Study in Ireland: Tuition Fees & Scholarships

How much you pay for tuition in Ireland depends on your passport. If you are from the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or the UK, then you will pay fees at the same rate as Irish citizens. These fees are set at approximately €3000 ($3530) by the Irish government. If it’s your first degree, and as long as you aren’t repeating a year or a semester, then your fees will be paid by the HEA (Higher Education Authority). Irish tuition fees are regulated by the Department of Education and Skills. 

If you’re from outside of Ireland and the EU/CTA-related bloc, then you will need to pay your own fees. The HEA won’t help you. Fees for international students from outside of the EU, the EEA, Switzerland and the UK are not set nor regulated by the Irish government. 

Fees vary greatly, from between €9900 ($11,670) up to €34,000 ($41,000) depending on the course, the level of study and the length of the program. Undergraduate fees are payable annually or in per-semester instalments. Postgraduate fees are generally charged as a one-off cost as postgraduate programs are normally one year. 

This means that, for undergraduate students, Ireland is usually more affordable than the UK. However, Ireland can be just as expensive as the UK, and even some US schools, when it comes to postgraduate education. 

Ireland’s higher education star is on the rise, propelled by the likes of Trinity College Dublin, the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and University College Dublin. Therefore, it’s not difficult to find domestic and international scholarships. Individual schools often award their own scholarships based on academic merit and potential and, in some cases, on the basis of nationality. As Ireland is becoming a more popular destination for international students, and is seeking to attract more as well, the number of scholarships related to higher education studies in Ireland grows almost every year. You can find a full, up-to-date list of all available scholarships here.