IB Diploma: University Admission in Ireland

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Ireland accepts the IB Diploma without a separate recognition step, but what you need depends on your fee status. Applicants assessed for EU fees apply through the CAO and compete on the same 625-point scale as Irish students, so their IB total is converted into points. Applicants on non-EU fees usually apply directly to each university, which then sets an IB total of its own.

Is the IB Diploma accepted?

Yes. The IB is one of the qualifications in the universities' shared document, Entry requirements criteria for EU/EFTA/UK applicants, published on the CAO website. The document says a listed qualification is recognised automatically, so you do not need a statement from NARIC Ireland to apply. Our guide to document recognition for Ireland covers translations and NARIC.

The figures below come from the edition for 2026 entry. The universities revise it each year, and on 20 October 2026 the edition for 2027 had not yet been published.

Minimum requirements

For an honours degree (level 8), the minimum is:

the award of the Diploma with at least 24 points, and
where a course asks for three subjects at H5 in the Leaving Certificate, 24 points including three Higher Level subjects at grade 5 and three Standard Level subjects at grade 4.

English is required in every case: at least 3 at Higher Level or 4 at Standard Level in English Language A, or 4 at Higher Level or 6 at Standard Level in English B or ab initio (4 at either level if you took the IB through English).

Courses also name subjects, written as Leaving Certificate grades. The guidelines compare them: HL 7 equals H1, HL 6 equals H2 or H3, HL 5 equals H4 or H5, and HL 4 equals H6. Both mathematics courses are accepted, but for courses that ask for Higher Level mathematics the universities strongly recommend Analysis and Approaches, and some may require it.

How IB points become CAO points

Your IB total from one sitting is turned into an Indicative Points Score:

IB points	CAO points	IB points	CAO points
44–45	600	34	466
43	594	33	453
42	577	32	442
41	565	31	430
40	553	30	412
39	541	29	400
38	520	28	389
37	508	27	379
36	497	26	368
35	481	25	359
		24	350

You get 25 bonus points for grade 4 or better in Higher Level mathematics, as long as mathematics is included in your result. That is why an IB student can reach 625, like a Leaving Certificate student.

Example: 38 points with HL mathematics at grade 5 give 520 + 25 = 545 points. Compare that with what courses needed last year on our Ireland entry scores page, and see CAO points explained for how to read those figures.

Medicine

Undergraduate medicine through the CAO needs the HPAT-Ireland test, sat in February of the year you start. For 2026 entry, applicants needed at least 480 points and each school's subject minimums in one sitting. Points above 550 are scaled down (600 becomes 560, 625 becomes 565) and added to an HPAT score out of 300, for a maximum of 865. So top IB results help less than you might expect, and the HPAT counts for a lot. See studying medicine in English.

If you are on non-EU fees

Universities assess non-EU applicants themselves, and some make conditional offers on predicted grades, which the CAO does not accept. Two examples:

University College Dublin, 2027 entry: the minimum is the Diploma with 24 points. Commerce and Computer Science ask for 33 with mathematics at SL 6, Economics and Finance for 39 with mathematics at HL 5, and Medicine for 39 plus an interview. UCD admits applicants granted EU fee status only through the CAO.
Trinity College Dublin sorts courses into bands of 40, 36, 33 and 30 points, including bonus points, with no HL grade below 5 and no SL grade below 4 (2026 guide for non-EU students). Computer Science, for example, is in the 36-point band and needs mathematics at HL 5.

Ask the admissions office whether you count as EU or non-EU before you apply. It is decided by residence and fee status, not by passport alone. See how to get into a university in Ireland.

Timing for 2027 entry

Apply to the CAO between 5 November 2026 and 1 February 2027, or by the university's own deadline if you apply directly.
If you sit the May 2027 exams, ask your IB coordinator to add the Central Applications Office to the institutions allowed to see your results. The CAO then collects them online.
May results come out in early July. CAO round one offers follow in August.
If you sat the November session, you already have your results: upload them to your CAO account within 10 days of applying.

Where to look next

Official sources

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