BSMS > Undergraduate > Our course > Intercalated degrees

Intercalated degrees

"The highlight of my intercalated degree was that I was lucky enough to be sent to the Gambia to undertake my dissertation project. This was a fantastic opportunity to undertake some primary research, as well as extending my experience in International Health. It was fantastic."

Smruti Varothayasingham, graduate of BSMS's Intercalated MSc in Global Health

Our intercalated degrees

What is intercalation?

Studying for an intercalated degree means taking a year out of your normal medical curriculum to study for an extra degree, which may be a bachelor's degree or a Masters degree (depending on the pre-requisites you hold).

This lengthens your studies by a year, but you end up with two degrees: a traditional medical degree (eg, MB BS) and also a BSc, BMedSci or Masters degree in another subject.

Intercalated degrees assume that the first two years of your medical education equate to the first two years of an honours science degree, giving you the necessary pre-requisites to join the third year of many kinds of science, health and management degrees. If you have completed three years of professional study, you may have the prerequisites needed to pursue a Masters degree.

How do you benefit?

Studying for an intercalated degree allows you to expand your horizons, study a new topic in depth, and work or study for a year at an institution such as BSMS.

Most of our intercalated degrees incorporate a research project that will provide you with rigorous training in research methods, as well as giving you the opportunity to work with international field experts at BSMS, the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton.

Depending on your research project, you may publish your findings, and attend scientific meetings and conferences. In addition to providing you with new skills, knowledge, and friends, all these activities – another degree, research, publication – can add to your CV and make you more competitive for your next career step.

The carousel at Brighton beach, with a view towards the West Pier

Why come here?

BSMS, the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton are ideally situated for a range of different types of intercalated degree experiences.

The most important determinant in where you study should be whether the course provides you with the skills, knowledge and opportunities that you want. The degree topics offered here are listed in the grid above. In terms of environment, Brighton and Falmer have much to offer, including:

world-class research and the top rated teaching nationally
a low key environment, but with access to all the amenities and things to do of an internationally famous city
a beautiful campus, with easy access to the Sussex downs, and to Brighton's beach
convenient, affordable and fast (50 minutes) trains to central London – in the unlikely event that you cannot find exactly what you are looking for in Brighton.

Pre-requisites for our intercalated degrees

The specific pre-requisites (ie, modules previously completed) for each of our degrees are listed on individual course web pages. As a rule of thumb, for an intercalated BSc you should have completed (by the time you start the intercalated course) two years of full-time undergraduate study (240 credits), and for a Masters degree you should have completed (at the time the course begins) three years of undergraduate study (360 credits).

Contact us

If you have any questions about intercalated degrees at BSMS, or for more information on how to apply, please email: Intercalation@bsms.ac.uk