RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

About The Course

RCSI is an independent, not-for-profit university based in Dublin. Established in 1784 as the national provider of surgical training in Ireland, RCSI has evolved in the years since to become one of the world’s leading health sciences universities.  

With almost 3,500 undergraduate students from 79 different countries and more than 35,500 alumni from 108 countries around the globe, RCSI is also one of the most international in our outlook. 

The university offers undergraduate degree programmes in Advanced Therapeutic Technologies, Dentistry, Medicine, Pharmacy and Physiotherapy, with graduate entry routes available on some courses.  

Times Higher Education (THE) ranks RCSI among the world’s top 300 universities and, in three of the past six years, ranked RCSI number one in the world for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG) ‘Good Health and Well-being’ (THE Impact Rankings). In recent QS World University Rankings, RCSI is ranked in the Top 200 QS Subject Ranking for Medicine and the Top 150 QS Subject Ranking for Pharmacy and Pharmacology.  

RCSI’s main campus is located in the heart of Dublin City. It is home to some of Europe’s most modern clinical teaching facilities and offers students an unrivalled campus experience. Perfectly situated to provide students with a balanced life during their studies, the campus is easily accessed by public transport and surrounded by cultural hotspots, shops, cafés and restaurants. 

To find out more, visit the RCSI website today.  

Course Information  

Duration: 5 years/6 years (inclusive of Foundation Year)  

Award: MB, BCh, BAO (NUI & RCSI) LRCPI & LRCSI [equivalent to MBBS]  

Intake: Annually (September)  

During your time with us you will be taught by RCSI academics, clinicians and researchers primarily in small groups or in an interactive manner when you are in large group settings. You will begin interacting with actual patients in the first few weeks of the programme and take part in immersive clinical placements in Ireland’s leading hospitals. 

The medicine programme is structured so that the focus is on knowledge and excellent clinical skills development. From day one, we also put intensive focus on the acquisition of clinical and communications skills, as well as understanding the central tenets of Personal and Professional Identity Formation: professionalism, resilience and leadership. This ensures that you will be prepared for a personally and professionally demanding career in tomorrow’s healthcare environment. 

Case-Based Learning (CBL) is a core teaching and learning approach in Year 1 and 2. You will work in groups of approximately 12 students with a facilitator. You will also have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of tailored and credit-bearing student choice topics. These will allow for experiences that facilitate your personal growth. 

Each medicine student is assigned a Personal Tutor who will support them through their time in RCSI. The Personal Tutor Programme is intended to: provide students with a safe space for informed reflection on academic, personal & professional performance; assist students by ensuring they have the relevant supports (academic; well-being etc.); provide resource and referral information to enable the student to move towards improvement, and encourage students to establish habits of continuous reflection, goal-setting and lifelong learning. 

Knowing how students are progressing at any point during the academic year is very important. Personalised Student Feedback will help you to remain on course to achieving your educational objectives. Our curriculum is supported by a new and innovative technology platform that will provide you with feedback on assessments, CBL and other learning activities. 

Students are evaluated using Programmatic Assessment and the application of a Grade Point Average (GPA) scale. This approach provides multiple opportunities for measurement – coupled with ongoing feedback during the learning process. It reduces emphasis on end-of-semester/year high-stakes assessment and provides a range of different assessment types which facilitate the measurement of competencies.   

From your first day at RCSI, you will be placed in one of six Learning Communities, which comprise groups of students who are actively engaged in learning with and from each other. These communities have a cohort of students from every year in your programme and are an integral part of our teaching philosophy in the education of future healthcare professionals. 

The Learning Communities will allow you to build an academic relationship with your peers and to support each other in your learning. Together you will practice case-based learning, clinical skills, practical skills, anatomy practicals, laboratory practicals and other small group teaching activities such as Clinical Microbiological Cases, Clinical Pathological Cases and Integrated Case-Based Workshops.  

At RCSI, our curriculum is informed by the principles of positive education. This combines the science of positive psychology with curriculum development, delivery and assessment. As part of the core curriculum, students are taught skills and behaviours that encourage them to prioritise their health and wellbeing, thus supporting their capacity to flourish. This approach to learning actively promotes positive growth, resilience and well-being.  

You will find a full programme overview here.