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Ministers Harris and Donnelly announce funding for additional medical places in Queen’s University Belfast from September 2024

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced funding for additional medical places in Queen’s University, Belfast.

Following agreement between Queens University Belfast, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Department of Health, funding for twenty five (25) additional medical places will be made available for qualifying students from Ireland or Northern Ireland in Queen’s from September 2024.

A further twenty-five places will be made available in September 2025 bringing the total number of additional places available to 50. These places will be co-funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Department of Health.

Students who take up these places will pay the same student contribution rate as their counterparts studying in medical schools in Ireland and will commit to applying to take up a position in the HSE as an intern at the end of their studies.

Minister Harris said:

“This is a really exciting partnership between the government and Queen’s University in Belfast, recognising the importance of increasing healthcare graduates across both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland. I really want to thank Queen’s for their engagement over the last number of months leading to this agreement.

“We have forged really important bonds with partners in Northern Ireland to help improve access to education and research and this is a further example of these relationships benefiting both education and healthcare systems on the island.

“With the ongoing expansion in places across the six medical schools in this jurisdiction, and these places at Queen’s, by September 2024 we will have delivered a more than 25% increase in places for students relative to September 2021.”

Minister Donnelly said:

“I am delighted to see the provision of additional student places in medicine in Queen’s University Belfast. I very much welcome this cross-border collaboration with our partners in Northern Ireland. Increasing the future supply of health care workers is critical to addressing the workforce needs of our health service. These 50 additional student places will increase the number of doctors which is an important step towards meeting future health workforce needs.

“Through co-operation with partners in Northern Ireland, we have previously secured additional student places in other key health-related disciplines. There are now 140 students from the South studying Nursing and Midwifery across Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University and a further 80 students studying in Allied Health Professional courses at Ulster University.

"I look forward to continuing to work to build student supply in health-related disciplines to meet the health workforce needs of our population.”

Professor Sir Ian Greer, Queen’s University Belfast President and Vice-Chancellor, said:

“We are delighted to be working in partnership (with both the Department of Further and Higher Education Research Innovation and Science and the Department of Health in Ireland) to increase the number of places on offer to medical students at Queen’s. This collaborative approach will serve to benefit the future of healthcare across the island of Ireland, producing a much needed increased number of medically trained graduates for both health services. We look forward to receiving applications from both North and South, for our upcoming intakes.”

Notes

Who is eligible for the scheme

The scheme is open to applicants who:

  • are applying for their first programme of study, and
  • are eligible for the 'Home' fee rate of £4750 (in the main, these are applicants who are resident in Northern Ireland or in Ireland)

Eligibility for one of the 25 additional 100 Medicine places at Queen’s University Belfast is determined by the assessment of each applicant’s tuition fee liability. This scheme is only available to applicants who are deemed to be eligible for the Northern Ireland and Ireland domiciled fee rate for 2024/25 entry.

Whether this scheme will reduce the number of places available to other applicants for medicine in Northern Ireland

No. There are 236 home fee places (NI, IE, GB, EU settled places) and this will remain unchanged. The scheme provides an additional 25 places in both 2024/25 and 2025/26.

How to apply for the scheme

All applicants will apply in the usual way via UCAS and sit the UCAT test in the relevant testing window for entry. As the window for entry in September 2024 has closed on 16 October 2023 all candidates interviewed will receive information as soon as the scheme has been announced to determine if they are interested in this scheme. All applicants will have ranked highly enough to receive an offer.

Details of entry for the 2025/26 scheme will be provided in due course.

Whether a student can still apply for a medicine place in Queen’s and not return to take up a HSE intern post

This additional route does not prevent any student from Ireland undertaking a place on the standard Queen’s programme, with the standard fee as charged by Queen’s and determining where they will undertake their intern year in line with current arrangements. These students may still choose at the end of their studies to apply for an intern post in the HSE. No refund in respect of the fee differential paid in the 5 years would be due, should they choose to return to the HSE at that time.

Students will decide at point of offer and acceptance which route to entry they will take. Places will still be available in Queen’s (in line with their admissions criteria and subject to an offer being made by Queen’s) for any student from Ireland who meets the admission criteria.

Fees for successful applicants to the scheme

The student will pay Queen’s a rate equivalent to the student contribution applicable at Higher Education Institutions in Ireland. The standard contribution rate is €3,000 (£2,612). The Irish Government will pay the difference between the student contribution rate and the undergraduate tuition fee in Northern Ireland to Queen’s.

Whether students on the scheme will be able to access the Student Finance Loan system in Northern Ireland

Yes. Students are eligible to apply for financial support from Student Finance NI.

Applying for these places if you already have a degree

The two departments will only provide tuition fee support to Queen’s in respect of those commencing their first programme of study only.

However any student can still apply, in the same way as they always have, for places in medicine or any other programme in Queen’s University via UCAS and UCAT. Students would remain liable for the relevant full tuition fee for the programme.

Whether students on the scheme are eligible for SUSI grants or maintenance

Medicine (Q75A100) at Queen’s University is deemed eligible for SUSI maintenance grant purposes only. The fee part of the SUSI grant is not currently available for anyone studying outside of the jurisdiction.

Whether the the course for those on the scheme will be different from the existing course, and where your clinical placements will be

The course for students on the scheme will be identical to those not on the scheme. All clinical placements, except for the international elective, will be in Northern Ireland.

What is expected of students on the scheme when they graduate

In return for the fee subsidy, it is expected that students in the scheme will apply to work in the HSE as an intern (year one after qualification). If offered a post, they will accept and complete their internship year in the HSE. These students are not being asked to commit to working for the HSE beyond their internship year.

How to apply for internship in HSE

Those on the scheme will apply under the arrangements applicable at that time to the HSE. Current arrangements for 2024 are available.

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