HDip Irish Folklore

Graduate Taught (level 8 nfq, credits 60)

The Higher Diploma in Irish Folklore should provide students with the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to enable them to formulate and complete their own research projects in the field of folklore studies. It is possible to complete the Higher Diploma over 2 years on a part-time basis.

  • Designed for students and scholars without any previous background in general folkloristics or comparative ethnology.
  • Training in original archival and fieldwork research and methods.
  • Access to the specialist library and archive holdings of the UCD Delargy Centre for Irish Folklore and the National Folklore Collection.

Careers & Employability

The course can provide a pathway to higher degrees in Folklore. Graduates can be found across a range of occupations, including teaching, research, museums and other heritage institutions, the media and journalism.

Curricular information is subject to change


Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No

The programme is designed for students and scholars without any previous background in general folkloristics or comparative ethnology, with the aim of providing them with a broad knowledge of the essentials of these subjects. The course is suitable as a conversion course which could provide a pathway to higher degrees in Irish Folklore.

You will need:

A primary degree at third level and a complete transcript of academic history including grades for each subject taken.

  • Names and contact details of two referees who can assess your intellectual ability, maturity and motivation.
  • Other documentation as required by the University.
  • A basic reading knowledge of the Irish language is also required for this programme. This may be acquired concurrently with the student’s Higher Diploma studies.

View All Modules Here

The programme cosists of 8 taught modules, two of which incorporate a series of research seminars as well as training and supervision towards an end-of-year dissertation. All students will be required to engage in original research as part of their work toward their dissertation.

Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website.

Irish Folklore offers a number of scholarships for graduate students in the subject, including the Máire Mac Neill Scholarship, the Onfel and Isobel Thomas Scholarship (for students wishing to incorporate a course of study at a Scandinavian university as part of their MA studies), and the Dónall Ó Móráin Bursary (for students wishing to pursue their studies on an aspect of Folklore pertaining specifically to the Irish language).  For further information please see http://www.ucd.ie/icsf/en/study/scholarshipsawards/ .

Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.

In the normal course, entry requirements will consist of an undergraduate degree at honours level (NFQ Level 8) in the Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences. The School may also consider applicants with equivalent qualifications/professional experience.

Applicants are required to submit original academic transcripts.

Applicants are also required to submit two references, preferably both relating to academic performance.

For applicants with equivalent professional qualifications, applicants will be required to submit a focussed statement of 500 words stating why this particular programme is right for the candidate at this point in their career (to be part of the online application).

Applicants whose first language is not English are required to submit evidence of their language proficiency. Applicants will have reached an overall 7 in IELTS with no individual band lower than 6.5, or equivalent. The School is willing to consider applicants who achieve IELTS 6.5 if they attend a five-week pre-sessional language course offered by the UCD Applied Language Centre. 

A basic reading knowledge of the Irish language is recommended for Graduate Diploma students. This can be acquired concurrently with the student’s Graduate Diploma studies.
 

The following entry routes are available:

HDip Irish Folklore PT (Z257)
Duration
2 Years
Attend
Part Time
Deadline
Rolling*

* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised