Global Challenges (DC189)
The programme includes modules such as climate change, politics, design thinking, international development, data analytics, public policy, artificial intelligence, security and peace studies, ethics, social science options to study China, Africa, Western and Eastern Europe, as well as the USA. There will be technology options, such as sustainable design, the Internet of Things, digital interaction and opportunities for rapid prototyping of technological solutions. The highlight of each year will be an extended team challenge, which requires the integration of social science and technology skills. The third-year will be a placement in the private or public sectors.
Course modules will cover fundamental technical knowledge of electronic engineering, computer science and data science, and also the fundamental theories of social science, policy and politics, with an international context of these topics.
Each year there will be an interdisciplinary project related to a global challenge. This project will involve creative problem solving by proposing technological solutions while taking into account the social implications of the proposed solution. Assessment will be mainly project based through simulations and hackathons for a more engaging learning experience.
Multimedia (DC133)
In the course of your Multimedia degree, you’ll acquire a command of the concepts and practices in digital text, image and sound manipulation, and multimedia authoring. In this way, you will be equipped to contribute to multimedia product development and to manage a diverse range of multimedia projects. You will participate in many group-based projects, reflecting the media design and production industries that this programme prepares graduates for and developing your skills in effective and creative teamwork.
You will:
develop an understanding of digital media theory, including issues of content and form.
acquire a command of the concepts and practices in digital text, image and sound manipulation, and multimedia authoring.
learn to design, develop, and manage a diverse range of creative multimedia projects.
Year One of the programme has a fixed set of core modules that develop crucial production skills in imaging, video, sound, responsive media and information design, as well as a foundation in social and media theory that will inform your studies and work.
Year Two continues your education in relevant theory and in interaction design, allowing a significant specialisation as you choose the degree focus that best suits you from a range of modules in areas such as advanced sound and video production, interactive apps, animation, media spaces, physical computing and more.
Year Three allows further options for specialism and provides support and development for a major project that encompasses the final semester of the programme. These projects are diverse in form and focus, but each becomes a substantial showcase of the students’ creative skill. A public exhibition of these projects takes place in central Dublin each May.
Join a respected programme, Ireland’s longest running degree course in this area, which has retained and built upon its record of excellence.
Create and critique compelling interactive media, through understanding and using theory and technology.
Gain insight into the changing field of media production, and acquire the skills to thrive in its many different disciplines.
Learn from staff with extensive industry expertise, who contribute to internationally recognised research in this field, and who have been awarded for their teaching excellence.
Shape your BSc in Multimedia by choosing from module options that allow you to specialise in relevant areas of media design and production.
Analytical Science (DC161)
Year One will provide you with the essential background knowledge of mathematics, chemistry, physics and biology. These are of vital importance in later years. Thought-provoking laboratory work is an integral part of the course in all years of the course.
The major emphasis in Years Two and Three is on analytical science, with chemical and biological aspects being developed in parallel. In Year Three, you can choose between a chemistry stream or a biology stream. Both streams cover the major, modern state-of-the-art analytical techniques, and you’ll enjoy plenty of hands-on experience in our exceptionally well-equipped facilities.
Your period of industrial placement (INTRA) before your final year ensures that you gain valuable work experience in a real-life setting, putting the many things you have learned on the course to the test.
Year Four covers more specialised methods and applications of analytical science, which, when integrated with the basic analytical techniques you’ve already learned, present you with the opportunity to develop your own analytical approach to solving complex problems. Chemistry and biology specialist options are maintained, ensuring that you still gain the multidisciplinary education that modern employers demand. The final part of your course is the full-time project taken in the last semester.
Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DC162)
Working in the laboratory plays a vital role in your learning, and because our laboratory facilities are among the most up-to-date, you’ll get the most practical experience possible.
Year One of this course is common with other DCU science courses.
In Year Two, the mainstream chemistry lectures and laboratories are developed in parallel with relevant topics in physics, mathematics, computing and biochemistry.
An integral part of third year is INTRA, which ensures you gain first-hand experience in the applications of chemistry during a period of industrial placement.
The final year of the course concentrates on your knowledge and development of more advanced topics. A major element in this final year is your individual research project, which consists of a literature survey on a particular topic, followed by laboratory-based research work in your general area of interest.
Chemistry with Artificial Intelligence (DC163)
The Chemical Sciences General Entry programme will provide you with the opportunity to study different types of chemistry, so that you can discover which aspects of chemistry inspire you most before choosing your degree specialism.
The programme ensures you will gain excellent hands-on laboratory experience in our award winning undergraduate laboratories (Education lab of the Year-Irish Laboratory Award). Small student groups within the laboratory assisted by a fully trained laboratory Tutors helps to ensure an excellent student-centred laboratory learning experience for each student.·
You will have the opportunity to study dynamic and interesting Chemistry topics and some Biology focused modules before you select your preferred degree programme and the end of year one. Topics include drug design, analytical techniques as applied to industry and forensics, environmental chemistry and biomolecules
Upon successful completion of year one the degree choices are:
BSc in Analytical Science, or
BSc in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
BSc in Chemistry with Artificial Intelligence (run by the DCU School of Chemical Sciences in collaboration with the DCU School of Computing.)
The dynamic range of labwork you will conduct ensures you will develop your problem solving skills while conducting innovative experiments that reflect the needs of the Pharmaceutical, Biopharmaceutical and broader Chemical industry.
Physics with Biomedical Sciences
This course combines lectures, tutorials and modern laboratory work with fundamental physics concepts and exciting, real-life technological skills and applications in the biomedical area. This will develop your analytical and problem-solving skills. Throughout your course, you will work in a custom-designed physics building equipped with state-of-the-art undergraduate and research laboratories. Seminars are delivered by international experts and eminent DCU researchers. Visits to internationally renowned biomedical research institutes will also be important parts of the course.
In Years One and Two, you’ll learn the basic foundations of physics and the fundamentals of chemistry, cell biology, anatomy and physiology.
In Years Three and Four, you’ll study a selection of more advanced physics topics, such as Quantum Mechanics or Laser Physics, which underpin applications in the biomedical sciences. Application courses at the interface between the physical and life sciences, such as Biomechanics of Human Movement, will also be offered. In Year Four, expert academic staff will teach medical physics subjects such as Medical Imaging or Medical Applications of Lasers.
In Year Three, INTRA will be an important opportunity for you to work for an extended period in a hospital and experience a real medical environment. INTRA placements in private companies with business interests in medical/biological instrumentation, Biotechnological applications or optical medical diagnostic applications, for example, are also possible.
Your Year Four project is an opportunity to experience first-hand the excitement and personal achievement associated with scientific research. On several occasions, final-year physics students with exceptional project work have received national and international awards from the Undergraduate Awards, the Institute of Physics and the International Society of Automation.
Physics with Astronomy
Over the duration of this course, you’ll work with real astronomical data from a variety of telescopes and observatories worldwide. Throughout the degree, there is an emphasis on laboratory and project work (both individually and in groups) and IT skills, which are valuable skills for your future.
The first two years focus on classical and modern physics, combined with various aspects of astronomy, as well as mathematics, electronics and computing.
In Year Three, you can take a five-day field trip to a foreign observatory or choose to work in industry or a research group as part of your INTRA placement.
In the final year of the course, you’ll have a choice of topics, allowing you to concentrate on various applied aspects relating to physics and astronomy.
A major element of Year Four is your individual laboratory-based project that gives great scope for individual initiative. It also entails working with professional astronomers on the academic staff at DCU, whose work is at the forefront of international astronomical research. On several occasions, final-year physics students with exceptional project work have received national and international awards from the Undergraduate Awards, the Institute of Physics and the International Society of Automation.
During the course, you’ll be encouraged to apply for scientific internship schemes, including visiting fellowships in organisations such as the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Applied Physics
This degree combines lectures, tutorials and stimulating laboratory work and projects with fundamental physics concepts and exciting, real-life technological skills and applications.
The basic foundations of physics will be laid in Physics General Entry (Year One) and Year Two, while in Years Three and Four, you can choose to study from a range of specialist topics, such as instrumentation, nanotechnology, semiconductor materials, plasma physics, computational physics, elements of data science, and microfluidics.
In Year Three, your paid INTRA work placement will give you the opportunity to experience the industry for up to eight months. If you wish to pursue a research career, you will have the option of spending your placement working in one of the research groups in the School of Physical Sciences, where you’ll assist with cutting-edge research projects.
You’ll conduct your Year Four project in DCU’s world-class laboratories, experiencing the excitement and personal achievement associated with scientific research. On several occasions, final-year physics students have received national and international awards from the Undergraduate Awards, the Institute of Physics and the International Society of Automation on the basis of their project work.
During the course, you’ll be encouraged to apply for scientific internship schemes, including visiting fellowships in organisations such as the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Accounting and Finance (DC115)
A BA in Accounting and Finance gives you a world of opportunities. It is considered Ireland’s premier degree for those wishing to pursue careers as accountants and financial services professionals. The course offers great prospects for career progression, and the chance to work in a wide range of different industries.
Your Career Starts Here
This degree was first of its kind in Ireland, and this continues to be an extremely popular course. Graduates are highly regarded by the accounting and financial services professions, as can be seen in the consistently employment rates for those who take the BA in Accounting and Finance.
Climate and Environmental Sustainability (DC294) Study Abroad
The BA in Climate and Environmental Sustainability is an applied geography programme that is not just about understanding climate change and its consequences, but also about understanding how the environment itself offers solutions. If you have a keen interest in issues relating to the environment such as improving water quality and managing biodiversity, this degree is ideal for you.
Innovative course topics and fieldwork
You can expect to study topics related to climate change and environmental sustainability across multiple disciplines. Plus you will have the chance to get up close and personal to the issues you’re learning about by visiting case study sites where environmental change is occurring and examining the main challenges facing Ireland. Some of the issues you can expect to engage with relate to improving water quality, managing biodiversity, and dealing with climate change from both physical and human geography perspectives.
Skills attractive to employers
Through this course we will help you understand the importance of collecting good data and help you develop strong analytical skills. Together with other essential skills in research, teamwork and problem-solving – this course will prepare you for work in climate and environment-related fields.
