Queen’s University Belfast School of Medicine is Northern Ireland’s only medical school, and one of the oldest in the UK, having been established in 1849. Queen’s is ranked 4th in the UK for Medicine in the Complete University Guide 2027, and 18th out of 40 in the Guardian University Guide 2027, where over 91% of students said they were satisfied with their teaching and the school scores 99 for career prospects.
Queen’s University Medical School adopts an integrated system-based approach, using case-based learning within the first four years to support learning. The following teaching methods also support the delivery of the curriculum:
The five years are structured as Foundations for Practice 1 and 2 (Years 1 and 2), where you’ll study the scientific basis of medical practice alongside clinical skills training, Immersion in Practice 1 and 2 (Years 3 and 4), and Preparation for Practice (Year 5). Four ‘Curriculum DNA’ themes – Global and Population Health, Clinical Science and Practice, Achieving Good Medical Practice, and Teamwork for Safe Care – run through every year of the course.
From your first year onwards, you’ll undertake clinical placements within a range of hospitals, general practices and healthcare settings throughout Northern Ireland, with 25% of clinical placements in primary care. By third year almost all teaching takes place in the clinical setting, and during Years 3 to 5 you’ll complete at least two clinical placements in Belfast and at least two elsewhere in Northern Ireland. You’ll receive your Trust allocations in Year 2, so you can plan ahead. Within your final year, you’ll undertake an ‘assistantship programme’, completing the range of tasks carried out by a Foundation doctor, to prepare you for transition to a Foundation Year role.
Knowledge is assessed through regular progress testing, which prepares you for the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA), taken at the beginning of final year, while clinical skills are assessed through OSCEs. Anatomy is taught through cadaveric dissection in a state-of-the-art Dissection Suite, and you’ll also use the KN Cheung SK Chin InterSim Centre, a world-class interprofessional simulation centre.
You can find out more information about the course structure and content here.
Queen’s medical students are welcomed in all of the hospitals within Northern Ireland, across the region’s five Health and Social Care Trusts, whose main teaching hospitals are:
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Throughout the programme you’ll have a wide range of choice, in the form of student selected components, as well as a four-week Clinical Elective at the start of Year 5, letting you explore areas of interest.
Many students use the elective to work in a different healthcare environment abroad, often choosing destinations in Australia, India, Canada and several countries in Africa. Queen’s also offers summer studentship opportunities in its leading research and education centres, giving you the chance to get involved in research and quality improvement projects.
Queen’s University also offers students the opportunity to complete an intercalated degree, which allows you a one year break in your medical study, at the end of second, third or fourth year, to complete a Bachelor, master’s or PhD level qualification in addition to your medical qualification. Options within the School include the Master of Public Health, MSc (Res) in Cancer Medicine, MSc in Biomedical and Clinical Research and MSc in Clinical Anatomy. You can find out more about intercalation at Queen’s University here.
Away from the curriculum, medical students at Queen’s get involved in societies including Scrubs, GPSoc and Students Working Overseas Trust (SWOT), and the University has over 190 clubs and societies in total.
As Queen’s University is the only medical school within Northern Ireland, clinical placements are available in hospitals throughout the region and in over one-hundred-and-fifty general practices.
Other selling points you could mention at interview include:
The typical entry requirements for 2027 entry are:
Because the minimum age for GMC registration at graduation is 21, Queen’s can’t admit students under the age of 16. There are 236 places for Home students and 36 for international students, and transfers from other medical schools aren’t permitted. Access Course qualifications aren’t accepted, and only one BTEC/OCR Level 2 qualification is counted within the GCSE score. You can find the full requirements on the course page, and compare schools using our guide to medicine entry requirements.
Widening access: applicants educated at a secondary school in Northern Ireland with a BT postcode to at least Year 12 are shortlisted on AS-level grades, UCAT results and predicted A-level performance rather than GCSE performance, which means more students from this background reach the interview stage. Queen’s also takes part in the University’s Pathway Opportunity Programme (POP): students who complete the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences pathway receive a guaranteed interview and a possible offer one A-level grade below the normal target, while those completing any other POP programme who are academically eligible receive a guaranteed interview at the normal entry requirements.
Queen’s University Medical School uses the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format for its interview. On their website they identify the following ‘key non-cognitive competencies for medicine’ which will be assessed:
Stations include role-player scenarios with a simulated participant and semi-structured interviews with an assessor, and your personal statement is considered within the MMI process. Queen’s says each station carries equal marks, and that you’ll have one minute to consider the scenario before you enter each station.
For 2027 entry, interviews will be held in person in Belfast for Home fee paying applicants, while international fee paying applicants will be interviewed online. For 2026 entry, the in-person MMI consisted of nine stations and the online MMI seven stations. Interviews run from mid-December to March, with the majority of decisions expected at the end of March and final decisions by late April. You can find more information about the MMI, including sample interview stations, on their website here.
Most medical schools require you to pass an admissions exam before you’ll be invited for interview.
Admissions exam for Queen’s University Belfast: University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)
The UCAT assesses your characteristics, attitudes and professional behaviours against those required for medical school. The exam is now divided into 4 sections: Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Situational Judgement (SJT). Abstract Reasoning has been removed from the test.
For 2027 entry, the UCAT is being held between 13 July and 24 September 2026.
Queen’s University Belfast specifies that applicants will be ranked based on their UCAT score and only a certain number will be invited to interview. Selection is a two-stage process: at Stage 1 your GCSE (or AS-level) score is combined with your UCAT score to give a pre-interview points total, and the highest-ranked applicants are invited to the MMI at Stage 2. Offers are then based solely on interview performance.
Your cognitive UCAT score is converted into points using your decile rank in the current application cycle, from 0 points for the bottom decile up to 9 points for the top decile, which is added to a maximum of 36 points for your academic background – a pre-interview score out of 45 points. The SJT isn’t part of that total, but it can be used to separate borderline applicants with a similar pre-interview score, or a similar score at interview.
The points threshold needed for an interview changes every year, depending on competition and the number of interview places, so it can’t be predicted in advance. Recent published thresholds are:
| Entry year | Points threshold for interview |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 37 points and above |
| 2023 | 38 points and above |
| 2024 | 38 points and above, or 37 points with SJT in Band 1 or 2 |
| 2025 | 30 points and above |
Source: Admission Policy Statement for Medicine for 2026 Entry.
These thresholds were calculated on the previous scoring system, where the pre-interview score was out of a maximum of 42 points (36 academic plus 6 for the UCAT), so they aren’t directly comparable with scores out of 45. Queen’s reviews the weighting of the UCAT every year, so check the Admissions Policy Statement for Medicine – the 2027 entry version is expected to replace the 2026 one – before you apply.
To help you to successfully prepare for all sections, the free Medibuddy AI-powered, adaptive question bank carefully selects questions based on your strengths and weaknesses within the syllabus, to ensure that you’re focusing on areas which will have the biggest impact on your UCAT score.
You can also clearly see in the question bank dashboard the areas you have “mastered” and those which you need to focus more time on.
It’s crucial that you prepare well for all areas to ensure that you get the best UCAT score possible and secure your interview place!
For more information and guidance, see our complete guide to the UCAT and our UCAT preparation tips.
You can also see how other medical schools use the test in our guide to UCAT universities.
Tuition fees for students enrolling in 2026/27 are:
Fees for 2027/28 haven’t been confirmed yet, so check the fees and funding pages for the latest information.
Good luck with your application to Queen’s University Belfast! For more help, take a look at our guides to applying to medical school and the best medical schools in the UK.
