Medicine

All RCSI Undergraduate degree programmes are covered under the Irish Government’s Free Fees Initiative.

Under the terms of the Free Fees Initiative, the Irish Exchequer will pay tuition fees on behalf of students who:

• Meet the eligibility criteria for EU applicant status, as outlined in more detail above
• Undertake a full-time undergraduate course of at least two years' duration
• Are first time, full-time undergraduate students, and
• Are not repeating the year due to failing exams or changing course (Note: This exclusion may be waived if repeating a year due to a certified serious illness)

How much do I pay under the Free Fees Initiative?

• The Free Fees Initiative covers the tuition component of your Undergraduate Medicine course fee
• Students covered under Free Fees are required to pay a student contribution charge*. For the 2025/26 academic year this is expected to be in the region of €3,000, but is yet to be confirmed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). Students who qualify for the SUSI Grant are not required to pay the student contribution charge
• All students covered under Free Fees are also required to pay the balance of non-tuition costs, which are shown below.

Fees for the 2024/25 academic year are listed below as a guideline:

Students who qualify for Free Fees and the SUSI Grant

Note: If you are an Irish or EU student who does not qualify for Free Fees, you are liable for EU Fees.

How much do I pay if I am a School Leaver applicant liable for EU Fees?

• Fees have not yet been published for the 2025/26 academic year
• Fees for the 2024/25 academic year are listed below as a guideline:

*The student contribution charge applies in all universities in Ireland and covers non-tuition costs such as library services, examinations, student support services, welfare and counselling services etc.

**The IT fee is an annual charge to cover the costs of providing significant IT support which is essential to the delivery of the Undergraduate programmes.

***RCSI has a duty of care to its students and to the patients with whom they engage. Students risk being exposed to blood-borne viruses (BBV) in the clinical setting throughout their academic programme. To minimise the risk of infection, students are required to undergo BBV screening and vaccinations in the first year of their studies. This is delivered through Mercer’s Medical Centre.  

****The Undergraduate Degrees issued by RCSI are the degrees of the National University of Ireland (NUI). This fee is a once-off registration fee with the NUI.

To qualify for Mature Entry status, you must be over 23 years of age on 1 January in the year of entry to the Undergraduate Medicine Programme. To be considered a Mature Entry student, you must also be an EU (which includes the EEA and Switzerland) applicant.

All RCSI Undergraduate degree programmes are covered under the Irish Government's Free Fees Initiative.

Under the terms of the Free Fees Initiative, the Irish Exchequer will pay tuition fees on behalf of students who:

• Meet the eligibility criteria for EU applicant status, as outlined in more detail above
• Undertake a full-time undergraduate course of at least two years' duration
• Are first time, full-time undergraduate students, and
• Are not repeating the year due to failing exams or changing course (Note: This exclusion may be waived if repeating a year due to a certified serious illness)

How much do I pay under the Free Fees Initiative?

• The Free Fees Initiative covers the tuition component of your Undergraduate Medicine course fee
• Students covered under Free Fees are required to pay a student contribution charge*. For the 2025/26 academic year this is expected to be in the region of €3,000, but is yet to be confirmed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). Students who qualify for the SUSI Grant are not required to pay the student contribution charge
• All students covered under Free Fees are also required to pay the balance of non-tuition costs, which are shown below.

Fees for the 2024/25 academic year are listed below as a guideline:

Students who qualify for Free Fees and the SUSI Grant

Note: If you are an Irish or EU student who does not qualify for Free Fees, you are liable for EU Fees.

How much do I pay if I am a Mature Entry applicant liable for EU Fees?

• Fees have not yet been published for the 2025/26 academic year
• Fees for the 2024/25 academic year are listed below as a guideline:

*The student contribution charge applies in all universities in Ireland and covers non-tuition costs such as library services, examinations, student support services, welfare and counselling services etc.

**The IT fee is an annual charge to cover the costs of providing significant IT support which is essential to the delivery of the Undergraduate programmes.

***RCSI has a duty of care to its students and to the patients with whom they engage. Students risk being exposed to blood-borne viruses (BBV) in the clinical setting throughout their academic programme. To minimise the risk of infection, students are required to undergo BBV screening and vaccinations in the first year of their studies. This is delivered through Mercer’s Medical Centre. 

****The Undergraduate Degrees issued by RCSI are the degrees of the National University of Ireland (NUI). This fee is a once-off registration fee with the NUI.

How much do I pay if I am a School Leaver applicant liable for Non-EU Fees?

Fees for the 2025/26 academic year are listed below:

*The Undergraduate Degrees issued by RCSI are the degrees of the National University of Ireland (NUI). This fee is a once-off registration fee with the NUI.

Please note:
The Non-EU Fees for Undergraduate Medicine are subject to annual increases. The inflationary increase has been in the order of 2% per annum for the past number of years.

EU Scholarship

• The Aim High Medicine Scholarships are designed to lessen the financial burden of attending university, and are open to applications from students presenting the Irish Leaving Certificate who are applying to undergraduate Medicine via the CAO and are HEAR-eligible. Further information on the scholarship and application process is available here.
• The Consilio Manuque Medicine Scholarship is awarded to the student with the highest combined Irish Leaving Certificate (or equivalent school leaving examinations) and HPAT score, entering the Medicine programme via the CAO. Further information on the scholarship and application process is available here.
• RCSI's Traveller and Roma Communities Access Scholarship aims to increase the participation of members from the Traveller and Roma Communities in RCSI's Undergraduate Programmes. Further information on the scholarship and application process is available here.
• The 1916 Bursary is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) and aims to encourage participation and success by students who are most socio-economically disadvantaged and from groups most under-represented in higher education. Further information is available at 1916bursary.ie.

Non-EU students who have an offer to join RCSI's Medicine programme and who are self-funded (not attending under another scholarship programme) will be invited to apply to the International Consilio Manuque Medicine Scholarship.

Further information on the scholarship and application process is available here.