Study in Ireland for International Students

Consider studying in Ireland, a country with a rich heritage, unique accents, and interesting traditions. Ireland's highly recognized and excellent education, modern teaching techniques, and world-ranked universities attract a wide range of international applicants every year. With its unique historical cities, fantastic history, and breathtaking scenery, Ireland is a top choice for international students. The country also boasts some of the world's best research institutes and hosts 34k international students from more than 160 countries globally.

The teaching language in Ireland is English, the official English exams are TOEFL, PTE, IELTS, and C1 advanced. IELTS is required with a band score of 6.5; in some universities, it is around a 7.0 band score. Ireland offers partially and fully funded scholarships, most of which are merit-based. Additionally, Irish universities offer a wide range of courses, approximately 5k. The average tuition fee for undergraduates is approximately 10,000 to 55,000 euros per year and for masters, 10,000 to 35,000 euros per year. The average living cost is between 7k and 12k EUR yearly, including books, meals, healthcare, and electricity.

Ireland allows part-time jobs for 20 hours per week. The visa success ratio for international students is 96%. International students must have a bank statement of 10k-12k EUR.

Benefits of studying in Ireland

There are plenty of benefits to selecting Irish universities for your study destination. Some of them are given below:

Education system: Ireland is home to excellent and world-class universities that offer a wide range of fields of study, including humanities, economics, engineering, business, and sciences. With almost 10 universities ranked among the best in the world, Irish universities are known for their top-notch research and collaborations with other countries to enhance their teaching methodologies. The degrees earned from Irish universities are globally recognized, making it easier for students to achieve their career goals after their studies.

High-quality life: Ireland ranks among the 20 countries worldwide in terms of safety, human development, and peace. Its people are friendly, welcoming, and open-minded. In Ireland, almost 35,000 foreign students are enrolled every year from up to 161 countries.

Affordability: The tuition and living expenditures in Ireland are very affordable. They also allowed part-time jobs for the foreign students that reduced the burden of their other costs. Studying in Ireland country is more cheap and affordable contrasting to other English-speaking states such as UK or United States of America. Moreover, many scholarships are offered by the Ireland making study very reasonable for the foreign candidates.

Vibrant culture: Ireland has cultural diversity, beautiful scenery, fantastic history, festivals, and music events. It is a small country, but the Irish people are open-minded and friendly. It also has beautiful green landscapes.

Available courses: Irish universities offer a diverse range of courses, with more than 5k options available. Whether your interests lie in medicine, technology, sciences, economics, or humanities, Ireland has vibrant courses to suit your preferences. This wide variety of courses is a significant benefit for international students, allowing them to choose programs that align with their interests and career goals.

English language benefit: Irish official English language give a beneficial role to international students. Furthermore, the English-speaking country improves the language fluency that is good for world employability.

Work opportunities: The higher economy rate of Ireland increases the graduate employability rate with various state companies such as Microsoft, Medtronic, and Google. The Irish government provides post-study work visas to international students for 2 years for their stay and work after finishing their studies.

Scholarships in Ireland for international bachelor's students

Irish institutes offer bachelors scholarships in various disciplines such as music, law, agriculture, social sciences, business and sports. The Ireland offers many merit-based fellowships to the international students are described below;

• Dublin City University scholarship
• Maynooth university scholarship
• University College Cork Global Excellence scholarships
• NUI Galway Foreign Student scholarship
• University of Limerick scholarship
• Trinity College Dublin scholarship
• Government of Ireland-international education scholarship
• University College Dublin Global Excellence Scholarship
• Dublin institute of technology centenary scholarship

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Scholarships in Ireland for international master's applicants

Many scholarships are provided to master's students in Ireland are as:

• Fullbright scholarships
• NUI Galway Overseas Student Scholarships
• Maynooth university scholarships
• DCU taught master's Program award
• Government of Ireland scholarships
• The Walsh fellowships
• Trinity College Dublin scholarships
• Open study award

Some of these scholarships are described below:

1. Government of Ireland scholarships

This scholarship is offered by the Irish higher education authority to students in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level programs. The scholarship award covers the full tuition cost and is 10k EUR for one year.

Benefits

• Full tuition fee coverage
• Yearly stipend of about 10k EUR
• Career growth
• Registration cost

Eligibility

• Good communication skills
• Brilliant previous educational or personal record
• Getting higher education from Irish institutes

Required documents

• Reference letter
• Valid passport
• Educational certificates
• Acceptance letter

2. NUI Galway Overseas Student Scholarships

This is a merit-based scholarship for bachelor's and master's program students. Candidates with an offer letter from the university are eligible for this scholarship. It covers 50% of tuition and a stipend. Students enrolled in the colleges of engineering and science, public policy, law and business, social sciences and arts, and health sciences and medicine are eligible for this scholarship.

3. Trinity College Dublin scholarships

This merit-based scholarship is given to students who are getting admission to Trinity College Dublin. It is for one year and awards 2k to 5k EUR to international students. 60 applicants are selected each year.

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4. University College Dublin Global Excellence Scholarship

This is a merit-based scholarship given to bachelor's and master's program students. It covers 50 to 100 per cent of tuition and is granted based on educational achievements. For this scholarship, you need to have a CAS letter issued by the university.

5. University of Limerick scholarship

This scholarship is offered at the bachelor's and postgraduate levels. Additionally, it is merit-based. For this type of scholarship, your intermediate grades should be more than 75%, especially in Math and English. The scholarship award is about 4,300 EUR. Furthermore, IELTS is required for this scholarship.

Top universities in Ireland

Ireland has the world's best universities and is famous due to their excellent education and research. Some of them are given as:

1. University College Cork
2. University of Limerick
3. University of Galway
4. Trinity College Dublin
5. Dublin City University
6. Maynooth University
7. University College Dublin
8. Technological University Dublin

1. University College Cork

It is a public university founded in 1845 and ranked among the 273 universities worldwide. It enrolled 24k candidates from more than 100 nations and offered almost 227 master's programs in fields such as environmental sciences and business.

2. University of Limerick

This is a public university established in 1972. It is famous for its excellent research. This university offers 39 scholarships and almost 155 master's programs in business, sports science, law, humanities, and computer science. Furthermore, this university has a 421-world ranking, while IELTS is required with a band score of 6.5. The average tuition fee is about 6,900 EUR per semester for bachelor's and 11500-15500 EUR yearly for master. However, the acceptance rate is about 45-70%. 

3. Trinity College Dublin

This public-sector university offers 60 scholarships to international students and almost 153 master's programs in arts, computer science, and history. It also has many research institutions and diverse libraries. The university has an 87-world ranking and an acceptance rate of 33.5%.

4. Dublin City University

This is a public sector university having more than 18k international students. It offered 38 scholarships and almost 61 master's programs, such as business and information technology. Moreover, this is the 421 world-ranked university. The university has an acceptance rate of 50-60% with an IELTS score of 6.5 band. Here, the average tuition cost is about 12k-18k EUR per year for bachelor's and 9k-19k EUR yearly for masters.

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5. Maynooth University

This is one of the youngest universities in the Ireland and offers 38 scholarships to the international students. It was founded in 1997. This university offered 135 master's programs like law, humanities, agriculture, engineering and computer science. Additionally, this university has a world ranking of 801-850 with an acceptance rate of 60-70% and with IELTS demand of 6.5. The average tuition fee is around 12k-15k EUR per year for bachelors, 12k-16k EUR yearly for master's and 14500 EUR per year for PhD.

6. University College Dublin

This is a public sector university that offers 46 scholarships to foreign candidates. They enrolled more than 33k international students. This university provides 291 master's programs such as engineering, arts and business etc. It was founded in 1845. Moreover, the average tuition cost is about 16k-25k EUR per year for undergraduate and 24k EUR yearly for masters. The university has a 126-world ranking, while IELTS is required with a 6.5 band score. The acceptance rate of this university is about 25-40%.

Admission requirements and document list

• Previous educational certificates
• Valid passport
• Passport-sized pictures
• English language proficiency
• CV
• Birth certificates
• Statement of purpose
• Work experience
• Recommendation letter
• Reference letter

Visa requirements and documents list

• Valid passport
• Passport sized pictures
• Previous educational documents
• CV
• C study visa for 3 months courses
• D study visa for more than 3 months courses
• Admission letter
• Results of English language test
• Health insurance
• Acceptance letter
• Paid tuition fee proof
• Paid visa fee proof
• Police clearance certificates
• Work experience
• Financial proof (7k EUR yearly)
• Bank statement of about 10k-12k EUR
• Previous visa refusal letters, if any

Cost of Living

The cost of living for international students is between 7000 and 12000 EUR yearly, including books, meals, rents, healthcare, and electricity, excluding tuition. The average tuition fee is 10k to 55k EUR yearly for a bachelor's and 10k to 35k EUR per year for a master's.

Part-time working hours and income

Ireland allows part-time jobs for 20 hours per week, and the minimum stipend is around 10 to 14 EUR per hour. However, the part-time jobs are sales and store assistant, tutor, secretary, and community support worker.

Post-study work permit

Ireland allows post-study work permits, also known as third-level graduate programs, which allow foreign applicants to stay in the country for job opportunities after finishing their studies.