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The Medical Education Scholarship will provide one scholarship of £16,000 over 4 years (£4,000 for each year of the four-year degree programme).

Students from Northern Ireland who are applying for our Graduate Entry Medicine programme, starting in August 2024 are eligible to apply.  Scholarship funding to be used towards tuition fee.

Key Dates

  • 17 April 2024 -  Applications open (2024 entry offer-holders will receive a link to apply directly to their inbox)
  • 27 May 2024 -  Applications close
  • 03 June 2024 - Panel reviews applications and decisions made
  • 04 June 2024 - Successful candidates informed
  • 06 June 2024 - Candidates confirm acceptance of scholarship

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the scholarship you must:

  • hold Northern Ireland residency status
  • hold an offer for the Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme starting in August 2024 and have met the academic entry criteria
  • be eligible for Northern Ireland tuition fee status at Ulster University
  • have an annual household income of £30000 less based on the median annual earnings (Oct. 2024)
  • meet at least one of these criteria: 
    1. be the main carer for a family member or dependent
    2. be care experienced
    3. receive disability living allowance or personal independence payments or other benefits
    4. live permanently in an area of high deprivation/low participation (Quintile 1).  You can check eligibility using the ISRA postcode checker.
    5. attend or have attended a secondary school with a Free School Meal Entitlement of 50% or more.  You can check eligibility on the Department for Education website

Essential Criteria

  • You hold an offer for the UU MBBS course

    You meet this criterion if you hold a Conditional Firm (CF) offer for the MBBS course starting in August 2024.

    You do not need to submit evidence, the School of Medicine will confirm you meet this criterion.

  • You are eligible for Northern Ireland fee status

    You meet this criterion if:

    • you are eligible for NI fee status

    You do not need to submit evidence, the School of Medicine will confirm you meet this criterion

  • A resident of Northern Ireland

    You meet this criterion if, at the start of the MBBS programme in August 2024, you:

    • hold Northern Ireland (NI) residency status

    Proof of address

    You can provide evidence of your home address by providing a letter that includes your name and address such as:

    • utility bill
    • bank statement
    • rent/mortgage statement
    • driving licence
    • payslip
    • NHS card
    • benefits letter.

    If you have settled status, please also provide evidence of this and further details.

  • You experience financial barriers or have a low household income at the point of entry to the course

    You meet this criterion if, at the point of entry to the MBBS course in August 2024, your household income is:

    • below £30,000 for NI applicants based on the median annual salary.

    Evidence of income

    Please provide details of your current income and how you anticipate it will change when you commence the course.
    Where possible you should provide household income should be evidenced by providing the following.

    NI applicants

    NI applications must provide evidence of:

    • a P60 for the tax year 2022-23
    • a photocopy of a recent (within last 3 months) payslip
    • a recent income support document e.g. evidence that
    • receipt of Income Support or Working Tax Credits, or another benefits document.
    • a photocopy or screenshot of your wage slip which will confirm the level of pay and number of hours worked.

Additional Criteria

Additional consideration will be given to those who meet any of the following criteria:

  • You are the main carer for a family member or dependent

    You meet this criterion if:

    • you are a carer who provides unpaid care to a family member who could not cope without their support due to, for example, illness, disability, a mental health issue, or substance misuse
    • you are someone who is the sole carer/provider for dependent children

    Please provide any evidence you have to support your application. However, we understand if is not possible.

  • You have been placed in care

    You meet this criterion if you have experience of being placed in care (fostering/adopted/care home or other supported residential care).

    This includes individuals who have lived in public care or as a looked-after child, including placements with foster carers under local authority care or kinship care, in a residential children's home, or who have been adopted after being in care.

    Please provide the name and contact details of the relevant social worker.

  • You are in receipt of disability or personal independence payments

    You meet this criterion if you are in receipt of disability living allowance/personal independence payments/other benefits.

    Please supply a photocopy of a recent (within last 3 months) disability living allowance or personal independence payments.

  • You live in an area of high deprivation/low participation

    You meet this criterion if you currently live in a designated area of high deprivation/low participation. High deprivation is indicated with a score of 356 or less. Please see the evidence column for tools on how to check this.

  • You went to a post-primary school with high deprivation 

    You meet this criterion if you attended a post-primary school with high deprivation indicators.

    You must provide the name and address of your secondary school.

    • NI applicants can check if they attended a secondary school with a Free School Meal Entitlement of 50% or more