How many years is the programme?
The duration of the Undergraduate Entry Medicine programme is six years.
What are the entry requirements for Irish students?
Typical CAO Point Range: 625 (Combined Range (HPAT): 735) (Irish Students)
O6/H7 in English, Irish, Mathematics, a third language, a laboratory science subject and one other recognised subject
Minimum 480 CAO points or equivalent, which must be achieved in the same examination sitting as subject matriculation requirements
Plus HPAT admission test (Irish Students) For scoring details see: www.ucd.ie/registry/admissions/DN400_HPAT.html
Please note: Students who have previously been unsuccessful in any Medicine programme (i.e. have not met academic or other requirements within the programme) or have any issues which would affect their registration with the Irish Medical Council will only be considered for admission on a case-by-case appeal basis in exceptional circumstances, to be considered by the Medicine Programme Board.
What are the entry requirements for Irish students?
Click below for equivalent entry requirements information for:
What is the degree qualification?
MB, BCh, BAO (Hons) (NFQ Level 8)
What is the average intake?
Average Intake: 90 (CAO) + 40 (approx.) non-EU students.
Why is this course for me?
Our curriculum is patient-centred and continually adapts to the needs of society and developments in medical knowledge. You’ll learn from world-class educators and patients in state-of-the-art facilities, immerse yourself in our acclaimed undergraduate student research programme and benefit from a diverse, international student population.
The main hospitals associated with our programme are St Vincent’s University Hospital and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital. You will also be rotating in other locations around Ireland that will facilitate your learning to experience different clinical environments. There are more than 13 training hospitals. In addition, you will benefit from a diverse range of exciting international placement opportunities.
What are the Career & Graduate Study Opportunities?
Graduates of the School have achieved worldwide recognition in clinical practice, research and healthcare leadership. Following graduation, you complete one year as an intern, followed by training towards a career in a wide variety of specialties and settings including hospitals, primary care facilities, or laboratory-based diagnosis and research.
What will I study?
First Year
Focuses on core sciences and their application to Medicine. Highlights include:
Second Year
Focuses on the structure and function of healthy organ systems. Highlights include:
Third & Fourth Year
Complete the study of organ systems in health and disease. Begin clinical attachments. Highlights include:
Fifth & Sixth Year
Immersive clinical attachments, instruction in the various medical specialties, clinical elective and professional completion. Highlights include:
The Medicine programme combines lectures, seminars, patient educator sessions, simulations, small group tutorials and clinical bedside learning.
For detailed information on subject content click here.
Why go into Medicine?
If you enjoy working with people and caring for people and you are interested in constantly learning for the entirety of your career, Medicine is for you. We say that it involves your head (learning), hand (practical) and heart (caring).
What does 'early patient contact' mean?
Patient participation and care is at the heart of our academic and educational philosophy. We deliver integrated curricula, providing opportunities to learn biomedical principles and concepts in the context of patients and healthcare. Our students meet and interact with patients at the earliest possible stage and throughout their time at UCD.
We believe passionately in training doctors and healthcare professionals who have a strong understanding and appreciation of the patient experience. As a Medicine programme student, you will shadow family practices, train at Ireland’s most extensive network of teaching hospitals and learn from our patient educators.
Are there opportunities to travel abroad and study abroad?
When you join us, you join a big network that extends worldwide. All core modules are required to be taken in Belfield. Modules in the clinical stage can be taken abroad for 6 weeks in last term or 6 – 8 weeks in the summer. There is a list of places on the Medicine International Pages for overseas clinical and research electives. There are over 70 funded opportunities.
UCD is the largest university in Ireland and so has the largest alumni network. A lot of these opportunities are through our alumni in prestigious world institutions such as Harvard, Emory, UCLA, Descartes in Paris. The experience is great for your CV with regard to career progression in Medicine. Students have the ability to create their own elective opportunities too.
Each year, our students compete for highly prized international clinical and research elective opportunities at our international partner institutions. Through our global reach, we have established connections with some of the world’s most prestigious institutions such as Harvard Medical School, Washington University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Toronto and University of British Columbia. These funded electives allow students to explore in further depth topics of relevance to their degree programme. The experience and knowledge gained from these electives help with applying for residencies upon graduation. Students also benefit from the experience of working, living and studying within a different healthcare system and some take the opportunity to take voluntary learning and electives in the developing world.
Is the UCD Medicine degree recognised worldwide?
Yes and our graduates are very highly thought of worldwide but the recognition of a medicine degree are subject to the requirements and regulations of each individual country. If you’d like to work in the US, for example you need to take the US Medical Licences exams and we help prepare students for this.
Our School is an internationally recognised and accredited provider of healthcare education with long-established partnerships and affiliations with academic and clinical institutions across Europe, in the United States, Canada, China, the Middle East, Malaysia and Singapore. Our educational programmes are innovative, student centred and subject to continual best practice review. They are accredited or recognised by regulatory bodies including the Irish Medical Council, Irish Institute of Radiography & Radiation Therapy (IIRRT), CORU (regulating Health & Social Care Professionals), Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), Malaysian Medical Council, Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME).
See here for more information.
How does UCD School of Medicine set itself apart from other Medical Schools?
The three P's: People, places and programmes.
As a UCD medical student, you will experience a modern, internationally recognised curriculum that introduces patient contact and clinical skills at an early stage. Our modular programmes combine lectures and seminars from leading academics and practitioners, patient-led learning and clinically based real-world education at Ireland’s leading network of acute and specialist teaching hospitals. The programme is at the cutting edge of Medicine research and practice.
Is research important in the School?
The majority of our large and expert faculty are active researchers contributing to the discovery of new knowledge and to the continual development of our curriculum. Many are clinicians who practise in the community, in acute hospitals or in specialist care centres. Our faculty hold senior leadership positions within the University, at our teaching hospitals and across the Irish health service.
Our School has a wide and dynamic research portfolio extending from in silico bioinformatics, molecular laboratory investigations of disease to clinical research evaluating new therapeutic strategies. Our teaching is research-informed and research-led and in addition, we offer opportunities for students to undertake independent or structured research under the supervision of our expert research faculty as part of or in addition to normal programme coursework. These opportunities include:
We value science as the foundation of healthcare and so scientific knowledge is at the core of all our programmes. Many of our staff are involved in multi-national research projects and clinical trials, contributing to UCD’s global footprint in healthcare science research.
What are the opportunities for Research?
The Student Summer Research programme is an 8-week research opportunity that brings to life our commitment to foster a passion for enquiry, discovery and investigative research for more than 100 students each year.
Are there opportunities for a research career in Medicine upon graduation?
Medicine gives you a professional qualification that allows you to be a doctor but there are lots of other career choices, for example trainee in hospital based specialty or GP speciality, or laboratory based profession, pathologist, immunologist, academic medicine/research in labs, legal medicine and public health.
Students can take part in research as part of the Student Summer Research Awards (SSRA) in some of the world’s and Ireland's top facilities as well as in clinical sites and the Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research. More information on the SSRA here.
We can support you as you move into your postgraduate degree too in our hospital sites and our research centres in the School.
Where does the clinical training take place?
The School has developed an extensive and expanding clinical training network in partnership with Ireland’s best acute, specialist and general hospitals including two of the country’s largest and busiest acute hospitals: St Vincent’s University Hospital and Mater Misericordiae University Hospital. Our students are supported by the country’s largest clinical faculty comprising over 350 hospital consultants, 450 family practitioners and 75 radiographers.
What’s the workload like?
UCD has a workload model for its students which was designed with the Students' Union. It is designed in a way where you can only take so many credits in one semester, meaning teachers can’t ask you to do more than you're able to do. In terms of credits, 35/40 is the maximum you should be doing and so we have the Student Workload Rule so you can’t do more than you can cope with. 5 credits in Medicine equates to about 100/120 hours of study.
The benefit of a modular course is that you’re completing your assessments as you complete your modules. It’s not taught in a way where everything depends on one final exam. The pressure is distributed throughout the course unlike the Leaving Certificate/final high school exams. To give you an idea, the final year students have already bagged 80% of their degree credit by January of their final year.
The dropout rate is less than 1% which speaks volumes. Once you enter the programme, there is no reason why you wouldn’t go all the way. It is very manageable.
What is the workload as a doctor?
It is significant but it depends on the specialisation you choose. You have to be prepared to work hard but we manage.
Where do graduates practice after graduation?
Many of our graduates practice here in Ireland and in the UK. We are very proud of the fact that our alumni also go on to work in leading clinical and research institutions across the globe. Every year our graduates secure places in highly competitive residency/internship programmes in Europe, North America, Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East, South East Asia and other regions.
Can you transfer into Medicine?
Transferring is not possible. If you resit your HPAT and apply to join the Medicine degree in UCD you will enter from the start of the programme joining Stage 1. You can apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for Stage 1 modules. More information on RPL can be found here.
To become a surgeon, do you have to study Medicine?
Yes – Medicine degree first then six years of training.
Do you have to have studied science in school?
Science subjects are taught in the first year and act as a foundation before you begin Stage 2. These modules are taught at university level but you don't need to have studied all three at school. They will expand on what you may have learned in physics, chemistry and biology at school.
Is the HPAT required for international students?
No this is just for CAO students. International students are subject to a separate set of entry requirements (see above).
Can students be in the same hospital the whole time?
No but you can have a main hospital. It’s important that you experience different aspects of Medicine. You have to go to different hospitals to learn about different specialities.
Are students interviewed?
Not for CAO route. International/non-EU applicants are interviewed.
Is there a social aspect to studying medicine and being a doctor?
Medicine is based and grounded in science but the skills and attitudes that you need are broader than that. Having a humanities background, for example helps. Physicians in hospitals work as a team and in a stressful, high pressure setting, communication, teamwork and other 'soft skills' are invaluable.
Do many students drop out?
It is very unusual. If students do struggle, we have help available – both academic and pastoral. We have a wonderful student support system (see here for information on UCD support). Bespoke academic plans have been devised in the past to help students out with specific issues. It is rare that people drop out. Follow the link to see how the School supports students.
Should you have some voluntary or shadowing experience?
It is a good idea to get voluntary experience but it is not an expectation or requirement. This could help you decide on a personal level whether it’s a career that would suit you.
Do you have an intercalated PhD degree?
We have an opportunity for an intercalated BSc. Our students do go on to do PhDs.
Can you take modules outside of the Medicine programme?
There are core and elective modules as part of the medicine programme. One module in each semester can be elective. With UCD Horizons, you can take French or other modules from other degrees and make up your credits for Medicine which is extraordinary for Medical degrees.
For certain electives, there are structured electives suites, if you do enough structured electives (15 credits), you can have it mentioned on your transcript at sub-minor level. More information available here.
How do mature students apply?
Mature students apply via the CAO and need the HPAT. See here for more information.
What are the fees?
They can change from year-to-year. For details, check the fees website.
How much is practical, compared to theory?
A lot of the ‘theory years’ are also quite practical – anatomy and problem based tutorials require a lot of skills-based learning. Once you begin the transition phase, you are learning in a working environment during the clinical stages of the programme. On the sites, we have teachers whose roles are to take you on board rounds, clinics, radiology seminars and team meetings and you’ll also be taught at the bedsides. There are benefits of simulations but it is very important to teach students with patients.
Is there much maths content in the course?
There is quite a bit of statistics.
What is public health medicine?
It is the study of pattern of disease in the community and how to control spread of diseases in the community. High profile staff in WHO (World Health Organisation) are UCD graduates.
How long does it take to specialise?
After your degree, you do your intern year which entitles you to be an independent practitioner, fully registered by the Irish Medical Council. Then you undertake specialist training (4 years to be a GP) and another 7 years to be a consultant specialist. It is approximately 10 years, in total. During that time you are working and getting paid so don't think of it as being a perpetual student.
Your medicine training is lifelong. Once you obtain your medical degree, it’s considered as accounting for a third of your medical education. Medicine never stays still, there’s always new techniques and discoveries.
What about HEAR and DARE numbers for Medicine?
UCD and the School of Medicine is committed to widening access. The aim is that 28% of students are access. Access and Lifelong Learning – contact all@ucd.ie for information. Here is a link to their pages: https://www.ucd.ie/all/cometoucd/applying/lifelonglearning/
I like the thought of medicine but not the clinical side?
You have to work with people so perhaps the study will be difficult for you. There are other career opportunities that would be better such as Science, BHLS.
What is Ad Astra?
UCD offers Ad Astra scholarships to students who are outstanding in a number of areas. There are two streams; academic and performance. An unusually high number of medicine students are also in the choral scholars. Go to the Ad Astra website for more information.
The scholarship is renewed each year and depends on the GPA/academic score.
Is there an option to go to places like Africa for a summer?
The UCDVO allows you to do this and there is funding for some projects.
Does the School have links with other universities?
We have formal links with institutions around the world. See here for details.