Need To Know

What you need to know before you apply…

The South African National Senior Certificate (which is what South African learners receive after passing the Department of Basic Education (DBE) or Independent Examination Board (IEB) exams) is widely recognised in Ireland as an acceptable high school qualification as long as the marks obtained satisfy admission requirements. However, there are some caveats.

Some degree programmes, like engineering and actuarial science, may require A level, AP or a minimum SAT score in Maths. Medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine are highly competitive with relatively few spots for international students.

To check if there are specific requirements for your chosen programme, it is recommended that you work with an experienced counsellor to be sure that you qualify for entry. The Learner’s Journey can help.

Postgraduate students wanting to do a Master’s degree in Ireland will require an honours degree in most cases. There are relatively few “top-up” honours or premasters programmes available in Ireland.

Application Timeline

Check the opening and closing dates for applications for your particular course. Every university sets their own timeline and, within that, faculties have their timelines as well.

If a course is oversubscribed with applicants – that is, if a university receives a large volume of applications to a particular course – the acceptance of applications may close early. So don’t leave it too late.

Unlike UCAS in the UK, which has an equalconsideration date policy and a guaranteed review of applications, there are often no such guarantees at Irish universities for international students.