University of Surrey announces new medical school

Surrey will be offering a four-year, graduate-entry bachelor’s degree medical programme and expects to welcome the first cohort of 40 students in 2024. 

Announcing Surrey’s first medical school, Professor G Q Max Lu, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey, said: 

“I'm so proud to announce that the University of Surrey has begun its journey to train highly-skilled medical doctors. We already have an exceptional reputation for training high-quality health professionals and conducting world-leading research (as evidenced by REF 2021).   

“Building on our multidisciplinary strengths in education, research and innovation across many disciplines, augmented by Surrey’s state-of-the-art clinical simulation facilities, the new programme will also benefit from an established and accredited curriculum. 

“We are therefore delighted to be partnering with the University of Exeter, which will support the development of this new and innovative curriculum. With a highly-respected medical programme of their own and a patient-centred and forward-thinking ethos, the University of Exeter is the perfect partner for us.” 

Professor Lisa Roberts, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter, said:  

“We’re delighted to be partnering with the University of Surrey in this new venture; their choice of Exeter is testament to the quality of our medical programme and the expertise we have in training outstanding doctors. The pandemic has highlighted the crucial importance of training more health professionals in the future, and we’re excited to be supporting this objective.” 

As an independent medical school, the majority of places will be for applicants from overseas initially. However, there will be a small number of places available for home students from underrepresented groups enabling access to a career in medicine. The University’s aspiration in the longer term is to have a greater number of funded places available for home students and to build on existing strengths in widening participation in higher education. 

Professor Paul Townsend, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, said: 

“Our medical school will combine an outstanding core teaching experience with the benefits of working alongside our multidisciplinary research specialisms – for example, through our Institute for People-Centred Artificial Intelligence and 5G Innovation Centre.  

“We have an exceptional interprofessional learning environment; our medical students will train with and alongside students from our highly respected nursing, midwifery, paramedic and veterinary medicine programmes, all ranking within the top ten in the Complete University Guide 2022.” 

Crucially, the school will focus on combining an outstanding core learning experience working alongside the University of Surrey’s regional NHS clinical placement partners. 

Louise Stead, Chief Executive, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, said:  

“I am absolutely delighted to be working so closely with the University of Surrey on this exciting project. The hospital has always aspired to further our research capacity as well as our commitment to the teaching and training of future healthcare professionals. The establishment of a medical school supports all of those ambitions.”  

Professor Claire Fuller, Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership, said: 

“We look forward to working in partnership with the University in this exciting venture, which will have a number of advantages for the health of our communities and healthcare delivery in the region.” 

Julie Smith, Chief Executive of Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:     

“We are excited to be working with the University of Surrey. We are already educating doctors of the future from St George’s and Imperial, and we are very proud of the undergraduate faculty that provide such a fantastic educational experience for these students during their training. We look forward to welcoming students from the University of Surrey and providing them with an equally good experience.”  

Angela Stevenson, Chief Executive of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH), said:  

“We are excited to be part of the new medical programme – providing excellent training and education is extremely important to us and essential to the delivery of high-quality care for patients. The programme will also build on our existing strategic joint appointments of clinical academics between SASH and the University of Surrey.” 

Dr Pippa Skippage, Director of Clinical Education at Frimley Park Hospital, says: 

“Working with the University of Surrey as a partner on the Medical School Programme is an exciting opportunity for us to develop and support a medical workforce for the future. By continuing to develop our links with our academic and health and care partners in the region, we can really work together to drive innovation and change in learning and technologies for future cohorts of medical professionals. Ultimately, this partnership will help to improve the health and care provided to our communities and beyond.” 

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Notes to editors 

• The University’s medical students will also benefit from opportunities to work alongside our innovative researchers under an overarching ‘One Health, One Medicine’ vision and in areas such as digital health tech, artificial intelligence and 6G communications. 

• Human health is closely linked to animals, plants and our shared environment, and the ‘One Health, One Medicine’ approach, brings together expertise from a broad range of multidisciplinary areas. 

• Professor Paul Townsend and Professor Melaine Coward are available for interviews upon request. 

• The University of Surrey's Media Team contact details: mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk