Science and Health FAQs
Sports Science and Health, Athletic Therapy and Training
In this programme you will study Biology, Chemistry, Physics as well as some Mathematics.
The INTRA Placement in Sports Science and Health comes in the second semester of third year. While some paid placements are found and offered by the INTRA Office others students prefer to find their own. Placements take place in all aspects of sports science and a number of students go abroad each year. We have found that the INTRA placement helps guide the future career directions of many students and it is not uncommon for students to go back and work in the place they did their INTRA placement.
- Sport (e.g. coaching and development, sports conditioning, sport science support, data analytics)
- Health (e.g. health promotion, corporate health advisors, exercise specialists)
- Recreation - public and private sector
- Education/Physical Education
- Medicine
- Nutrition/Dietetics
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational therapy
- Graduate studies – taught and research
- Business
As you progress through the degree there are a variety of sports science, health and multi-disciplinary modules. Students specialise n a number of ways - where they do their INTRA placement, in the selection of their final year project and critically in the final year in the selection of specialist modules.
The Sports Science and Health degree builds on scientific principles and during the first it year covers many of the sciences again. As you progress through the course it becomes more applied with significant modules in aspects such as Strength and Conditioning, Fitness, Coaching, Performance Analysis, Biomechanics etc. Anyone considering doing Sports Science and Health do need a good grasp and interest in scientific subjects.
The INTRA Placement in Sports Science and Health comes in the second semester of third year. While some paid placements are found and offered by the INTRA Office others students prefer to find their own. Placements take place in all aspects of sports science and a number of students go abroad each year. We have found that the INTRA placement helps guide the future career directions of many students and it is not uncommon for students to go back and work in the place they did their INTRA placement.
Physiotherapy:
- A more general programme.
- Includes treatment of non-musculoskeletal illnesses such as: cardiac and respiratory illness, neurological conditions such as stroke, spinal cord injuries, and many other conditions.
Athletic Therapy and Training:
- Complete focus is on musculoskeletal injuries, their prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation.
Some of our graduates have gone on and applied to and secured places in postgraduate Occupational Therapy (OT) programmes. Others have applied for and studied Speech and Language Therapy and Physiotherapy. Those postgraduate programme application processes are competitive and require certain grades (and maybe other conditions, which are subject to change). Many of our graduates have had to study these in the UK due to limited places in Ireland. Our Careers Office staff support our students to look at all the options.
Other graduates have studies Human Resource Management, Immunology, Global Health & Immunology, Audiology, Public Health, Healthcare Policy & Management and many other programmes in Ireland and overseas.
Actuarial Maths
Actuaries work with other people using mathematics (and computing) to solve problems related to financial risk. Very often they work in insurance companies, working on such things as calculating insurance payments of different kinds, pensions and financial risk management - helping individuals and companies to plan for their financial future. They earn very good salaries (starting at c. €35K, with a significant jump when they complete their professional qualifications), and work in a stimulating and challenging environment that has lots of different career opportunities.
Physics General Entry
Physics General Entry (PGE) is the name of the entry route to all our Physics programmes. All students do a common first year called Physics General Entry, and then choose a specific programme for the remaining three years. The physics programmes we offer at the moment are Applied Physics, Physics with Astronomy, and Physics with Biomedical Sciences. You will graduate after completing four years.
Physics General Entry is a new programme on the CAO system, so there is no data from previous years. CAO points and trends for our three CAO codes we used to have (DC167, DC171 and DC173) should provide a reasonably good idea of the likely points for PGE.
During the second semester of your first year, you will choose which of the three physics programmes you would like to enter for the next three years: Applied Physics, Physics with Astronomy, or Physics with Biomedical Sciences.
No, you do not need to have studied physics in school in order to join the Physics General Entry programme. You must have a minimum of O3 or H6 in Mathematics and minimum of O3 or H5 in one of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics with Chemistry, Applied Mathematics or Computer Science.
In first year, you will take 2 calculus modules (MS129 and MS130), 1 introductory chemistry module (CS108), 1 introductory programming module (CA146), 2 physics laboratory modules (PS151 and PS157), and five other physics modules: Motion and Energy (PS101), Light and Optics (PS102), Electricity and Magnetism (PS104), Physical and Thermal Properties of Matter (PS105) and a "taster" module that is an introduction to both Physics of the Human Body and Astrophysics, called Life, The Universe and Everything (PS118). For Years 2-4, the information is on the DCU website here:
https://www.dcu.ie/courses/undergraduate/physics/applied-physics.shtml,
https://www.dcu.ie/courses/undergraduate/physics/physics-astronomy.shtml,
https://www.dcu.ie/courses/undergraduate/physics/physics-biomedical-sci…
Physics General Entry provides you with the platform to progress to a degree in your chosen area of specialism, with potential to pursue careers in areas as varied as: Meteorology, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Design Management, Data Science, Research and Development, Education, Information Technology, Healthcare and Aeronautics. You will also be ideally positioned to pursue further study.
More details can be found here: https://www.dcu.ie/courses/Undergraduate/physics/dc175#tab4
We typically have c. 25%-30% female students in our Physics courses, with c. 60 students in the classes altogether.
Health and Society
Some of our graduates have gone on and applied to and secured places in postgraduate Occupational Therapy (OT) programmes. Others have applied for and studied Speech and Language Therapy and Physiotherapy. Those postgraduate programme application processes are competitive and require certain grades (and maybe other conditions, which are subject to change). Many of our graduates have had to study these in the UK due to limited places in Ireland. Our Careers Office staff support our students to look at all the options.
Other graduates have studies Human Resource Management, Immunology, Global Health & Immunology, Audiology, Public Health, Healthcare Policy & Management and many other programmes in Ireland and overseas.
Every postgraduate programme team and college set their own requirements and conditions. In general our programme does not have enough science (including laboratory-based work) for it be to an eligible programme for postgraduate dietetics, which is very competitive due to the limited number of places in Ireland and the UK. Some of our graduate have studies Dietetics, after some further study and course. It is advised to enquire with a Dietetics college about our programme.
Some of our graduate have gone on to work in voluntary and community agencies working with people who are marginalised or vulnerable. Others have undertaken graduate training programmes with the HSE and other agencies. Our graduates are sought by employers from different sectors for their wide range of transferable graduate skills in a wider range of sectors.
Environmental Science and Technology
In this programme you will study Biology, Chemistry, Physics as well as some Mathematics.
The programme is a four years Honours degree.
Graduates from our program have the necessary background to work in areas as diverse as:
- Waste management,
- Pollution control,
- Environmental monitoring
- Health and safety
You could also find yourself working for a local authority, an NGO, the Environmental Protection Agency, or an environmental consultancy.
Psychology
Typically you would have 5 modules per semester with 24 hours of contact for each module.
There are a variety of career options for psychologists and they work in a variety of settings. However, after you finish your degree you will need to pick an area to work in and do further training to practice as a psychologist. Once this training is done, you can work in areas such as clinical, counselling, organisational (work place), educational, research or consulting. Just to note, given Psychology gives you such a broad based of transferable skills (e.g., analytical, communication based etc) our graduates are highly sought after in a variety of areas and on many graduate programmes to large employers
Chemistry General Entry
You can choose one of:
(i) Analytical Science (AS)
(ii) Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (AC)
(iii) our new degree in Chemistry with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
From 1st to 4th year in our chemistry degree programmes there is plenty of variety in lectures, workshops, tutorials and laboratories to engage in learning and developing as a chemist and scientist. Our students excel on INTRA (6 months industrial and/or foreign placement) leading to an appreciation of the variety of careers open to our graduates. Our undergraduates participate in a wide range of activities and sports in the DCU Clubs and Societies. Several have contributed to and taken on leadership roles in the Students Union over the past decade
Chemistry General Entry provide a wide and diverse range of career options including a rewarding career in the (Bio)pharmaceutical sector, Chemical Industry, The New Green Economy, Research and Development, Education and Teaching. Specific careers include Analyst; Method Development, Quality Control and Assurance; Process Chemist; Environmental Chemist; Technical Development; Machine Learning; Data Analytics; Research Scientist; Health care professional; Graduate training programmes in industry (e.g. Intel); Graduate pathways in Pharmacy and Medicine.
Research in Chemical Sciences is a vast area and options include:
- Materials science
- Energy and materials
- Nanotechnology
- Bioinorganic chemistry
- Medicinal Chemistry – Drug Design and development
- Climate change
- Sustainable/Environmental chemistry
- Structural chemistry
- Machine Learning and Data analytics (databases)
- Computational chemistry
- Molecular modelling
- Environmental water and atmospheric research