Ireland

Ireland's worldwide reputation for high quality education is built on the solid foundation of commitment to excellence. Ireland is a beautiful island, combining contemporary modern cities with an unspoilt countryside, cityscapes steeped in history and a rich natural habitat. Renowned for friendliness, our safe, English speaking country offers the warmest of welcomes to students from all over the world. Join the growing number of international students choosing Ireland to fulfil their potential.

The Irish have a huge maternal side and love to welcome or 'mother' new guests. If staying with a host family, you're sure to be treated as one of the family. If not, there's always a greeting or a helping hand just around the corner.

Ireland's Higher Education Institutions are absolutely committed to ensuring that visiting students settle in to their new environment and have all the information needed for an enjoyable stay. All our higher education institutions have a designated staff member to whom international students can turn for any assistance.

Simply put, we're a friendly, welcoming bunch of people, and that's why international students get so much out of the Irish experience.

While Ireland has its own language and distinct cultural identity, English is the universal spoken language.  In fact, Ireland is the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone, and that’s one of the reasons why so many multinational businesses locate their European base here. What’s more, it’s the language of choice in the technology world. An estimated 565 million people use English on the internet.

Innovative and Creative Culture
Did you know that Irish people were behind all these life-changing  inventions? The submarine, colour photography, the modern tractor, the guided missile, the nickel-zinc battery, the portable defibrillator, the Gregg system of shorthand speed writing, the modern stethoscope, rubber shoe soles, soda water, a treatment for leprosy, the aircraft ejector seat and chocolate milk!

Over the centuries, Ireland was bred scores of brilliant inventors. Irish man Robert Boyle is known as the father of chemistry. Francis Rynd invented the hypodermic syringe. Charles Parsons developed the world's first steam turbine, and Ernest Walton, working with John Cockcroft, became the first person to artificially split the atom.

We’re an ingenious lot who punch well above our weight internationally when it comes to creativity in art, literature and music and ingenuity in science and technology.

Long Tradition in Education Excellence
Everywhere you go in Ireland, you will find a genuine and deep-seated love of learning. Today, almost 1 million people (almost a quarter of our population) are in full-time education. And according to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2011, Ireland is a leader in higher education achievement.
But that’s nothing new. As far back as 500 AD, Ireland, and its monks and monasteries, were at the centre of learning in Europe, earning Ireland the title Land of Saints and Scholars.

Today, there is still a deep appreciation of education in Ireland. Our total investment in knowledge, including higher education, increased by an average annual rate of over 10% in the past decade – compared with EU and OECD averages of around 3%. Furthermore, our educational attainment levels are among the highest in the world, with over 40% of people aged between 25 and 36 having benefited from third level education.

Ireland's Higher Education System

The higher education system in Ireland consists of the university sector, institutes of technology and private independent colleges. The entry requirements for international students to higher education are determined individually by each institution and are generally based on national examination performance and English language aptitude.

High Schools

IH Dublin High School Programme and Guardianship Service in Ireland

Universities, Polytechnic and Vocational Colleges

IBAT College (Dublin), Ireland

University College Dublin (UCD), Dublin

Language Institutes

Atlantic Languages Galway (Dublin and Galway) Ireland

Central College (Dublin) Ireland

Cork English Academy, Cork City, Ireland

The International School of English, Dublin

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