Applying for Medicine - HPAT and GAMSAT

Applying for a degree course in medicine in Ireland requires applicants to undertake a dedicated admission test.

For non-degree holders

The admissions test selected by the Irish Medical Schools is called HPAT-Ireland (Health Professions Admission Test-Ireland). The test measures a candidate’s logical reasoning and problem solving skills as well as non-verbal reasoning and the ability to understand the thoughts, behaviour and/or intentions of people.

It is designed to complement academic achievement, by providing assessment of skills in the areas of reasoning understanding and working with people, HPAT-Ireland has a strong focus on general skills and personal abilities. These skills have been identified as important for a competent health professional. It does not test academic knowledge and candidates do not require special understanding of any academic discipline.

This test is independently administered by ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research). ACER has an excellent international reputation and a track record in the development, management and research of selection tests for undergraduate medical and health related programmes.

Only those who meet the academic entry requirements for the medicine programme in question are allowed to undertake the HPAT test.

NB - Please note that international/non-EU students may be exempt from taking HPAT-Ireland. For detailed information about the entry requirements of the universities, candidates should contact the universities to which they intend to apply directly, or refer to their websites.

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For graduates

Irish universities also offer graduate-entry medicine programmes, which require applicants to undergo a different test - the GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test).

GAMSAT is a professionally designed and marked selection test developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) for medical schools offering graduate-entry programmes open to graduates of any discipline. You will need to sit GAMSAT Ireland if you intend to apply for 2010 entry into one of the following programmes:

Graduate Veterinary Medicine  Programme at University College Dublin (UCD)
Graduate Entry Medicine at University College Dublin (UCD)
Graduate Entry Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)
Graduate Entry Medicine at University College Cork (UCC)
Graduate Entry Medicine at the University of Limerick

The purpose of GAMSAT is to assess your ability to understand and analyse material, to think critically, and to organise and express your thoughts in a logical and effective way. GAMSAT questions are based on material drawn from a variety of sources. They typically require candidates to read and think about a passage of writing, to interpret graphical displays of information, to use mathematical relationships and to apply reasoning skills to tables of data. Problem solving is a major focus of the test.

The test is divided into three sections designed to assess performance in the areas of:

I Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences
II Written Communication
III Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences

Since problem-based learning techniques are central to modern medical curricula, GAMSAT is constructed with a major focus on the assessment of problem solving ability across a wide range of  subject areas.

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