CAO 2023: Strong demand for new courses as UCD Round 1 offers go live

Posted 30 August, 2023

Six undergraduate entry courses at University College Dublin have seen their points increase over last year’s first round CAO offers.

The biggest increase was seen in DN130 City Planning & Environmental Policy, up 32 points to 487 from 455 points in 2022’s first round. First preference demand for this course rose by 22.4% compared to last year.

DN120 Landscape Architecture also saw a sharp rise, increasing its Round 1 cut-off points to 477 – up 22 points.

DN310 Veterinary Nursing has seen its first round points for 2023 go up by 18 and is now 518, while both DN100 Architecture, 567 points, and DN430 Sport and Exercise Management, 484 points, have seen a smaller increase compared to 2022’s first round, with increases of 11 and 8 points respectively.

UCD was delighted to see DN530 Humanities increasing from 442 points to 444.

This year’s Round 1 offers saw three UCD programmes requiring over 600 points, with DN230 Actuarial and Financial Studies remaining on the same points (613) as last year.

DN670 Economics & Finance, 625 in 2022, is down 7 points to 618. It has continued to be UCD’s highest point degree for several years.

DN440 Biomedical, Health & Life Sciences has seen its first round points fall from 613 to 601*.

It is one of just two courses that are on random selection for this first round, along with DN400 Medicine, 736* points.

The allocation of places for DN400 Medicine is determined based on a combination of the Leaving Certificate Examination core and the HPAT-Ireland score.

UCD now has 37 undergraduate entry routes, alongside three graduate entry options in professional healthcare - DN301 Veterinary Medicine (Graduate Entry), DN401 Medicine (Graduate Entry), and DN411 Radiography (Graduate Entry).

This year, some 9,568 CAO students opted to give UCD their first preference out of a total of 26,855 applications received in July.

Several courses have seen increases in first preference choice for 2023. DN660 Commerce International represented the largest increase, seeing a 44.2% increase in first preferences, with first round offers at or above 544 points.

DN130 City Planning & Environmental Policy recorded a 22.4% increase in first preferences compared to 2022’s, evidenced by an increase in points while DN250 Agricultural Science and DN541 Modern Languages also saw similar levels of interest compared to last year.

“We were delighted to see there was strong demand for two new courses we offer - DN620 Criminology and Psychology and DN760 Education with Gaeilge & Modern Languages, with points for Round 1 offers 531 and 431 respectively,” said UCD Acting Registrar and Deputy President, (opens in a new window)Professor Barbara Dooley.

“DN760 Education with Gaeilge and Modern Languages is four-year programme that blends language learning and initial teacher education. This degree has been recognised and accredited by The Teaching Council of Ireland. Successful graduates will be eligible to apply for registration as a post-primary school teacher with the Teaching Council of Ireland, thus supporting the demand for teachers of Gaeilge and modern languages in our secondary schools.”

“DN620 Criminology and Psychology is a unique new degree designed to provide students with advanced knowledge of criminology and psychology. Graduates of this unique degree will be well positioned to pursue a variety of careers in organisations such as An Garda Siochána, The Irish Prison Service, and The Probation Service,” added Professor Dooley.

Four undergraduate entry courses have seen no change in their first round points from 2022 to 2023; these are DN230 Actuarial and Financial Studies, 613 points; DN250 Agricultural Science, 400 points; DN410 Radiography, 556 points; and DN660 Commerce International, 544 points.

For more information on UCD course entry requirements and places.

By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations

To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie