Where should I study architecture?

Transcription

1 1. Where should I study music or drama? 2. Where should I study architecture? 3. Where should I study law? 4. Where should I study health sciences? 5. Where should I study business and accounting? 6. Where should I study culinary and hospitality education? 7. Where should I study teaching? 8. Where should I study arts and humanities? 9. Where should I study social sciences? 10. Where should I study journalism, public relations and communications? Where should I study architecture?

2 Architecture suffered somewhat from the property crash and economic turmoil but it is beginning to regain popularity. UCD s School of Architecture is a leading educator (it celebrated 100 years in 2012) as are DIT, Waterford IT, UL, UCC, Cork IT and Queens University Belfast. It s worth looking into more specialised courses too. Sligo IT s BA in interior architecture is popular and useful given the many buildings designed in better times now empty and in need of refurbishment and redesigned for new needs. Cork IT s BSc in architectural technology focuses on developing working drawings and design for the architectural process, through to the completed building on site.

3 Where should I study music or drama? Music study in Ireland includes several academic approaches: performance, composition, theory, history of music, musicology and music technology. Accomplished performers will undoubtedly forge plans long before the CAO comes around and will look at specialist institutions such as the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM). But there are many other places to study music. Both UCD and Trinity, for example, offer music programmes within arts and humanities. DIT is home to Ireland s only Conservatory of Music and Drama. Students in both areas develop their performance abilities, underpinned by academic learning. Performance plays a huge part in the courses. Music at DIT may mean classical music or operatic vocal studies, but also covers traditional, jazz and commercial modern music. Modern music college BIMM opened on Francis Street in Dublin in It offers a BA hons in Commercial Modern Music, validated by DIT, is the first degree of its kind in Ireland and is a four-year performance-based programme. NUI Maynooth offers two highly regarded BAs one in Music and one in Music Technology. The emphasis is not necessarily on performance, although it is encouraged, but rather composition, music history, musicology and so on. UL is home to the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance which combines training in various music and dance styles with vocational skills educational, technological, business

4 so musicians can take control of their own careers. Since its establishment, the Academy has seen over 1,800 students representing 27 countries graduate from its postgraduate and undergraduate programmes. Cork IT School of Music is respected and has been home to numerous bands, chamber groups, choirs, drama groups, opera groups and orchestras, which often tour and broadcast. Cork IT s impressive facilities include music studios, a 450-capacity hall, black box theatre and audio lab. With a rich theatrical heritage, it is no surprise the study of drama is well established here. The Lir, Ireland s National Academy of Dramatic Art in Dublin is closely linked with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London and Trinity College Dublin, guaranteeing high quality training acting, directing, lighting design, stage design, stage management, technical theatre etc. The Drama and Theatre Studies department within Trinity itself offers literary, cultural, historical and sociological studies combined with an understanding of performing arts. In 2012, NUIG launched a BA in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies. As at Trinity, the four-year course includes drama, theatre and performance from a practical, theoretical and historical perspective. UCC offers honours degrees in drama and theatre studies, with teaching strength in international and European theatre, contemporary performance practice, Irish theatre and physical theatre.

5 Where should I study law? Law is widely taught in Irish universities, IoTs and private colleges. UCD, Trinity, UCC, NUI Galway and UL are all forerunners but there are others with good reputations. Griffith College Dublin is popular. Athlone IT s BA in Law is a four-year part-time course which covers all aspects of law for those wishing to enter the Garda Síochána or civil service as well as those who want to be clerks, solicitors or barristers. For entry to the King s Inns training for degree of barrister-at-law, and to be called to the bar, candidates must hold either an approved law degree or the King s Inns own diploma in legal studies. (kingsinns.ie).

6 Where should I study health sciences? Students interested in health could find themselves flung to all corners of Ireland to study, whether it s nursing in St Angela s College in Sligo, physiotherapy in the University of Limerick or dentistry in UCC. Trinity, UCC, UCD and NUI Galway all have medical schools, and there are dental schools in Trinity and UCC. Nursing is available in 13 institutions including IoTs. The Royal College of Surgeons is a one-stop-shop for health sciences; with around 1,500 students, RCSI has courses in medicine, physiotherapy and pharmacy, and well as postgraduate nursing and dentistry. There s a mix of nationalities and plenty of social events such as gig nights and community outreach. Potential med students might be interested in the RCSI Aim High Medicine scholarship which is offered to a school leaver who excels academically, is passionate about medicine and who would otherwise be unable to attend third-level education due to financial constraints. RCSI offers five- and six-year courses some students may be exempt from the foundation year, based on their academic subjects or grades.

7 Medicine at UCD is a six-year course with the first year focused on basic sciences and ethical, societal and technological issues in the practice of medicine. Students can also take optional modules from across the university in any subject. Studying medicine at UCD has the benefit of a huge campus and thousands of other students from a range of disciplines. The university has considerable form in health sciences research, which feeds into the undergraduate experience. Health research strengths at UCD include child health, translational oncology, fibrosis and psychiatry and mental health. The main hospitals associated with the UCD programme are St Vincent s and the Mater Misericordiae. There are a further 20 training hospitals and 100 primary care practices where UCD med students learn, and plenty of international placement opportunities too. Trinity College medical school also runs a six-year programme starting with courses in human development, behavioural sciences and ethics. The Trinity curriculum is a spiral model with progressive complexity at each phase of the curriculum and a component of professional development, clinical and biomedical sciences in each year. TCD has training centres in Adelaide and Meath Hospital (incorporating the National Children s Hospital in Tallaght), St James s Hospital, Naas and Kilkenny, among others. Trinity College itself has great resources and specialisms in key health-related research such as genetics, immunology and cancer. NUI Galway s School of Medicine is conveniently collocated with the University College Hospital, the major teaching hospital for the six-year programme. The university has a well-funded programme of medical research and a new curriculum. There s been a lot of investment in the university in recent years, thanks to vigorous fundraising, and an extensive building programme is underway to accommodate new programmes and expanding enrolments. The medical school has also benefitted from the establishment of the the Regenerative Medicine Institute (Remedi), established in The institute, which specialises in gene therapy and stem-cell research, has 70 researchers working on immunology, genomics and proteomics, preclinical models of cardiovascular arthritic diseases, a toxicology core, GMP cell and vector facility and an ethics and outreach programme.

8 There s a wide range of study centres for nursing, including six universities, seven IoTs and St Angela s College, Sligo. While all the institutions offer the general nursing degree, some offer subject specific options. For example, Athlone IT has a degree in Psychiatric Nursing, while DCU offers the integrated Children and General Nursing degree, as well as Intellectual Disability and Psychiatric Nursing. Dundalk IT has courses in Intellectual Disability, Psychiatric and Midwifery. There are also nursing departments in Galway Mayo IT, IT Tralee, Letterkenny IT, NUI Galway, St Angela s College, Trinity College Dublin, UCC, UCD, University of Limerick and Waterford IT. UCD is the home of veterinary studies in Ireland the five-year veterinary science degree and the four-year veterinary nursing degree are highly sought after as no other university has a veterinary school. As a result, many Irish students leave to study veterinary science in European universities. However, there are other options if you want to study animal health veterinary nursing is available in Athlone, Dundalk and Letterkenny IoTs and a number of further education colleges also offer veterinary related programmes. UCD is also the highest profile physiotherapy educator at third level. However, there is more choice in the field, with undergraduate physiotherapy programmes in Trinity College, University of Limerick and the Royal College of Surgeons. Physiotherapy is another high-points field that has seen many Irish students travel abroad since English language degree programmes became more common across Europe. Trinity s School of Pharmacology is probably the best known provider of pharmacy education but it is only one of three third-level colleges accredited by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, along with the Royal College of Surgeons and University College Cork. There are pharmacy technician courses at a number of IoTs including Carlow and Athlone.

9 Where should I study business and accounting? Still hugely popular areas for undergraduate study, business and accountancy are at the heart of most third-level institutions in Ireland. Business studies is an area where you frequently find some of the most diverse combinations with other disciplines be it languages, computers, the arts, psychology and so on. UCC has a number of business degrees with a language including French, German, Italian, Irish, Chinese studies and Hispanic studies. With over 100 years of providing business education in Ireland, UCD is probably the most popular in this field. It has a triple crown of accreditation from AACSB (US), Equis (Europe) and Amba (UK) and is the only Irish member of Cems, a global alliance of leading business schools and multinational companies. In business, as in many other subjects, the bigger universities offer catch-all programmes with specialisation at later levels. Smaller institutions, particularly outside Dublin, often design courses tailored to local needs. Kildare is at the centre of Ireland s multi-million euro thoroughbred racing and breeding industry. With both Horse Racing Ireland and Horse Sport Ireland on its doorstep, NUI

10 Maynooth offers the only Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) in Equine Business, which focuses on the development of professional management skills for the equine industry. Another institution that has always offered innovative subject combinations is the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Having what must be one of the only joint faculties of enterprise and humanities, IADT offers a broad range of degrees in entrepreneurship, arts management and English, media and cultural studies. Its degrees in entrepreneurship were developed following consultation with key external stakeholders including employers and enterprise development agencies. Each programme has an external advisory board to keep the programmes current and relevant. The degree in Business with Arts Management provides knowledge, skills and competence for employment in the cultural and creative industries in Ireland and overseas. DCU is home to an innovative business school which has introduced a variety of new programmes in recent years including Technology Management, Quantitative Finance, Emergency Management, Strategic Procurement, Marketing, Innovation and Technology, and a Professional Doctoral Programme. Dublin Business School (DBS) provides comprehensive business-studies programmes which include business administration, marketing, business management, human resources and information systems. Accounting Often seen as one of the most employer friendly qualifications, some form of accountancy training is provided by most universities and IoTs as well as by Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI). The CAI has recently joined with partner body, Accounting Technicians Ireland, to make a direct route from Leaving Cert to chartered accountant more accessible. As a non-graduate or school leaver you can, for the first time, join without work experience. Several BBS degree programmes will be a combination of business studies and accounting, both of which carry great value in almost all sectors of the economy.

11 Where should I study culinary and hospitality education? The Dublin Institute of Technology gobbles up many students looking to work with food and hospitality, with Level 7 and 8 courses in culinary arts, culinary entrepreneurship, Bar management and baking and pastry arts management as well as a range of degree programmes in leisure, tourism and event management. There are Level 6, 7 and 8 courses in culinary arts and hospitality subjects across the IoT sector, such as the two-year BA in culinary arts at IT Tallaght. See qualifax.ie for a full listing. If you re looking for total immersion in hospitality culture, Shannon College of Hotel Management is a dedicated hotel management college and offers degrees in hotel management and business studies. With two separate work placements as part of the degree, students may be placed in one of the college s 100 partner hotels in 16 countries such as France, Belgium or Germany, while the final year placement may be further a field in locations such as Dubai, China and Graduate Edward Stephenson has just become CEO of the five-star Druids Glen resort in Co Wicklow and graduate Mark Meaney is general manager of the five-star Conrad Centennial Hotel in Singapore.

12 The School of Tourism at Letterkenny Institute of Technology in Killybegs, Co Donegal, is the oldest campus dedicated to hospitality, tourism and culinary arts education and training outside Dublin. The college has turned beautiful Killybegs into a campus town for culinary scholars, with its own training restaurant open to the public. Throughout the past 45 years, the college has gained an international reputation for the education and training of chefs in particular: Rory Carville is known for earning a Michelin star for Lock s Brasserie in Dublin, and for his new venture in the Clarence Hotel. UK-based chocolatier Gerard Coleman is known for this L Artisan du Chocolat, near Sloane Square in London. The college has one of the few honours degrees in culinary arts where students can develop artistic and scientific skills required of new and innovative restaurants. Expertise in molecular gastronomy, modernist cuisine, chocolate and pastry, artisan food product development and food business entrepreneurship can be developed at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The college is also embarking on an ambitious programme to make food science and research opportunities available to students interested in large scale, commercial food production. A new programme, a BSc (Hons) in Culinary Arts and Food Technology, is combines the organoleptic (aspects of food felt by the senses) skills and competencies of culinary arts with the scientific knowledge and precision of food technology. Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) has a research and training grant for students doing seafood research in Killybegs or product development at their facility in Clonakilty.

13 Where should I study teaching? It s all go in teacher education at the moment, as the 19 separate Colleges of Education for primary teachers are in a process of coming together, joining with universities and putting more emphasis on research and sharing learning with teachers from different levels. The results for future teacher trainees should be a quite different college experience. The Bachelor of Education for primary teachers now takes four years in every College of Education. Post-primary teacher trainees take a one-year full-time university post-graduate course. There is also the option to train as a post-primary teacher online through Hibernia College. Students in St Patrick s College in Drumcondra will work even more closely with students in DCU, Mater Dei and All Hallows and engage in more research than their predecessors. The idea is that primary teachers, post-primary teachers and early education students interact during training. DCU, with its three new colleges, is now the powerhouse provider of teacher taining and research. Together the three colleges enrol around 3,500 students, and if you add in DCU, three are up to 13,000 students across all faculties. It s a far cry from the days of small clusters of primary teacher trainees cloistered together with only each other for company.

14 Similar coalitions are taking place in the south of the city, with Trinity College, UCD, the National College of Art and Design and the Marino Institute forming another teachereducation entity, and in Limerick, where Mary Immaculate College and the teacher training at Limerick Institute of Technology are forming a closer relationship with the post-primary teacher function in the University of Limerick. The School of Education at NUI Galway is also working with St Angela s College Sligo as part of the sectoral overhaul. What it all means for aspiring teachers is longer degrees (an extra year), more research, more craic as different levels mix it up together and new campuses and scenes springing up all over the country. So, where s the best place to study teaching? Watch this space..

15 Where should I study arts and humanities? One of the broadest areas at third level, arts and humanities covers a wide range of subjects including languages, history and politics as well as more niche subjects such as deaf studies, equality studies and ancient civilisations. Some people might have really excelled at history or English in post-primary and so arts is the obvious choice at third level. For others the arts degree represents the last refuge of the scoundrel who just can t make up his mind what to do. Don t worry, there are literally thousands of other students feeling the same way. No matter which combination of subjects you decide to study as part of a Bachelor of Arts (BA), you will develop skills such as critical thinking, IT, good communications and teamwork. Big guns like UCD, Trinity and NUI Galway all have strong reputations and celeb graduates to boot in the arts and humanities. However, it takes more than a reputation to contend in this highly competitive area. Trinity has stats to back up its good name: in the 2013 QS World University Rankings it was ranked 55th in the world in arts and humanities. It is also ranked 28th in the world overall for English, 31st for politics, 33rd for history and 42nd for modern languages.

16 TCD has a slightly different system to the rest when it comes to the arts and humanities. You can choose to study an area such as European Studies or Drama and Theatre Studies (a single honour degree) or you can opt for a combination of two subjects as part of a Two Subject Moderatorship (TSM) leading to a joint honours degree. Entry points for TSM degrees depend on your chosen combination of subjects. For those who really want to take their time making a final decision, UCD is the place to go. Through its Horizons programme, students are given the flexibility to sample a number of subjects rather than having to stick to one or two throughout their degree. In first year, new entrants take part in a critical-thinking module, which actively develops this core skill through written and teamwork assignments. Don t be put off by the name many arts degrees can be obtained in both practical career focused, and technically driven areas. For example, culture and literature are part of language teaching at DIT, but the real focus is on developing language competence in tandem with other professional qualifications, such as business. Other BAs, such as Music Technology at NUI Maynooth, or the BA in Photography at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), are technically driven arts degrees. At DIT, culture and literature play a part in language teaching, but what s more important is developing linguistic competence alongside other professional qualifications such as business. Popular language courses in DIT include French, German and Chinese. As part of the University of Limerick (UL) Arts Joint Honours programme students spend eight months on work placements, and can also spend a semester studying abroad as part of the degree programme. Some of the many Institutes of Technology around the country have loads of interesting new arts options. Carlow IT s arts and humanities department has a range of degrees for those interested in a career in sport including a BA in Sports Management and Coaching and a BA in Sport and Exercise in which you can specialise in rugby, soccer or GAA. Limerick IT has a BA in fashion, knitwear and textiles as well as a BA in digital animation. DCU has a new, practical arts degree which combines law, politics, the media, and a language including Chinese or Japanese.

17 Where should I study social sciences? While usually found within arts and humanities in the bigger universities, social sciences include subjects like psychology, sociology, economics, cultural studies and public policy. Each of the larger universities would be strong in these fields as they become increasingly important in shaping government policy on a variety of social issues. For example, NUI Galway s BA in Public and Social Policy is well regarded given the university s strong social policy research links at masters and PhD level. But some smaller colleges which may not have a big arts/humanities/social science department may still have particular strengths in one social science area or another, such as Dublin Business School (DBS). While predominantly a business-focused institution, its BA in Psychology and BA in Social Science are both popular.

18 Waterford IT has launched a three-year BA in Social Science. Students can choose from a wide range of modules such as human resource management, personal and professional development; social care, psychology and crime, probation and youth work and law.

19 Where should I study journalism, public relations and communications? DCU is also home to what are widely recognised as the best journalism and communications programmes in Ireland. The BA in Journalism is in big demand. DIT also has a very good journalism department. The BA in Journalism and New Media at UL has some top class professors. UL also opened a state-of-the-art digital broadcasting centre the first in the country in Points-wise, if any of these universities are out of your reach, the underrated Rathmines College School of Journalism offering certificates and diplomas is a great place to start your career and provides links to degree courses.