How to Get Into a University in Ireland as an International Student

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Ireland has one national application system for undergraduate degrees: the Central Applications Office, or CAO. You file one application, list your courses in order of preference, and receive offers based on points. The universities set the entry rules and decide who gets in; CAO runs the process for all of them.

Almost all teaching is in English. Of the 1,049 honours bachelor's programmes in our catalogue, 1,044 are taught in English. The few exceptions are taught through Irish.

How CAO points work

Irish students sit the Leaving Certificate. Their best six subject results in one sitting are turned into points, with a maximum of 625. Each course then admits applicants from the top down until its places are filled. The score of the last applicant admitted in the first round becomes the course's published points for that year.

On top of points, each course has minimum subject requirements, such as a pass in Mathematics or a language. Meeting the points is not enough if a required subject is missing. When several applicants tie on the last points score, places may be decided by random selection.

We show the first-round points for 2024 to 2026 on our Ireland entry scores page, on the 0 to 625 scale. Some courses add a test, interview, portfolio or audition, and their points are on a different scale, so we do not list those. A cutoff describes last year, not a promise for this one.

School certificates from other countries

• EU, EFTA and UK school-leaving qualifications, such as the Abitur, the French baccalauréat, A levels or the IB Diploma, are assessed by the universities themselves and converted into an equivalent points score. CAO publishes the guidelines universities use for each country at cao.ie/euefta.
• You submit your final results through your CAO account, with professional translations if they are not in English. Predicted grades are not accepted.
• Qualifications from outside Europe are assessed by each university's international or admissions office.

Medicine and the HPAT

Undergraduate medicine is taught at six institutions, and applying through CAO requires a score in HPAT-Ireland, an aptitude test run by ACER. The test is held in February of the year you hope to start, so registration falls in the same winter as your CAO application; check the dates on the HPAT site. The test score is combined with your school results. Some non-EU applicants may be exempt and apply to the medical schools directly; ask each one.

If you are not an EU citizen

The CAO handbook warns that applicants who live, or have lived, outside the EU may have to apply directly to the university rather than through CAO. In practice, many universities have their own international application for non-EU students, with their own deadlines and English language requirements. Entry is still competitive, but it is not decided by the CAO points race.

After you accept an offer, you apply for a study visa if your nationality needs one, and on arrival you register for a Stamp 2 immigration permission. See how much it costs to study in Ireland for the money you must show, and our student visa overview.

English language

Each university sets its own English requirement. Applicants whose school education was not in English usually need a test such as IELTS or TOEFL. Check the course page; see also our guide to IELTS and TOEFL for European universities.

Step by step for September 2027

1. Shortlist courses and check their minimum subject requirements and last year's points.
2. Register on the CAO website. Applications open on 5 November 2026.
3. Apply by 20 January 2027 for the reduced early online fee, or by 1 February 2027 at the normal fee. Late applications are accepted until 1 May 2027.
4. If you are applying for medicine, register for HPAT-Ireland.
5. Upload your school results and translations to your CAO account as soon as you have them.
6. Reorder your choices if you change your mind. The last day is 1 July 2027, and some restricted courses cannot be added at this stage.
7. Offers are made in rounds after the Leaving Certificate results come out in summer. Accept one offer and enrol.

Non-EU applicants applying directly follow their university's own timeline instead.

Where to look next

• How much it costs to study in Ireland
• All 1,049 programmes in Ireland, by city and field

Official sources

• CAO: Central Applications Office, applications and points
• HPAT-Ireland: the admission test for undergraduate medicine
• Education in Ireland: the government's portal for international students
• Irish Immigration Service: coming to study in Ireland

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.