International applicants
Extraordinary Edinburgh

Completing the UCAS application

UCAS applications are made through the UCAS website on an easy to use online application system.

Applying through your school or college

Some EU and international schools and colleges, that send many students to the UK, will be registered with UCAS Apply.

If your school or college is registered with UCAS then you should apply through the school. They will be able to guide you through the process. If your school or college has not registered for UCAS apply then you can apply independently.

For more details see the UCAS website:

UCAS website

You will be asked to provide a range of information about yourself and your choice of course/institution in the application.

Throughout the system there are help boxes indicated by a “?” that you can use if you are unsure of what is being asked for.

Your course choices

  • You can apply for up to five different courses in five different universities
  • You can apply for more than one course at a university
    • Please ensure you make focussed or related choices
    • Please note, some universities may only make you one offer

Universities are unable to see what other courses you have applied for or where else you have applied.

If you are applying for Medicine or Veterinary Medicine, only four of the five choices on the UCAS application can be used for these subjects. We recommend you use the remaining choice for an alternative programme.

We will not view this as a lack of commitment to study Medicine or Veterinary Medicine. Remember we will not be able to see what programmes you apply for at another university.

Institution and course codes

The system will provide you with a list to choose from, but if you know the institution code (E56 for University of Edinburgh) and the course code, you can just type these in.

Campus code

The University does not have separate campus codes. Click the “see list” button and select “main site (- )” and this will enter the necessary information.

Further details

This will normally be left blank but if you are applying for Medicine (A100) you should use the 'Further Details' section to enter your UCAT registration number or exemption number.

Point of entry

If you are applying for second-year entry you should use this section to indicate this.

Please contact the University before you do this to establish whether second-year entry is possible for the degree programme you are applying for and that you have the necessary qualifications. More information on entry qualifications can be found on our country specific pages.

Education - your qualifications

Adding your school

Use this section to provide details of your education.

You will be asked to provide details of your schooling. Your school(s) may or may not be listed in the UCAS system. If not listed you can enter the details but please try to use the full, formal name of your school. If you have taken or will take any formal qualifications at this school please indicate this and then you will be asked to input your qualification details.

Adding your qualifications

Please note that most applicants in the UK will apply before completing their final school examinations.

This is entirely normal and we are happy to receive applications from EU and international students before they have finished their schooling.

If we do decide to make you an offer it will be conditional on achieving certain grades in your final exams.

Select the add qualifications link to add your academic and English Language qualifications.

You will then see a list of possible qualifications. You can search for your qualifications via the alphabetical bar and lists.

It might be easiest to search for the name of your country first, e.g. Sweden - Fullständigt Slutbetyg fran Gymnasieskolan or Germany - Zeugnis der Allgemeine Hochschulreife (Abitur). If you are unable to find your qualification, please choose one of the 'Other' options under 'O'.

It may initially appear that there is not enough space to list all your qualifications but if you need to add more units simply click on the add another module link. Provide the overall grades if this is appropriate then provide details of the individual components of your qualifications. Please enter the level of achievement gained. Use the drop-down list where provided, and 'Other' if that is not relevant.

If you are entering a non-UK qualification, please do not try to give a UK equivalent. It is however helpful if you can translate the titles of the individual components into English. If the final examination has yet to be taken, or the results have not yet been released, please select 'pending' from the drop-down list. If there is no drop-down list, leave the box blank.

You will be asked at a later date - if you receive an offer - to provide evidence of the qualifications you have achieved. You will be asked to provide this evidence online via our applicant portal.

Additional information

You are not able to attach additional information with your application. If you wish to provide us with supplementary information this should be sent directly to University Admissions Teams and not via UCAS, quoting your UCAS reference number.

The University of Edinburgh may ask you to provide additional supporting documentation. If we do, you will be able to upload this onto our Applicant Portal. You will receive information on how to access this portal shortly after applying.

More advice on applying through UCAS