Arts FAQs

Is it competitive to get into secondary school teaching with an Arts degree?

LIt depends on the subjects you choose.  We select applicants on the basis of priority areas i.e. subjects where there is a shortage of teachers are given greater preference.  At the moment subjects such as History, English and Geography are more popular and so there is more competition for places. On the other hand, there is a shortage of Irish teachers so this is less competitive.

Is it difficult to get a job with an Arts degree?

This will depend on the subjects you study, your results and your area of career interest. A number of students will go on to do teaching but there are a vast number of different career opportunities for Arts graduates including business executives, investment managers, marketing officers, creative arts industries, law, public service (civil service, army , guards), journalism, TV and social media, diplomatic services, UN, retail and customer services, translation services, human rights etc. Some if these careers will require graduates to undertake post graduate studies in a relevant field.

When do I choose my subjects for the BA Joint Honours degree?

When CAO offers are made in August and you have to register for the 3 subjects you plan to take in first year.  However, during Orientation week there will be introductory lecturers in the different subjects and students will be encouraged to attend as many of these as they are interested in.  At this stage you can replace a subject you have registered for with a different subject.  Students will have the option to amend their subject choices within the first three weeks of September.

Is there a lot of programming in Arts with Data Science and do I need any prior knowledge?

The course involves plenty of programming, in Python mostly, but it is taught from scratch.  You do not need prior programming experience. Being computer ‘savvy’ will help.  It is also important to have you own laptop.  The only essential prior knowledge you will need for the course is mathematics: O1/H5 Leaving Certificate minimum but preferable H3 or above.

What is the difference between BA with Performing Arts and Drama Theatre and Performance?

If you want to do a degree in Drama and one other Arts subject, you should apply for GY118, the BA in Drama, Theatre and Performance.  This means that you will be spending roughly 60% of you time studying Drama and that you will graduate with a formal qualification in Drama. If you would like the majority of your degree content to include other Arts subject such as Irish, Geography etc and you like the idea of doing a small amount of Drama as well, then the BA Connect in Performing Arts Studies (GY115) could be the course for you. It involved spending roughly 25% of your time on Performing Arts Studies and the rest is on your other subjects.

I am planning on doing law through the Arts degree, what other subjects would you recommend to do in this course?

The subjects that are most complimentary to law are Sociological and Political Studies, Economics and English. We would also recommend studying a language with law and we offer French, German, Italian, Spanish and Irish as our language subjects. You can study German, Spanish and Italian from beginners level. 

When you are doing the Bachelor of Arts in Music and also a law module as part of the course, if you chose to continue and move on to the BCL in the final year do you also continue to study music?

In your final year you will study 30 credits of Law and 30 credits of Music. Once you have finished your degree, you can then progress directly in to the final year of the LLB (Bachelor of Law) programme. Upon graduation from the LLB programme, you can pursue professional legal training as a solicitor (with the Law Society of Ireland) or as a barrister (with the King’s Inn). 

If I get a place in Psychology with Arts is it possible to continue from the two other arts subjects in second year and do an Arts degree instead of a Psychology degree if I decided it was best for me at the time?

Yes, if you decided you did not want to progress with the BA (Psychology) after first year, you could transfer into GY101 BA(Joint-Honours) and continue with your two other subjects in second year. 

Alternatively you could study Psychology as a subject in the BA (Joint-Honours) so after first year, you could drop Psychology and you would simply continue with your other two subjects in second year without needing to transfer.

If you choose to study French as part of the International Arts course, for your year abroad could you go to a French speaking region in Canada for the year?

The vast majority of our partner universities for studying French are in France and Belgium. We have a large number of partner universities in both France and Belgium so there is lots of choice of students. There may be a possibility to study in a French speaking region in Canada but most students will go on Erasmus (European Exchange) to France or Belgium.

For the psychology degree, are the hours similar to a normal Arts degree? Or are they longer?

Both BA (Psychology) and BA (Joint-Honours) are full-time courses, and would require 37-40 hours per week commitment, including lectures, tutorials, assignment preparation, and study. 

What are the job opportunites on leaving NUIG from an Arts degree with Law and English?

English and Law are two great subjects to study together. Many students will complete their legal education and you can be admitted to the final year of the LLB (Bachelor of Law) programme after studying Law through Arts.

Upon graduation from the LLB programme, you can pursue professional legal training as a solicitor (with the Law Society of Ireland) or as a barrister (with the King’s Inn). 

Other areas that graduates with English and Law work in are Business, Journalism, Media, Human Resources and Public Relations.