What is the UKCAT?

The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) is committed to achieving greater fairness in selection to medicine and dentistry and to the widening participation in medical and dental training of under-represented social groups.

The test helps universities to make more informed choices from amongst the many highly-qualified applicants to medical and dental programmes. It helps to ensure that candidates selected have the most appropriate mental abilities, attitudes and professional behaviour required for new doctors and dentists to be successful in their clinical careers. It is used in collaboration with other admissions processes such as the UCAS application and academic qualifications.

The UKCAT does not contain any curriculum or science content. It focuses on exploring the cognitive powers of candidates and other attributes considered to be valuable for health care professionals. The test is run by the UKCAT Consortium in partnership with Pearson VUE, a global leader in computer-based testing and part of Pearson plc. It is delivered on computer worldwide through Pearson VUE’s high street centres.

All test questions are written by assessment experts and must pass detailed trials to ensure their validity and reliability. All questions, test duration, sequencing and style are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure that the test is culturally fair and bias is minimised. There is a programme of new item development including the testing of new questions as non-scoring components of the test.

There are 26 UK University Medical and Dental schools that require candidates to take this test as part of the admissions process. The test is offered at a choice of 150 UK test centres and over 4,000 testing centres worldwide. If you require more information there is a dedicated UKCAT contact centre on +44 161 855 7409 or email ukcatcustomerservices@pearson.com
 
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