Ireland – Academic, affordable, adventurous

Ireland – a country known for its culture and traditions, highly-recognised standards of education and research. It is a small island nation, located on the western-most tip of Europe, with relatively smaller population having a wondrous history in education. No wonder it is known as ‘The Land of Saints and Scholars’.

Globally, Ireland is known for its education excellence. All of Ireland’s universities are ranked in the top 5%, with the Irish education system being ranked in the Top 20 internationally. Ireland is also currently ranked 11th in the 2018 Global Innovation Index.

Higher education in Ireland

Ireland offers a choice to study at some of best universities and colleges. With 8 well-known universities and a fairly large number of colleges spread across cities like Dublin, Cork, and Limerick, etc., the country is known for its academic excellence.

In the most recent report published by the Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA), 78% of graduates are already working, while 14% are engaged in further studies. The country attracted over 45,000 students from across the world to come and study at various Irish institutions, with over 26,000 students enrolling in the universities for a world class degree.

Ireland is known as a leader in research and education of Immunology and Animal and Dairy, followed by Nanotechnology and Agricultural sciences. Some other subjects where Ireland is considered amongst the best include Molecular Biology and Genetics, Materials Sciences, Basic Medical Research, Neuroscience and Behavior, and Mathematics besides being highly rated for Chemistry and Microbiology as well.

The institutions in Ireland offer education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels for international students. The average tuition fee for undergraduate non-EU students ranges between 9,700 – 24,000 euros, while for medicine and related subjects the fee ranges between 45,000-54,000 euros. The average tuition fee for post graduate non-EU students ranges between 9,200 – 48,000 euros.

Read up: Cost of studying in Ireland

Scholarships

Almost all institutions in Ireland offer scholarships to international students, while The Higher Education Authority also offers an Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme (EBP). In fact, eligible higher education institutions also offer studentships to qualified students conduct their research aiming to encourage and empower a vivacious research community.

Explore: Scholarships in Ireland

Irish culture

Irish traditions are known around the world and some of them include the Saint Patrick’s Day –a national holiday, which falls on 17th of March every year; and the Brigid’s Cross – anciently known to protect the houses from fire; St. Brigid’s feast day falls on 1st February every year. Hallowe’en is another day that’s well celebrated in Ireland.

The Irish music and dance has made a huge impact on global platforms. Traditional music uses instruments like piano, fiddle, and even acoustic guitars along with Celtic harps and Uilleann pipes. Irish dancing, in fact, became very popular in the 1990s and includes reels, step dancing, Ceili dances and jigs to be more precise.

The biggest sports activities in Ireland include the Indigenous games of Hurling and Gaelic football, which are more popular than Rugby and Soccer in the country. Croke Park in Dublin is the historic home of Gaelic games and is known to host all major games. All 32 counties of Ireland participate annually in all Ireland competitions of Gaelic football and Hurling.

IDP Study abroad insights

For students like you interested in studying in Ireland, we have a wonderful series – Study abroad Insights. This web series covers most commonly asked questions about studying in the country answered by industry experts.

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