Expand+Minimum Academic Entry Requirements

The course will be available to applicants who meet the following criteria:

Mature students (over 23 on the 1st of January of the year they are entering the program). Mature applicants do not need a leaving ...

Hide-Minimum Academic Entry Requirements

The course will be available to applicants who meet the following criteria:

Mature students (over 23 on the 1st of January of the year they are entering the program). Mature applicants do not need a leaving certificate.

For non-mature applicants the basic entry requirement for this programme is five passes in the Leaving Certificate, including Mathematics and English or Irish.

Equivalent qualification such as A-Levels

A full FETAC level-5 qualification will also be acceptable.

Applicants who do not meet the matriculation requirements above may also gain admittance to the course based on an interview.

Expand+Ireland is the worlds' largest exporter of Computer Software. This means that there are excellent opportunities for finding well-paid employment when you graduate. Additionally, because computers are used in almost every area of modern life, the rang...

Hide-Ireland is the worlds' largest exporter of Computer Software. This means that there are excellent opportunities for finding well-paid employment when you graduate. Additionally, because computers are used in almost every area of modern life, the range of opportunities and types of jobs which are open to computing graduates means that the chances of having a career you enjoy are excellent.

However, for whatever reason, not all students are able to undertake a full Degree in Computing. The ethos of this course is to provide graduates with focused skills in computing programming whiles omitting some of the more general topics such as the technical and database modules. Programming skills are typically required across a wide range of companies working in IT so there should be attractive employment options. The course is made up of a selection of 10 credits worth of programming modules per semester. These modules are taught as part of the wider degree programmes so classes are likely to be widely spread across the week between 9:30 and 5:30 on week days.

Because students on this course are classed as part-time they may not be eligible for a SUSI grant. The Admissions Office will be able to calculate fees per semester depending on the number of credits and the level covered in each semester. If they wish student may also take other modules from the wider Degree programme on a “per-module” basis.

Expand+What will I have to study?

Year/Semester Modules Mandatory/ Elective No of credits Class Hours/week

1/1
Introduction to Programming I Mandatory 10 8

1/2
Introduction to OO Programming I Mandatory 10 8

2/3
Object Orient...

Hide-What will I have to study?

Year/Semester Modules Mandatory/ Elective No of credits Class Hours/week

1/1
Introduction to Programming I Mandatory 10 8

1/2
Introduction to OO Programming I Mandatory 10 8

2/3
Object Oriented Programming II Mandatory 10 7

2/4
API Development Mandatory 5 4
Algorithms and Data Structures Mandatory 5 4

3/5
Software Implementation Mandatory 5 4
Object Oriented Analysis and Design Mandatory 5 3

3/6
Secure Programming Mandatory 5 3
Project Management Mandatory 5 4

4/7
Advanced Algorithms & Data Structures Elective 5 3
DevOps Elective 5 3
Software Engineering Mandatory 5 3

4/8
Project Development A Mandatory 10 6

Expand+Are there follow-up Programmes Available?

As this is not a full level-8 Honours degree progression to MSc programmes may not be possible. However it may be possible to seek significant exemptions from a level-8 Honours Degree

Career Opportunit...

Hide-Are there follow-up Programmes Available?

As this is not a full level-8 Honours degree progression to MSc programmes may not be possible. However it may be possible to seek significant exemptions from a level-8 Honours Degree

Career Opportunities
Current forecasts about the future of the computing industry in Ireland are excellent. It is projected that students who enter third level colleges this year are likely to find there are more professional computing jobs available when they graduate than there are computing graduates to fill them.

During the past decade, Ireland has gained increasing recognition as Europe’s premier location for software development. Since the 1980s, most leading US software vendors, including Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Facebook and Symantec, have based their European operations centres in Ireland. The country has also become the number one site for software development in Europe. All the big players such as Microsoft, Google, EBay, Symantec and Amazon are now based in Ireland.

Alongside the big international players Ireland also has a thriving software development industry that has been created in Ireland by Irish computer graduates. It comprises of over 600 companies, about 250 of which have significant levels of overseas sales. Ireland has now overtaken the USA as the biggest exporter of software in the world. 60% of all software sold in Europe originates in Ireland.

In addition to the national demand for computing graduates there are several large computing companies in the Northwest such as Pramerica which is based in Letterkenny, Northbrook which has operations in Derry and Strabane and SITA which is owned by the air transport industry and has recently announced a major jobs expansion.