QS Top Grad School: Schools2

226	197	Arts & Humanities	-	Natural Sciences
251	Engineering & IT	-	Social Sciences
World Rankings	-	Life Sciences & Biomedicine

286=	284	Arts & Humanities	315	Natural Sciences
261	Engineering & IT	397	Social Sciences
World Rankings	495	Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Postgraduate Profile

University College Cork (UCC), in the south of Ireland, is a research-intensive university which delivers world-class research in nationally- and internationally-recognised academic departments and research centres, such as the Tyndall National Institute and the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre. The university receives major funding from many national and international research funding agencies, including Science Foundation Ireland and EU Framework Programmes.

The university has over 3,000 postgraduate students, across all the major academic disciplines, including 930 students undertaking PhD degrees. Many of the taught programmes are offered on a part-time basis and the university is committed to increasing flexibility in its programmes, e.g., by introducing modular and distance learning programmes, such as the MEngSc (Information Technology in Architecture, Engineering and Construction). Other new programmes on offer include the MSc in Corporate Finance, which offers students to the opportunity to work with senior executives and industry leaders from both the corporate and corporate finance sectors during their studies. A suite of new postgraduate programmes in the area of Asian Studies has also been developed, offering students the opportunity to develop an understanding of the geopolitical and economic realities of East Asia, in combination with the development of core business skills such as economics.

UCC is committed to the introduction of structured PhD programmes, which combine a high-level research training experience with structured training in generic, transferable and disciplinary skills. As an example of this development, this year also saw the introduction of the new PhD Scholars Programme in Cancer Biology, the first PhD training programme in this area to be offered in Ireland. One cohort of scholars is already in training and a second cohort of scholars coming from several leading universities and six different countries will start in October. A number of inter-institutional graduate programmes have also been launched, including programmes in the Food area, Social Sciences, Education and Micro/Nano-Engineering.

UCC also offers a suite of generic modules designed for research postgraduate students, in areas such as scientific research skills, commercialisation, and teaching and learning, and runs regular workshops on writing and presentation skills and other core research competencies. By utilising these skills, UCCâ€™s PhD students have succeeded in winning Science Speak, for the last two years running; this unique intervarsity communication event involves all seven of the Republicâ€™s universities and challenges graduate students to explain their research to a non-specialist audience using ordinary language without the technical jargon. UCC PhD students are also increasingly involved in international and inter-institutional training during their degrees.

UCC PhD students are also invited to get involved by writing articles for The Write-Up, our bi-monthly newsletter for research students, a new initiative for 2008/09, and the university is running an expanding programme of pastoral support measures to ensure the best PhD student experience.

Faculty

Number of Faculty Staff	Headcount: 1,265 FTE: 1,180
Total number of academic faculty staff who are responsible for planning, directing and undertaking teaching only, research only or both teaching and research. Please include: vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, principals, professors, heads of school, associate professors, principal lecturers, tutors or postdoctoral researchers. Please exclude research assistants, PhD students who contribute to teaching, and exchange scholars or visiting faculty staff who are members of another university. The important distinction for us is that staff counted as 'research only' should be academically involved in that research and should be likely to publish research outputs. A research assistant, in our understanding, is any individual who is not doing own research and is therefore not likely to publish own research outputs. Said individual is (only) involved in research in terms of operation execution , such as lab technician or equipment operator.
Number of International Faculty Staff	Headcount: 404 FTE: 391
Number of academic faculty staff who are of foreign nationality. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even if from another EU state. In Hong Kong, this includes professors from Mainland China. Inclusion and exclusion mirrors those for academic faculty staff. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained.
Number of Inbound Visiting Faculty Staff	Headcount: 21
Number of academic faculty staff contributing to teaching or research at your university in the last 12 months who are visiting from an overseas institution for a minimum period of at least 3 months.
Number of Outbound Visiting Faculty Staff	Headcount: 36
Number of academic faculty staff employed by your institution contributing to teaching or research at an overseas institution in the last 12 months for a minimum period of at least 3 months.
Number of Staff with PhD	Headcount: 447
Number of academic faculty staff employed by your institution that have studied a PhD

Undergraduate Information

Number of Undergraduate Students	Headcount: 11,797 FTE: 11,313
Number of students pursuing a Bachelors level or equivalent degree. This excludes certificates/diplomas and associates degrees.
Number of International Undergraduate Students	Headcount: 1,514 FTE: 1,195
Number of undergraduate students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. Please exclude all exchange students. As for language students, if the language students take up a particular language course that is outlined as 'undergraduate degree program' they should be included under 'international undergraduate students' . Language students who take part in a course not contributing to a degree qualification should be counted under 'Total International Students'.
Number of Inbound Exchange Undergraduate Students	Headcount: 461 FTE: 308
Number of undergraduate students attending your university on international exchange programs for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months.
Number of Outbound Exchange Undergraduate Students	Headcount: 167 FTE: 167
Number of undergraduate students registered at your institution who have attended another institution abroad for at least 1 semester on an exchange program in the last 12 months.
Average International Undergraduate Fees	€ EUR 23,490
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that an international student would be expected to pay for an undergraduate program, with program referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Domestic Undergraduate Fees	€ EUR 4,900
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for an undergraduate program, with program referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Undergraduate Class Size	41
The average size of class across all undergraduate programs. The term class refers to an unit of instruction or taught session in which a teacher has pre-defined material to cover. It does exclude tutorial seminars.
Number of first year Undergraduate students	Headcount: 3,822 FTE: 3,644
Number of students pursuing a Bachelor's level or equivalent degree in their first year of study. This excludes certificates/diplomas and associate's degrees.

Graduate / Postgraduate Information

Number of Graduate / Postgraduate Students	Headcount: 2,289 FTE: 2,117
Students pursuing a higher-level degree (Master and Doctorate), including both taught and research postgraduates (e.g. PhD students)
Number of International Graduate/Postgraduate Students	Headcount: 589 FTE: 577
Number of graduate / postgraduate students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. Please exclude all exchange students. As for language students, if they take up a particular language course that is outlined as 'postgraduate degree program', they should be included under 'international postgraduate students'. Language students who take part in a course not contributing to a degree qualification should be counted under 'Total International Students'.
Average International Graduate / Postgraduate Fees	€ EUR 11,260
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that an international student would be expected to pay for a graduate / postgraduate program, with program referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Domestic Graduate / Postgraduate Fees	€ EUR 4,750
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for a graduate / postgraduate program, with program referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Taught Graduate / Postgraduate Class Size	13
The average size of class across all taught graduate / postgraduate programs. The term class refers to an unit of instruction or taught session in which a teacher has pre-defined material to cover. It does exclude tutorial seminars.
Number of first year Postgraduate students	Headcount: 1,292 FTE: 1,214
Number of students pursuing a Master's level or equivalent degree in their first year of study, including both taught and research postgraduates.

Students

Total Students	Headcount: 16,442 FTE: 15,504
Total number of students.
Total International Students	Headcount: 3,478
Number of students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained.
Total Outbound Exchange Students	Headcount: 173 FTE: 173
Total number of students registered at your institution who have attended another institution on an exchange program for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months.
Total Inbound Exchange Students	Headcount: 1,101
Total number of students attending your university on international exchange programs for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months.
Average International Student Fees	€ EUR 17,567
Average tuition fees per year that an international student would be expected to pay for any course
Average Domestic Student Fees	€ EUR 16,100
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for any program, with program referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Class Size	28
The average size of class across all programs. The term class refers to an unit of instruction or taught session in which a teacher has pre-defined material to cover. It does exclude tutorial seminars.
Number of Male Students	Headcount: 6,036
Number of students who are male out of the total number of students studying at your university
Number of Female Students	Headcount: 8,872
Number of students who are female out of the total number of students studying at your university

Graduate Output

Proportion of Graduates Pursuing Further Study	35%
Proportion of graduates from undergraduate programs pursuing further study at your own institution or any other within 6 months after graduation.
Proportion of Graduates Employed	56%
Proportion of graduates (excluding those opting to pursue further study) in permanent employment within 6 months of graduation
Number of PhDs Awarded	139
Total number of PhDs awarded in the last 12 months

Entry Requirements

Avg Entry Requirements	3
Please express the average academic achievement entry requirements for your institution. Please convert your domestic requirements to the US Grade Point Average system. The five-point numerical scale is typically correlated with the A-F/A-E quality index. (A=4.0, B=3.0, C=2.0, D=1.0, E or F = 0.0) In our context, a value of 0 will imply to us that your institution has an "open access" admissions policy and will in no way count against your institution in any future table built upon this data. You can use World Education Services (WES) Toolkit as guidline: http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp (copy and paste)

Applications

Total Number of Applications	40,783
Total number of applications your institution received in the last 12 months for all undergraduate and postgraduate courses

Careers Support

Number of Full-Time Careers Advisors	Headcount: 8 FTE: 8
Total number of staff employed by your institution on a full-time basis who are exclusively responsible for career support for your students (undergraduate and/or postgraduate)

Student Satisfaction

Overall Student Satisfaction Rate	86%
Percentage of all first year undergraduate students who are satisfied with the overall quality of their course
Teaching Student Satisfaction Rate	83%
Percentage of all first year undergraduate students who are satisfied with the overall teaching on their course

Internationalisation

Number of University Collaborations or Partnership Agreements	1,237
Number of universities your institution has collaborations or partnership agreements with. These partnership agreements may include student and teaching exchanges, as well as collaborative research projects, exchange of academic materials and other information, and jointly offered executive development programmes. This includes collaborations at either a university or faculty level. Please also state the names of these institutions in the Submission Notes box.

Main claims to international academic or non-academic excellence

University College Cork maintained its position as one of the dominant-led institutions in the State. Its research income for 2008 was just over â‚¬71m and it is home to a number of Ireland's premier research institutes including the Tyndall National Institute. Tyndall is a centre of excellence for research, development and graduate training in information technology including micro/nanoelectronics, photonics and Microsystems.

This year, Tyndall has achieved world records in various research areas such as the fabrication of the first nanowire transistor, led by world expert in Silicon-on-Insulator technology, Professor Jean-Pierre Colinge and the fabrication of high quality semiconductor material â€“ quantum dots let by Dr Emanuele Pelucchi.

Highlights:

â€¢ Dr Daniel Falush, Department of Microbiology was honoured for the publication of his paper titled â€œConvergence of Campylobacter species: Implications for bacterial evolutionâ€ in Science in April 2008.

â€¢ Professor William Oâ€™Brien, Department of Archaeology was elected to a member of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA).

â€¢ Professor Fergal O'Gara, Head of the Microbiology Department and Director of the BIOMERIT Research Centre, UCC was appointed Vice-President of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA).

â€¢ Professor Colin Hill, Professor of Microbial Food Safety, UCC and Principal Investigator, Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA).

â€¢ UCC licensed 13 technologies: eight to SMEs, two to Irish multinationals, two to US multinationals, and one to a European multinational. Six of these licenses are in the area of Informatics, four in Industrial Technologies, and three in Biotechnology.

â€¢ There are only eight Highly Cited Researchers in Ireland; five of whom are in University College Cork, and all are associated with the Department of Food & Nutritional Sciences. They are Professors Joe Buckley, Pat Fox, Ed Morris, Pat Morrissey, and Yrjo Roos. [Being acknowledged by Thomson Scientific as a Highly Cited Researcher means that an individual is among the 250 most cited researchers for their published articles within a specific time-period].

â€¢ Anu Research Centre, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology awarded a â‚¬800,000 research award from the Wellcome Trust to help develop a new blood test to identify women with high risk pregnancies.

â€¢ Professor Rosemary Oâ€™Connor, Department of Biochemistry, UCC is among a group of researchers in Ireland who received funding from leading research charity, Breast Cancer Campaign. Professor Oâ€™Connor has been awarded more than â‚¬200,000 to carry out a three year study looking at the role of two molecules, RACK1 and Mystique, which are believed to work in partnership to enable breast cancer cells to spread around the body (metastasis).

June 25th 2009

Range of Fees

International Graduate / Postgraduate Fees range from â‚¬8,000 to â‚¬23,240
Domestic Graduate / Postgraduate Fees range from â‚¬4,340 to â‚¬11,665

Basic TOEFL/IELTS requirements

Ranges from IELTS 6.0 to 7.0 depending on discipline

Accommodation

UCC provides a compressive accommodation service to our post graduate students both in person and on-line, offering a range of housing options to suit individual budgets and requirements. We have thirty three student complexes which provide 3,762 places. There are three complexes run and owned by UCC's Campus Accommodation providing 788 bed spaces and a further thirty private complexes providing 2,974 bed spaces. Most reserve places for postgraduate, four specialise in final year and post graduate students only and others operate a first come first served admissions policy. Accommodation options for postgraduate students include our on-line placement service which enables overseas students to reserve rooms in student complexes before they arrive in Cork. Our UCC Student House-search website, exclusive to UCC students, offers a separate section of "postgraduate only" students houses. In the academic year 2007-8 we had 463 rooms in 134 post-graduate student houses for our post-graduate students. Prices vary with facilities and location.

Additional services include year round free housing advice clinic and extended opening hours in August and September to facilitate students seeking accommodation.
(Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat 10am-2pm.)

Accommodation Range

Cost per week:
Student Complexes
Min â‚¬65(not en-suite)
Max â‚¬135(en-suite)

Student Houses
Min â‚¬70
Max â‚¬125

Finance and Scholarships

Refer to Institution Stats and Scholarships Section

Entry Requirements

Minimum of Second Class Honours is required. However, due to the level of competition for postgraduate programmes in UCC the average grade of students admitted is between Second Class Honours Grade 1 and First Class Honours or equivalent