combination with the bsc or ba leads to a full medical degree. the degree awarded is ba at oxford and cambridge (which later becomes an ma), and bsc at the others. at these five medical schools, it is sometimes also possible to spend extra optional year(s) where one can study for an intercalated masters or doctoral degree in addition to the bsc/ba which all students receive, for example, the university of cambridge offers an mb phd programme of nine years total duration comprising preclinical training, the intercalated ba (see above), clinical training and within the clinical training period a phd. university college london also offers an mb phd programme which can be completed in nine years of study. degrees are classified according to the british undergraduate degree classification system. this is taken into account in the foundation schools application form, in which applicants are awarded extra points for a higher class degree. as of 2012, intercalated degrees are able to contribute the maximum of 4 points to the foundation year 1 posts application. the number of points awarded is as following: 4 for a first class, 3 points for a 2.1 class, 2 points for 2.2 class and 1 point for a third class. medical student life most uk medical students belong to student unions, or groups set up within the university's students' union and run by and for medical students, typically organising social events (such as balls/formals), sporting events (e.g. the national association of medics' sports (nams) and academic events or career events. four medical schools have separate student unions for medical students: imperial college school of medicine students' union, edinburgh's royal medical society, ucl (rums: royal free, university college and middlesex medical students' society) & barts & the london student's association. the united kingdom medical students association (ukmsa) is a nationally based student-doctor collaboration which unites medical societies and their student members across different universities in the uk. the current (2017) president is andrew cole, and the vice president is michael grant. meducation is an online revision and learning tool that encourages social interaction between medical students worldwide. it has 30,000 users. the largest free publication in the uk for medical students is the award-winning medical student newspaper. it is written and produced entirely by medical students and is distributed in hard copy to the five medical schools of london, and available online for all. many students also focus on extracurricular academic activities, for example many uk schools have their own student society dedicated to improving health both within the local area through various action projects and globally, through campaigning and working abroad. medsin is a fully student run network of healthcare students and is the uk's member of the international federation of medical students' associations. other societies are dedicated to raising awareness about careers in specialties such as surgery and general practice. there are many student awards available, varying in prestige, from local university awards to national awards. considered the most prestigious award for a medical student in the uk is the currently medical student of the year, hosted by the royal society of medicine and the royal college of psychiatrists. this is largely because the other colleges have no such award, with the normal national prizes being named after experts in that field.