Entry Requirements for NI/UK Applicants

DkIT recognises Standard A Levels, Applied A Levels, BTECs and OCR Cambridge Technical qualifications, or a combination of all four. See below for full breakdown of entry requirements for Northern Ireland/UK applicants.

Some courses have additional specific entry requirements.

Level 6/7 Matriculation

To be eligible for Level 6 and 7 courses, applicants must meet the matriculation requirement of 5 different subjects which must include:

Mathematics at GCSE (Grade A* - C or better)

English (or Irish) at GCSE (Grade A* - C or better)

One subject at:

‘A Level’ (Grade A* - C or better)
OR Applied A-Level (Grade A* - E)
OR BTEC National Level 3 (National Award, Subsidiary Diploma, Extended Certificate, 90-Credit Diploma, Foundation Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma) (Pass, Merit or Distinction).
OR OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 (Introductory Diploma, Extended Certificate, Subsidiary Diploma, Foundation Diploma, 90-Credit Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma) (Pass, Merit or Distinction).

The remaining subjects must be different from those listed above and may be drawn from recognised subjects at:

GCSE (Grade A* - C)
AND/OR 'AS Level’ (Grades A - E)
AND/OR ‘A-level’ (Grades A* - E)
AND/OR Applied ‘A-level’ (Grade A* - E)
AND/OR BTEC National Level 3 (National Award, Subsidiary Diploma, Extended Certificate, 90-Credit Diploma, Foundation Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma*) (Pass, Merit or Distinction).
AND/OR OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 (Introductory Diploma, Extended Certificate, Subsidiary Diploma, Foundation Diploma, 90-Credit Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma*) (Pass, Merit or Distinction).

*Some courses may require the BTEC Extended Diploma or Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma to be in a cognate area to meet the entry requirements – details are available from the Admissions Office.

Level 8 Matriculation

To be eligible for Level 8 courses, applicants must meet the matriculation requirement of 6 different subjects which must include:

Mathematics at GCSE (Grade A* - C) or better

English (or Irish) at GCSE (Grade A* - C) or better

Two subjects at either:

‘A Level’ (Grade A* - C)
AND/OR Applied A-Level (Grade A* - C)
AND/OR BTEC National Level 3 (National Award, Subsidiary Diploma, Extended Certificate, 90-Credit Diploma, Foundation Diploma) (Grade Merit or Distinction).
AND/OR OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 (Introductory Diploma, Extended Certificate, Subsidiary Diploma, Foundation Diploma, 90-Credit Diploma) (Grade Merit or Distinction)
OR BTEC National Level 3 Diploma (Grade min: MM)
OR OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Diploma (Grade min: MM)
OR BTEC National Level 3 Extended Diploma (Grade min: MMP)

The remaining subjects must be different from that presented above and may be drawn from recognised subjects at:

GCSE (Grade A* - C)
AND/OR AS Level’ (Grades A - E)
AND/OR A-level’ (Grades A* - E)
AND/OR Applied ‘A-level’ (Grade A* - E)
AND/OR BTEC National Level 3 (National Award, Subsidiary Diploma, Extended Certificate, 90-Credit Diploma, Foundation Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma*) (Pass, Merit or Distinction).
AND/OR OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 (Introductory Diploma, Extended Certificate, Subsidiary Diploma, Foundation Diploma, 90-Credit Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma*) (Pass, Merit or Distinction).

And a minimum score of 300 points

*the 300 points requirement does not apply to the BA (Hons) in Applied Music.

Scoring

Note: The following criteria and scoring is applicable to Dundalk Institute of Technology. Other colleges may use a different scoring scheme.

Summary of Recent Changes

DKIT now regard Applied A Levels in the same manner as Standard A Levels.
BTEC Nationals at Level 3 are now considered for entry requirements to our Level 8 programmes (previously for Level 6 and 7 programmes only).
Students taking A Levels, Applied A Levels and BTEC Nationals at Level 3 may combine all 3 for scoring purposes (subject to limits below).

A-Levels & AS Levels

Generally, all subjects carry equal points, and points for A-Level (or equivalent Level 3) grades must be obtained at one sitting.
AS-Levels must be in different subjects to those taken at A-Level and may be carried over from a previous sitting.
A Maximum of 4 subjects will be graded (maximum of three A-Levels plus one AS-Level).
Where four A-Levels are presented from the same sitting, the best three A-Levels will be scored and the fourth A-Level will be scored as an AS-Level.

A-Level	CAO Points Equivalent	AS-Level	CAO Points Equivalent
A*	175
A	165	A	75
B	140	B	65
C	120	C	50
D	100	D	35
E	50	E	20

*NOTE: A-Level Mathematics - a bonus of 25 points will be awarded to students who achieve a Grade E or better. This will apply to only ONE Mathematics subject from Mathematics, Further Mathematics or Pure Mathematics, where that subject is one of the three A-Levels being counted for point’s purpose.

BTEC:

Extended Diploma (18 modules) is equivalent 3 A-Levels Max Score: 495
Diploma (12 modules) is equivalent 2 A-Levels Max Score: 330
90-Credit Diploma/Foundation Diploma (9 modules) is equivalent 1 ½ A-Levels Max Score: 247.5
Subsidiary Diploma/Nat. Award/Extended Certificate (6modules) is equivalent 1 A-Level Max Score: 165

Score per module:

Distinction: 27.5 points
Merit: 18.33 points
Pass: 9.17 points

Specific Course Entry Requirements:

Find out more information on the Specific Course Entry Requirements for Leaving Certificate Students and Northern Ireland/UK Students for applying to study at DkIT.

Find Out More