Higher education in Ireland for foreign students
- Education information
- Ireland Educational System: features and benefits
- Higher Education in Ireland for international students
- Admission to universities in Ireland for foreign students
- Learning programs-summary information
- Top 15 best universities in Switzerland 2022
- Top 10 best universities in Netherlands 2022
- Top 35 best universities and colleges in Canada 2022
- Times Higher Education’s top 50 best universities in USA 2022
- Top 50 best universities in the UK 2022
- Cost of living in Ireland
- Statistics of English courses in Ireland
- Accommodation in Ireland
- Estimated Costs










Alternative destinations
Education information
Today, Ireland is the leading country among best destinations for educational tourism according to foreign students. Ireland attracts international students with high-quality educational services, a wide range of schools and colleges, exciting cultural programs. SMAPSE offers TOP-10 prestigious Irish colleges and universities where international students can get high-quality and balanced higher education that will open wide career opportunitites.
Please, don't hesitate to contact SMAPSE experts as they are always ready to answer all your questions.
Ireland Educational System: features and benefits
- Middle Ages educational traditions. As far back as the Middle Ages, priests studied in Irish monasteries and were send to teach in Europe. Until now, the state is famous for its exceptional educational services, a competent combination of tradition and modern approaches.
- Universities of Ireland do not always take high places in rankings, but, despite this, Irish university diplomas are highly valued by employers in Europe and the USA , students easily find a good job.
- Attractive studying opportunities for foreign students: many students can find a part-time job for the best companies in the country during their studies, and after graduation they can easily find a full-time job and stay in Ireland
- Today, the research level of Ireland is not lower than the highest scientific indicators of the United Kingdom thanks to the huge funding of the research field and the involvement of foreign scientists
- Dublin has every chance of becoming a world scientific center in the coming years - such IT giants as Google, Facebook, Zynga have already placed their branches here.
- A simplified procedure for admission for all who are getting higher education in Ireland: minimum language requirements, average scores of the certificate, etc.
- Local citizens are very friendly towards foreigners, they are happy to make new acquaintances and are ready to help
Higher Education in Ireland for international students
Studying at universities is based on the Bologna system, at the universities of Ireland there is a three-stage system of scientific titles: bachelor, master and doctor. There are two programs of undergraduate studies in Ireland: the three-year-old Ordinary Bachelor Degree and the four-year-old Honors Bachelor Degree. After a four-year program, which includes a large number of seminars and lectures, students receive a diploma (usually with honors).
The Master's program in Ireland is a two-year program: under the supervision of a supervisor, students are engaged in research work, there are much less lectures and seminars on this program. Doctoral studies last from 2 to 6 years.
There are several types of higher educational institutions in Ireland - there are some differences, so the choice of a university depends on the future specialty. Those, who want to do science and devote their lives to research, study at universities. There are a total of 9 universities in Ireland.
It is better to study applied sciences at institutes or colleges in Ireland - the programs are practice-oriented and carefully prepare students for future work. Many organizations value diplomas of institutes and colleges more than university ones for practical knowledge and skills.
The academic year starts in September and finishes in June, includes two or three semesters. A serious load awaits students: the curriculum includes a large number of lectures, seminars, individual lessons with a curator. All universities in Ireland are technically well equipped and have high-quality sports equipment (sports are usually required at universities). Students enjoy spending time in clubs, studios, and student communities.
Another advantage of Ireland is its affordable price: it is considered one of the most affordable English-speaking countries for studying. In the leading universities of Ireland, students will pay about 15.000-20.000 euros per year, the most expensive - medical specialties (study for them will cost about 30 thousand euros). Education in less prestigious universities will cost about 15.000 euros. Living expenses are in a wide price range (living in the capital, of course, is more expensive). Average cost of a student who has chosen higher education in Ireland, food, accommodation and travel is 7.000-10.000 euros per year (it is 30% cheaper than in the UK).
Students can work while they study, but only 20 hours a week, and it’s easy to find work: it is beneficial for the country to attract last-year students to work in their specialty. Many continue to work in companies after graduation and thus remain in Ireland. Any student with high academic results can receive material encouragement.
Admission to universities in Ireland for foreign students
- High school diploma should include good grades, almost everything is “excellent”
- Language proficiency must be confirmed by TOEFL certificate (550), IELTS - from 6 points
- But the path to TOP universities in Ireland is quite difficult: competition is high. It is safer to take a preparation course, the University Foundation. Foundation is a one-year pre-university preparation course that aims to help students from abroad adapt to the new academic and language environment.
Learning programs-summary information
Name | Meaning | Equivalent | Min. age | Duration, years |
Next stage | Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GCSE | General certificate of secondary education | secondary education (non-accomplished) | 14 | 1–2 | A-Levels | 15,000 USD+ |
A-Levels | Advanced level | secondary education (accomplished) | 16 | 2 | University | 15,000 USD+ |
BTEC | Business and Technology Education Board | secondary special education | 14 | 2–3 | University/ work | 15,000 USD+ |
Oxbridge Preparation | Preparing for Oxford and Cambridge | secondary education (accomplished) | 17 | 1 | University | 15,000 USD+ |
International Baccalaureate | International baccalaureate | secondary education (accomplished) | 16 | 2 | University | 18,000 USD+ |
Foundation/ Pathway Year | Preparatory year | admission to the 1st year of university | 17 | 1 | University | 14,000 USD+ |
NCUK | The Northern consortium | 2 year university | 17,5 | 1 | 2 year University of NCUK | 13,000 USD+ |
Special Preparation (Medics/Math/Business) | Specialized training | - | 14 | optional | optional | 4,000 USD+ |
Academic English | Academic English | Language school | 8 + | 6–12 months | School or University | 8,000 USD+ |
Top 15 best universities in Switzerland 2022
1 | Glion Institute of Higher Education Switzerland |
2 | Les Roches International School Montana |
3 | César Ritz Colleges Switzerland |
4 | IHTTI School of Hotel Management |
5 | Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne |
6 | Geneva Business School |
7 | EU Business School Montreux |
8 | HIM Hotel Institute Montreux |
9 | Swiss Hotel Management School |
10 | Webster University Geneva |
11 | Business and Hotel Management School |
12 | Luzern IMI |
13 | Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS) Caux |
14 | International University in Geneva |
15 | Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland |
Top 10 best universities in Netherlands 2022
Top 35 best universities and colleges in Canada 2022
1 | University of Toronto |
2 | McGill University |
3 | University of British Columbia |
4 | University of Alberta |
5 | Simon Fraser University |
6 | Montreal University |
7 | University of Windsor |
8 | York University |
9 | University of Guelph |
10 | McMaster University |
11 | University of Manitoba |
12 | University of Waterloo |
13 | Royal Roads University |
14 | Vancouver Film School |
15 | Kwantlen Polytechnic University |
16 | University of Calgary |
17 | Dalhousie University |
18 | Fanshawe College |
19 | University of Ottawa |
20 | Laval University |
21 | Sheridan College |
22 | University of Regina |
23 | Brock University |
24 | Thompson Rivers University |
25 | Humber College |
26 | Vancouver Island University |
27 | Mohawk College |
28 | Centennial College Toronto |
29 | Niagara College |
30 | Capilano University |
31 | Seneca College |
32 | Algoma University |
33 | Saint Clair College |
34 | Douglas College |
35 | LaSalle College |
Times Higher Education’s top 50 best universities in USA 2022
World University Rank | US Rank | University | City | State |
2 | 1 | Stanford University | Stanford | California |
3 | 2 | Harvard University | Cambridge | Massachusetts |
4 | 3 | California Institute of Technology | Pasadena | California |
5 | 4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge | Massachusetts |
7 | 5 | University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley | California |
8 | 6 | Yale University | New Haven | Connecticut |
9 | 7 | Princeton University | Princeton | New Jersey |
10 | 8 | University of Chicago | Chicago | Illinois |
12 | 9 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore | Maryland |
13 | 10 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
15 | 11 | University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles | California |
17 | 12 | Columbia University | New York City | New York |
19 | 13 | Cornell University | Ithaca | New York |
=20 | 14 | Duke University | Durham | North Carolina |
22 | 15 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor | Michigan |
24 | 16 | Northwestern University | Evanston | Illinois |
26 | 17 | New York University | New York City | New York |
28 | 18 | Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
29 | 19 | University of Washington | Seattle | Washington |
33 | 20 | University of California, San Diego | San Diego | California |
38 | 21 | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta | Georgia |
44 | 22 | University of Texas at Austin | Austin | Texas |
48 | 23 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Champaign | Illinois |
49 | 24 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison | Wisconsin |
50 | 25 | Washington University in St Louis | St. Louis | Missouri |
53 | 26 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles | California |
=54 | 27 | Boston University | Boston | Massachusetts |
=56 | 28 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | North Carolina |
61 | 29 | Brown University | Providence | Rhode Island |
=64 | 30 | University of California, Davis | Davis | California |
68 | 31 | University of California, Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | California |
=80 | 32 | Ohio State University (Main campus) | Columbus | Ohio |
=85 | =33 | Emory University | Atlanta | Georgia |
=85 | =33 | University of Minnesota | Minneapolis | Minnesota |
90 | 35 | University of Maryland, College Park | College Park | Maryland |
=94 | 36 | Purdue University West Lafayette | West Lafayette | Indiana |
=98 | 37 | University of California, Irvine | Irvine | California |
=101 | 38 | Dartmouth College | Hanover | New Hampshire |
105 | 39 | Michigan State University | East Lansing | Michigan |
=111 | 40 | Vanderbilt University | Nashville | Tennessee |
=114 | 41 | Penn State (Main campus) | State College | Pennsylvania |
117 | 42 | University of Virginia (Main campus) | Charlottesville | Virginia |
120 | 43 | Georgetown University | Washington D.C | |
=121 | 44 | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland | Ohio |
=124 | 45 | University of Arizona | Tucson | Arizona |
=124 | =45 | Rice University | Houston | Texas |
=131 | 47 | University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder | Colorado |
=133 | 48 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
=140 | 49 | Indiana University | Bloomington | Indiana |
=147 | 50 | University of Rochester | Rochester (NY) | New York |
Top 50 best universities in the UK 2022
1 | Cambridge |
2 | Oxford |
3 | St Andrews |
4 | London School of Economics |
5 | Imperial College London |
6 | Loughborough |
7 | Durham |
8 | Lancaster |
9 | University of Bath |
10 | East Anglia (UEA) |
11 | University College London |
12 | Warwick |
13 | Exeter |
14 | Birmingham |
15 | Bristol |
16 | Edinburgh |
17 | Leeds |
18 | Manchester |
19 | Southampton |
20 | Glasgow |
21 | King's College London |
22 | Nottingham |
23 | York |
24 | Newcastle |
25 | Royal Holloway, University of London |
26 | East Anglia (UEA) |
27 | Aberdeen |
28 | Queen's University Belfast |
29 | Sheffield |
30 | Heriot-Watt |
31 | Cardiff |
32 | Dundee |
33 | Swansea |
34 | Liverpool |
35 | Surrey |
36 | Queen Mary, University of London |
37 | SOAS University of London |
38 | Leicester |
39 | Reading |
40 | Sussex |
41 | Essex |
42 | Harper Adams University |
43 | Aston |
44 | University for the Creative Arts |
45 | University of Stirling |
46 | Nottingham Trent |
47 | Kent |
48 | Arts University Bournemouth |
49 | Oxford Brookes |
50 | Lincoln |
Cost of living in Ireland
Expenses - USD/Month. | Min. | Med. |
---|---|---|
Accommodation | 407 | 528 |
Food | 213 | 442 |
Transportation | 90 | 197 |
Communications and utilities | 98 | 121 |
Clothing | 24 | 92 |
Sports and leisure | 27 | 98 |
Total | 860 | 1,477 |
Statistics of English courses in Ireland
Programs | Intensity | Group | Language requirements | The minimum cost of the week |
---|---|---|---|---|
General English | 15-22,5 | 8-12 | Beginner | €130+ |
Intensive Courses | 25-30 | 5-10 | Beginner | €220+ |
Combined Courses | 25-30 | 5-10 | Beginner | €305+ |
IELTS Preparation Courses | 25-30 | 8-10 | Intermediate | €220+ |
Cambridge Preparation Course | 20-30 | 8-10 | Intermediate | €130+ |
English for Business | 25-30 | 6-10 | Intermediate | €220+ |
One-to-one tuition | individual | 1 | Beginner | €35+ lesson |
Academic Year Programme | 20 | 10-15 | Beginner | €2,70 |
Accommodation in Ireland
Shared room outside of centre | 411$ |
---|---|
Shared room in city centre | 533$ |
1 bedroom apartment outside of centre | 780$ |
1 bedroom apartment in city centre | 944$ |
Estimated Costs
Estimated Costs | Min., € | Average € |
---|---|---|
Consular fee of the embassy | €60 | €60 |
Flight (Moscow - Dublin - Moscow) | €227 | €550 |
Medical insurance | €100 | €120 |
Study material | €35 | €65 |
Delivery of invitations by express mail | €45 | €75 |
Transfer/Escort | €90 | €120 |
International exams | €130 | €175 |