The UCAT Consortium

The UCAT Consortium is the operating name of the UKCAT Consortium. The UCAT Consortium is committed to fairness in selection to medicine and dentistry and to the widening participation in medical and dental training of under-represented social groups. Through an ongoing programme of research UCAT is seeking to identify the characteristics in applicants which will make them good clinicians and thus to improve the quality of those who enter the professions with the ultimate aim of improving patient care.

The organisation is a charity and limited company managed by a Consortium of UK Universities who require the UCAT for entry to their medical/dental programmes. The Test is also used by international partner universities.

The Consortium was established in 2006 by admission tutors in response to concerns about the difficulties of selecting fairly from increasing numbers of high achieving applicants. The Consortium's aims are to:

  • achieve greater fairness in selection by helping schools discriminate between candidates with equivalent qualifications

  • widen participation in medical, dental and clinical sciences training of under-represented social groups

  • identify the characteristics in applicants which will make them good dentists, doctors and clinicians

The Test is delivered in Australia and New Zealand supporting selection processes to a similar consortium of universities.

The UCAT Consortium partners with Pearson VUE to deliver the test around the world each year. 

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