About this course
About
The course is an intense full-time, four year programme leading to an MBBS degree, recognised by the General Medical Council as a Primary Medical Qualification in the UK. The award of the final degree by Ulster University will be subject to satisfying the GMC’s rigorous quality assurance programme
We are delighted to be working with St George’s University of London as our partner medical school. St George’s has a long established reputation for delivering world-class medical education and has run a highly acclaimed Graduate Entry medical programme for many years.
We will be working closely with the GMC and St Georges to provide our students with the very best medical education; ensuring that they emerge as competent, caring, capable doctors.
Our programme gives you the opportunity to train as a doctor, even if this seemed like such a remote dream when you were at school that you did not even consider it. Perhaps you did not achieve the GCSE grades you had hoped for; or perhaps you were not sure whether to study arts or sciences at A level and opted for arts-based subjects. Maybe you just did not think you would ever be good enough to consider that you could be a doctor: but all along, you could not deny that this was really what you wanted to do.
In our School of Medicine, you now have a chance to fulfil your ambition to become a doctor. If you have a minimum of a 2.1 honours degree in any subject, are willing to work hard and want to know more about what it means to study medicine and become a doctor, then come along to our open days. There, you will have an opportunity to speak to us to find out more about being a doctor, what Graduate Entry medicine entails, and how you can prepare for our admissions process. You will need to sit the GAMSAT test and undertake a Multiple-Mini Interview process to demonstrate that you have the personal qualities required of a doctor.
Being a doctor is endlessly rewarding, hard work and at times challenging. We are pleased to welcome applications from a wide range of students. A long term health condition is not in itself a reason not to apply to study medicine, although we will take an individual approach to applicants with health problems and/ or disabilities, using Occupational Health professionals, in order to make sure that you have all the support you require to maximise your success as an undergraduate and then moving into the workplace. There is strong ongoing support for you whilst a student through the University’s support services, and there is further support available through the Ulster University Students Union.
Studying medicine with us will provide you with an intensely practical medical education. Ulster’s MBBS programme will have a problem-based and interdisciplinary learning focus. This will enable you to graduate, not only demonstrating that you meet all the GMC ‘Outcomes for Graduates’, but that you are fully prepared to work as a member of an integrated health and social care team with a strong community focus, even for patients cared for by hospital specialists.
You will benefit from access to practice learning placements across the full range of medical specialist subjects, significant opportunities for primary care-based experience, and knowledge and appreciation of the interconnectivity between primary, secondary, social and community-based healthcare.
Northern Ireland is facing an unprecedented medical workforce shortage that will continue to impact negatively on the care of patients, their families and communities. Our medical school will help to ease the workforce challenges and futureproof our health service.
The MBBS programme is funded through the Northern Ireland Executive as one element of an approach to addressing this shortage of doctors in Northern Ireland. In addition, the University’s Civic commitment is to enhance the wellbeing and economic prosperity of our society. We therefore encourage applications from individuals who are keen to join the medical workforce in Ireland. Applicants will not have to demonstrate knowledge of the Northern Ireland health system during the selection process but, in common with other medical schools in the UK, applicants will be expected to demonstrate their insight into the work of a doctor, and their commitment to work as a doctor following graduation.
Graduate entry medicine is an intense course of study and this course is therefore not available for part time study.
Ulster University has a global reputation for biomedical sciences research across the breadth of the medical sphere. Our School of Nursing, based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, is ranked fifth in the UK and 37th in the world. Our unparalleled stratified medicine research, which primarily takes place in the C-TRIC facility at Altnagelvin Hospital, is globally renowned for pioneering personalised treatments for chronic health conditions.
Highlights
- Contact with patients from the fourth week of year one
- Learn anatomy with an emphasis on technology and live imaging.
- Patient-focused education with a strong emphasis on communicating with patients from a range of backgrounds
- Opportunities to undertake student selected component (SSC) of study on areas of interest to you including a “remote and rural medicine” pathway.
- Interprofessional education: Learning opportunities exist for our students to learn alongside one another reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of healthcare workplace environment.
- Careers advice embedded into our teaching
- Teaching is informed by our world class research which informs practice
- Many lecturers are working clinicians
Attendance
Full-time: 4 years; at least 45 months from initial enrolment; and not less than 5500 hours of theoretical and practical instruction. Maximum 6 years
Start dates
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
This course is underpinned by three main themes:
- Basic and Clinical Sciences
- Patients, Populations and Society
- Professional Skills
In the early years, delivery of these themes is achieved through six courses: Life Cycle; Life Protection; Life Support; Life Maintenance; Life Structure; and Life Control.
In years one and two, the emphasis is on lectures, tutorials and group activity with short clinical and community based placements in general practice and hospital trusts throughout Northern Ireland.
In year three (penultimate year) and year four (final year) clinical attachments take precedence, with complementary lectures, again, running in parallel. Your exposure to clinical environments is maximised within general practice and hospital trusts throughout Northern Ireland.
In the final year all students undertake an elective. This is an opportunity to explore an aspect of medicine of particular interest to you, anywhere in the world. Elective plans are reviewed and approved by an academic member of staff, and a report is written upon completion.
Content
The content for each course is summarised on the relevant course page, along with an overview of the modules that make up the course.
Each course is approved by the University and meets the expectations of:
Attendance and Independent Study
As part of your course induction, you will be provided with details of the organisation and management of the course, including attendance and assessment requirements - usually in the form of a timetable. For full-time courses, the precise timetable for each semester is not confirmed until close to the start date and may be subject to some change in the early weeks as all courses settle into their planned patterns. For part-time courses which require attendance on particular days and times, an expectation of the days and periods of attendance will be included in the letter of offer. A course handbook is also made available.
Courses comprise modules for which the notional effort involved is indicated by its credit rating. Each credit point represents 10 hours of student effort. Undergraduate courses typically contain 10- or 20-credit modules (more usually 20) and postgraduate course typically 15- or 30-credit modules.
The normal study load expectation for an undergraduate full-time course of study in the standard academic year is 120 credit points. This amounts to around 36-42 hours of expected teaching and learning per week, inclusive of attendance requirements for lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical work, fieldwork or other scheduled classes, private study, and assessment. Part-time study load is the same as full-time pro-rata, with each credit point representing 10 hours of student effort.
Postgraduate Master’s courses typically comprise 180 credits, taken in three semesters when studied full-time. A Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) comprises 60 credits and can usually be completed on a part-time basis in one year. A 120-credit Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) can usually be completed on a part-time basis in two years.
Class contact times vary by course and type of module. Typically, for a module predominantly delivered through lectures you can expect at least 3 contact hours per week (lectures/seminars/tutorials). Laboratory classes often require a greater intensity of attendance in blocks. Some modules may combine lecture and laboratory. The precise model will depend on the course you apply for and may be subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. Prospective students will be consulted about any significant changes.
Assessment
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessment. The precise assessment will depend on the module and may be subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification and the assessment timetable. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised.
Calculation of the Final Award
The class of Honours awarded in Bachelor’s degrees is usually determined by calculation of an aggregate mark based on performance across the modules at Levels 5 and 6, (which correspond to the second and third year of full-time attendance).
Level 6 modules contribute 70% of the aggregate mark and Level 5 contributes 30% to the calculation of the class of the award. Classification of integrated Master’s degrees with Honours include a Level 7 component. The calculation in this case is: 50% Level 7, 30% Level 6, 20% Level 5. At least half the Level 5 modules must be studied at the University for Level 5 to be included in the calculation of the class.
All other qualifications have an overall grade determined by results in modules from the final level of study. In Master’s degrees of more than 200 credit points the final 120 points usually determine the overall grading.
Academic profile
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (18%) or Lecturers (57%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures correct for academic year 2019-2020.
Standard entry conditions
We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.
A level
This is a graduate entry programme. You must have at least a 2:1 honours degree for entry to this course.
English Language Requirements
International and EU qualifications are assessed using National Academic Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) and UCAS Overseas Qualifications manual. Applicants from non-English speaking countries are also required to achieve grade B in GCSE English or IELTS grade 7.5 with no individual mark below 7.0.
Additional Entry Requirements
Applicants must satisfy the University’s General Entrance Requirements which can be found at https://www.ulster.ac.uk/study/entrance-requirements
Specific requirements for this course are:
- a minimum of a 2:1 Honours degree in any discipline
- pass the GAMSAT entrance examination
- pass the Multiple-Mini Interview assessment
- a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure from AccessNI or other relevant authority
- medical declaration completion and occupational health clearance
Prospective students should be aware of the GMC and MSC medical students' professional values and fitness to practise guidance that considers behaviour both before and during a period of study. Failure to comply with this guidance could impair eligibility for a student to register with the GMC and affect continuation on the programme.
Ulster University welcomes applications for entry in accordance with the UCAS equal consideration deadline in October. Please note that all applicants must register for the GAMSAT, which is held biannually in September and March of each year. More information can be found at https://gamsat.acer.org/
Exemptions and transferability
There can be no exemptions from any part of the approved programme.
Fees and funding
Scholarships, awards and prizes
A limited number of Scholarships are available
Medical Education Scholarships - Ulster University
Additional mandatory costs
Entry to the course is subject to a satisfactory medical check and also a criminal record check (AccessNI). Students will be required to meet the costs of required vaccinations and AccessNI checks. The current cost of an AccessNI Enhanced Disclosure is £33.
Students will be required to meet the travel costs of accommodation and transport while attending placements during the programme. Students will also have printing costs and will be required to purchase required reading materials and certain clinical equipment such as a stethoscope. Students will be expected to have a smart-phone or other hand-held device which can be used for assessments and accessing materials while on clinical placement.
Students should also be aware that the MBBS programme is longer than the usual 33 weeks for student accommodation which could attract higher living expenses than a standard undergraduate programme.
**The fee for International students includes the mandatory clinical placement levy to cover access to clinical placements in the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care system.**
Tuition fees and costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges), and normal living are a part of university life.
Where a course has additional mandatory expenses we make every effort to highlight them. These may include residential visits, field trips, materials (e.g. art, design, engineering) inoculations, security checks, computer equipment, uniforms, professional memberships etc.
We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free wifi is also available on each of the campuses.
There will be some additional costs to being a student which cannot be itemised and these will be different for each student. You may choose to purchase your own textbooks and course materials or prefer your own computer and software. Printing and binding may also be required. There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines. Additional costs vary from course to course.
Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs as well as tuition fees.
Please contact the course team for more information.
