DkIT welcomes applications from students from Northern Ireland and the UK. Located just 20 minutes from the border, many of our staff and students come from NI. Students applying from these regions and who wish to start in first year, must make their applications via the CAO website (cao.ie). Our admissions team (admissions@dkit.ie) is here to help you with your application, should you have any questions along the way.

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 7 Degree Courses

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* - E 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 (Honours) Degree Courses

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

Six Grades at O6 or H7 in Leaving Certificate
→ INCLUDING At least two H5 Grades→ AND Mathematics Grade O6 or H7→ AND English Grade O6 or H7 OR Irish Grade O6 or H7→ AND Minimum Points Score of 300.