Religious Education and History
Fully qualify you to teach second-level Religious Studies and History in just four years. You’ll gain valuable and extensive experience, including peer-teaching, team-teaching and school-based placement.
The course is comprised of a variety of interesting core and optional topics, with an emphasis throughout on teamwork, leadership, communication and creativity—skills that will serve you well in a teaching career and also transfer to a number of other professions. You’ll also be encouraged to develop the skills to work in contexts of cultural and religious diversity, preparing you for the modern-day teaching environment.
I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking for a direct pathway into the teaching profession. It is Ireland's best-kept secret!
Throughout the course you’ll cover four integrated areas:
- Foundational and Professional Studies in Education: We offer a student-friendly, supportive, open, dynamic and practical approach to the study of Education. The diverse, exciting, engaging, and challenging study of Education and Religious Education is reflected in the modules on offer.
- Teaching, Including School Placements: One of the most exciting and rewarding elements of the course is our hands-on approach to School Placement. Over the four years of the course, you’ll have an opportunity to gain valuable and extensive experience within a range of teaching and learning environments, including engagement in observation of practice, micro-teaching, peer-teaching, team-teaching and school-based placement (in both primary and post-primary sectors). You’ll be supported throughout your professional development by experienced School Placement tutors, school-based cooperating teachers and METIS (a custom-built web-based environment for School Placement).
- Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics: These elements provide a strong foundation for teaching Religious Education in second level schools and meet the subject criteria required by the Teaching Council. The specific subjects include: Ethics; Philosophy; Scripture; Systematic Theology; World Religions. You’ll be encouraged to critically engage with a wide range of topics and develop the skills to work in contexts of cultural and religious diversity.
- History: Our aim is to provide you, as a student of History, with the material and methodologies that will equip you to discover, examine, and interpret some of the major issues and questions that will inevitably arise from your studies. The course offers a broad range of modules covering topics on Irish, European and World history from the Medieval to the Modern period.
View the current course structure
Life on Campus
We have three academic campuses close to Dublin City centre - they are located in Glasnevin and Drumcondra, and can be reached by public transport (Dublin Bus).
Each campus has libraries, study spaces, restaurants, and on-campus residencies. Sports facilities are located on two of the academic campuses. We also have a dedicated sports campus in the form of St Claire’s.
Exceptional facilities
DCU students have access to exceptional teaching and learning facilities across our three academic campuses.
These include modern learning theatres, research centres, new media and TV studio, radio/podcast studios, classrooms, computer suites and advanced labs in the areas of languages, engineering, physics, chemistry and biotechnology, as well as a sports performance centre and training hospital ward. In 2021, we opened our first virtual reality ‘Leadership Lab’, which is located in our Business School.
Construction on our FutureTech building on the Glasnevin campus will get underway in 2022. Once completed, this facility will advance DCU’s international reputation for excellence in science and health, computing and engineering disciplines. It will have the capacity to accommodate an additional 3,000 STEM students on the university’s Glasnevin campus.
Campus life
DCU student facilities boast a fully equipped sports complex with a 25-metre pool, three libraries and The Helix, our renowned performing arts centre.
Our purpose built, state-of-the-art new student centre known as 'The U' serves the needs of a rapidly growing student body of 18,500. It is home to the Student Leadership and Lifeskills Centre, performing arts and cultural spaces for students and the wider community, and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hub.
'DCU Students' Union and the Office of Student Life are also based in the U. The centre is a space for students where they can meet, with lots of charging points and isolation booths. Clubs and socs avail of meeting rooms here and it's also home to DCUFM. NuBar, Londis and the Venue are also located here.
There are more than 140 clubs and societies for students in DCU, with ‘Clubs & Socs’ days taking place on both the Glasnevin and Drumcondra campuses at the start of the academic year.
Student Supports
We have a number of academic, professional and social supports for students.
Student Advice Centre: Offers a wide range of supports and services to students and advice.
The Writing Centre - drop-in writing workshops for students through the academic year.
Maths Learning Centre - provides maths support for students of all ability levels with maths modules.
Student Learning: facilitate the transition from passive to active learning for students at DCU, by teaching study skills, nurturing critical thinking and building student confidence.
Careers work with students to help them on their professional journey into graduate employment.
Our student support team offers a comprehensive support programme, helping students make that all important transition into university life and focusing on building confidence and skills which are key to success at third level.
I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking for a direct pathway into the teaching profession. It is Ireland's best-kept secret!
Your degree will be recognised by the Teaching Council of Ireland, allowing you to register as a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) and apply immediately for employment in second-level schools as a teacher of Religious Education and History.
Graduates work in Post-Primary Schools, Government Departments, International Development Agencies, Culture and Heritage, the Media, and the Private Sector, pursuing careers as:
Requirements
There are no additional entry requirements for this programme apart from the general entry requirements for admission to the university.
There are no additional entry requirements for this programme apart from the general entry requirements for admission to the university.
There are no additional entry requirements for this programme apart from the general entry requirements for admission to the university.
For details of QQI requirements and relevant codes please click here. Simply enter the DC code for the programme you are interested in or if you are not sure of the code enter DC in the Select by Institution option, then click on Go.
International candidates are expected to have educational qualifications of a standard equivalent to those outlined above. In addition, where such candidates are non-native speakers of the English language they must satisfy the university of their competency in the English language. For further information on international applications click here.