Medical Schools Council

What Medical Schools Council does

The Medical Schools Council (MSC) is the sole UK membership body representing all 51 medical schools, operating as a registered charity (No. 1155370) and company limited by guarantee (No. 8817383) from its London headquarters at Woburn House, 20 Tavistock Square. Formally constituted in its current form in 2006 (with predecessor bodies dating to 1939), MSC functions as the authoritative national voice on medical education, coordinating across the full educational continuum from widening participation through to clinical academia careers. It is led by Chief Executive Dr Katie Petty-Saphon with a 22-person team and a Chair from Cardiff University (Professor Steve Riley).

MSC's product portfolio spans assessment infrastructure, research databases, student-facing platforms, and professional development programmes. Assessment products include the Exam-Write exam authoring platform (with automatic psychometric calculation and self-learning marking for Very Short Answer items), the shared question bank developed by the Assessment Alliance, and the Medical Licensing Assessment's Applied Knowledge Test (MS AKT). Research and data infrastructure is anchored by UKMED, a longitudinal database jointly stewarded with the GMC connecting data from pre-university qualifications through postgraduate training and career outcomes, supplemented by the annual Clinical Academic Staff Survey. Student-facing platforms include the Entry Requirements Tool, Studying Healthcare website (joint with Dental and Pharmacy Schools Councils), and the CATCH (Clinical Academic Training & Careers Hub) website. MSC also operates three national alliances (Assessment, Selection, EDI), the UKWPMED widening participation scheme, AIMMS Mentoring for minority women in academic medicine, and free summer schools co-funded with NHS England.

MSC's revenue model is subscription/membership-based, with fees from the 51 UK medical schools as the primary income stream. All resources, platforms, and guidance documents are provided free to end users (prospective students, current students, teachers, advisers, healthcare professionals), with supplementary co-funding from NHS England for outreach programmes and partnerships with GMC, HDR UK, and Academy of Medical Sciences for joint initiatives. Distribution is entirely through direct membership engagement and digital channels (medschools.ac.uk and partner websites), with no commercial sales motion.

Name

Medical Schools Council

Legal name

Medical Schools Council

Website

https://medschools.ac.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Medical Schools Council is the UK membership body representing all 51 UK medical schools, coordinating assessment, admissions, widening participation, and clinical academic career programmes on behalf of its member institutions and serving medical students, applicants, and healthcare professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Education Membership Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Schools (MD/DO Granting) (EDAHAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Research Universities with Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) (EDAHAAAC), Medical & Clinical Reference (Physicians, Nursing, Allied Health) (EDAGAGAA), Healthcare & Medical Licensure Exam Prep (USMLE/COMLEX, NCLEX, Dentistry, Pharmacy, PA) (EDANAIAA), Healthcare Clinical Professions (CME/CE for Nurses, Allied Health, Pharmacy) (EDAAALAC), Health Sciences & Nursing (EDAGABAF), Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

Keywords

• Medical education policy
• Medical school membership
• Clinical academic careers
• Medical licensing assessment
• Widening participation medicine

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: MSC operates as a membership organization representing all UK medical schools. Revenue is generated through membership contributions from medical schools that participate in the Council.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

MSC is the national membership body representing all 51 UK medical schools, convening heads of schools to advance medical education, coordinate admissions and assessment, champion clinical academic careers, and widen participation in medicine. It funds a portfolio of digital platforms (Exam-Write, UKMED, CATCH, Entry Requirements Tool) and national programmes (MLA/MS AKT, summer schools, UKWPMED) on behalf of its member institutions, and publishes position papers, surveys, and guidance.

Product overview

The Medical Schools Council (MSC) is a membership organization representing all 51 UK medical schools, functioning as their national voice on medical education. Rather than a single product, MSC offers a coordinated portfolio of platforms, programmes, and initiatives. Core offerings include the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) with the Medical School Applied Knowledge Test (MS AKT), supported by the Exam-Write authoring platform and shared question bank. Student-facing platforms include the Entry Requirements Tool and Studying Healthcare website for applicants, alongside summer schools and the UKWPMED widening participation scheme. Research infrastructure comprises UKMED (with GMC) and the annual Clinical Academic Staff Survey. Professional development resources include the CATCH careers hub, AIMMS mentoring programme, and MSC Assessment/Selection/EDI Alliances. MSC also publishes curriculum guidance, EDI resources, and position papers, and produces the Coffee on Call podcast for students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CATCH (Clinical Academic Training & Careers Hub): A national resource supporting healthcare professionals interested in clinical academic careers, managed by the Medical Schools Council.
• MSC Assessment Alliance
• MSC Selection Alliance
• MSC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Alliance
• Studying Healthcare

Products and services

• Medical Schools Council Membership

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and supporting.

• NHS EnglandmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2026Partnership in delivering summer schools for medicine and dentistry for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. NHS England co-funds and collaborates on outreach programmes.
• General Medical Council (GMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint stewardship of UKMED (UK Medical Education Database). GMC links Survey data with other data held for inclusion in UKMED. UKMED is not accessible to the general public; access requires an application process and is limited to research purposes.
• Health Data Research UK (HDR UK)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop a guide for medical schools to incorporate data science in teaching. Joint report 'Data Science in the Medical Curriculum: Equipping Medical Students for the Digital Age' developed with HDR UK.
• Academy of Medical SciencesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in AIMMS Mentoring (Academic Intersectionality Mentoring in Medical Schools) supporting minority women on their path to leadership in academic medicine. Academy provides support and resources for the mentoring scheme.
• University of Kent (Higher Education Access Tracker)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEAT managed by University of Kent is a non-profit service enabling secure storage of outreach activity data and facilitating monitoring, evaluation and research. HEAT links with HESA data to track participant progression into Higher Education.
• AIMMS Partner UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIMMS Mentoring founded by University of Southampton in collaboration with Academy of Medical Sciences and partner universities including Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Hull York Medical School, Leeds, Leicester, St Andrews and Swansea.
• UKMED StakeholderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKMED stakeholders include: Academy of Royal Colleges, Biomedical Admissions Test, British Medical Association, Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans of United Kingdom, General Medical Council, Graduate Medical Schools Admissions Test, Higher Education Statistics Agency, Medical Schools Council, NHS Education for Scotland, NHS Health Education England, Northern Ireland Medical & Dental Training Agency, UK Foundation Programme Office, University Clinical Aptitude Test, UCAS, Wales Deanery.
• Medical Schools (UKWPMED Scheme)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKWPMED scheme hosted by participating medical schools: Hull York Medical School (University of Hull and University of York), Manchester Medical School (University of Manchester), Keele University School of Medicine, University of Birmingham College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Peninsula Medical School (University of Plymouth), Leicester Medical School (University of Leicester), Brighton and Sussex Medical School (University of Brighton and University of Sussex).
• Academy of Medical EducatorssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerReference partner for careers in medical education. MSC directs individuals to Academy of Medical Educators website for information about careers in medical education.
• Royal College of General PractitionerssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on work experience guidance. Jointly created a guide helping students reflect on their experiences. Partnership on virtual work experience resources.
• Veterinary Schools CouncilsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSC staff member (Laura Stevens) serves as Policy Officer covering Veterinary Schools Council, indicating collaborative working relationship between the two councils.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Universities UK: Membership body representing 142 UK universities. Comparable as the parent-sector umbrella of which medical schools are a sub-constituency; MSC was historically affiliated with Universities UK's predecessor (CVCP) and operates under a similar member-driven advocacy model.
• British Medical Association: UK doctors' trade union and professional association. Comparable as a large medical professional membership organisation with overlapping policy advocacy on medical education, training, and workforce planning.
• Royal College of Physicians of London: UK professional membership body for physicians. Comparable as an established medical membership organisation focused on training standards and workforce policy that intersects with MSC's medical school and clinical academic agenda.

Direct peers

• Academy of Medical Sciences: Independent UK body for medical sciences fellows. Comparable because it co-runs AIMMS Mentoring with MSC and operates in the same medical-academic advocacy space with overlapping membership and policy interests.
• Council of Deans of Health: UK membership body for university faculties delivering nursing, midwifery, and allied health professional education. Direct peer using the same representative-body model across a parallel healthcare-education sector that MSC also reaches through CATCH.
• Dental Schools Council: UK membership body for dental schools. Direct peer with the same operating model, co-creator of the Studying Healthcare platform with MSC, and overlapping NHS workforce policy interests.
• Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (COPMED): UK body for postgraduate medical deans. Direct peer operating at the next stage of the medical training pipeline that MSC's UKMED database feeds into (lists COPMED as a UKMED stakeholder).
• General Medical Council: UK regulator of medical education and practice. Direct peer because GMC co-stewards UKMED with MSC and jointly sets the MLA framework that MSC operationalises through the Applied Knowledge Test.
• Veterinary Schools Council: UK membership body for veterinary schools. Most direct structural peer — identical model, smaller footprint, and MSC already hosts its policy officer, indicating shared operating and governance approach.

Regional players

• Medical Council of India / National Medical Commission: India's national regulator and policy body for medical education. Comparable as a sector-coordinating body for medical schools outside the UK, useful as a regional comparator for international medical education policy models.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ukmedschools

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Medical Schools Council