University of Limerick

The University of Limerick opened in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education and became, in 1989, the first university established in Ireland since independence. Its campus is one of the country's best — more than 130 hectares of parkland straddling both banks of the River Shannon, joined by the Living Bridge, a 350-metre pedestrian crossing that has become the university's emblem. Sports facilities are exceptional by Irish standards, including a 50-metre pool and a national arena, and Munster Rugby's academy connections run deep. UL's defining academic feature is co-operative education. It was the first Irish university to build paid work placement into the core of its degrees, and that culture carries into the taught postgraduate portfolio, where practice-based projects and industry-linked dissertations are the norm rather than the exception. Research strengths sit in materials science and engineering through the Bernal Institute, software and computer science, health sciences and therapies, and business through the Kemmy Business School. The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance gives the university an unusual second identity as a centre for traditional Irish and contemporary performance. For an Indian postgraduate applicant, Ireland's Third Level Graduate Scheme is the headline: a taught master's at level 9 earns a two-year stay-back permission, longer than most alternatives outside the UK's Graduate Route. Limerick's Mid-West region hosts a dense cluster of medtech, pharmaceutical and software employers — Analog Devices, Dell, Stryker, Regeneron, Johnson and Johnson and the Shannon free zone — which makes engineering, computing, data and biomedical master's particularly well placed. Living costs are markedly lower than Dublin, and the university guarantees a large stock of on-campus accommodation. Note that non-EU fees vary widely by discipline, and the professional health programmes are the most expensive.

At a glance

Institution

Public

Typical intakes in Ireland

Sep, Jan

Typically IELTS 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0 plus a recognised academic qualification; postgraduate entry requires a relevant honours degree.

Indicative for international postgraduate applicants — your counsellor confirms the exact cut-offs and English scores for your chosen programme, free.