Study in Ireland Postgraduate Studies

Transfer for you:

I have been in Ireland for more than four years and will graduate soon. In the past few years, after seeing the friends around me and myself, I will have Many thoughts.

I saw that there are often many friends on kina who are eager to study abroad, and they often ask similar questions. Therefore, I classified the education and social conditions in Ireland and shared them with you based on my own feelings and thoughts. Hope it can be of some help to everyone.

Of course I have to say that I am not an expert or scholar. My remarks only represent me personally. My remarks may be a little extreme. Some of the information I know is hearsay and has been rigorously verified. , I hope everyone will understand. If you have different opinions, please feel free to discuss and correct me.

Chosen schools

Chinese students in Ireland usually choose the following schools: high schools, language schools, private colleges, national colleges, and national universities. Of course, different people choose these schools for different reasons.

High School

Some people will choose to go to Ireland to study in high school. The purpose of most people is to improve their English through high school study, adapt to the environment, and prepare for future studies. Prepare for a higher school.

High schools here are much simpler than those in China. There are usually no more than 30 students in a class. I once went to their high school and saw the textbooks they studied. There were a lot of pictures in the textbooks they studied, and there were a lot of cartoon pictures on the walls of their classrooms. I personally feel that their learning environment is like a primary school.

Some Chinese people who have studied in local high schools told me that their exams are quite simple. Take the Irish college entrance examination as an example, it is possible for Chinese people to get full marks. When Chinese students study in this kind of school, they don’t have to worry about science, but English is a little stressful. The teacher will let you read a novel or something like that within a few days.

I personally do not recommend going to that place to attend high school. The basic education in China is really good. When you grow older, become more mentally mature, and have your own independent world view, it won't be too late to go out. There are also bad habits in foreign societies. Going out too young and without parental guidance is detrimental to a person's growth.

Language schools

Language schools are where most Chinese people go to school. Most of these schools are in Dublin and some surrounding towns. Language schools are small, but there are many, because it is so easy to open such a school and make a lot of money. In the center of Dublin, those language schools are only as big as a shop on China Road and have only a few teachers. Most of the students in such schools are from the third world. The majority are Chinese, and it is normal for more than half of them to be Chinese. Part of the purpose of these Chinese students' studies is to get a student visa and work legally. After all, wages in Ireland are high, and they can earn a lot of money by doing part-time jobs. So students read the language year by year. After finishing this school, you can change to another school and study for a few years. Such people don't have to worry about the family's finances at all, and can generally send back an income of more than 10,000 euros to their families a year. Of course, the government also has a headache for people like this. Ireland now has a large number of Eastern European laborers, and the Irish Immigration Bureau suppresses these people's visas year after year. A few years ago, I heard that there are many Chinese people in Dublin. One in 10 people walking on the road in the city center is Chinese. Of course, when I walk on the road now, there will definitely not be such a high rate. Perhaps it is the result of government suppression. How many Chinese are there now? According to the newspaper, there are more than 10,000 people. No one knows the truth. There are many people whose visas have expired, which are commonly known as "blacks".

For such people, I also met some when I lived in Dublin. I don’t agree with them, but I understand them. Everyone in this society has his or her own ambitions!

Private colleges

There are also a lot of Chinese students in private colleges. There are many private colleges transferred from language schools. Language schools are under great pressure, so businessmen will naturally package and repackage them. There are many Chinese students studying in such schools and studying in language schools is not fundamentally different. The purpose of their studies is just to work, and on the other hand, they have to meet the 80% attendance requirement, so the Chinese in Dublin have a special profession - substitute teaching. As long as you don't want to go to class because you are working, or you are too lazy to take classes, you can invite such people to take classes. Of course, there are other ways, such as using money to buy attendance, issuing fake sick notes...

Of course, some private colleges are relatively formal. Like Griffith college, Portobello college, American college Dublin. But the overall scale is also very small (such a school is obviously a college, but it has to be translated as a university in Chinese, which feels a bit shameless). One day when I was walking on the street in Dublin 2, I passed a three-story building. I turned around and realized that it was the legendary DBS. Of course, I knew that DBS had several branches, but it was different from what I imagined. They were so far apart that I was shocked.

A considerable number of students in private colleges study seriously. In the past, China only recognized diplomas from the National University of Ireland. Tuition fees at private universities were cheaper than those at national universities. The Chinese students there only studied in school for a few years. , and then transfer to a national university.

Many diplomas from private universities are now recognized in China, so these students can study there for financial reasons.

Institute of Technology

National colleges are much larger than private colleges. There are about 20 or so in Ireland. The departments of the National College are also relatively complete. Generally, many people like to translate institute of technology as "technical institute". I personally think that the best translation is "technical institute". This technology includes science and technology and business technology. In national colleges, the largest department is usually business, so it is inappropriate to simply translate "technology" into "science and engineering".

Polytechnics usually have 5 departments, (Business, Humanities, Engineering, Science, Education), which I will discuss below.

National colleges’ diplomas are recognized in China, and national colleges are much more formal than private colleges. Of course, the tuition fees at national colleges are also more expensive, generally less than 10,000 euros. Although the government requires international students to have an attendance rate of more than 80%, national colleges are not so strict in enforcing it. After all, many students are locals in Ireland, and teachers will not open a book just for you to record your attendance. Attendance. It is also easy for students from national universities to renew their visas every year. Firstly, the school has a good reputation, and secondly, the visa officer knows that not many people will work all day just to pay such a large amount of money.

If you come to Ireland for the purpose of studying, national colleges are also a good choice. They are cheaper than university tuition and more formal than private universities.

National University (university)

There are 7 national universities in Ireland, and the national universities are larger in scale. However, compared to the size of the school, the number of Chinese students in this kind of university is not large, because the tuition fees at national universities are very expensive, usually more than 10,000 euros, which is unacceptable unless the family is richer.

Which of the universities and polytechnics has better teaching quality is a hotly debated topic in the country. Of course, some Irish people are also debating this topic. Some people say that universities are better, while others say that they are the same.

From my personal point of view, universities are larger and offer more courses. For example, universities generally have medical majors, but polytechnics do not. However, the teaching quality is not necessarily better than polytechnics. Universities generally place more emphasis on theory, while colleges generally place more emphasis on application. For example, Ireland has a national skill competition (just like a subject competition, basically there is a corresponding competition for each major). Generally only polytechnic students participate. Because most of the contestants in the university just sit around and don't have much practical ability.

If you have a better family and want to get a good diploma, you can consider a national university. At the same time, when it comes to studying for a master's degree, polytechnics and universities are similar.

College courses

Private college courses generally only have business or computer majors, and a few have tourism or chef majors. National universities or polytechnics offer a relatively comprehensive range of subjects.

The following is a description of the five subject categories.

Business (Business)

Business is the subject with the most students, and of course it is also the major with the most students in China. In the Polytechnic School of Business (BBS), there are 50 students in a class, divided into three or four classes. There are also many students in other majors, such as Accountancy, Administration Marketing, etc. The number of students in a class is not too small. Among so many subjects, only accounting has some calculations, and the others are some liberal arts theory.

I personally have also taken some business courses. I personally feel that learning English for business subjects is more difficult, just like reading Marx’s Capital, but to be honest, Chinese people understand the truth without learning it. For example, Management is concerned with five major categories: planning, controlling, organizing, motivation, and leading. The textbook will teach you how important it is to make a plan. You must have a plan before doing anything, and planning is divided into long-term plans. , short-term plans. What is the purpose of long term planning and what is the purpose of short term planning. Wait for this question. My feeling when listening to this kind of class is that I am teaching a baby to breastfeed.

In fact, the management learned in the West is like this. You cannot say that their management is not good. Their management is also born from their actual life phenomena. Their society is so simple. There is no need to consider the bragging, intrigues, intrigues, and intrigues of society. Therefore, if such graduates return to China and their jobs are not related to internationalization, they will have no advantage at all, even if they are from Oxford or Cambridge.

A few days ago, I was chatting with a master's student studying marketing. I asked him what was the biggest advantage of studying business here compared with that at home. He couldn't answer, and finally came to the conclusion that I have learned nothing in the past two years!

Humanities

Humanities, mainly studies art and hotel management. Of course, those who choose the former are targeted to a certain extent, while the latter is the choice of many ordinary Chinese students. Generally speaking, such subjects are relatively easy and have fewer class hours. I have a friend who studies hotel management. In high school in China, his grades can be described as "horrible." I have studied well here, at least I have never repeated a grade to make up for an exam.

Employment in such a discipline is a problem. Among all disciplines, it has the lowest technical content. The Green Card Policy released by the Irish government now includes all majors except humanities.

If you are interested in the humanities, you can come to study, but don’t study with the purpose of getting a local job. You can only study with the purpose of self-improvement, otherwise you will be disappointed.

Science

Among the science subjects, the most popular subject among Chinese students is computer science. Of course, there are other subjects in science, such as chemistry, forestry, agriculture, biology, etc. , the level of these subjects is okay, especially biology, but Chinese students are not very interested in these subjects.

Many people have heard that IT in Ireland is very good, so they come to study IT. However, I personally feel that IT education in Ireland is very average. Those who study IT in domestic universities are the top students in the college entrance examination, while IT in Ireland is accessible to ordinary students. For example, everyone will understand that many undergraduate graduates studying IT in Ireland do not know advanced mathematics at all.

In many private schools in Ireland, students studying computer science are rarely involved in formal programming, and many only teach some college courses on the use of Photoshop Dreamweaver software. In national universities, the students who learn the most about computers in the course learn the language JAVA. Anyone who knows the language should know that a language like JAVA has no pointers. In other words, programmers of such a language Hardware knowledge is often not required. The most taught JAVA language in classes is network-oriented, not how to build applications.

To tell you a little joke, I have a friend who is studying IT degree. She is said to have done very well and won first honor every year. However, her computer broke down and she had to come to me to reinstall the system. When I was changing the boot in her bios, she looked at me in surprise and said, "Oh my god, how come there is such a thing in my computer!", I asked her, "Aren't you an IT major?" She replied He said, "Yes, I majored in IT. What is IT? IT is information technology. What is information technology? Information technology is information technology. What is information technology? Information technology is business. Computers have nothing to do with it. ! "I'm dizzy! ! !

You want to say that she is talking nonsense, but she is not talking nonsense. In Ireland, IT courses are often taught as courses that have nothing to do with computers. Among the IT courses, there is a course called software engineering. The name sounds nice, but after completing this course, you will not be able to write software at all. Because this course is all about theory and does not involve any computer code. This course is about teaching that computer software is divided into system software and application software... When writing software, you must first do market research, then write the software, debug it after writing, release it after debugging, and then provide market feedback. Another question of teaching a baby to breastfeed.

So those who want to study IT in Ireland should think about what aspect of IT you want to learn. If you just want to learn the domestic IT based on computer science, then you will not learn much in Ireland. If you want to learn something related to computers, such as networking and e-commerce. Studying in Ireland is still an ideal choice.

Engineering

Engineering is divided into two majors, one is for civil engineering (architecture), and the other is for mechanical and electronics. I studied engineering, so I have the most say in engineering.

Engineering classes are generally very small, and neither locals nor Chinese students in Ireland are willing to study it. Engineering majors are generally only found in national colleges and national universities, and have not been seen in private colleges. After all, schools that offer engineering majors must have a certain level, and teachers cannot be recruited casually. In our department, teachers generally have doctor degrees. So it is great to study in such a small class learning environment and under the guidance of high-level professors.

However, compared with other subjects, the study of engineering is quite rigorous. There is also a lot of pressure to study, and there are a lot of experiments and reports to be done and written. There are not many people who can learn, and even fewer who can graduate. In our school, there is a major. There were three students in the freshman year. By the sophomore year, two were eliminated, and in the end there was only one person. The school opened a class for one person, and all the teachers revolved around that person.

For Irish people, the biggest difficulty in studying engineering is their background in science. When many Irish people entered university, I asked them why they chose this subject. Their answer was simple, it's interesting, but After one year, they will no longer be able to do it. When faced with mathematics, they are no longer interested, only bored. Chinese students not only face what Irish students face, but also face language problems. Although the language of engineering is not too difficult, when the teacher explains some theorems and you can't understand them, you have to spend time after class to think about it yourself. I often spend two weeks to figure out something. Some people say that Chinese students may be good at mathematics, but that is just the beginning. By the time they are sophomores, especially juniors, engineering mathematics here is often more difficult than in China. Many Chinese can't keep up with repeating grades, and it's too late to change majors. They don't want to start studying from the freshman year, so they have to study for four years for five or six years before graduating. He couldn't even graduate at all.

Of course, there are things you can’t learn in China when studying engineering here. (You will know if you look at my previous posts.) For example, foreign students have a very strong ability to learn new things, and often no one can I started using the new instrument without the professor. Many Irish students have the ability to teach themselves without a teacher, which I admire very much.

In short, if you want to study engineering in Ireland, you must ask yourself whether you have a strong interest, whether you have a good foundation in science, and whether you have the ability to never give up in the face of difficulties. determination. If one of the three is missing, it will be very difficult for you to study in Ireland.

Other subjects

College preparatory courses (I only refer to national schools here) are generally offered for students who do not meet the language standards. Compared with private language schools, national tuition fees are very expensive. But the advantage of choosing a national school is that it is easy to get a visa. If you pass the exam at the school, you can directly enter university courses without any other English scores. (Except for national universities like Limerick, where preparatory courses are required, IELTS scores are required to enter undergraduate courses)

Many people say that preparatory courses are helpful for language? In fact, the biggest help foreign teachers can give students in English is speaking, while Chinese students have to tutor vocabulary and grammar after class using traditional Chinese methods. Foreign teachers cannot use Chinese thinking to understand the biggest obstacle for Chinese people to learn English.

Medicine is certainly a very difficult subject. It usually takes five years for a graduate to study. Medicine is only available in a few national universities, and the annual tuition of more than 200,000 yuan is beyond the reach of ordinary families. However, there is a Royal College of Medicine in Ireland, and there are still some Chinese students in it.

Adult education is generally for Irish locals. All non-EU international students must be full-time, so Chinese students cannot study part-time courses.

School Selection

I have listed the five types of schools chosen by Chinese students. People who choose the five types of schools have different purposes. If you want to adapt to a foreign environment from an early age, then go to high school. However, it is really not recommended to go abroad at a young age as it is not good for people's psychology.

If you want cheaper tuition, or you just want to work in Ireland in the name of studying, then go to a language school or a private school, but the success rate for domestic visas will not be too high.

If you just want to study, national schools are your choice. Of course, if your family is well-off, you can also choose to go to a national university. Generally speaking, most people choose a good school just to get a good diploma, but I personally advise you that it is not easy to go abroad once. If you stay abroad for a few years of youth, it is best to exchange some real talents for learning. Own.

Many people are asking whether this school’s major is good and where does it rank in Ireland? I have also asked such a question. The director of the International Department of Dunduck Institute of Technology commented on my question: "This is a question that is not a problem in Ireland, but it is the question that Chinese students want to ask the most." In fact, at the same level in Ireland There is not much difference between schools at all. All polytechnics or all universities have similar levels. Occasionally, people will say that a certain major in a certain college is better, but it is just a verbal situation, or just There is no official comment on the statement made by the school for the purpose of recruiting students, and there is no standard for commenting on it. It doesn’t actually matter which school you study in abroad. What matters is how well you study.

Some advice for friends who want to study in Ireland (2)

Admission requirements

Many schools will have their own admission requirements, you can look them up on the school’s website , but most of the admission requirements listed on the webpage are just general statements. In fact, most schools are not so strict in their implementation. There are many people who say that my English is not up to standard. In this case, as long as your English is not too low, or your teacher does not feel that you have learning difficulties during the interview, you can pass. After all, you come with so much money, and they are very lenient in entry and strict in exit, so they won't make things difficult for you when you enter school.

Some students want to transfer from domestic universities, or from other universities in Ireland. In this case, the school will have an interview with the students to see if you have studied the subjects taught by the school, and whether you have studied the subjects taught by the school. Learn how. How can you transfer? For example, under normal circumstances, if you graduated as a sophomore in the previous school, then after transferring to the new school, the school will deduct one year and let you start over from your sophomore year.

Of course, the deduction for domestic academic qualifications may be larger.

Some people want to use their domestic academic qualifications to study for a master's degree in Ireland, but they are not confident enough and think that the school will not accept their diploma if it is not strong. Faced with this situation, I think everyone can give it a try. The application form is available on the school’s website and you can download it. As long as you have a bachelor's degree recognized by the country, it is possible to succeed in applying for a master's degree in an Irish school.

School system

Undergraduate degrees are divided into National certificate two-year college, National diploma three-year college, bachelor's degree (generally given to four-year undergraduate degree) It can be completed in one year (now compressed into three years), honor degree (generally requires four years, usually with a half-year internship period in between)

The degree at the postgraduate level is divided into research master, taught master. The former is to help teachers with experiments. It usually takes two years to graduate, and you may be able to get a certain salary. The latter is taught by teachers, graduates in one year, has three semesters a year, has no summer vacation, and generally has no income.

Generally, if you want to pass studies, undergraduate studies are more difficult than graduate studies. Postgraduate students usually don’t have much of a problem as long as they graduate with a thesis. Generally speaking, as long as you write the paper, no matter how poorly you write it, the teacher will not fail you. However, undergraduate study generally requires a lot of exams. Once you fail the exam, you will definitely repeat the grade.

Doctors usually take four years of study (masters and doctors study together), and some take two years of study.

In Ireland, international students generally do not receive scholarships.

Study status of Chinese students

There are tens of thousands of Chinese students in Ireland. Most of them are in Dublin, studying in various private colleges and language schools. To be more precise, They are working with a student visa. There are not many people who really do it for the purpose of studying, and even fewer people who really go to national colleges for the purpose of studying. Here I will only talk about people who are interested in studying, excluding those who work as students.

To be honest, the students who come to Ireland are not among the first-class people in China. The first-class students have already gone to the United States and will never come to Ireland. I am not a top-notch student in China. Counting my college entrance examination scores, I could only get the worst undergraduate degree.

Of course, second- and third-rate students are generally less motivated than first-rate students. During the period of basic education in China, students' learning relied on family teachers and social pressure. Second- and third-rate students face pressure to catch up with first-rate students. When you go abroad, your parents are naturally not around, teachers will not put pressure on you, and you are faced with the temptation of money. Many people will fall under such circumstances. The men stay at home all day without going to class, and the men play games, while the women love soap operas. For those who want to fall in love, they can basically sleep on the same bed in a week.

But the teaching environment abroad is not like that in China. Teachers are not strict at ordinary times, but they are really merciless during exams. If you are not careful, you will fail. If you fail in one subject, you will repeat the grade. You are not right at all. Do you have any emotional considerations.

There are many people who usually have a non-serious attitude. They often say, doesn’t Ireland only have 40 points to pass? Then I will take 40 points and pass. Faced with such words, I often sneer. I understand that people with such a learning attitude generally cannot get 40 points in the exam.

I have heard and seen many Chinese students around me in the past few years. It is true that some Chinese students are quite good at studying, but most of them are carefree. In my mind, the inherent idea that Chinese students always study hard and learn better than foreign students has long since disappeared. Then he felt sorry for the misfortune of his compatriots who repeated grades year after year, and became angry with them.