There has been a significant increase in recent years in the number of Irish leaving cert students opting to study in universities across Europe.

So why is this option growing in popularity?

• There are over 1000 undergraduate degree programmes in a full range of subjects in universities across Europe which are delivered through English.
• There are many well renowned European Universities which are ranked higher than any of the Irish Universities, see Reasons for Studying abroad.
• Entry requirements in many European universities are generally lower compared to Irish universities as they don’t tend to use a points system.
• There are no, or low, tuition fees in many European countries.
• The experience of studying in Europe gives students an excellent preparation for working in globalised employment markets.

As an EU citizen, you are entitled to study at any EU university under the same conditions as nationals. Efforts have been made in the EU to streamline higher education but each country still has their own education system, structure, entry requirements etc. Most undergraduate programmes in mainland Europe are three years, and they often do not have separate Ordinary and Honours degrees as we do in Ireland.

This section will provide some general information with advice and links to websites where you can do further research into studying in different parts of Europe.