Business Economic & Social Studies - BESS
B.E.S.S. is a uniquely flexible degree programme offering you different degree options across the disciplines of Business, Economics, Political Science and Sociology. It provides students with a broad education and you specialise and graduate with a Single Honours or Joint Honours degree with another subject, or a Major with a Minor.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | University of Dublin |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | University of Dublin | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
4 years full-time
Specific Subjects or course requirements
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.
Special Entry Requirements
O4/H6 Mathematics
Leaving Certificate General Entry Requirements
To qualify for admission to an honours degree course at the University you must:
1 meet the minimum entry requirements (see above).
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 (see the Leaving Certificate scoring system or Advanced GCE (A Level) scoring system).
Minimum Entry Requirements: Irish Leaving Certificate
To be considered for admission to a degree course at the University applicants 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.
The minimum entry levels (points) for Trinity in recent years are available at: www.tcd.ie/study/apply/admission-requirements/ undergraduate
Age Requirement
Applicants seeking admission in 2025 must have a date of birth before 15 January 2009.
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, students are deemed unsuitable to attend clinical or other professional placement, they may be required to withdraw from their 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.
Health Screening
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
› Orthodontic Therapy, 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/apply/admissionrequirements/ undergraduate
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
These modules are accepted for scoring purposes only and are awarded the following points: Distinction 66, Merit 46, Pass 28.
QQI FET Applicants General Information
There is an entry route to a number of degree programmes in Trinity for applicants presenting appropriate QQI/FET Level 5 or 6 Major Awards. Applicants presenting distinctions in five modules can be considered for admission.
Full information on courses with QQI entry routes, requirements etc., can be found at the link below.
Careers / Further progression
Graduate skills and career opportunities
From a career perspective BESS is an extremely flexible and practical degree programme. Graduates are also highly sought after by employers in a range of fields, such as finance and banking, politics, research, management consulting, teaching, public service, and journalism. Graduates have gone on to successful and rewarding careers in varied roles around the globe. The following are just a few examples of the organisations that have recruited BESS graduates: Accenture, Alcatel, Cisco, Barclay’s Bank, Commission for Energy Regulation, Enterprise Ireland, Google, KPMG, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Tesco, Topshop, Channel 4, and Atlantic Philanthropies.
Further information
Mature Students
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 (such as 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 216 TCD Undergraduate Prospectus 2025)
› be at least 23 years of age on 1 January 2025
› submit a CAO application form to the Central Applications Office (CAO) by 1 February 2025
Late applications will not be considered from mature students.
CAO applications may be made online at: www.cao.ie
Further information about applying through the CAO as a mature student can be found www.
For information on Alternative Entry Routes go to: https://www.tcd.ie/study/apply/alternative-paths-to-trinity/
Places 2024: 236
Entry 2025
Early online application (discounted): Fee €30 Closing Date: 20 January 2025 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €45 Closing Date: 1 February 2025 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2025 CAO Handbook): Fee: €60 Closing Date: 1 May 2025 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2025 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2025 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2025. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2025, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2025 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2025 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €60 applies.
Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2025 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:
General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices
Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course
Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants
Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR
What is Business, Economics and Social Studies (BESS)?
BESS is a uniquely flexible degree programme offering you different degree options across the disciplines of Business, Economics, Political Science and Sociology. It provides students with a broad education and you specialise and graduate with a Single Honours or Joint Honours degree with another subject, or a Major with a Minor. It also offers a high level of flexibility in two very important ways: from the second year onwards students are allowed to (a) choose the specific degree they wish to take and, (b) choose individual modules within their chosen degree path. Students, therefore, have an opportunity to adjust their study programmes in accordance with their academic results, interests, aptitudes and emerging career aspirations.
BESS: The course for you?
The disciplines of Business, Economics, Political Science and Sociology all examine the world around us, analysing how it works and asking the big questions.
Where they differ is in the things they look at and the way they examine them. In your first year as a BESS student, you will be introduced to each discipline’s unique but complimentary approach to studying the complex world that we live in. From the second year onwards, the flexible programme structure allows you to choose the disciplines that appeal to you, along with the specific topics that interest you, through a wide range of modules within each discipline. Graduates invariably tell us that it is this broad, flexible approach that allowed them to build the knowledge and insights that they rely on progressively as they advance to more senior positions in their careers.
Business
Top international professors and leading business people engage with the students, challenge them and guide them into top roles within the business world. Past students are now leaders in the world of business, government, entertainment, technology, innovation and non-profit businesses.
Economics
Many of the economic problems which dominate the headlines are explored within this discipline. Economics blends together theory, data and statistical techniques to help understand economic problems and to make policy recommendations.
Political Science
Politics affects us all in our daily lives. Should government tax the rich for greater equality? Should the amount of money the EU spends on agriculture be cut? Questions such as these, along with analysis of political systems and how democracy works, are at the heart of the study of politics.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of social change and the consequences of human behaviour. When you study Sociology, you will get the opportunity to analyse people and societies, exploring areas as diverse as migration, race and gender, conflict studies, digitalisation, identities and employment studies.
First and second years
In the first year you will take all four subjects: Business, Economics, Political Science and Sociology.
In second year you can choose to continue with one, two or three subjects and could, for example, take modules ranging from Intermediate Economics to International Politics, to an Introduction to Social Theory and modules from a list of available Trinity Electives or complementary/open modules.
Third and fourth years
In third year, you choose your degree pathway and pursue either two or one of the four subjects, and if applicable, choose complementary open modules.
In the fourth year, you may choose to take one or two subject and can exit with a Single Honours, Major with Minor or Joint Honours award. All students will complete a Capstone project in their final year.
Third and fourth year enter your degree at 30% to 70% respectively.
Choosing modules for a Single Honours degree option
In second year, Single Honours students, as well as taking modules from their preferred discipline, also select modules from one or more of the other three disciplines. In third and fourth years, students take the majority of their modules from their chosen discipline but, in keeping with the BESS philosophy of flexibility, there is significant scope to choose modules which appeal most from the range of available modules.
Choosing modules for the Joint Honours degree options
Throughout third and fourth year, Joint Honours students take approximately half of their modules from each of the two disciplines. Major with Minor students have more modules in their major discipline throughout third and fourth year. Since module choices may be made from among the full range available in two disciplines, the Joint Honours and Major with Minor degree routes offer exceptionally high flexibility with regard to programme design and module choice.
Most BESS modules involve a system of continuous assessment, essays, projects and/or presentations contributing between 30% to 50% of the overall grade per module. The remainder is based on the results of a written end-of-semester examination.
There are QQI/FET routes available for this course. Please see www.cao.ie for details.
Study abroad and language options
First and second year BESS students have the option to study Irish, French, German, Spanish, Russian or Polish. Students also have the opportunity to study abroad in their third year at leading universities in countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium or Spain, as well as English-speaking international exchange programmes to prestigious universities in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia (China, Hong Kong and Japan). Some of the more popular universities are Uppsala University, Sweden; Emory University, Georgia, Senshu University, Japan; IEP – Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, France; QUT Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Further information on the year abroad programme can be found at: www.tcd.ie/business/undergraduate/study-abroad
www.tcd.ie/bess
Email: bess@tcd.ie