(c) 2004, 2008 UCC Medical Society.
There are many prizes beyond those given by UCC which the top three students in your class share year after year. While prizes are inherently selective, there are prizes for the students out there that are good but not able to do what it takes to work their way through the murky marking schemes of UCC exam papers.
There is a general lack of awareness of what awards are available for studens from UCC. There are national conferences and competitions that are usually never advertised or only poorly advertised. There are also several awards from our college and from various organisations in Ireland, the UK, and the rest of the world for which UCC students can apply to compete.
Competitions:
Several competitions are not well publicised for students and they will be listed here.
| Intercollegiate Surgical Case Competition | A short case presentation (inevitably something extremely rare). There is a preliminary round at CUH where the prof of surgery picks a person to represent UCC who then travels to the RCSI to compete. There are very few official details about this competition so ask around. This may be part of the Charter's Day Meeting. |
| All Ireland Institute of Psychiatry Public Speaking Competition | Intervarsity competition versus all other Irish universities. It is also posted on the Irish College of Psychiatry website. |
UCC Prizes:
These are generally awarded for being first place in a given assignment, exam, or module. Specific rules governing the award are noted on the linked pages.
*This is as taken from the University Calendar 2008-2009.
The top two or three students in an eligible subject will be invited by the head of department to sit the Dr. H. H. Stewart Undergraduate Medical Scholarship exams from the National University of Ireland. These are prize exams against the top students from UCD, RCSI, and NUIG. UCC students usually get their fair share of the prizes which have a large monetary award attached.
UCC POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL PRIZES AND SCHOLARSHIPS
| AWARD | AWARDED FOR: |
| The Denis O'Sullivan Clinical Research Fellowships | 1 year funded research fellowship (on application) |
| The Dr. Raymond Shanahan Memorial Prize | Research |
| The Ainsworth Scholarship | 1 year's funding for training abroad (on application) |
| PhD Fee Waiver for Non-EU Students | Tuition fees (on application) |
UCC GENERAL PRIZES AND SCHOLARSHIPS
| AWARD | AWARDED FOR: |
| Entrance Scholarships | Irish students' Leaving Certificate school exam |
| Keliher Scholarships | Students in financial need (on application) |
| Sports Scholarships | Highly distinguished sportsmen/women (on application) |
| Travel Scholarships (several) | On application |
| Science Graduate of the Year Gold Medal | Best science graduate (Intercalated BSc students are eligible) |
| Graduate of the Year Award | The best human being produced by UCC |
Other Prizes:
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists run the annual Duke Elder exam in May. To take it, let the lecturer in the ophthalmology department know and pay a £15 deposit (you will get it back after taking the exam). There is a good site for preparation for the Duke Elder that should be reviewed. The RCOpth also does the Patrick Trevor-Roper Undergraduate Travel Award for students interested in ophthalmology.
The Royal Society of Medicine in London has prizes in most clinical specialtes for members. Student membership costs £40 per year and can pay off well if you win an essay prize or an elective bursary.
The Royal Academy of Medicine Ireland offers a student membership category that enables you to compete for their student prizes. Their website hasn't been updated for a few years and it shows but they claim to have student prizes.
The Health Research Board of Ireland offer grants which provide funding for undertaking a research elective during the summer. There is a competition after project submissions for the Watts Medal which was won in 2006 by a UCC medical student and again in 2008.
The Irish Undergraduate Awards are a new creation in 2008 and apparently offer awards for all undergraduate subject areas. They ask for submission of any academic papers written as part of your undergraduate degree, for example one of those fantastic behavioural science essays. They have published no details of what awards are available but say there are "over 100."
The Healing Foundation, a UK based foundation that promotes research, represents several craniofacial, plastic, and reconstructive surgical societies. In conjunction with these societies, grants are given for doing electives and research electives in the respective fields.
The Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland of which Professor Fraher (retired Professor of Anatomy at UCC) is a past president offers four research studentships and an undergraduate prize in anatomy and related subjects.
The Physiological Society runs a bursary scheme to fund students with an interest in physiology to travel to a meeting. They also offer vacation studentships to those wanting to do a summer research elective.
The Nutrition Society which promotes the science of nutrition in the UK and Ireland has the Denis Burkitt Study Award which is open to students (including medical students) who are doing a research project into nutrition in health. Further information is available here and it seems there is some serious money on offer...
The Royal College of Radiologists in the UK offers prizes to "UK Clinical Undergraduates." If you can convince them that you fit in this category, you might get yourself a prize or an elective bursary.
The British Pharmacological Society has an essay prize for undergraduates.