St. George`s University of London

HISTORY

Originally established in 1733 in Lanesborough House at Hyde Park Corner (now the site of The Lanesborough hotel), in central London, the college moved to its current home in Tooting, South London, in 1980, where it shares a site with St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust.

In recent years, St George’s has expanded beyond its medical schools roots. Alongside its medical course it now runs a Biomedical Sciences course, which has expanded to meet demand in the last 5 years from an initial intake of 30, to 150 students. There are now more places for Undergraduate Biomedical Science students than 5-Year Medical students.

In partnership with Kingston University, the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences has moved St George’s into other areas including Nursing, Physiotherapy, Paramedic Science and Radiography. The Faculty has been congratulated for its high teaching standards, employment rates and cutting edge research in the Social Sciences.

St George’s was the first institution in the United Kingdom to offer a four-year graduate entry Medicine degree based on the program from Flinders University with which it has an exchange program. The first intake was in 2000 with 35 students and the course has since been emulated by many other universities. Entry to the course is highly competitive with candidates being required to sit the GAMSAT as part of the application process.

In 2008, St George’s announced that it planned to merge with Royal Holloway to form a single institution within the University of London. The merger was called off in a joint statement by the two colleges’ principals on 25 September 2009. St George’s intends to keep working with Royal Holloway in the field of health and social care along with its well-established Joint Faculty with Kingston University. St George’s, Kingston University and Royal Holloway will continue to collaborate in the field of health and social care as part of the existing SWan (South West London Academic Network) healthcare alliance.

COURSES

St George’s offers foundation and undergraduate degrees at its site in Tooting in medical, biomedical and healthcare sciences, including: Biomedical Science BSc (Hons), Biomedical Science Foundation Degree, Healthcare Practice DipHE and BSc (Hons), Healthcare Practice Foundation Degree, Healthcare Science (Physiological Sciences) BSc (Hons), Medicine (four-year graduate stream) MBBS4, Medicine (five-year) MBBS5, and Medicine (six-year) MBBS6, Physician Associate Studies MSc.

In partnership with Kingston University, the joint Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences also offers degrees in physiotherapy, paramedic science, nursing, midwifery, social work and diagnostic or therapeutic radiography.

St George’s, in partnership with INTO University Partners, has also formed a joint venture, INTO SGUL, to offer a Foundation in Medical, Biomedical and Health Sciences for international students whose qualifications do not allow direct progression into Bachelors level study in the UK, and a six-year MBBS and a four-year graduate stream MBBS programme specifically for international students, with clinical placements overseas. The first student cohort on each international MBBS programme entered St George’s in September 2012.

Outside of the UK, the MBBS4 is also offered in Nicosia, Cyprus, through a partnership between St George’s and the University of Nicosia. The new programme was inaugurated and the first student cohort commenced in Nicosia in September 2011. The programme at the University of Nicosia features international clinical placements in Israel and the USA.

St George’s offers numerous research and taught postgraduate degrees.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

St George’s recognises that it is a challenging time for schools and colleges across the UK over the next few years as they adapt to the new environment in England and plan their curriculum models from 2015, for 2017 entry to university.

Their admissions policy will continue to strive to be fair and transparent; it also seeks to enshrine the principal of opportunity and consistency for all. They will continue to ensure that their entry requirements are appropriate for the academic needs of their programmes and for the students they seek to attract to them.

The student can find their admissions policy on their website, together with specific entry requirements on the course information pages.

ACADEMIC STRENGTHS

St George’s provides a world-class multi-professional health sciences education that equips their graduates to meet today’s healthcare needs through relevant scientific research, clinical excellence, strong interpersonal skills and team-based working.

The most recent Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) institutional audit in June 2011 expressed confidence in the management of the academic standards and learning opportunities at St George’s.

Features of good practice included the embedded relationship between research teaching scholarship and professional practice.

TEACHING STANDARDS

High continuation in higher education, i.e. no longer in higher education, 3.3%.

St George’s ranked 5/154 in 2013–14 for % salary £30k+ for first degree leavers in full-time employment.

St George’s ranked 8/160 for number of students in professional occupations six months after graduation in 2013–14 (94%).

CAREERS GUIDANCE

St George’s students are supported in their career and professional development throughout their time at university.

There is a careers programme in place, which includes workshops on topics such as CV/application writing, career progression and interview skills.

Students are able to book a 1:1 appointment with the Careers Consultant to discuss all aspects of careers and employability including making career decisions, finding jobs, application checking and mock interviews.

Students can access online career resources and information, as well as jobs and volunteer opportunities, on the virtual learning environment.

There are named Academic Career Liaison tutors and students can also discuss future options with their personal tutor.