Frequently Asked Questions

At the moment it is not possible for Psychology students to study abroad but this may be an option in the future.  The Psychology professional body in Ireland does not currently recognise a study abroad as contributing towards the overall degree.

Alongside the normal psychology modules in the Disruptive Technologies Degree you will study such content as programming, data visualisation with an applied focus on technology in health (e-diagnostics), learning (virtual reality),  behaviour change (social robots, lifestyle apps) and more. The focus here is to deliver content that supports understanding of individuals and people in this new digital age.

There are typically 40 places available on the BSc in Psychology.

No, students undertake work placement instead of Erasmus.

The short answer is yes and indeed the disruptive technology aspect potentially opens up different avenues (e.g., jobs within Tech) compared to straight Psychology. The reason being is that both degrees cover the same core modules, paramount for any psychology degree it is just that Disruptive Technology has some different modules that do not fit into a normal psychology degree.

In Psychology you cover many different topics ranging from Cognitive Psychology, Behavioural Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, Work Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Research Methods and Statistics, for example. When you complete a Psychology degree it sets you up for many interesting careers that involve working with or understanding people (e.g.Health Promotion Officer, Youth Worker, Human Resource Worker, Researcher, Management, Data Analyst etc).  If you want to go on and work as a Psychologist you would need further training to specialise in certain areas (e.g., Organisational Psychology, Educational Psychology, Counselling Psychology, and Clinical Psychology).

The number of hours per week varies depending on the year of the course you are in and the semester (first or second). On average, you will take 5 modules a semester. The semester is typically 12 weeks long and you will have 2 hours a week per module (lecture time) and some tutorial hours or seminar hours and independant learning time on top of that.

The difference between Counselling and Clinical Psychology (in Ireland) comes down to theoretical and practical differences. Practically speaking Clinical Psychological training is funded through state backed programs in Universities where Counselling Psychology at this point is not. Meaning only until recently (for the most part), Clinical Psychologists were permitted to be employed in the HSE (this has changed in recent times). Secondly, the training for Clinical and Counselling Psychology, broadly speaking, is marginally different with the former having clinical placements and some emphasis on psychological testing and the latter focusing on psychotherapeutic approaches.

We imagine this will be a popular course. This course has been identified and funded to meet a demand in what the Government identifies as a rapidly changing and diverse technological environment.  It is unique in that it offers the opportunity to study psychology and understand human behaviour in combination with disruptive technologies that are fundamentally transforming lives and driving behavioural and societal change.

In terms of class contact hours, i.e. lectures, tutorial and labs, you'd be looking at approximately 22-24 hours per week, and of course independent study of the material after classes in addition.

The two awards (BSc in Actuarial Maths and BSc in Financial Maths) share the same first and second year. Here, you will develop the fundamental (but advanced) maths that you need in third and fourth year. In Actuarial Maths, the focus is on completing modules that ultimately lead to qualification as an actuary - there are some useful details about the profession here: https://web.actuaries.ie/about/so-how-can-i-become-actuary#further

The BSc in Financial Maths is about developing a wider and deeper variety of mathematical knowledge and skills that are particularly useful in the area of finance. This leads to career opportunities in financial services: This broad are includes trading (buying & selling stocks, shares, options and other more complicated financial products); analysis (doing the background mathematical modelling to help inform the decisions made by traders and others; working with companies on their financial risk analysis; working in banking - and also pursuing further study and research in maths.

The BSc in Actuarial Maths is an option that leads to a fairly specific career in maths - ie an actuary. It's a great option if you like maths, are interested in the subject and are interested in a challenging, well-paid career that relies on using maths in your day-to-day work.  Career opportunities in actuary are quite varied in themselves: actuaries are employed in a wide variety of roles.

There are typically 40 students in Sport Science and Health (year 1), this varies from year to year.

Working in private sports injury clinics and with sports teams would be a popular path. Further studies also would be (Medicine, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy etc.)

In the first year of this course, there are typically 30 students. This number varies from year to year.

This varies hugely from year to year and semester to semester. From looking at the current timetable, it will vary from 18-22 contact hours with extra hours for independent study.

There are typically 28 students in the first year of the BSc in Athletic Therapy and Training, there may be some variations from year to year.

Both are very practical and both have work placements.  Both also have practical classes and laboratory classes. Athletic Therapy and Training has more of a focus on assessment and rehabilitation of injuries. While Sport Science and Health focuses more on sports performance, with some options for specialisation in the later years (biomechanics, physiology, psychology, health promotion).

This varies from semester to semester and from year to year. From checking the current timetable, the contact hours vary from 17-20 hours per week depending on the semester and the year.  Additiional hours of independent study will be expected on top of the contact hours.

Research in Chemical Sciences is a vast area and options include:

− Materials Science

− Energy and Materials

− Nanotechnology

− Bioinorganic Chemistry

− Medicinal Chemistry – Drug Design and Development

− Climate Change

− Sustainable/Environmental Chemistry

− Structural Chemistry

− Machine Learning and Data Analytics (databases)

− Computational Chemistry

− Molecular Modelling

− Environmental Water and Atmospheric Research

Typically year one undergraduate students in the School of Chemical Sciences would have 3hrs per  week in each of Chemistry, Biology and Physics laboratories to a total of 9 hours minimum, this is in addition to lecture and tutorial time. 

In the first year the modules taken will be the same across the two programmes and will be shared with those taking Biological Sciences General Entry.  Following year one you will begin to take more specialist modules. 

You can see that they differ in emphasis on bioengineering vs molecular/cell biology. The BSc in Genetics and Cell Biology degree also has a bigger emphasis on computational, cell and immunobiology.

There is a super video here which gives you an oversight of the lab facilities for all of our School of Biotechnology courses.  A significant element of the course is lab based with an emphasis on gaining practical lab based skills.  

https://youtu.be/Ne5trUphgcY

Typically in Year One of our undergraduate degrees, there are 3 lecture hours each week plus a laboratory for each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. In addition students will study mathematics usually for 3 hours per week plus a tutorial. Weekly contact hours are typically 25 or so with additional independent study also required.

Typically, in the first year you would be scheduled on campus from Monday to Friday, with lectures, labs and tutorials scheduled between the hours of 9 and 6.  The specifics of the timetable can change from year to year but in 1st year in particular a large proportion of time is spent in practical labs.

You will study Physics in Year 1, Chemistry in Years 1 and 2 and Biology subjects (genetics, biochemistry, microbiology) across all 4 years. Genetics and Cell Biology students also study (bio)statistics, computational biology & bioinformatics.

The nursing students have continued to learn and practice essential skills in our Clinical Education Centre, complying with all public health requirements.