StAR Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme

The aim of the Strategic Academic Recruitment (StAR) MD Programme is to accelerate the delivery of innovative, impactful translational research and build on highly skilled clinical expertise to improve modern healthcare issues.

The programme attracts some of the best research talent in Ireland, working across a range of research themes.

About the programme

The StAR MD degree by dissertation is a body of work representing two years of research activity (Doctoral Award NFQ Level 10). To graduate with the MD degree, you must provide evidence of an original contribution to medicine, surgery, psychiatry or medical science.

Watch the video

Hear from past scholars

"The RCSI StAR MD is a prestigious scholarship programme that offered me, not only research funding and salaried clinical commitment, but also protected research time. It opened doors for me to secure a fellowship in the top-ranking institute in the UK. My StAR MD supervisors were remarkably helpful and guided me to improve my work and present it at international conferences."

Dr Razia Aslam, StAR MD Scholar, 2020

"The StAR MD programme afforded me the opportunity to broaden my horizons and embark on translational research with invaluable support and mentorship from renowned experts in the field of cancer genomics and therapeutics. The organised structure, regular progress reviews and financial support provided an excellent framework which allowed me to achieve my research goals."

Dr Lisa Prior, StAR MD Scholar, 2019

"By far the most structured, well-organised and supportive research programme which guaranteed my success throughout the journey. The key to my success was the fantastic synergetic support that I received from my supervisors who made me feel that I was an integral part of the team. What made this programme so attractive was the financial support, which was pivotal in running state-of-art technologies as part of my research."

Dr Jorin Bejleri, StAR MD Scholar, 2019

"The StAR MD Programme has provided me with the invaluable opportunity to carry out blood cancer research, and without the ongoing academic and financial support provided by the programme this work would not have been possible. This programme not only enhances our careers, but enables high quality research to be carried out to improve outcomes for our patients.“

Dr Claire Comerford, StAR MD Scholar, 2020