Medical Schools Council
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
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.
Medical Schools Council firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Medical Schools Council industry classification
Industry- 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
Where Medical Schools Council is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Medical Schools Council business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- 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
Medical Schools Council product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use Medical Schools Council
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Medical Schools Council technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration12 records
Feature3 records
Medical Schools Council partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and supporting.
- NHS EnglandmajorPartnership 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)coreJoint 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)majorPartnership 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 SciencesmajorPartnership 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)majorHEAT 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 UniversitiescoreAIMMS 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 StakeholderscoreUKMED 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)majorUKWPMED 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 EducatorssupportingReference 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 PractitionerssupportingCollaboration on work experience guidance. Jointly created a guide helping students reflect on their experiences. Partnership on virtual work experience resources.
- Veterinary Schools CouncilsupportingMSC 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
Medical Schools Council competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad 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
Medical Schools Council social profiles
Digital presenceMedical Schools Council compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Medical Schools Council financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Medical Schools Council leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Medical Schools Council funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Medical Schools Council M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Medical Schools Council
What does Medical Schools Council do?
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.
Is Medical Schools Council a public or private company?
Medical Schools Council is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Medical Schools Council founded?
Medical Schools Council was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Medical Schools Council based?
Medical Schools Council is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Medical Schools Council make money?
One revenue line is on record: membership Fees.
Who are Medical Schools Council's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Universities UK, British Medical Association and Royal College of Physicians of London. Direct peers are Academy of Medical Sciences, Council of Deans of Health, Dental Schools Council, Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (COPMED), General Medical Council and Veterinary Schools Council. Medical Council of India / National Medical Commission is listed as a regional player.
Does Medical Schools Council have an API?
No public API is recorded for Medical Schools Council.
What industry is Medical Schools Council in?
Medical Schools Council's product category is Medical Education Membership Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAGAB, Medical Schools (MD/DO Granting), with a secondary code of EDAHAAAC, Public Research Universities with Academic Medical Centers (AMCs). Its NAICS code is 813920 and its SIC code is 8600.