EU applicant FAQs

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

If you answered yes to any of these questions you should undertake a fee assessment at https://www.ucd.ie/students/fees/eufeeassessment/ which will determine whether you are eligible for EU fees. 

How do non-EU applicants apply?

If you are deemed to be a non-EU candidate for fees purposes, you should apply directly to UCD - see www.ucd.ie/global for more details.

The following documentation must be submitted within 10 days of applying to (opens in a new window)CAO

• Certified true copy of official transcripts of academic results.
  (If you are awaiting current year examination results you must send your results to CAO as soon as they become available. If they arrive later than 1 August, we cannot guarantee that they will be processed in time for inclusion in Round 1 offers).
• A certified English translation of qualifications not issued originally in English, in addition to the certified copies of the documents themselves.
• In some cases, the final school report is also required.
• Proof of proficiency in English language if not through school-leaving qualifications.
• In the absence of these documents and translations the application will not be processed.

If you accept a place in UCD, we will need to see the original documents at registration. Offers of places are provisional until such time as all Registration formalities have been completed within the University.

When EU applicants’ results are being evaluated it will be on the basis of the results of any one examination taken in a single sitting (insofar as it is possible with the relevant examination system).

The first stage of the evaluation process requires you meet the minimum matriculation and specific programme requirements of a programme. Table 1 on each country page shows the conversion from Irish results.

The second stage of the evaluation process involves scoring your results relative to other EU applicants using the equivalences shown in Table 2 of each country page in the (opens in a new window)Entry Requirements Criteria for EU/EFTA Applicants.

A numerus clausus may operate i.e. i.e. if there is a significant imbalance in the proportions of eligible applicants for a course between Leaving Certificate and other qualifications, places are offered to eligible applicants from each examination system group on the basis of ranking within their group proportionally.

EU applicants can contact UCD Registry – Admissions prior to application to check their eligibility.

Your qualifications will be compared to the Irish School-leaving examinations and an appropriate score arrived at. There is no formal agreement between the HEIs on non-EU qualifications. However, (opens in a new window)Entry Requirements Criteria for EU/EFTA Applicants. contains an indication of levels required for minimum matriculation for the more commonly presented non-EU examinations. 

No. Gaining a sufficient result in GAMSAT to gain admission will be taken as proof of English level.