Dublin City University's BSc in Nursing (General) is run through DCU's School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, and it's the most expensive undergraduate programme at DCU for international students, reflecting its clinical-placement and simulation-lab costs. DCU also offers a combined BSc in Nursing (Children's and General Integrated) for students interested in paediatric practice alongside general nursing.
This guide covers what DCU does and does not publish about Nursing admissions, what the course costs, what it asks of applicants, and what outcomes look like for graduates.
Acceptance Rate: What DCU Publishes
DCU does not publish an acceptance rate for its Nursing programmes, or for any single programme. The university-wide figures found online come from third-party aggregator sites, which give estimates ranging from roughly 30% to over 50%, with one site reporting 63% for international applicants generally; these are not official figures and their methods aren't published.
Nursing is a professionally regulated field in Ireland, so places are capped by clinical-placement capacity in a way that general business or science programmes are not. All EU-system candidates (including Irish Leaving Certificate applicants) apply through the CAO, while non-EU applicants can apply directly to DCU by 1 July through its online application portal, a different route from most of DCU's other undergraduate programmes.
Fees and Cost of Attendance
DCU's published non-EU annual fee for Nursing is EUR 23,000, notably higher than DCU's Computer Science (EUR 17,900) or Business programmes (EUR 17,000), reflecting the added cost of clinical placements and simulation-lab facilities.
| Cost item | Amount (EUR/year) |
|---|---|
| Nursing tuition (non-EU, 2026/27) | 23,000 |
| Student Contribution Charge (applies to all DCU undergraduates) | 2,543 |
| Estimated total tuition and charges | ~25,543 |
Fees are subject to an annual increase, so confirm the current year's schedule before you budget. Living costs: Ireland's student visa (Stamp 2) requires non-EEA applicants to show access to at least EUR 10,000 for the first year's living costs. Third-party estimates put shared accommodation in Dublin at roughly EUR 700 to 1,200 per month, which makes Dublin one of the more expensive Irish cities to live in.
Admission Requirements
For international applicants to DCU's Nursing programme, the sources we reviewed indicate:
- For EU-system applicants (including Irish Leaving Certificate): apply through the CAO, the standard national system for nursing degrees in Ireland
- For non-EU applicants: apply directly to DCU by 1 July through the university's online international application portal
- Educational qualifications equivalent to Ireland's standard entry requirements, assessed against your specific secondary system
- English language proficiency (see below), with non-native English speakers required to demonstrate competency to the university's satisfaction
- Clinical-placement-related requirements (Garda vetting, health screening, and immunisation records) ahead of practical placements; confirm the current list directly with DCU's School of Nursing
We could not confirm whether DCU's Nursing programme requires the HPAT (Health Professions Admission Test), which is a factor for some Irish nursing and medicine routes; check directly with DCU or the CAO for the current requirement.
How to Get Into DCU's Nursing Programme
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Confirm your application route before anything else. Non-EU applicants use a different channel (direct application by 1 July) than EU/Irish applicants (the CAO), and getting this wrong early can cost you an admissions cycle.
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Check whether HPAT or another aptitude test applies to your intake, since Irish nursing admissions sometimes involve an aptitude component separate from academic results; confirm directly with DCU.
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Sort out clinical-placement prerequisites early, including Garda vetting, health screening, and immunisation records, since these are specific to Nursing and not required for DCU's other undergraduate programmes.
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Meet the English threshold with a comfortable margin. Nursing coursework and clinical communication both carry a real language load, so don't aim for just the bare minimum.
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Budget for Nursing's higher fee specifically. At EUR 23,000/year, it's DCU's most expensive undergraduate programme for international students, well above Computer Science or Business; factor this into your financial planning from the outset.
English Proficiency Requirement
DCU's reported English thresholds for Nursing are:
- IELTS Academic: 6.5 and above (per third-party reporting); confirm the exact composite and component minimums directly with DCU's School of Nursing, since clinically-oriented programmes sometimes carry additional spoken-English expectations beyond the university's general undergraduate minimum
- TOEFL iBT: 92 and above
- PTE Academic: 63 and above
- Duolingo English Test: 120 and above
These figures broadly match DCU's general undergraduate English requirements (see the Dublin City University guide for the full breakdown), though nursing and other clinically-facing programmes can carry additional spoken-English expectations in practice; confirm the current, programme-specific requirement directly with DCU before relying on the general university-wide figures.
Career Outcomes
DCU reports that about 81% of its graduates are in employment nine months after graduation, with about 12% in further study, based on the HEA Graduate Outcomes Survey as cited in DCU's careers materials. This figure covers all DCU graduates, not Nursing graduates specifically; nursing nationally tends to track at or above this average given Ireland's persistent nursing workforce needs, though we could not independently confirm a Nursing-specific DCU figure.
Post-study work. After a Level 8 honours bachelor's degree, graduates can apply for a Stamp 1G permission. For undergraduate degrees, this permission is 12 months and not renewable, not the two-year period that some older summaries describe. Nursing graduates in Ireland also pursue registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) to practise, a separate professional step from the Stamp 1G work-seeking permission itself; confirm current NMBI registration requirements directly, since they are set by the regulator rather than by DCU.
FAQ
Does DCU publish an acceptance rate for Nursing? No. DCU does not publish a programme-level acceptance rate for Nursing. Third-party estimates exist but are unofficial and vary widely.
How much does DCU's Nursing degree cost for international students? EUR 23,000 per year for non-EU students in 2026/27, the most expensive undergraduate programme at DCU, plus the Student Contribution Charge of EUR 2,543.
How do I apply if I'm not an EU/Irish applicant? Non-EU applicants apply directly to DCU by 1 July through the university's online international application portal, rather than through the CAO system used by EU/Irish applicants.
What IELTS score do I need for DCU Nursing? Third-party reporting puts the threshold at IELTS 6.5 and above; confirm the exact composite and component minimums directly with DCU's School of Nursing, since clinical programmes can carry additional spoken-English expectations.
Can I work in Ireland after a DCU Nursing degree? A Level 8 honours degree is eligible for a Stamp 1G permission of 12 months. Separately, practising as a registered nurse in Ireland requires registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), a distinct professional step.
Does DCU's Nursing programme require the HPAT? We could not confirm this in the sources reviewed; check directly with DCU or the CAO for the current admissions test requirement, if any.