Bursaries for new graduate medical course

Students on Scotland's new graduate entry medical course will now be in line for bursaries of £4000 per year.
Shona Robison hopes the bursaries will encourage students.Shona Robison hopes the bursaries will encourage students.
Shona Robison hopes the bursaries will encourage students.

The optional grant, worth £16,000 over the four-year course, will be payable to students who agree to work in Scotland’s NHS, committing to a year of service for each £4,000 claimed.

This return of service arrangement is used in other countries and has been used for dentistry training in Scotland.

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The ScotGEM course will be hosted by the universities of Dundee and St Andrews with support from the University of the Highlands and Islands, with a particular focus on general practice and rural working.

In addition to the return-of-service bursary, the Scottish Government will pay the tuition fees for eligible students. Currently, eligible students are those assessed as ‘home funded’ for fee purposes (Scottish domiciled/EU students).

There will be 40 places on the course, which is open to people who already hold a degree and who want to move into medicine as a career. Graduates will then complete foundation and specialty training before starting work as fully-qualified doctors.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “I hope this will encourage students to consider this course as a route into a medical career. Along with the free tuition for eligible students, this represents an attractive package for potential applicants.

“These are two priority recruitment areas for Scotland’s NHS, and are also extremely rewarding career paths.”