Mature Applicants FAQs

A mature applicant is anyone who is at least 23 years of age on 1 January of the proposed year of entry and whose school-leaving qualifications are insufficient for admission. For admission in September 2024 your date of birth must be on or before 1 January 2001.

1. View the (opens in a new window)courses we have on offer and decide which one best suits your needs and interests.
2. Consider whether you want to apply for next September or whether you would prefer to do an Access or Open Learning course to help prepare you. The Access course is essential if you want to apply for DN300 Veterinary Medicine or DN400 Medicine.
3. If you are ready to apply, submit your application online (opens in a new window)via the Central Applications Office (CAO) by 1 February. (opens in a new window)CAO have a helpful Guide for Mature Applicants.
4. Make sure you include details of your school leaving examinations and any QQI FET courses you have taken as these will add to your profile as a mature student. (If you are not offered as a mature student, you may also be eligible for assessment on the basis of your school-leaving exams or QQI-FET).
5. Complete the Mature section on the CAO form.
6. Post your relevant supporting documents to CAO (make sure you include your CAO number so they can be matched to your application).
7. If you are applying for Nursing, you will also need to apply for the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) written assessment.

Please note: the above is for Irish and other EU/EFTA/UK applicants only. Non EU applicants should visit the UCD Global webpages. If you are unsure of your status, please visit our fees website for a fee assessment.

No, application is via CAO only. 

Please note that any supporting documents should be with CAO no later than 15 February. Documents received after this date may not be available to us in time for assessment.

November-January
Early November: CAO applications open20 Jan: early CAO closing date (reduced fee)

February
1 Feb: CAO Closing date
Applicant documents received in CAO and scanned.

March
1 Mar: Closing date for amending CAO form
8 Mar: Complete data available to admissions
9 – 31 Mar: Admissions Assessment. 
N.B. Admissions may contact you during this period if your application is incomplete, so make sure you check your email regularly.

April
Courses assessments

May
1 May: Late CAO closing date (NB for most courses, late applicants will not be considered on grounds of mature years expect for those progressing from Access courses. Please see the course details to check whether you can apply late on grounds of mature years)

June
Scores returned to Admissions

July
Early July: Offers on grounds of mature years issue

August
Early August: QQI-FET offers and offers to mature applicants from waiting list if places haven’t been filled
Late August: Round 1 CAO offers on basis of leaving certificate and further mature offers from waiting list if any places remain.

September
Orientation
Start of First Trimester

• Transcripts for any third level qualifications (even if not complete, results in 1st year can add to your profile)
• Any other substantial awards you have gained since leaving school (other than QQI-FET which CAO can access if you have provided your PPS number)
• School leaving results (other than Irish Leaving Certificate from 1985 onwards which CAO can access if you supply your exam number)
• Optional: CV and/or additional statement of interest. If you feel there isn’t enough space on the CAO form, you can submit additional information.
• If you are not a native English speaker you should also include proof of English ability.

N.B. You do not need to send copies for each institution for which you have applied, one copy is sufficient.

1.  Initial screening

•  Admissions will assess applicants based on their educational and experiential backgrounds.
•  Applicants with no Statement of Interest will be screened out.
•  For some courses, a background in specific subjects such as Mathematics, a Laboratory Science subject or a language is essential as these are important elements in the course. If you don’t have the required grade in the Irish Leaving Certificate, or equivalent, you should highlight other evidence for this area (e.g. through your work or certified learning).
• If you have not shown sufficient evidence of ability in these areas, you will be screened out.
  Following this, the top ranked applicants will be forwarded to the assessors in the course area.

2.  Course Assessment

• The assessors in the course area will review and score the full background of the applicant including education and work/voluntary experience. For some courses, particular areas of previous learning are especially important.
• They will score the CAO Statement of Interest under the following headings:
  a.    Motivation
  b.    Your interest in and understanding of the course
  c.    Relevant Life Experience
  d.    Writing ability
  
  
• Generally, assessment is based on the written application only. However, in some cases an interview may also be required.

3.  Issuing offers

• When the scores are returned to Admissions, a positive decision will be returned to CAO for the top ranked applicants to fill the quota of mature places.
• Any remaining applicants who have been deemed eligible by the course assessors will be placed on a waiting list and may be offered in later rounds.
• In all cases, offers will be made in accordance with CAO procedures, i.e. applicants will be offered the highest preference to which they are entitled. Once an offer has been made, they can still be offered a higher preference in later rounds but not a lower preference.

Note: for Nursing, eligible applications are assessed solely based on the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) written assessment.

Applicants applying on the grounds of mature years can re-order their preferences only.

You can add new courses using change of mind but these can only be considered on the basis of QQI-FET or School Leaving results as the mature assessment process will already have taken place.

Four of our undergraduate degrees have graduate entry routes:

• Veterinary Medicine - 2 routes depending on the relevance of your previous degree:
  • DN300 Veterinary Medicine (5 Year course)
  • DN301 Veterinary Medicine (4 Year course Graduates only)
• Medicine - DN401 (Graduate Entry only)
• Radiography - DN411 Radiography (Graduate Entry only)
• Physiotherapy - DN420 Physiotherapy

There are also a number of Master's available which allow graduates change career direction. Some examples are

• Master of Science Physiotherapy (pre-registration)
• Masters in Common Law

Information on all our post graduate courses is available here.

You may be interested in our UCD Access courses or UCD Open Learning Certificate. As well as preparing you to apply next year, successful completion of these courses can allow for another progression route to a number of our undergraduate degrees.

Alternatively you may wish to consider a QQI-FET course.