Dublin City University (DCU): Admissions, Courses, Scholarships, Accommodations and Placements

DCU, or Dublin City University, is also known as Ireland’s University of Enterprise. It is located on a sprawling 85-acre campus area teeming with students. Established in the year 1989, it offers excellent cultural and social advantages to the students. DCU has an active student population of around 11,500 pupils, of which 2000 are international students from across 116 countries. 

DCU takes credit for starting the USTART start-up project accelerator program. This project is aimed at helping and supporting any good business ideas developed by the students by providing space and funding. Among the many unique and innovative programs, Dublin City University also offers some distinct undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses through its four main faculties. 

DCU Highlights 

● It is a young and vibrant university. It was recently voted for and felicitated with the Sunday Times University 2010 award. 

● DCU, showcasing phenomenal growth over the years, is counted to be among the top 500 educational universities worldwide. 

● DCU is well-known for its unconventional academic approach to presenting a new Irish learning system 

● The university offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses with glorious research opportunities in fields such as engineering, technology, humanities, communications, science, and health. 

● DCU provides global scholarship plans to academically proven undergraduate international students and also to postgraduate foreign students

● DCU has its research facilities and centers dedicated to unraveling subjects such as cellular biotechnology, chemical sensors, machine translation, neuro-therapeutics, adaptive information technology, and so on. 

● DCU was the very first academy to introduce paid job placements in Ireland called INTRA 

● Graduates from DCU are popular as the largest student groups to gain quick employment in Ireland. 

● Every student on the campus has received quality attention to enrich their academic development on both personal and professional fronts. 

● Dublin City University is ranked 436 as per the QS World University Rankings of 2024

DCU Admission

International Undergraduate Admission 

Non-EU student aspirants aiming for undergraduate admission should send an email to uginternationalapplicants@dcu.ie. Other entry requirements for undergraduate degree programs included meeting the general and specific course programs and their entry requirements. Students can check out the site hereto complete their forms. All applications and supporting documents must be submitted before a specific deadline to confirm student eligibility to the programs. 

Students must upload their academic results, mark sheets, degree certificates, personal statements, etc. There are country-specific requirements; for example, Indian students should have scored at least 80% in their high school results to be able to apply for UG programs at DCU.  Students must also submit English language documents that give evidence of competence in the language. It is best to check out the DCU English Language criteria or requirements on the website for detailed information. 

International Postgraduate Admission 

All postgraduate applicant students providing non-EU qualifications along with admission forms should mail their query to internationaladmissions@dcu.ie. All applicants have to meet the basic entry requirements for specific program courses at the university. Non-EU postgraduate applicant forms are seen on a case-to-case basis, depending on the submitted applications and supportive evidence.  Postgraduate applications have to be submitted via the official online portal, and students are confirmed to be eligible only after the assessment is completed. Students can find all relevant information about the application requirements on the website. 

Similarly, the English language requirements and related evidence (proof of competence) should be provided along with the application form. All necessary criteria are stated online when students visit the website and the DCU English Language webpage. Applications are accepted both offline and online.

To know more about other universities in the Ireland, click here.

DCU Programs 

UG, PG, and doctoral programs are available to students in four faculties. They consist of the DCU Institute of Education, Humanities and Social Science, Faculty of Science and Health, and Engineering and Computing Faculty. 

Let us explore the faculties: 

● The HSS faculty houses 3600 students across all UG, PG, and other research programs. 

● HSS course fields include law, journalism, culture, and more 

● DCU offers students varied language programs and early childhood courses 

● The science and health faculty has about 3500 students learning twenty-four undergraduate and twenty-five postgraduate programs at DCU. 

● Almost 35% of the student population comprised of foreign students since the year 1940

● The engineering and technology faculty has around nine undergraduate and ten postgraduate programs. 

DCU Accommodation 

DCU comprises three campuses, which are situated on the northern side of Dublin. The university has two libraries, a newly built library at St. Patrick and an old library known as Glasnevin Library. Some DCU accommodations are available at St. Patrick and Glasnevin campuses. 

• Glasnevin Campus - It offers two kinds of accommodations: the Hampstead and Larkfield apartments. The apartments have 2 to 4 ensuite bedrooms and are given to the 1st year students. 
• St. Patrick Campus - The St. Patrick campus accommodations provide students with single-room apartments with sharing facilities. 

DCU Cost of Living 

DCU cost of living also includes tuition fees, namely UG fees and PG fees for foreign students planning to study at specific faculties mentioned below: 

● Engineering programs - UG = 15,000 Euros and 17,000 Euros for PG courses 

● Business Programs - UG = 14,000 and 19,000 Euros for PG courses 

● Humanities Programs - UG = 15,000 and 15,000 Euros for PG courses 

● Science Programs - UG = 15,000 and 15,000 Euros for PG courses 

● Education Programs - UG = 12,600 and 13,700 Euros for PG courses 

The total monthly cost of living includes other factors such as rent on the campus (between 690 to 1200 Euros, and rent off the campus (between 850 to 1300 Euros. Food will cost 250 Euros per month and travel expenses can be around 135 Euros. Books and materials can cost 75 Euros, medical will cost around 45 Euros, and miscellaneous expenses will be around 175 Euros. so, the total monthly cost of living can be about 2222 Euros. 

DCU Scholarships 

International students can take financial aid through part-time work or student scholarships. Many famous scholarship plans are available for all international students studying at DCU.  Some of the scholarships are as follows:

• DCU Merit Scholarships are available to all meritorious foreign students pursuing undergraduate or postgraduate full-time programs. The students are awarded 2000 Euros. Aspiring students are requested to fulfill a minimum of one of the international student ambassadorial rules or commitments. Application period or deadlines are presently closed for the next session. 

• DCU Student-Masters Program - An international student can pursue education at Dublin City University and plan on doing a full 1-year master’s program at DCU. This can help them be eligible to pay only the EU student fee for the entire program instead of the expensive international fees. 

To know about the Ireland study visa requirements, click here.

DCU Placements 

The DCU placement rankings are superior and are stated to be 301 out of 500 (as per the QS 2022 placement rankings). DCU graduates are highly paid, especially if they have done the following programs:

● Executive MBA (salary - 85,000 Euros per year)

● MBA (salary - 78,000 Euros per year)

● Masters in Finance (salary - 74,000 Euros per year) 

● Executive Masters (salary - 68,000 Euros per year)

● Bachelors (salary - 62,000 Euros per year) 

On an average scale, engineering, finance, management, consulting, and accounting students were said to be paid top packages in Ireland. 

You might also interested in Other Universities for Studying in Ireland:

• Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin
• University College Dublin
• National University of Ireland
• Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
• University College Cork
• Maynooth University
• Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin)
• Dublin Institute of Technology
• Cork Institute of Technology
• Athlone Institute of Technology