RCPI HST Immunology: points estimator and scoring guide

RCPI scores Immunology shortlisting out of 20: qualifications, publication and audit, and clinical practice at 5 each, and leadership and management and teaching at 2.5 each. RCPI publishes only the maximum for each row, so the panel decides each mark. The calculator at the top of this page is a self-estimate: you rate yourself against each row and it adds up your own estimate, not RCPI’s score. Applications for the 2027 intake closed at 5pm on 29 October 2026, and in-person interviews are on 17 February 2027. Unusually, the interview has a pass mark.

Where Teach the Teacher counts for Immunology

The teaching row reads “Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching”, worth 2.5 of 20. We claim Teach the Teacher there, and the panel decides. Be clear about what it is: a live online day (09:00 to 17:00, “6 hours of live teaching with an expert”) and a self-paced course of over 12 hours in 20 modules, each with a certificate. That isn’t a “higher qualification in teaching”, a phrase that most naturally means a postgraduate certificate or above, so the course supports the row as evidence that you are developing as a teacher. Upload the certificates with a dated log of the teaching you’ve done.

Teaching awards score under qualifications instead. The interview has no teaching category. The 2027 window has closed, so new evidence counts towards the next intake.

Rules on the Immunology form that change a score

The rule that catches people is at interview: “*Pass Mark: 50 overall to include at least 50% in Career Plan”. Career Plans is only 10 of 100, but scoring under 5 there fails the interview regardless of the rest. At shortlisting, clinical practice is judged against “the totality of the period of training” and names “attendance at specialty clinics”, so keep a signed clinic record. Publications, presentations, posters and audit share one 5-mark row. Nothing can be added after the close.

How the Immunology interview is scored

The interview is scored separately, out of 100, in person on 17 February 2027 for this intake:

• CV: 20
• Research & Audit: 20
• Clinical: 20
• Personal Specifications: 10
• Professionalism: 10
• Interview Performance: 10
• Career Plans: 10 (at least 5 needed to pass)

The pass mark is 50 overall, with at least half marks in Career Plans. Places are allocated “taking into account rank at interview and available places”.

RCPI Immunology HST HST Shortlisting Criteria (RCPI Entry Guidance and Advice) points at a glance

RCPI 2027 intake shortlisting and interview criteria (Entry Guidance page) · Last checked 30 October 2026

Your score is the total of the domain scores, out of a maximum of 20.

Header “20 Marks”: qualifications 5, publication and audit 5, clinical practice 5, leadership and management 2.5, teaching 2.5. Only category maxima are published. Interview (separate, out of 100): CV 20; Research & Audit 20; Clinical 20; Personal Specifications 10; Professionalism 10; Interview Performance 10; Career Plans 10. “*Pass Mark: 50 overall to include at least 50% in Career Plan”. “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.

RCPI Immunology HST: every domain, what scores and the maximum

Domain	What scores (official wording)	Max
Professional Qualifications/Education	0 points None yet 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks) 3.5 points Good (about two thirds) 5 points Strong (full marks for this row) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points. Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.	5
Publication & Audit Experience	0 points None yet 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks) 3.5 points Good (about two thirds) 5 points Strong (full marks for this row) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points. Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.	5
Clinical Practice	0 points None yet 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks) 3.5 points Good (about two thirds) 5 points Strong (full marks for this row) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points. Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.	5
Leadership & Management Experience	0 points None yet 1 point Some (about a third of the marks) 1.5 points Good (about two thirds) 2.5 points Strong (full marks for this row) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points. Category maximum 2.5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.	2.5
Teaching Experience	0 points None yet 1 point Some (about a third of the marks) 1.5 points Good (about two thirds) 2.5 points Strong (full marks for this row) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points. Category maximum 2.5 of 20. No points per item are published.	2.5
Total		20

Dates for this round

• 1 October 2026, 12pm Applications opened source
• 29 October 2026, 5pm This round closed 29 Oct 2026 (2027 intake); nothing can be added to those applications source 1 source 2
• 31 December 2026 MRCPI Clinical (relevant to the specialty) passed by source
• 17 February 2027 Interview (in person) source
• 1 October 2027 Next applications open (2028 intake), expected early October 2027 expected source
• 29 October 2027 Next applications close (2028 intake), expected late October 2027: what you claim must be done by then expected source

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. The calculator works out the gain from your own answers.

• 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. Gets you to: Some (about a third of the marks).

Evidence traps

• The interview has a pass mark: 50 overall and at least half marks for career plans. A weak career plan can fail you on its own. *Pass Mark: 50 overall to include at least 50% in Career Plan source
• Teaching is 2.5 of 20. The row accepts experience or a “higher qualification in teaching”; a course alone isn’t the second. Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching source
• Clinical practice is judged against the whole of your training, with specialty clinic attendance named. Candidate shows evidence that present achievement and performance is commensurate with the totality of the period of training, e.g. experience in specialty, attendance at specialty clinics etc. source
• Everything has to be uploaded with the application. A paper accepted, a talk given or a course finished after the window closes can’t be added later. No, the Admissions Team is not in a position to accept any documents or updates to applications following the close of applications. source
• The shortlisting score gets you an interview. Places are then given out on interview rank, so prepare for the interview criteria as seriously as the CV. Posts are allocated by the NSD(s) taking into account rank at interview and available places. source

Sources

• RCPI HST Entry Guidance and Advice: Immunology Shortlisting and Interview Criteria, 2027 HST intake. The page says “Applications for our 2027 Higher Specialist Training (HST) programmes are now closed.” The criteria are HTML tables in the “HST Shortlisting and Interview Criteria & Specialty Entry Requirements” section, not a PDF.
• RCPI HST Application Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions, 2027 intake (MRCPI Clinical by 31st December 2026; no documents accepted after the close)

For every category, the interview marks and the dates on one printable page, add your email and we’ll send you the PDF.

Immunology HST questions, answered

How many points is teaching worth for RCPI HST Immunology?

Teaching Experience is 2.5 of the 20 shortlisting marks: “Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching”. The interview has no separate teaching category.

Does a teach the teacher course count for Immunology HST in Ireland?

We claim it in the teaching row, and the panel decides. A course isn’t a “higher qualification in teaching”, so it works best alongside teaching experience you can document.

Is there a pass mark for the RCPI HST Immunology interview?

Yes. RCPI states “Pass Mark: 50 overall to include at least 50% in Career Plan”. The interview is out of 100: CV 20, Research & Audit 20, Clinical 20, and 10 each for Personal Specifications, Professionalism, Interview Performance and Career Plans.

How is RCPI Immunology HST shortlisting scored?

Out of 20: qualifications 5, publication and audit 5, clinical practice 5, leadership and management 2.5, and teaching 2.5. Only these maxima are published.

When is the RCPI HST Immunology interview?

For the 2027 intake, in person on 17 February 2027. Applications closed at 5pm on 29 October 2026.