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What Students Say
Likes
- College location - Excellent connectivity with 24 hour buses
- Campus - There is a super store on and a pub on campus where students can sit to chill
- Professors - They actually take interest in their students' work and treat as their own to make sure reports and research work is top-notch
Dislikes
- Course could've been more hectic, it wasn't intense enough for me
- Some advanced topics were not covered during coursework, as someone who has experience I wanted to learn about advanced material
- College assignments could've been more detailed and of higher complexity
Course Curriculum
8
- I would say the course wasn't hectic enough. Even though it gave you insights into all topics, some aspects weren't as in-depth as I would've wanted them to be. There are 3 semesters per master's course. 2 regular semesters and 1 research semester. During the regular semester there are about 2-3 classes of all courses per week with 2 hours of study and 1 hour of tutorial and for courses that are tutorial only, they have a 3-hour class in the lab.
- Since courses collide with other majors, the exact number of the students in the course is hard to tell, but in Data Analytics there were about 80 students. It's the most popular major out of all. AI had about 60 students so based on this, I would say Masters in Computing had about 150 students in total. The classes are usually in the evening, 4 to 7 or 3 to 7. In a week you'll get 2 days off excluding weekends.
Admission Experience
- I was accepted at the University of Limerick for an MSc in Data Science and the National College of Ireland for an MSc in Data Analytics. I was also accepted at Dublin City University for an MSc in Computing, and I chose to go there.
- But apart from Ireland, I had also applied to colleges in Canada, where I didn't hear back from George Brown but got into Humber and York University but it was for Post Graduate Diploma course.
- I chose Dublin City University over UL, as UL and DCU have the same ranking but DCU is in Dublin, where most of the companies are and Dublin has a lot of people and better tourist attractions. There are very few people in Limerick so I wouldn't have gotten enough exposure.
- The admission process is pretty straightforward; it's all online. You first select the course that you want to apply to and then submit your documents online (Transcripts, LORs, Bank Details, and Passport). After that I got a reply from the college in about 3 weeks with an acceptance. Then I had to pay a small amount, which would be about 20% of the tuition fee, confirming my admission. Then you can pay the entire fees before the classes start or pay semester-wise. I chose to pay the entire fee at once.
- Minimum eligibility criteria for admission to a master's programme are a 6.5 Overall in IELTS and a minimum of 2:1 in a bachelor's degree, which is 60% and above.
- Overall, the admission process is pretty easy; just consolidating all the documents could be the tricky part.
- I applied for the main intake that is in September. I wanted to join during the regular session and graduate when companies start hiring. I applied in April, which is really late so only a few colleges were open. For me, some factors that influenced were that I heard from people who graduate in September that they get hired before the Jan Intake as graduate programmes are open from October to December.
- The admission process took about 1 month. I applied in April and got a reply in 3-4 weeks with a firm acceptance. I know people who also got a conditional offer letter based on their IELTS score.
Faculty
8
- The faculty-to-student ratio would be around 1 to 40. I'd say the ratio doesn't matter much, as students can reach out to teachers via email for doubts and also catch them before and after class. One thing that is different from India is that you can not directly go to a professor in their cabin; you have to make an appointment before approaching them.
- Every faculty member has a teaching assistant; in the labs, there are about 2-3 teaching assistants who can clear doubts. The teaching methodology is good I'd say for a fresher the assignment should be good enough for them to secure a job, as I've seen a lot of students get jobs right after graduating even if they didn't have experience.
- I liked my Cloud Computing professor; he was also my research supervisor. He had in-depth knowledge of everything and when we approached him with new ideas, he would always listen keenly and then explain his viewpoint. He also designed our cloud computing, which involved hands-on experience of the latest cloud technologies that companies use nowadays.
Campus Life
10
- DCU has 3 campuses: Glasnevin, St. Patrick's and All Hallows. These are all located in the Dublin 9 area and are about 4 km away from each other. There is a prayer room, cafe, bar, sports room, games room, gym, and a swimming pool. There are about 3 cafes in the Glasnevin campus, which also has a superstore inside. Every campus also has a library. There are events lined up every day to celebrate various occasions. There is also an event for Holi and Diwali. Energy drinks also keep having events. There is an Indian club which has a 5 euro entry charge.
- The bar on campus is the place where students like to sit and party after classes or just chill. There are also 3 astro-turfs and a basketball court that you can book via the DCU Bookings website.
- The Student Organisation allows students from all backgrounds to run for president no matter the length of the course. They are really active and prompt with their replies.
Part Time Jobs
- TA roles weren't available during my study year, as previous students were still working due to the bad job market at that time. DA roles are easier to get as there are many openings but you have to be early. The pay range for TA and DA is minimum wage and for RA it is about 28,000 Euros yearly. Since there are cafes and bars on campus, you can also work as a server. The hourly wage is minimum. You can work 20 hours while studying and 40 hours afterwards. It's easy to get a job in the restaurant, as they prefer students who are currently enrolled.
- In part-time jobs it is minimum wage but at the airport it is higher; you can earn up to 18 Euros per hour. It is easy to secure a part-time job; plus, if you have a good network, that is a plus, as referrals really help in securing a part-time job. Most places prefer referrals. So usually you would apply online with a resume and then they would call you for an interview, then either a trial round or directly tell you the starting date based on the requirement.
Placement
10
- When I had started studying, the job market was really bad so about 20% were working in a full-time role but now as the job market is getting better, I'd say about 60-70% of the previous batch is placed. Currently from my batch, about 30% are working full-time but one thing I've noticed is that a lot more students are going back to India or their home countries this time. The average salary in my field is about 40,000 Euros yearly.
- To find a job, you have to apply via LinkedIn or Indeed and referrals also work. There is no campus recruitment but there are grad events where students can talk to recruiters from various companies and network. These events are basically to market the graduate roles. I see a lot of students getting placed in IBM and Amazon; these two are the biggest recruiters in Ireland.
- IBM, Amazon, Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG are the major companies in Ireland that hire from my field. Students who go to universities (Trinity, UCD, DCU) are preferred over those who went to colleges (NCI, DBS)
Accommodation
Off Campus
8
- TA roles weren't available during my study year, as previous students were still working due to the bad job market at that time. DA roles are easier to get as there are many openings but you have to be early. The pay range for TA and DA is minimum wage and for RA it is about 28,000 Euros yearly. Since there are cafes and bars on campus, you can also work as a server. The hourly wage is minimum. You can work 20 hours while studying and 40 hours afterwards. It's easy to get a job in the restaurant, as they prefer students who are currently enrolled.
- In part-time jobs it is minimum wage but at the airport it is higher; you can earn up to 18 Euros per hour. It is easy to secure a part-time job; plus, if you have a good network, that is a plus, as referrals really help in securing a part-time job. Most places prefer referrals. So usually you would apply online with a resume and then they would call you for an interview, then either a trial round or directly tell you the starting date based on the requirement.
Exams
- You need at least a 6.5 band in IELTS for a firm offer letter or else you could also get a conditional acceptance letter that says you would have to appear again and get an overall score of 6.5 within a set time frame. For a master's, you need at least 60% in your bachelor's.
- In terms of documents, you need to have digital copies or scanned copies of at least 2 LORs, a Statement of Purpose, a Resume, all semester individual grade sheets, and a transcript that mentions the grading system (it is important to have the grading system). if graduated, then a graduation certificate.
- There was no interview in the application process. Most colleges in Ireland don't have an interview.
Fees
- Total fees were 18,000 Euros for 12 months. Where I had to pay 500 to confirm my seat, this is part of the fees so it is adjusted. Then I had to pay 60% of the entire fees by 1st September, i.e., before classes start and pay the rest before the start of the second semester. You can also pay the entire amount in one go.
- I didn't stay on campus; I stayed in a student accommodation where my monthly rent was 1136 Euros but this included everything, such as electricity and bins but we had to pay for laundry.
Scholarship
- No, I didn't get any scholarship.
- But I know people who got scholarships of 2000 Euros, mostly on the basis of merit or work experience. I knew 4 people who got scholarships. I'm not sure about financial aid but I know you can apply for financial aid so I'm pretty sure if someone requires it, the college would be more than happy to help. Our batch strength was 180; it must be at least 10% who got scholarships.
- But you can also apply for other scholarships. I know there is a scholarship scheme for international students; it is an Ireland-wide scheme where all your expenses are paid, including rent and other bills. But this is open for all international students so it is really competitive and only a few get it.
