Student Support

The School of Medicine (SoM) fully supports the UCD strategic objectives to promote a culture of dignity and respect and wellbeing and to promote greater understanding and engagement with Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) across the university. Our overarching aim is to ensure that everyone in the School staff and students alike can reach their full potential. 

The EDI committee in our School has a student EDI group, led by Dr. Melinda Halasz. This group includes both undergraduate and graduate students and aims to promote equality, diversity and inclusion for all students in the School of Medicine. The group reviews all aspects of EDI in the SoM, identifies barriers in EDI and provides solutions to build support for students. 

We aim to:

• Promote a sense of community
• Build a diverse and inclusive environment for our students 
• Gender balancing
• Support students in realising their academic potential
• Promote the visibility of female role models in male-dominated disciplines such as Surgery, Emergency Medicine
• Support careers of students
• Improve awareness of how to report instances of unfair treatment for students.
• Student members promote awareness of EDI among themselves.
• Engage in outreach activities and initiatives that support widening participation in medicine.

If you are interested in joining or you would like to discuss anything, contact (opens in a new window)melinda.halasz@ucd.ie or (opens in a new window)edi.medicine@ucd.ie. We would love to hear from you.

Available Supports

There are a range of supports available to you at UCD:

• Student Advisers
• Dignity and Respect Support Service (#UCDAgainstRacism)
• Support for Students
• Student Health Service
• Student Counselling
• Chaplains
• (opens in a new window)SU Sabbatical Officers
• Disability Supports
• (opens in a new window)International Day of People with Disabilities
• UCD Access and Lifelong Learning
• LGBTIQ+ Supports
• (opens in a new window)Gender neutral facilities on Belfield campus
• Breastfeeding facilities and support
• Graduate Research Association of Medicine (GRAM)
• UCD EDI Supports Page
• (opens in a new window)NiteLine

If you are experiencing difficulties balancing personal and academic issues and need to speak to someone within the School of Medicine, please contact Kathleen Kiely, Medicine, Radiography and BHLS Student Advisor T: +353 1 716 6681 E: (opens in a new window)kathleen.kiely@ucd.ie.

If you are a Graduate Research Student, please contact Eamonn McHugh, Graduate Research Student Advisor T: +353 1 716 1875 E: (opens in a new window)eamonn.mchugh@ucd.ie.

Interested in helping others? Become a Dignity and Respect Student Ambassador.