Entry Requirements FAQ's

A: Matriculation refers to the minimum requirements for entry to the University. Before you can be considered for admission you must meet these minimum standards. Matriculation has nothing to do with points.

A: NUI Matriculation Regulations apply to all students seeking to enter the NUI institutions. UCD, UCC, NUIG and NUIM are constituent universities of NUI. NCAD, RCSI, IPA, Shannon College of Hotel Management and Milltown Institute are recognised colleges: (St Angela’s College, Sligo is now a College of NUI, Galway.)

A: For holders of the Leaving Certificate, six subjects are required, with a minimum Grade C3 at Higher Level in two subjects, and at least Grade D3 in four other subjects.

A: An applicant may combine the results of Leaving Certificate examinations obtained in different years for Matriculation Registration purposes. (This concession applies to Matriculation Registration only; it does not necessarily apply to the admission requirements of the Constituent Universities or Recognised Colleges). It should be noted that from 2009 students seeking to enter Medicine must satisfy the minimum entry requirements in the same sitting. Students are advised to contact the Admissions Office of the Constituent University they wish to apply to for further details.

A: For degrees in Arts, Human Sciences, Law and Social Science, you need Irish, English a third language and three other subjects. For Commerce you also need Mathematics, and for courses in the Sciences (i.e. Science and also Agriculture, Architecture, Engineering, Food Science and Technology, Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Veterinary Medicine) you also need Mathematics and a Science subject. There are a few exceptions in relation to the third language. These are covered in question 13.

A:Generally speaking, anybody applying to an NUI institution who was born and had all their education in Ireland must present Irish for Matriculation purposes. There are some exceptions. These are covered in question 12.

A: No. The change in the status of Irish at EU level does not affect NUI matriculation and all students born and educated in the Republic of Ireland must present Irish as a matriculation subject.

A: Yes. But you need to have your exemption recorded. To do this, you need to send a copy of your birth certificate to NUI. Wait until you have received your CAO application number and send it with your birth certificate.

However, students born in and applying from Northern Ireland/United Kingdom presenting GCE/GCSE qualifications are automatically granted exemption from Irish and do not need to contact NUI.

A: Yes, this provision covers all students born outside Ireland, your citizenship is not an issue. Once you have a birth certificate from outside the Republic of Ireland you can apply for an exemption.

A: That’s fine. As you know, you must present a language other than English. You can use Irish for this purpose.

A: Yes. You need to send a copy of your birth certificate to NUI. Wait until you have received your CAO application number and send it with your birth certificate.

In the following circumstances
(i) if you were born outside the Republic of Ireland
(ii) if your last three years of second level education were outside Ireland
(iii) if your primary education up to the age of 11 years was outside Ireland
Students covered by (ii) and (iii) above will normally have been granted a Department of Education and Science Exemption from Irish at school. They need to inform NUI of this so that they can also be granted an exemption by NUI. If this applies to you, you will need to forward a copy of the Department of Education exemption granted by your school. The application must be accompanied by a Declaration from the Head of your School. There is a special form for this which you can get from NUI or download from here http://www.nui.ie/college/entry-requirements.asp
Wait until you have received your CAO application number and include this when contacting NUI.
Special exemptions (See questions 15 and 16).

A: It means that you must present a language in addition to Irish and English as one of your six Leaving Certificate subjects. If you are exempt from Irish, you must present a language other than English. All languages provided in the Leaving Certificate are acceptable. Classical Studies and Hebrew Studies are not considered as language subjects.

A: There are some exceptions to the third language requirement. Students applying for Nursing are not required to have a third language. Students applying for Engineering and Science at NUI, Maynooth or UCD are not required to have a third language. Students applying to NCAD may present Art instead of the third language.

A:There are special provisions for students whose dyslexia constitutes a significant learning difficulty. A student who has been granted an exemption from Irish at school on the grounds of dyslexia, having been assessed by a professional psychologist, should send a copy of the Certificate of Exemption, signed by the School Principal, together with the psychologist’s report, to NUI. In these cases NUI will grant an exemption from Irish and also from the Third Language requirement.

Sometimes students are diagnosed late as having dyslexia and have not come to the attention of the National Educational Psychological Service Agency. In these cases, NUI will accept a recent (no more than 2/3 years old) report from a professional psychologist. If a Report is older, it can be updated by having a psychologist complete a Form of Certification available here http://www.nui.ie/college/entry-requirements.asp. Students applying for exemption from a third language on the basis of dyslexia need also to send in a School Record Form completed by the Head of School. http://www.nui.ie/college/entry-requirements.asp

The position of students with dyslexia is complex. Exemptions are not automatic and are granted only on the basis of professional evidence. However, NUI is sympathetic to students who can provide professional evidence of the effect of dyslexia on their language abilities.

Students applying for exemption from a third language on the basis of dyslexia need also to send in a School Record Form completed by the Head of School. http://www.nui.ie/college/entry-requirements.asp

The position of students with dyslexia is complex and exemptions are not automatic. However, NUI is sympathetic to students who can provide professional evidence of the effect of dyslexia on their language abilities.

Note on Q 15 and 16 Sometimes students apply for an exemption only from the third language or more typically, only from Irish. While we find it surprising that a student with serious dyslexia would continue to study with a language, we appreciate that there may be special circumstances to justify this and we are prepared to consider such applications. However we do require students in this situation to say why they are applying for an exemption while continuing to study another language.

A: Yes every student needs six subjects to matriculate.

A: The following subjects are accepted: Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics-with-Chemistry, Agricultural Science. For entry to Engineering at NUI, Maynooth, the subject Technology is also accepted.

A: If students don’t apply to NUI and have their exemptions recorded, they will come up on CAO records as not meeting matriculation requirements and will not be offered places even if they have the points.

A:No. Once you have applied for and been granted an exemption, you do not need to reapply for the exemption but you do need to contact NUI. CAO does not carry forward details of your exemption(s) to the next year and NUI needs to re-send details of exemptions granted in the case of students applying again to CAO. In order to have your exemption entered on your current CAO record you need to contact NUI with your original CAO number and your current CAO application number. Your exemption can then be transferred to your current application record. Failure to do this will mean that you will not matriculate.

A: Our Matriculation Regulations booklet gives a comprehensive listing of the EU School-Leaving qualifications accepted for matriculation, and sets out the requirements for holders of their qualifications and also for those presenting the European Baccalaureate and International Baccalaureate. Holders of any other qualifications should contact the Admissions Office in the University or College where they are applying.