Expand+Specific Subjects Required
None

Admission Requirements 2018

To qualify for admission to an honours degree course at the University you must:

1 meet the minimum entry requirements (see below).

2 satisfy course specific requirements (whe...

Hide-Specific Subjects Required
None

Admission Requirements 2018

To qualify for admission to an honours degree course at the University you must:

1 meet the minimum entry requirements (see below).

2 satisfy course specific requirements (where applicable), see above.

3 where there is competition for places, have good enough examination results to be included among those to whom offers are made.

Minimum entry points for recent years are available at: www.tcd.ie/study/eu/undergraduate/admission-requirements

Also see ‘Other Requirements’ below.

Note: An Irish language Admission Requirements Summary brochure is available from: www.tcd.ie/study/eu/undergraduate

Minimum Entry Requirements: Irish Leaving Certificate

To be considered for admission to a degree course at the University you must:

Present six subjects, three of which must be at grade 5 or above on higher Leaving Certificate papers or at least grade 5 in the University matriculation examination.

The six subjects above must include:

A pass in English.

A pass in mathematics (or foundation-level mathematics (see note 2)) and a pass in a language other than English
OR
A pass in Latin and a pass in a subject other than a language.

Notes:
1 A pass means grade O6/H7 or above in the Leaving Certificate and grade 7 or above in the University matriculation examination.

2 Mathematics at foundation-level is acceptable for minimum entry requirements only, for all courses except nursing or midwifery courses. Irish at foundation-level is not acceptable for minimum entry requirements, course requirements or for scoring purposes.

3 Students may combine grades achieved in different sittings of their Leaving Certificate/Matriculation examinations for the purpose of satisfying minimum entry and/or course requirements, but not for the purposes of scoring. This is not permitted for Medicine.

4 Combinations of Leaving Certificate subjects not permitted:

Physics/chemistry may not be presented with physics or chemistry.

Biology and agricultural science may not be presented as two of the six subjects required for minimum entry requirements, and they may not be presented together to satisfy course specific requirements. However, both may be used for scoring purposes.

Art and music may not be offered as two of the three higher Leaving Certificate grades for minimum entry requirements, but both may be used for scoring purposes.

Bonus Points for Higher Level Mathematics
All students presenting H6 or above in higher level mathematics will have 25 points added to their score for mathematics. The bonus points will only be relevant where mathematics is scored as one of a student’s six best subjects for points purposes.

An applicant’s six best results from one sitting of the Leaving Certificate will be counted for scoring purposes. Applicants may combine results from the Leaving Certificate and the Trinity matriculation examination of the same year for scoring purposes.

University Matriculation Examination
A matriculation examination, graded in equivalent terms to grades used in higher Leaving Certificate examination papers, is held in Trinity every year, usually in April. The subjects of the matriculation examination are Biblical Studies and Geology. You may take one or both of the subjects available, but you should note that the range of university matriculation examination subjects available is not sufficient for the fulfilment of all minimum entry requirements.

The closing date for application for the examination is 1 March. Application forms and a syllabus can be obtained from the Academic Registry, Watts Building, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Tel: +353 1 896 4500, Email: academic.registry@tcd.ie

Other Requirements

English Language Requirement
All applicants must present an English language qualification. Accepted/permitted qualifications are:

1 Irish Leaving Certificate: a grade 6 or better in ordinary level English.

2 GCSE: a grade C or better in English Language.

3 US High School: a grade C in English taken in final year.

4 TOEFL
Paper-based 570 (with a TWE score of 4.5)
Computer-based 233 (with a score of 4.5 in essay)
Internet-based 90 (with a written score of 21)

5 Cambridge Proficiency Grade C

6 Cambridge Advanced Grade A

7 IELTS (academic version) 6.5 (no individual band below 6)
For Dental courses: IELTS (academic version) 7 (no individual band below 7)
For Clinical Speech and Language Studies: IELTS (academic version) 7 (no individual band below 7)

8 Pearson Test of English (Academic) – PTE Academic: a minimum score of 63 (with no Communication Skills section score below 59)

9 International Baccalaureate: English A1, A2 or B: 5 at Higher Level (4 at Standard Level if presenting IB through English).

Note: Examination results are only valid for two years.

Age Requirement
Applicants seeking admission in 2018 must have a date of birth before 15 January 2002.

Garda Vetting
Students on courses with clinical or other professional placements may be required to undergo Garda vetting procedures prior to commencing placements. If, as a result of the outcome of the Garda vetting procedures, a student is deemed unsuitable to attend clinical or other professional placement, he/she may be required to withdraw from his/her course. Students who have resided outside Ireland for a period of 6 months or more will be required to provide police clearance documentation from the country (including different states) or countries in which they resided.

Students who accept an offer will be informed of the procedures to be followed to complete the vetting process (as part of the student orientation information).

Fitness To Practice
Professional courses demand that certain core competencies are met by students in order to graduate and practice professionally after qualification. Trinity has special responsibility to ensure that all students admitted to all professional programmes will be eligible for registration by the relevant professional body upon graduation. It is important to us that our students are able to fulfil the rigorous demands of professional courses and are fit to practice.

Precautions Against Infectious Diseases
Offers of admission to the following courses are made subject to certain vaccination requirements and/or certain negative test results.

Clinical Speech and Language Studies

Dental Science, Dental Hygiene, Dental Nursing, and Dental Technology

Medicine

Nursing and Midwifery

Occupational Therapy

Pharmacy

Physiotherapy

Radiation Therapy

Social Studies (Social work)

Full details are available at: www.tcd.ie/study/eu/undergraduate/ admission-requirements/infectious-diseases

Expand+All undergraduate courses in Trinity are open to mature applicants. Mature student applicants are not required to satisfy the normal minimum entry requirements and are not required to meet competitive academic entry levels (e.g. Leaving Certificate p...

Hide-All undergraduate courses in Trinity are open to mature applicants. Mature student applicants are not required to satisfy the normal minimum entry requirements and are not required to meet competitive academic entry levels (e.g. Leaving Certificate points), but are considered in the first instance on the basis of how relevant their life, work and educational experiences are to the course(s) that they wish to pursue. In addition, all applicants should demonstrate an interest in and knowledge of their course choice(s).

In order to apply to Trinity as a mature applicant you must:

be an EU applicant (see page 240 undergraduate prospectus)

be at least 23 years of age on 1 January 2018

submit a CAO application form to the Central Applications Office (CAO) by 1 February 2018

submit a Trinity Mature Student Supplementary Online Application Form (required for all CAO courses with the exception of nursing and midwifery) by 1 February 2018.

Late applications will not be considered from mature students.

CAO applications may be made online at: www.cao.ie

The Trinity Mature Student Supplementary Application Form should be submitted online. A full list of available courses can be accessed on: www.tcd.ie/courses. Please select the appropriate course choice from the list and apply by selecting the Mature Student Supplementary Application Form option. See: www.tcd.ie/ maturestudents/apply for full details on making an application.

Please note that a valid CAO number is required prior to submitting a Trinity Mature Student Supplementary Online Application Form. Only three course options will be considered.

Applicants to all courses may be required to attend an interview. Interviews are usually held between April and May.

Certain courses may also require applicants to meet other assessment criteria. For information on additional assessments for specific courses please refer to the Mature Student Guidelines booklet available from the Academic Registry, Watts Building, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin 2, tel: +353 1 896 4500, email: academic.registry@tcd.ie. The Mature Student Guidelines booklet is also available to download at: www.tcd.ie/ maturestudents/apply

Trinity will inform mature applicants of the outcome of their application before the end of May to allow successful applicants the maximum time possible to prepare for the start of the academic year 2018. Official offers to successful applicants are made through the CAO in early July. To secure your place you must return a formal acceptance notice to the CAO by the specified reply date.

An information seminar to prepare all successful mature applicants for starting in Trinity will take place in July 2018. An orientation programme for all successful mature applicants will take place in September 2018.

For further information on studying in Trinity as a mature student please contact the mature student officer, tel: +353 1 896 1386, email: mature.student.officer@tcd.ie or visit: www.tcd.ie/ maturestudents

Expand+Early online application (discounted): Fee €30 Closing Date: 20th January 2018 at 5:15pm

Normal online application: Fee €45 Closing Date: 1st February 2018 at 5:15pm

Late online application - restrictions apply: Fee: €60 Closing Date: 1st May 2...

Hide-Early online application (discounted): Fee €30 Closing Date: 20th January 2018 at 5:15pm

Normal online application: Fee €45 Closing Date: 1st February 2018 at 5:15pm

Late online application - restrictions apply: Fee: €60 Closing Date: 1st May 2018 at 5:15 pm

Change of Mind - restrictions apply: Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1st July 2018 5:15 pm

Exceptional online late application - see page 14 of the 2018 CAO Handbook: Fee €60 Closing Date: 22nd July 2018 at 5:15pm

You should avoid submitting an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all fees are non-refundable.

LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5:15pm on 1st February 2018 and will be accepted up to 5:15pm on 1st May 2018, subject to the restricitions listed on page 3 of the 2018 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5th March 2018 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €60 applies.

Exceptional Late Applications (Exception to the Timetable)
The exceptional closing date of 22nd of July at 5:15pm applies only to applicants who are currently undergraduate students in any year in any one of the participating HEIs (subject to the exclusions listed below). In order to avail of the Exceptional Late Application facility you must have entered the HEI through the CAO system.

If you did not enter your current course through the CAO system, you must first contact the Admissions Office of the HEI to which you wish to apply and they will inform you if you may submit an application direct to the institution.

Exclusions:
You may submit a late application only for entry to courses other than your existing course. If you wish to repeat the year in the same course you must arrange this within your HEI.

Mary Immaculate College Limerick, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick, Maynooth University and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology have special procedures in place in the case of current or previous students who wish to apply for entry to another course in the same HEI. Such applicants must contact their Admissions Office to determine the application procedure. However, if you are a student in another HEI and you wish to apply to any of these five HEIs, you should apply through CAO.

Refer to page 15 of the 2018 CAO Handbook on how to make an Exceptional Late Application.

Restricted-category Applicants
Mature applicants – most HEIs will require mature applicants, who wish to be assessed on mature grounds, to have applied to CAO by 1st February 2018 at 5:15pm. (This restriction does not apply if the applicant wishes to be considered on the basis of school leaving qualifications only.) For more information about applying to CAO on the basis of mature years go to www.cao.ie/mature.

Applying for the HEAR and/or DARE schemes – to be considered for the HEAR and/or DARE schemes applicants must have registered on the CAO system by 1st February 2018 at 5:15pm and must have completed the HEAR/DARE application form by 1st March 2018 at 5:15pm – supporting documents must be sent to CAO offices before 1st April 2018 at 5:15pm.

Expand+What is History and Political Science?
History is about people. Studying History means studying lives lived, and ideas thought and expressed in times and places often very different from our own. History embraces everything from the rise and fall o...

Hide-What is History and Political Science?
History is about people. Studying History means studying lives lived, and ideas thought and expressed in times and places often very different from our own. History embraces everything from the rise and fall of empires or the birth of new ideologies to the contrasting everyday lives of people in a whole range of settings, across time and across the globe. Studying History means developing critical skills, learning to express your ideas and arguments clearly, and becoming self-directed in your studies.

Political Science is the study of governments, public policies and political behaviours. Politics affects us all in our daily lives. It’s easy to think of issues that we all have opinions about. Should government tax the rich for greater equality? Should it introduce ‘green taxes’ in order to protect the environment? How high a priority should development aid be? Questions such as these, along with analyses of political systems, political behaviour, international relations and how democracy works, are at the heart of the study of political science.

History & Political Science: The course for you
The History and Political Science course offers the opportunity to study two subjects with close affinities as part of a coherent structured programme. In the first three years of the programme, you will take both subjects on an equal basis. In the fourth year, you may choose to concentrate exclusively on either subject or to continue with both. The combination allows students to engage with problems past and present, national and international, using a range of approaches, but with an emphasis on self-directed study and the development of intellectual skills.

History and Political Science at Trinity
Trinity is one of the world’s top 50 universities for the study both of History and of Political Science (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015).

Both departments offer a remarkably broad range of subject options for their size. The four-year programme allows students to lay firm foundations in both disciplines in the first two years. Wide-ranging modules cover medieval and modern history, Irish, European, American and global, as well as on historical methods and approaches. Political Science modules address such areas as comparative politics, international relations and the history of political thought. The final two years of the programme then allow students the chance to study several specialist modules in-depth.

Expand+Your degree and what you'll study
The History programme combines the strength of a broad-based programme in the first two years, introducing all students to the sheer diversity of historical studies, with the freedom to explore areas of particular i...

Hide-Your degree and what you'll study
The History programme combines the strength of a broad-based programme in the first two years, introducing all students to the sheer diversity of historical studies, with the freedom to explore areas of particular interest to individual students in the final two years. First and second year provide a range of modules in medieval and early modern Irish and European history (year one), modern Irish and modern European history, U.S. history and global history (year two), as well as a Doing History module on the methods used by historians, and participation in a history group project in year two.

In each of the first two years students take 3 Political Science modules. In year one these are: Introduction to Political Science; Introduction to Sociology; Introduction to Economic Policy. In year two these will be: History of Political Thought; International Relations; Comparative Politics.

Both the History and Political Science departments allow students to select modules in their third and fourth years which can enable them to concentrate on areas of particular interest to you. In History, modules will include some which involve intensive research and writing based on primary sources and others which are broader thematic and analytical modules and may have a particular focus on historiography – on how different historians have tried to understand a period or problem. Students taking only History in fourth year will also write a dissertation. Broad curriculum and language modules can also be taken.

Among the specialist modules available in political science are:

FIRST AND SECOND (FRESHMAN) YEARS
Introduction to Political Science
Politics and Irish Society
History of Political Thought
International Relations
Comparative Politics

THIRD AND FOURTH (SOPHISTER) YEARS
Irish Politics
Contemporary Political Theories
Political Parties
Issues in Contemporary Politics
Democracy and Development
European Union Politics
Contemporary International Relations
African Politics
Chinese Politics

History modules may include:
The Vikings, 790-1100
The Archaeology of Medieval Warfare, 1000-1300
Renaissance Florence, c.1347-1527
The Elizabethans and their World 1550-1610
From Rebellion to Restoration: Confederate and Cromwellian Ireland
The French Revolution
Violence, Law and Order in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Ireland
Constitutional Nationalism vs. Republicanism: Ireland 1782-1916
Sub-Saharan Africa since 1875
Race and Ethnicity in American Thought since 1880
Ireland in the 1920s and 1930s
American Politics and Culture, 1939-1989
Ireland, Britain and America during the Cold War and Beyond, 1948-1998
The Troubles, 1968-1998

Expand+See also:
TR001: TSM (joint honor programme) History in combination with one other subject.
TR003: Single honour course in history.
TR028: Ancient and Medieval History and Culture.
Political Science

Study abroad
Both the Political Science a...

Hide-See also:
TR001: TSM (joint honor programme) History in combination with one other subject.
TR003: Single honour course in history.
TR028: Ancient and Medieval History and Culture.
Political Science

Study abroad
Both the Political Science and History departments have arrangements allowing students to study abroad in another university for a semester or a full academic year. Participating in these opportunities is dependent upon the exchange fulfilling the course requirements of both departments. The Department of History has Erasmus exchange agreements with a wide range of European universities including the University of St. Andrews (Scotland), the Sorbonne (Paris), the University of Vienna and Charles University in Prague as well as an exchange agreement with the University of Tokyo. The Department of Political Science is a partner in Erasmus exchanges with the Institute d’ Études Politiques in Strasbourg and Paris, the University of Zurich, the University of Bologna and University of Mannheim. History and Political Science students can also arrange for a year abroad in other countries, notably the U.S.A., Australia and Canada, for example at the University of California, the University of Sydney or McGill University (Montreal).

Expand+Graduate skills and career opportunities
Recent graduates are pursuing careers in government and the public sector, media, accountancy and business to name a few. Some graduates each year progress to further study in areas as diverse as medicine, f...

Hide-Graduate skills and career opportunities
Recent graduates are pursuing careers in government and the public sector, media, accountancy and business to name a few. Some graduates each year progress to further study in areas as diverse as medicine, film production, graphic design and business, as well as areas more closely related to history and political science. Graduates of the departments work for such organisations as IBEC, the Irish Times, Bank of Ireland, Goldman Sachs, the Law Society of Ireland, Oxfam, the American Chamber of Commerce, RTÉ, Google and Accenture. The diversity of careers reflects the wide array of skills amassed by students undertaking a degree in History and Political Science at Trinity.