General Requirements

Irish, EU and EFTA students* are eligible to apply for admission to all undergraduate courses and apply via the (opens in a new window)Central Applications Office (CAO):

• For very high demand courses, a numerus clausus for EU applicants applies (i.e. based on the proportion of applicants achieving top grades from the various cohorts).
• Please visit the appropriate website for details of how Irish Leaving Certificate, A-level and other EU qualifications are assessed.

Overseas (i.e. Non-EU)* students are eligible to apply for admission to a limited number of places in all courses, except Nursing. Non-EU applicants apply direct to UCD. Applicants presenting qualifications gained outside the EU are assessed for admission purposes on an individual basis. Guidelines of the assessment method are given on the UCD Global website.

* EU/EFTA or Non-EU status is based on fee assessment criteria. If you are not sure whether you are considered as an EU applicant or a Non EU applicant please check your fee status. Non-EU applicants will not be considered via CAO (with the exception of refugees and asylum seekers). Likewise, those eligible for EU/EFTA fees will not be considered through non-EU application routes.

Students must normally be seventeen years of age by 15 January following entry: i.e. for entry in 2025, date of birth must be on or before 15 January 2009. There is no upper limit.

If you will not be old enough and wish to appeal this, you can appeal to the Registrar. Your appeal should be accompanied by a letter of support from your School Principal. You can submit this via www.ucd.ie/askus

Undergraduate applications for stage 1 who are eligible for EU fee rate apply via CAO and are assessed in accordance with  CAO procedures   and published criteria.

For most graduate programmes and for non-EU undergraduate entrants application is via www.ucd.ie/apply

• For graduate applicants, in general, each programme has an assigned Admissions Tutor who is responsible for reviewing the application and issuing offers. Most programmes have delegated the assessment of non-EU applicants to   UCD Global.
• Applications are assessed primarily on academic criteria, although in some cases interviews or additional criteria may be required. Entry criteria are approved by Programmes and/or UPB.
• As English is the teaching language of the university all applicants must provide   evidence of English language proficiency.
• Offers are made in accordance with published entry criteria and in line with UCD's strategic objective "to attract and retain an excellent and diverse cohort of students".
• As applications are generally assessed on a rolling basis, applicants are not necessarily ranked relative to one another.

As an applicant, it is your responsibility to

• check entry criteria for the programmes for which you are applying. Please note, criteria can change from year to year.
• provide full and accurate information in the application and to notify UCD of any changes or corrections made to the original application. We (UCD) may request verification from the issuing authority of any or all details on documentation presented. If documents are found to have been falsified the awarding body will be notified and, if an offer has issued, it may be withdrawn.

All offers are subject to UCD's terms and conditions of offer. In some circumstances offers may be withdrawn as detailed in the terms and condition of offer.

UCD's responsibility is to

• treat all applicants in an equitable and fair way
• adhere to published policies and procedures
• manage and retain records in line with the Admissions Data Retention Policy
• respond to applicants queries in a timely manner.

Lectures will commence in early September each year.  Academic term dates can be found here.

Prospective undergraduate students should note that the University holds induction events for freshers in the week prior to the commencement of lectures. This involves registration, academic advisory, social and orientation meetings. 

Fees consist of three elements: Tuition Fees, Student Contribution Charge and Student Centre Levy.

Under the terms of the "Free Fees" Initiative, the Irish Exchequer pays tuition fees to the University on behalf of EU students registered for the first time on qualifying, full-time, undergraduate degree programmes. Such programmes must be of a minimum duration of 2 years. However, the Student Contribution Charge and Student Centre Levy must still be paid by the student.

"Free Fees" to not apply for Non-EU applicants.

Please check the website  www.ucd.ie/fees for up-to-date information on fee requirements and to check your eligibility for EU fee status, particularly if you answer yes to any of the following questions:

• Were you born outside the EU?
• Have you lived outside the EU for 3 of the last 5 years?
• Are you a non-EU National?
• Have you previously attended a third–level institution (in Ireland or elsewhere)?

If you are admitted to certain programmes in UCD you will be required to complete Garda Vetting. In the event that a relevant offence is disclosed, you may not be permitted to register. If you have lived outside Ireland for more than 6 months since the age of 18, you must provide Police Certificates for any countries in which you have lived.