All graduate research students (Research Master's, PhD, MD, and students on a Professional Doctoral programme) have the opportunity to take taught modules relevant to their area of research or for their professional development in the course of their programme.

Each research programme differs in taught module requirements; for example, all UCD PhD students must take 30 credits of taught modules over the duration of their programme. These taught modules are intended to facilitate research and provide the student with important transferable skills, enhancing their career development.

For information on specific research programme requirements, please refer to the UCD academic regulations or Key Points webpage.

• Your School or programme may recommend or require certain modules; please check with your supervisor.
• Unless your School or programme stipulates specific modules, you may choose from the full range of modules available throughout the University in consultation and agreement with your Principal Supervisor and your Research Studies Panel (RSP).

Registration Procedure for 2024/25 Trimester 2 Modules

Update: Registration for Trimester 2 taught modules will open on Tuesday, 14th January 2025 and close on Friday, 7th February 2025. Students can register for modules delivered by their home School online via SISWeb (unique timeslots will have been emailed to relevant students) or for modules taken outside their home School or modules to be taken for audit via a Google Form. The Google Form Registration link will be available at the registration start date.

Notes

• While students do not need a signature/authorisation from their Principal Supervisor to register to modules, it is imperative that your module selection will have been agreed with your supervisor prior to registration. You will be required to sign off on a declaration that states that you have discussed your choice of module with your Principal Supervisor.
• If you wish to register to a module delivered outside your school, please make sure you have spoken to the relevant module coordinator prior to registration to ensure there is capacity on the course.
• Students must ensure that they have read the prior learning requirements for a module(s) before making a request for registration.
• Please note that, although you may be successfully registered to a module, high demand for a particular module may see a School reassign you to a different time slot or withdraw you from the module (you will be notified if this happens).
• Modules will be delivered either face-to-face, online or blended (face-to-face and online). Check each module descriptor for the mode of delivery.
• Please see the FAQs below for answers to common questions.
• All queries about module registration should be directed to student.records@ucd.ie.

Other Policies

Credit for External Learning

Graduate Research students may, with the approval of their supervisor, register to modules outside of UCD for credit. This credit can contribute towards the 30-credit component. This recommendation can be submitted to the Graduate Board using the relevant template within the InfoHub Tasks menu.

External credits will be reflected on a transcript with the College specific module code (EXTLXX101) and the description ‘External Credit’. Please discuss with your supervisor if you wish to explore taking modules outside of UCD. 

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Students can submit their application to the School using an online InfoHub form. The final recommendation is assessed by the Governing Board. Please refer to UCD's RPL policy for further guidance.