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT), it was renamed in 2019 following the launch of the test in Australia and New Zealand as a replacement for theUndergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT).[2][3]
In the UK, the UCAT was one of two main admissions tests used for medical, dental and other health-related courses, the other being theBioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT). Following the BMAT's cancellation from 2024 onwards, all ex-BMAT universities have moved to using the UCAT for their undergraduate medical courses, includingOxford andCambridge.[4][5]
In 2025, the UK version of the test had 41,354 test takers whilst the ANZ version had 16,950.[6][7]
The UCAT is designed to be a test ofaptitude and attitude, not academic achievement. The test's rationale is that the latter is already demonstrated byA-Levels,Scottish Highers,ATAR, orundergraduate degrees. It thus attempts to assess a certain range of mental abilities and behavioural attributes identified as useful. These mental abilities include critical thinking, logical reasoning, and inference.
The UCAT consists of four subtests, including three cognitive tests and one testing professional demeanour. Each test has a time allocation as below:[8]
Thesituational judgement test is a different type of test from the tests above:[5]
The test is a computer-based, online test taken at a Pearson VUE centre near the candidate. Candidates are not allowed to bring external materials in to the exam. A basic calculator is provided on the screen, along with a laminated notebook and an erasable marker pen for taking notes. Most exam centres also provide earplugs, or if not, candidates can supply their own. The equipment and conditions vary slightly between different test centers. 1 minute and 30 seconds of reading time is given for each subtest except Quantitative Reasoning, which has 2 minutes.
Including time to read instructions before each subtest, the test lasts a maximum of 2 hours (or 2.5 hours for the UCATSEN version of the test). Each of the UCAT subtests are in a multiple-choice format and are separately timed. There is also 2 minutes of warm-up time (to read general instructions on the whole exam) at the start.
The test must be sat between July and September of 2024 by candidates who want to apply to member universities for entry in 2025 (or deferred entry in 2026).
The test's format underwent significant changes after the 2024 test cycle for the 2025 test cycle and beyond. These included slight timing adjustments, an increase in the number of questions in the Decision Making subtest, and most importantly, the removal of the Abstract Reasoning subtest. This subtest assessed candidates' ability to infer relationships from information (normally shapes) by convergent and divergent thinking, using questions such asBongard problems. The UCAT Consortium cited historical data that candidate performance has increased and response times have decreased, indicating the subtest's "high coachability".[9] Particularly, 90th percentile for the subtest increased from 820 to 880. The UCAT UK Consortium offered additional reasoning, with their analysis showing that the subtest has "lower predictive validity [for candidate performance in university] than the other sections",[10] citing several studies.[11][12][13][14]
There is no curriculum content, as the test is designed to probe innate skills. These include basicarithmetic,reading comprehension andlogical reasoning, along with character, and personal and social attitudes.
Past papers are not available. There are however question banks and fully timed practice tests on the UCAT website. The UCAT Consortium recommends that candidates prepare for the test, and provide extensive free materials on their site to assist.[15] Due to the recent changes to test format, new preparation materials will be released on 1st March 2025.[10]
Each of the first three subsections (Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning) are scored in a range of 300–900. The Situational Judgement Test is scored with bands 1–4, in the UK version, and 300–900, in the ANZ version.[16][17][18] Although ANZ candidates are given a numerical score for the SJT, conversions are available to convert these scores into bands for any prospective UCAT UK consortium university applicant.[19] The Decision Making and Situational Judgement subtests also employ partial marking for partially correct responses or responses "close to the correct answer" for each subtest respectively.[16]
Unlike the BMAT or UMAT, UCAT test takers are informed of their UCAT result immediately after sitting their test, and well in advance of any application deadlines, allowing them to consider this when selecting which universities to apply to. Universities use UCAT results in different ways during their admissions processes, but should all provide information on their websites regarding how they use the UCAT in selection.
For some universities, the UCAT score is a significant factor in their consideration of applications (used as the sole decider for interview invites). For others, it may be a less significant factor or only used in marginal situations, such as a secondary ranking after academic results. Most universities consider total score (i.e. the score after each of the cognitive subtest scores have been added together), while some look at individual subtest scores and may even have a cut-off score or apply different weightings for a particular subtest.
The UCAT Consortium offersa bursary scheme to cover the full test fee to UK and EU candidates in financial need who meet a set eligibility criteria, anda concession scheme that offers a reduced fee for Australian candidates on a current AustralianHealth Care Card (HCC) orPensioner Concession Card (PCC).
Both UCAT UK and ANZ also offer access arrangements for candidates withlearning difficulties,physical disabilities, sensory impairment (visual, hearing or multi-sensory) or medical conditions (such asADHD orASD).[20] These arrangements include allowing candidates to take the test in a separate room or bring in otherwise unauthorised materials for medical reasons (e.g. medicine, medical devices, mobility devices, food and drinks).[21] The UCAT Consortiums also offer several versions of the standard test that provide rest breaks (indicated by the suffix SA) and/or additional time in each subtest (indicated by the suffix SEN).[22][23]
The UCAT Consortium specifies, "Every university uses the UCAT result as part of a well-rounded admissions policy in which several other factors also carry considerable weight." UCAT has been shown to have some independent predictive validity of performance at medical school,[24] but considerably less thanA-levels.[25]
There is some evidence from Australia that women and people from more rural areas or of lower socio‐economic status perform less well on the UCAT, and this appears to be to a greater extent than with theUMAT exam that it replaced in Australia.[26]
A summary of relevant published work since 2009 is available on thePublished Research page of the UCAT website.
As of 2025[update], the UCAT is used for admission into the medical, dental and/or oral health courses at the following universities:[27][28]
