Arts
The Higher Certificate in Arts is a multi-purpose award designed to meet the needs of a variety of learners and offers an inspiring and challenging educational experience, developing a broad range of knowledge and skills across a spectrum of academic disciplines, but also a course of personal and academic skills development and a structured pathway to further educational opportunities.
| Award Name | Level 6 Higher Certificate (Level 6 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | QQI |
| NFQ Level | Level 6 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 6 Higher Certificate (Level 6 NFQ) | Major | QQI | Level 6 NFQ |
Duration
2 Years
Specific Subjects or course requirements
5 O6/H7 to include English or another language.
Leaving Certificate General Entry Requirements
Selection of CAO applicants will be made on the basis of points. Your points will be calculated by adding together the points scored in the best of six subjects in a single sitting of the Leaving Certificate. The results of two sittings at Leaving Certificate (or equivalent examination) can be combined for the purposes of meeting the subject requirements for minimum entry. DBS currently awards bonus points for Honours maths students. Please note that bonus points will only apply where Mathematics is counted as one of the best six subjects for the applicant.
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
Distinction 66
Merit 46
Pass 28
Points Calculation Grid
Applicants can use their link module for points allocation as one of their six subjects for the purpose of calculating points and it will therefore count as a passing subject.
QQI FET Applicants General Information
Minimum entry requirements for graduates of FETAC awards is a full FETAC award at Level 5 on the NFQ and which includes a Distinction grade in at least three modules. A full FETAC award normally consists of eight modules. A record of achievement/component certificate does not meet minimum entry standards. FETAC Level 5 awards will be accepted in any discipline. Further details can be obtained from the Admissions Office.
Careers / Further progression
Career opportunities
On the completion of the Higher Certificate in Arts learners will acquire well rounded academic knowledge and a range of transferable skills and tools to pursue a career in any area of work that requires strong skills of written expression, oral presentation, communication, conceptual and critical thought, teamwork or project management.
Graduates will be able to find entry-level jobs or further study to excel in specific roles and get into many sectors. After completion of the Higher Certificate in Arts programme, students will have access to a range of entry-level employment opportunities in areas such as:
• Business Administration
• General Arts
• Law
• Marketing
• Sales
• Film and Media
• Psychology
• Social Science
• Health and Social Services
• Finance
• Accounting
Related DBS courses have an excellent record of inspiring and enabling students to go on to further study, with a very high proportion of graduates progressing onto further educational programmes at honours degree level and beyond and to a very wide variety of jobs and careers.
Transfer and Progression
Graduates of this Higher Certificate in Arts programme will automatically gain right of entry to Year two of any one of the following DBS honours degree programmes: BA (Hons) in Psychology, BA (Hons) in Social Science, and BA (Hons) in Film and Creative Media, BA (Hons) in Accounting & Finance, BA (Hons) in Marketing and BA (Hons) in Business (all streams). The programme is clearly placed and validated on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) and so graduates will also be qualified to apply for entry to similar programmes in other institutions.
Further information
Students who are applying to programmes as mature applicants will be required to be over the age of 23 as on 1st January in the year of entry. Mature students may apply through the CAO or directly to the college. They are not required to do both. Mature students are assessed on basis of age, educational standard and work experience to date.
All applicants presenting other qualifications should contact the Admissions Office directly to discuss their eligibility criteria.
Please note DBS is an independent college and therefore fees apply.
Entry 2024
Early online application (discounted): Fee €30 Closing Date: 20 January 2024 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €45 Closing Date: 1 February 2024 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee: €60 Closing Date: 1 May 2024 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2024 at 5pm
Exceptional online late application (see page 34 of the 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee €60 Closing Date: 22 July 2024 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 2024. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2024, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2024 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2024 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €60 applies.
Exceptional Late Applications (Exception to the timetable)
The exceptional closing date of 22 July at 5pm applies only to applicants who are registered as an undergraduate student on 1 May 2024 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. This is an exceptional late closing date and all steps must be completed by 5pm on 22 July. No changes may be made after this date.
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, Marino Institute of Education, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick and Maynooth University 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 34 of the 2024 CAO Handbook on how to make an Exceptional Late Application.
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 2024 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
Overview
The Higher Certificate in Arts (Level 6, 120 ECTS) is a two year full-time, or three year part-time, programme leading to a QQI Major Award placed at Level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). The Higher Certificate in Arts is a multi-purpose award designed to meet the needs of a variety of learners and offers an inspiring and challenging educational experience, developing a broad range of knowledge and skills across a spectrum of academic disciplines, but also a course of personal and academic skills development and a structured pathway to further educational opportunities. The Higher Certificate in Arts is an award in its own right but it also provides elective pathways to a number of undergraduate programmes in DBS (in Psychology; Social Science; Business; Marketing; Accounting and Finance, Film and Creative Media, and Law).
Stage one comprises modules in: Contemporary Humanities; Contemporary Social Sciences; Economic and the World of Business; Film and Creative Media as well as learning provided in modules: Digital Skills (5 ECTS), Academic Skills (10 ECTS) and the Career Discovery module which offers learners a platform for educational and career related investigation, job analysis, CV building, interview practice and work experience identification.
In Stage two there are two strands: academic underpinning in the module Critical Thinking Skills (10 ECTS) and elective academic pathways (50 ECTS). This stage provides learners with the opportunity to experience introductory-level subject specialisation on one of these elective pathways: Psychology; Social Science; Film and Creative Media; General Arts; Business; Marketing; Accounting and Finance and Law. These specialisms are offered in the second half of the programme.
Specialist pathways include:
• General Arts
• Psychology
• Social Science
• Film and Creative Media
• Business
• Marketing
• Accounting and Finance
• Law
Once selected, all elements of the pathway become mandatory - the modular elements of the pathways are determined by the requirements of the parent programmes from which they are derived. With the exception of the General Arts pathway, learners will share classes with the first year of different DBS Level 8 programmes.
The Higher Certificate in Arts aims to produce graduates who are knowledgeable and academically well-rounded, possessed of a wide range of transferrable skills, and well-qualified and prepared to successfully progress to a range of further academic or work-related challenges.
It provides an alternative learning route into existing undergraduate degree offerings with additional support structures to guide and support learners. This programme provides an opportunity for learners to experience an extended and closely supported transition into third-level education with significant subject specialisation at Level 6.
There is an embedded award of a Certificate in Arts (Level 6, 60 ECTS), available to learners who do not wish to complete the full Higher Certificate award. The Certificate in Arts (Level 6, 60 ECTS) equates to the first year and first stage of the Higher Certificate in Arts programme and is offered to allow maximum flexibility for learners.
Programme Aims and Objectives
The specific programme objectives are as follows:
• Provide an introduction to a range of subjects available for study within the areas of arts, business and law.
• Acquaint learners with an introductory level understanding of some of the key language, concepts and philosophical underpinnings of particular subjects at third level.
• Facilitate in the development of writing, oral presentation and IT skills.
• Promote an understanding of how different academic disciplines or subjects engage and explore issues and problems in the world.
• Facilitate in the development of independent study, research and learning skills.
• Facilitate in the development of team-working, project-management, time-management and careers skills.
• Enable learners to learn from their experience and reflect upon their academic and personal goals and development.
• Offer the opportunity for progression onto Level 8 programmes of education and training in subject areas related to the content of the programme.
Structure
The Higher Certificate in Arts is a two year full-time, or a three year part-time programme, divided into two stages and offering a series of internal options or pathways at stage two. All students take all of stage one modules of the programme and then take the elective specialised subject pathways during their second year. Whatever internal pathway they choose students will encounter an attractive mix of specialised academic knowledge and a course of continuing academic, personal and professional learning development that will put them in good stead for the future.
Stage One Modules
• Digital Skills
• Contemporary Humanities
• Contemporary Social Sciences
• Economics and the World of Business
• Film and Creative Media
• Academic Skills
• Careers Discovery
Stage Two Modules
Learners choose one Elective Pathway
Elective Pathway
(Learners choose one) Parent Programme
General Arts Higher Certificate in Arts
Psychology BA (Hons) in Psychology
Social Science BA (Hons) in Social Science
Film & Creative Media BA (Hons) in Film and Creative Media
Business BA (Hons) in Business
Marketing BA (Hons) in Marketing
Accounting and Finance BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance
Law Bachelor of Law (Hons)
Stage Two Modules Elective Pathway Detail
Learners choose one elective pathway and join classes of the parent degree programme from which each pathway is drawn. Each elective pathway delivers 50 ECTS of learning and by the end of Stage two students have achieved sufficient specialist learning to progress to the second year (Stage two) of the parent Level 8 degree.
The detail of the elective pathways are as follows:
General Arts
• Literature in the Modern World
• Drama and Theatre: Page and Stage
• War & Peace in the Twentieth Century I
• Irish Life and Cultures
• Writing for College
• Introduction to Philosophy
• Introduction to Psychology
• The Sociological Imagination
• The Moving Image
• Art and Architecture of Ireland
• Ethics
• War & Peace in the Twentieth Century II
• Introduction to Communications
• Introduction to Statistics
• Communication for Success
• Irish Literature
Psychology
All Stage Two arts modules are delivered in common with modules running as part of the DBS BA (Hons) Psychology programme and are mandatory if learners choose this pathway.
• Foundations of Biopsychology
• Foundations in Social Psychology
• Psychological Foundations
• Introduction to Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious
• Research Technique & Analysis 1
• Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
Social Science
All Stage two social science modules are delivered in common with modules running as part of the DBS BA (Hons) Social Science programme and are mandatory if learners choose this pathway.
• Foundations in Social Psychology
• The Sociological Imagination
• Introduction to Social Research
• Psychology through the Lifespan 1
• Social Policy and Law for Social Care 1
• Foundations in Criminology
Film and Creative Media
All Stage two arts modules are delivered in common with modules running as part of the DBS BA (Hons) Film and Creative Media programme and are mandatory if learners choose this pathway.
• Professional Practice: the Creative Workplace
• Principles: Light, Camera, Photography
• The Moving Image
• Audio Tech & Techniques
• Software I: Professional Editing Platforms
• Writing for Screen Media
Business
All Stage two business modules are delivered in common with modules running as part of the DBS BA (Hons) Business programme and are mandatory if learners choose this pathway.
• Digital Skills 2
• Maths and Stats for Business
• Business Context and Organisation
• Marketing Essentials
• Economic Perspectives
• Introduction to Business Finance
Marketing
All Stage two arts modules are delivered in common with modules running as part of the DBS BA (Hons) Marketing programme and are mandatory if learners choose this pathway.
• Digital Skills 2
• Economic Perspectives
• Marketing Essentials
• Business Context and Organisation
• Maths and Stats for Business
• Digital Content Creation
Accounting and Finance
All Stage two accounting and finance modules are delivered in common with modules running as part of the DBS BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance programme and are mandatory if learners choose this pathway.
• Digital Skills 2
• Principles of Accounting
• Economic Perspectives
• Business Context and Organisation
• Business Maths and Research Methods
• Accounting Information Systems
Law
All Stage two law modules are delivered in common with modules running as part of the DBS Bachelor of Laws (Hons) programme and are mandatory if learners choose this pathway.
• Introduction to Legal Research Skills
• Criminal Law
• Constitutional Law
• Legal Systems
• Contract Law
Teaching and Assessment
Higher Certificate in Arts provides a flexible, active, peer-led, experiential and reflective learning environment for students. Modules will be delivered through a mix of practical skills sessions, tutorials, lectures, workshops and real-world case-based learning.
Assessment takes a variety of forms including: multiple choice questions, debates, presentations, individual portfolios of employment related artefacts, written assignments, reflective diaries, analysis of case studies and in-class tests.
At stage two of the programme the elective pathways are primarily assessed according to the assessment strategies of the parent programmes.
Awarding Body:
Quality & Qualifications Ireland (QQI)
Award: Certificate
NFQ Level: Level 6
Award Title: Certificate in Arts
T: +353 (0) 1 4177500
E: admissions@dbs.ie