Ireland · RCPI HST Histopathology · 2027 intake criteria
RCPI HST Histopathology: the aptitude test and the interview
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Where these numbers come from
- 10 domains, worded as in the official guide
- 2 official sources, each dated
Method and sources
Your score adds up the option you pick in each domain, using the published rules shown on each step. "Could still add" uses only steps the guide allows before the deadline. No competition figures are shown for Irish HST. Last checked 30 October 2026.
- RCPI Entry Guidance and Advice: HST Shortlisting and Interview Criteria & Specialty Entry Requirements. 2027 intake. The page says "Applications for our 2027 Higher Specialist Training (HST) programmes are now closed." Criteria are published as tables on the page, not as PDFs.
- RCPI HST Application Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions. 2027 intake ("Applications for our Higher Specialist Training (HST) programme will open 01 October 2026.")
HST Histopathology doesn’t use shortlisting. “The Faculty of Pathology conducts an aptitude test for any persons wishing to apply to the HST Histopathology Programme. These are conducted in year 2 of the BST Histopathology Scheme and are in lieu of shortlisting for this specialty ONLY.” The test covers five criteria: Professional Qualifications/Education, Publication & Audit Experience, Clinical Practice, Leadership & Management Experience and Teaching Experience. RCPI publishes no marks for any of them, so there’s no total and no calculator. The interview is out of 100, in person, on 5 February 2027: BST Performance 30, Research & Audit 10, Management & Leadership 10, General Suitability 30 and Presentation / Communication 20. The 2027 application window closed at 5pm on 29 October 2026.
Where Teach the Teacher counts for Histopathology
We claim the course on the aptitude test’s Teaching Experience criterion, and the panel decides. The criterion reads “Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching”, and no marks are published for it. The Erudical course is a live online day with “6 hours of live teaching with an expert”, plus a self-paced course of over 12 hours in 20 modules. It’s training in teaching rather than a qualification, so pair it with teaching you’ve done, such as cut-up or slide sessions for new SHOs or teaching for medical students in the lab. Timing is the catch: the aptitude test happens in BST year 2, so the course only helps if it’s done before then. No interview domain names teaching.
Rules in the Histopathology criteria that change a score
The aptitude test replaces shortlisting, so your CV has to be ready in BST year 2, well before the October application window. The publications criterion names “first author, peer reviewed publications, case studeis” separately (spelling as published), which suggests they count for more, but RCPI publishes no weighting. Leadership includes “training” and laboratory roles and asks for “awareness of labratory quality assurance”, so QA work counts there. At interview, BST Performance and General Suitability are worth 30 each, and Presentation / Communication 20. Proof is needed for publications and presentations (“Verifiable proof will be required”), and RCPI accepts no updates after the close. Places follow your interview rank.
Worked example: a BST Histopathology trainee in year 2
Picture a year 2 trainee with a first-author case report, a national poster, an audit of frozen-section turnaround, a role on the lab’s quality committee and cut-up teaching she runs for new SHOs. The case report and poster go under Publication & Audit Experience, the quality committee covers both leadership and the QA awareness the criterion asks for, and the cut-up sessions are teaching experience. With no marks published, no total is possible. A Teach the Teacher certificate, done before the aptitude test, adds a teaching course beside the cut-up sessions; the panel decides what it adds.
RCPI Histopathology HST shortlisting points at a glance
Aptitude test in BST year 2 (in lieu of shortlisting)
No total is published for this framework.
"The Faculty of Pathology conducts an aptitude test for any persons wishing to apply to the HST Histopathology Programme. These are conducted in year 2 of the BST Histopathology Scheme and are in lieu of shortlisting for this specialty ONLY." Five criteria are listed with no marks, so no total is published.
| Domain | What scores (official wording) | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Qualifications/Education |
Graded on the single best descriptor you can evidence. RCPI publishes this row for the aptitude test but no marks, for this row or in total. | Not published |
| Publication & Audit Experience |
Graded on the single best descriptor you can evidence. RCPI publishes this row for the aptitude test but no marks, for this row or in total. | Not published |
| Clinical Practice |
Graded on the single best descriptor you can evidence. RCPI publishes this row for the aptitude test but no marks, for this row or in total. | Not published |
| Leadership & Management Experience |
Graded on the single best descriptor you can evidence. RCPI publishes this row for the aptitude test but no marks, for this row or in total. | Not published |
| Teaching Experience |
Graded on the single best descriptor you can evidence. RCPI publishes this row for the aptitude test but no marks, for this row or in total. | Not published |
| Total | Not published |
Aptitude test in BST year 2 (in lieu of shortlisting): Dates for this round
- Applications opened (2027 intake) source
- This round closed 29 Oct 2026 (2027 intake); nothing can be added to those applications source
- Next applications open (2028 intake), expected early October 2027 expected source
- Next applications close (2028 intake), expected late October 2027: what you claim must be done by then expected source
Aptitude test in BST year 2 (in lieu of shortlisting): What you can still add before 29 October 2027
What each of these adds is the difference between the option you would reach and the one you already hold, so it can be nothing if you hold that option already.
- Publication & Audit Experience. For the next intake: finish an audit cycle or QI project and present it, and submit papers early enough to be published or accepted before the window opens. Keep verifiable proof of each one.
- Leadership & Management Experience. For the next intake: take on a formal role (rota, committee, QI or teaching lead) and get a dated letter confirming it.
- Teaching Experience. For the next intake (window expected October 2027): complete the Erudical Teach the Teacher course (live day plus self-paced) and keep both certificates, and keep a dated log of teaching you deliver, with feedback where you can get it.
Interview (2027 intake)
Your score is the total of the domain scores, out of a maximum of 100.
Five domains, total 100 as published. No interview domain names teaching. Ranking: "Posts are allocated by the NSD(s) taking into account rank at interview and available places." Self-estimate (owner ruling 30 Oct 2026): RCPI publishes only the maximum for each row, so the calculator asks you to rate yourself on each row (none, some, good, strong) and adds up your own estimate. These steps are ours, not RCPI's; the panel scores the real marks.
| Domain | What scores (official wording) | Max |
|---|---|---|
| BST Performance |
Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 30 points. Interview domain worth 30. RCPI publishes the category and its marks only; the interview panel scores it. | 30 |
| Research & Audit |
Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 10 points. Interview domain worth 10. RCPI publishes the category and its marks only; the interview panel scores it. | 10 |
| Management & Leadership |
Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 10 points. Interview domain worth 10. RCPI publishes the category and its marks only; the interview panel scores it. | 10 |
| General Suitability |
Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 30 points. Interview domain worth 30. RCPI publishes the category and its marks only; the interview panel scores it. | 30 |
| Presentation / Communication |
Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 20 points. Interview domain worth 20. RCPI publishes the category and its marks only; the interview panel scores it. | 20 |
| Total | 100 |
Interview (2027 intake): Dates for this round
- This round closed 29 Oct 2026 (2027 intake); nothing can be added to those applications source
- HST Histopathology interviews (in person) source
- Next applications open (2028 intake), expected early October 2027 expected source
- Next applications close (2028 intake), expected late October 2027: what you claim must be done by then expected source
Interview (2027 intake): What you can still add before 29 October 2027
What each of these adds is the difference between the option you would reach and the one you already hold, so it can be nothing if you hold that option already.
- Research & Audit. For the next intake: finish an audit cycle or QI project and present it, and submit papers early enough to be published or accepted before the window opens. Keep verifiable proof of each one.
- Management & Leadership. For the next intake: take on a formal role (rota, committee, QI or teaching lead) and get a dated letter confirming it.
- Presentation / Communication. For the next intake: finish an audit cycle or QI project and present it, and submit papers early enough to be published or accepted before the window opens. Keep verifiable proof of each one.
Evidence traps
- There is no separate shortlisting for Histopathology: the aptitude test in BST year 2 replaces it, so your CV needs to be ready by then.
The Faculty of Pathology conducts an aptitude test for any persons wishing to apply to the HST Histopathology Programme. These are conducted in year 2 of the BST Histopathology Scheme and are in lieu of shortlisting for this specialty ONLY.
source - RCPI lists the aptitude test criteria but no marks, so no one can tell you the score of a given item.
The criteria for the aptitude tests are defined as below:
source - Laboratory quality assurance awareness is assessed inside Leadership & Management, so be ready to show it.
Candidate demonstrated awareness of labratory quality assurance.
source - Nothing can be added after the close. A paper accepted or a talk given after 5pm on 29 October 2026 waits for the next window.
No, the Admissions Team is not in a position to accept any documents or updates to applications following the close of applications.
source - Every publication, presentation and research item needs proof uploaded with the application, and RCPI reviews only the documents it asks for.
Verifiable proof will be required. Please follow the instructions on the application form. ... Please only upload the requested documents. Additional documents will not be reviewed.
source
Sources
- RCPI Entry Guidance and Advice: HST Shortlisting and Interview Criteria & Specialty Entry Requirements, 2027 intake. The page says "Applications for our 2027 Higher Specialist Training (HST) programmes are now closed." Criteria are published as tables on the page, not as PDFs.
- RCPI HST Application Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions, 2027 intake ("Applications for our Higher Specialist Training (HST) programme will open 01 October 2026.")
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Histopathology HST questions, answered
How many points is teaching worth for RCPI HST Histopathology?
RCPI doesn’t say. Teaching Experience (“Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching”) is one of five aptitude test criteria, but no marks are published for any of them, and no interview domain names teaching.
Is there shortlisting for HST Histopathology in Ireland?
No. “The Faculty of Pathology conducts an aptitude test for any persons wishing to apply to the HST Histopathology Programme. These are conducted in year 2 of the BST Histopathology Scheme and are in lieu of shortlisting for this specialty ONLY.”
When is the RCPI HST Histopathology interview for 2027?
In person on 5 February 2027. Applications closed at 5pm on 29 October 2026.
What is in the HST Histopathology interview?
BST Performance 30, Research & Audit 10, Management & Leadership 10, General Suitability 30 and Presentation / Communication 20, total 100.
Does a teach the teacher course count for HST Histopathology?
We claim it on the aptitude test’s Teaching Experience row, and the panel decides. No marks are published, and it only helps if it’s done before your aptitude test in BST year 2.
