Undergraduate Admissions FAQ

Applicants presenting qualifications from Ireland, the UK and Europe apply via the Central Applications Office (CAO).

All other applicants apply through the International Office as a Non-EU applicant. 

A restricted application course is one for which you must apply by 1st February. This is usually because there is an additional test or assessment involved. 

HEAR, DARE and Mature applicants must also apply by 1st February. 

DC004 - Closing date 1st February. Eligible candidates are required to complete an online supplementary form. 

You need to send

• Results of school-leaving exams other than Irish Leaving Certificate
• Results of Irish Leaving Certificate pre 1985
• Transcripts of any previous third level or Certificate of attendance if you left without taking examinations.
• Personal statement if applying as a mature applicant.

In addition, applicants applying via HEAR or DARE will need supporting documentation.

You should NOT send originals. Documents should be certified copies.

Yes you can apply to the CAO up to 1st May if the course you are applying for is not restricted i.e. DC111.

HEAR, DARE and Mature applicants must also apply by 1st February. 

To be assessed as a mature applicant, you should apply by 1st February.

To be assessed based on other qualifications only i.e. QQI/FET or Leaving Certificate, an application can be accepted by 1st May.

Normally Mature applicants should be 23 years of age on or before 1st January in the year of entry and must apply to the CAO by 1st February at www.cao.ie. 

The Mature application form (part of the CAO application form) must be completed by 1st March. Assessment is based on the CAO application and in some instances, an assessment and/or interview. 'Other' experience, apart from performance in examinations, may be taken into consideration - this may be work experience, further studies, or other such experience deemed to be relevant to the application. Interviews normally take place in April either in person or remotely.

For some programmes, mature applicants are required to present the entry requirements as outlined in the prospectus such as Leaving Certificate Science or Mathematics. 

Mature Applicants need to provide supplementary information. Supplementary information such as examination results, a CV and a personal statement must be sent to CAO and/or completed online on your CAO application form. Further information is available on here. 

If you are applying for any of the following programmes there are additional steps:

• DC002 Bachelor of Education (mature applicants only) are require to complete a Mature Supplementary form which will be emailed to you by the CAO Mid March.
• Mature entry nursing candidates (DC215-DC218), are assessed by the Nursing Careers Centre (NCC) of An Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI). For details please visit: www.nursingcareers.ie or email: careersinformation@NMBI.ie to request a copy of their nursing and careers booklet. 

The CAO Handbook contains useful advice regarding the application process. You should read it carefully, taking particular note of the sections about mature student applications.

There are many supports available to Mature applicants pre and post entry.

Offers for mature applicants will issue via CAO in Round A (early July) and must be accepted by the deadline date.

Successful applicants will receive notification of an offer from CAO when the round issues.

If a conditional offer is made to an applicant, our admissions office will contact you in advance to advise you of the condition i.e. pending results of a course you are currently undertaking. Once you meet the condition, you will be made an offer in a subsequent round i.e. round O or A. 

Please note that, in accordance with CAO procedures, applicants will only be offered their highest successful preference so it is extremely important that you fill out your CAO choices in order of genuine preference.

FET/QQI Applicants can apply via the Central Applications Office (CAO) by 1st February or by the late date of 1st May.

Applicants who have a full NFQ level 5 award in appropriate qualifications and modules can be admitted on a competitive basis to certain DCU courses. Applicants are required to have;

• Full FET/QQI Level 5 Certification must be achieved in one single sitting.
• FE/QQI awards are normally made up of eight minor awards, commonly known as modules.
• Five distinctions from the eight modules must be achieved

The FET/QQI entry route is a competitive entry route with a limited number of places. A quota of places are offered based on the CAO ranked order of applicants based on performance. To review how an applicant is scored, please click here.

For programmes with a QQI entry route, approximately 10% of places are retained for QQI applicants. To review the QQI requirements for DCU programmes, please click here. To view 2022 DCU FET/QQI statistics, please click here.

Applicants presenting EU qualifications from outside Ireland should apply through CAO by 1st February. All applicants must present general entry and programme entry requirements as outlined in the DCU prospectus.

All applicants to DCU must present a pass in Mathematics and a pass in English. EU qualifications are manually calculated in to a Leaving Certificate points equivalent. Eligible applicants compete using the points calculated and all offers are made through CAO in mid August.

For those presenting an EU qualifications from a country outside Ireland or the UK, please use the following guide to review the approved EU qualifications and criteria for assessment of these qualifications. 

Further information can be found here

Applicants presenting Non-EU School Leaving examinations (except for Nursing) should apply directly to DCU here Closing date for applications is 1st July. 

Applications are processed by the DCU International Office.

For further information, please visit the International Office webpage. 

Some students may find that their chosen programme of study is not suitable for them. In some cases, students may be allowed to transfer internally onto another programme in the University. Please ensure to read the internal transfer form and guidelines in detail, as there are strict application rules and deadlines. The online application form can be found using the following link: Transfer Form

Applications are accepted from 1st May. Please note this form is only for students looking to transfer to year one of another programme.

If you have not successfully passed your current programme, you can apply for another course at www.cao.ie. Applicants must meet programme entry requirements and the points for your chosen course.

If you are registered in DCU or in other Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), you can use the CAO change of mind facility up to 22nd July. You must use a paper form and you must get the form stamped by your current HEI to say you are a student.

It might be possible to transfer at the end of the CAO Season if places remain in the course.

Applicants must have attained the leaving certificate points for the programme they wish to enter and have met the specific programme entry requirements. (CAO points can be checked at the following link: Closing date Early October.

Candidates taking higher education studies at another institution who are seeking to transfer onto a programme of study at DCU must apply directly to the CAO by the 1st May.

Full documentation, including course syllabus and transcripts, must be included in the application. An interview may be required as part of the application assessment.

Applications are made through CAO Advanced Entry route. Transfer applications are not accepted to all programmes. Please see programme requirements under relevant programme pages here. For further information on eligibility for applying as a transfer applicant, please click on this link. 

DCU applications are being managed in the usual way. Applicants presenting qualifications from Ireland, the UK and Europe apply via the Central Applications Office (CAO)

All other applicants apply through the International Office as a Non-EU applicant. 

If you are applying directly to DCU for a Transfer or Advanced Entry, please apply through the CAO Advanced Entry Route or email ugadmissions@cu.ie for more information.

We are monitoring the situation closely and will update these FAQs as more information becomes available.

In cases where 2021 examinations are cancelled or the mode of assessment is changed due to the current pandemic we will continue to accept the results if they are formally issued by the examining body (and the examination is one which we normally recognise), in accordance with the timelines for 2021 admissions.

However, we will keep the situation under review and if there is a significant difference in relative grade distribution between an EU examination and the 2021 Leaving Certificate results, we reserve the right to implement a Numerus Clausus (see page 12). If you require further information about this, please contact the undergraduate admissions team by email on ugadmissions@dcu.ie.

What will this year's points be?

Will the points go up or down? 

I'm going to repeat my Leaving Cert/A level. I've already passed a required subject. Do I need to repeat it?

No - Entry/matriculation requirements can be combined over any number of years provided your points are only taken from one year. Please supply details of your leaving cert to the CAO for all years when you make your application.

The CAO system operates on the basis that the highest choice on your CAO form is the one you want most.

This means that, you will receive an offer of the course highest up on your course choices list(s) that you are deemed eligible for, if any. For example, if you receive your first preference Level 8 course in Round One you will not receive an offer for a lower Level 8 preference in subsequent rounds. If you receive an offer of your third preference course you may still receive an offer of your second or first preference course in a subsequent round of offers, but you will not receive an offer of your fourth preference course or lower.
However you should check the CAO website for the list of courses with "Available Places" as there may be something there of interest to you.

• DCU allocate up to 10% of first year places on ALL courses at reduced points entry to students entering through the HEAR/Access DCU routes. Please refer  to DCU Prospectus for a list of courses and number of places per course (p246 onwards)
• candidates achieving the highest points nearest the course cut-off, i.e. 1 point from cut-off reducing down until the quota is filled. We will not offer below 300 points.
• Students who achieve on or above the points are deemed to be merit candidates and automatically receive a DCU HEAR offer - this does not affect the quota for reduced points places.

DCU reserves 5% on programmes for eligible DARE applicants, some programmes with *Restricted Entry are excluded from DARE.

For eligible DARE applicants to be considered for a place in DCU they must obtain:

• General Entry Requirements AND
• Achieve any relevant specific programme requirements AND
• Achieve a minimum of 300 points and get within 75 CAO points to be considered for DARE in DCU, as DCU applies a maximum point reduction of 75 points for DARE applicants.
• If you are eligible for DARE you should note that due to the high demand and limited places in DCU you are not guaranteed entry. Available places are offered to those students ranked highest by the points scale.

Applicants who have a full QQI/FET level 5 award in appropriate qualifications and modules can be admitted on a competitive basis to certain DCU courses. For programmes with a QQI entry route, approximately 10% of places are retained for QQI applicants.

To review the QQI requirements for DCU programmes, please click here. 

If you haven't accepted your offer by the reply date, the offer has lapsed. If there were extenuating reasons why you didn't accept your offer on time, you can contact the Admissions Officer at ugadmissions@dcu.ie explaining However, the place may already have been offered to somebody else in the next round and it may not be possible to accommodate you.

I don't want to accept my place. Do I need to tell you?

I accepted my offer but do not wish to take the place, what do I need to do?

If you have already accepted your place, it may still be possible to defer prior to registration. You must contact us immediately explaining why you wish to defer now. 

If you have registered for your course, you will need to complete the R32 form, deferral of Academic year form. Further information can be found here.  

I applied for a re-check in some of my subjects. If my points go up will I get an offer in my higher preference?

If you are deemed entitled to a place on a course based on your upgraded leaving certificate results you will receive an offer. We will do our best to accommodate any applicants who has received an offer. However, if all the places for that course have already been allocated, you will receive a deferral of the offer for the following year.

DCU Student Recruitment Team arrange Open Days and School visits, for further information, please visit the Student Recruitment webpage

Your students may also be interested in some of the upcoming events

Admissions Changes: Following publication of the DCU prospectus each year, there can be changes to course offerings or entry requirements. This information is captured in the DCU Alert List which can be found on the CAO website here.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Common Travel Area (CTA) was signed between Ireland and the UK in May (2019). The MoU acknowledged the importance of education noting that “the CTA affords Irish and British citizens the right of access to all levels of education and training, and associated student support in each other’s State on terms no less favourable than those for citizens of that State. In terms of higher education, this means that notwithstanding Brexit, UK students will still be eligible for the same fee structures as EU students in Ireland. For the free fees initiative, once students meet all other criteria as set out in the Free Fees Initiative:

• Students with UK nationality will continue to be eligible under the nationality criteria of the free fees scheme;

UK residency will continue to contribute towards fulfilling the ordinarily resident criteria of the scheme.

DCU have a number of Scholarships from Academic to Sport

Click to find out what DCU scholarships are available.