Medicine

MB, BCh, BAO (Hons) (NFQ Level 8)

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Curricular information is subject to change.

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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. In addition, there are more than 20 other training hospitals and more than 100 primary care practices that will facilitate your learning. You will also benefit from a diverse range of exciting international placement opportunities.

Course Pathways
What Will I Study

First Year
Focuses on core sciences and their application to Medicine. Highlights include:

  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Genetics
  • Human Ethics
  • Healthcare Imaging
  • Science Medicine & Society

Second Year
Focuses on the structure and function of healthy organ systems. Highlights include:

  • Anatomy Dissection
  • Interviewing patients in the community

Third & Fourth Year
Complete the study of organ systems in health and disease. Begin clinical attachments. Highlights include:

  • Pathology
  • Microbiology
  • Pharmacology
  • Neurosciences
  • Respiratory Diseases
  • Clinical Skills and Attachments in hospitals
  • Clinical Diagnosis & Therapeutics
  • General Practice and Professionalism
  • ENT & Ophthalmology

Fifth & Sixth Year
Immersive clinical attachments, instruction in the various medical specialties, clinical elective and professional completion. Highlights include:

  • Medicine
  • Surgery
  • Obstetrics & Gynaecology
  • Paediatrics
  • Psychiatry
  • General Practice & Community Medicine
  • Legal Medicine
  • Public Health Medicine
  • Professional Completion

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.

You may be interested in the following Blog posts: Doing the rounds as a Medicine student, Why study Medicine in UCD: A student perspective. Student explanation of UCD’s Biomedical Health & Life Sciences degree programme.

International Study Opportunities

Our international network offers students exciting opportunities to gain experience overseas. Scholarships are available to support elective periods in clinical and academic centres all over the world.

Career & Graduate Study Opportunities

Graduates of the School have achieved worldwide recognition in clinical practice, research and healthcare leadership. Following graduation, you are required to work as a supervised intern for a year by the Irish Medical Council. This can be 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.

Opportunities for Research
The Student Summer Research Awards (SSRA) programme is an eight-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.

Other Entry Routes
Testimonial

“Clinical attachments have been the most enjoyable aspect of my medical degree, as this is where we put theory to practice, and gain a deeper understanding of patient care. We gain experience in a wide variety of specialist teaching hospitals around Dublin, and I was fortunate to complement this core clinical training with elective placements abroad in Austria, New Zealand and the USA. Though the course is challenging, there is still time to get involved with UCD’s student societies and sports clubs in the early years. The School of Medicine also offers a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities for students, ranging from supervised research projects to inter-disciplinary summer schools abroad.”

Sinead Mulroy, UCD Ad Astra Scholar, Graduate

Contact Information

UCD School of Medicine Office C134,
1st Floor Health Sciences Centre
Belfield,
Dublin 4

Tel: +353 1 716 6686
Contact: ucd.ie/medicine/contactus/

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