Higher Education In Ireland – Study in Ireland for Indian students
Higher education or the third level of education in Ireland is made up of the varsities, the colleges that deal with technical and technological courses and other colleges that deal with various branches of education. All of these though being autonomous bodies and governed by their own policies, these are funded by the Govt to a large extent.
Several private and independent colleges have also cropped up, that offer various courses related to business which award diplomas, degrees apart from recognised qualifications.
1. Universities of Ireland
These varsities and varsity colleges run degree programmes awarding bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate qualifications in domains such as science, technology,medicine,humanities and in social sciences. They offer many diplomas inunder graduate as well as post graduate levels. All of these universities also offer distance education courses. The varsities also undertake research in a plethora of disciplines.
The British university education model is adapted in Ireland. Bachelors degree is conferred after 3 or 4 academic years completing a set of programmes in the pertaining disciplines. Course study , research study or a combination of both is involved when pursuing masters’ degree. Research work is an integral part of doctoral studies.
2. Colleges offering courses in Technology
As of today Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) has approximately 22,000 students, making it the biggest higher education institution in Irish education system. It has 6 colleges under it – College of Commerce, two Colleges of Technology, the College of Marketing & Design, the College of Music and the College of Catering. DIT being autonomous confers degrees independently.
3. Irish Regional Technical Colleges
Regional Technical Colleges (RTCs) came in to being in the 1970s and they offer third level of education in technical courses and have been totally integrated into the education system in Ireland. They along with fulltime offer partime courses in both training and education in a wide range of vocations and levels such as Engineering and technology, Science and Paramedical studies and Business studies. Altogether there are a total of eleven of these RTCs.
4. Colleges that offer specialisation
There are a large number of specialist colleges that offer specialisation programmes resulting in Certificates, Degrees and Diplomas that are validated by the National Council for Education Awards (NCEA).
5. Colleges offering Education or Teacher Training
Here the aspiring primary teachers have to undergo a 3 year Bachelor’s in Education ( B. Ed)degree programme. The second level aspiring teachers have to complete a primary degree at a university followed by attaining a higher level diploma in education at a university. Currently there are 5 training colleges for teachers.
6. Colleges of Medicine
Ireland houses Royal College of Surgeons, Medical Schools such as University College Cork , University College Galway , University College Dublin and Trinity College. These have earned international repute in the field of medicine.
7. Law Schools
The legal system in Ireland follows the tradition of Common Law and is similar to the legal training requirements of many countries. Most of The universities are bestowed with learned facultics. the Incorporated Law Society which trains solicitors, and the Kings Inns College which trains barristers are the two professional law training colleges.
Training in English Language
Besides the fulltime academic formal education offered in Ireland, the country has gained ground for learning English language. Currently more than 0.1 million people come to Ireland to undergo language courses annually.
Related Topics:
Higher Education In Ireland – Study in Ireland for Indian students
About Ireland – Study and work in Ireland
Fee Structure in Ireland – Ireland universities fees for international students
Institution in Ireland – Higher education institutions in Ireland