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BA (Hons) in Arts

Course Points
228 Points
Course Duration
3 Years
Course Level
Level 8
Course Places
40 Places
Course Start Date
September 2024

Four great reasons to consider this course

  • This course has a high satisfaction rating with 93% of graduates very likely or likely to do same course if choosing again (DkIT/HEA Graduate Survey)
  • Students who completed this course have been accredited for teaching in the areas of History, English and CSPE by the Teaching Council.
  • This course provides students with a traditional education, alongside a foundation in digital skills.
  • Students who complete the BA (Hons) in Arts gain a significant range of transferable skills, including critical thinking and research, which enable to complete further studies, and work, in a diverse range of areas and sectors.

Course Summary

Do you aspire to be a primary or secondary school teacher? An archaeologist? An archivist or librarian? A political activist? A journalist? An arts manager? Then the Level 8 BA (Hons) in Arts could be the starting point you need!

This three-year arts degree course offered at DkIT is a unique course in Ireland. It offers a traditional arts education in History, English, Archaeology, Politics and Society, alongside three-years of digital humanities training. This innovative, new development in arts education will provide you with critical and practical skills to meet the demands of a rapidly changing digital environment.

The degree course creates honours-level Arts graduates who are also skilled users and creators of information in digital media, an increasingly important area in education and publishing. As a graduate you will be able to integrate these new digital media with traditional scholarly activity in the Arts.

You will start in Year 1 Semester 1 with lectures across all the Arts subjects, introducing you to the field of study and giving you a good overall picture of the subjects and how they are studied.

At the end of semester 1, you will choose your two preferred Arts subject for the remainder of your studies. All students across all the Arts subjects will also study Digital Media for the Humanities and learn how to use and create ‘Digital Humanities’.


Year 1

Semester 1

  • Introduction to Digital Humanities: digital literacy
  • Ireland 1800-1921: success and failure under the Union
  • Prehistoric Ireland to the Bronze Age
  • Irish Literature
  • Introduction to Social and Political thought

Semester 2

(Choose TWO Arts Subject areas)

  • Introduction to Multimedia for Humanities
  • History
    • History and Historians
    • Ireland 1921-98: Modernity and Tradition
    • Europe 1918-2007: The Breaking of Nations
  • Archaeology
    • Human Origins: the Palaeolithic
    • Archaeological Techniques
  • English Literature & Culture 
    • Literature and Society
    • Borders in Literature
    • Introduction to Cultural Theory
  • Politics & Society
    • Comparative Politics
    • Contemporary Irish Politics
    • The Struggle for Democracy

Year 2

Semester 1

  • Web Applications for Humanities
  • History
    • Ireland, 1540-1800: land and religion.
    • The rise of the USA: Civil War to Cold War.
    • History of the Revolutionary Tradition
  • Archaeology
    • The Archaeology of Medieval Ireland
    • Prehistoric Europe: Ice Age to Bronze Age
  • English Literature & Culture
    • American Literature
    • Studies in Romanticism
    • American Drama
  • Politics & Society
    • Gendered Governance & Society
    • Borders, Borderlands and Contested States
    • Globalisation and Political Economy

Semester 2

  • Advanced Multimedia for Humanities
  • History
    • Early Modern Europe, 1450-1700
    • Ireland 1912-1932: Revolution and Counter-Revolution
    • History of Cartography
  • Archaeology
    • Celtic Ireland and Europe
    • The Archaeology of Britain
  • English Literature & Culture
    • Fiction to Film
    • Shakespeare and his contemporaries
  • Politics and Society
    • Genocide, Social Darwinism & Racial Science
    • Community Development and Active Citizenship
    • Politics in Action

Year 3

Semester 1

  • Digital Humanities: Research Methodology
  • History
    • The Rise of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800
    • Medieval Ireland
    • Great Britain since 1945
  • Archaeology
    • Archaeological Theory
    • The Archaeology of Death and Burial
  • English Literature & Culture
    • Literary and Culture Theory
    • Writing Race
    • Irish Drama, 1890-1900
  • Politics & Society
    • Identities, Communities and Social Boundaries
    • Media, Power and Politics
    • The Northern Ireland Peace Process

Semester 2

  • Digital Humanities Research Project
  • History
    • European Imperialism, 1870-1970
    • Tolerance and intolerance in Reformation Europe
    • The European City
  • Archaeology
    • Archaeology of the recent past
    • Heritage Management and Entrepreneurship
  • English Literature & Culture
    • Writing Gender: poetry, fiction and women
    • Theories of Reading, Reception and Audience
    • Contemporary Irish Drama
  • Politics & Society
    • Ireland: Citizenship and ethnic diversity.
    • New Social Movements and E-Activism.
    • Moral and Political Philosophy

 

* All module titles are subject to change and are for indicative purposes only. The provision of electives each year is subject to numbers enrolling on each elective and available resources.

The course is taught via a mix of traditional classroom lectures, tutorials, and lab-based classes.

Graduates of this course are highly employable and widely sought after in careers as diverse as teaching at primary and secondary level, adult education, arts and heritage administration, journalism, librarianship, archivist, research, politics, as well as business and industry.

Students have excellent literacy and communication skill, advanced skills in Information and Communication Technologies, as well as skills in critical information management, which makes them highly employable. 

As a graduate of this degree, you will be academically qualified in two of the core Arts disciplines: History; English; Archaeology; Politics & Society; whilst also becoming a sophisticated creator and user in Digital Humanities.

Graduates of this course have been accredited with the Teaching Council for entry to post-primary teaching in History, English, Civil Social & Political Education (CSPE) on completion of the Postgraduate Master in Professional Education which now replaces the old H.Dip.Ed. The high level of digital media skills held by our graduates are proving highly desirable in the teaching field, particularly with the rise of the “Digital Technology“ classroom concept. This is becoming more important with recent developments in the second level environment because Digital Literacy has been introduced to Junior Certificate Cycle. 

Graduates with a good 2.2 or higher degree will also be able to pursue further postgraduate degrees in their chosen arts subject; e.g. an MA in History, or in English, Archaeology, Political or Science in any university or college. Past graduates of Arts at DkIT have studied at UCD, DCU, TCD, UCC, NUI, Galway, Maynooth UniversityQueen's University Belfast and Goldsmiths College, London. 

DkIT offers MA and PhD studies in the Arts under the DkIT-DCU Graduate School. 

Please find information on fees and funding here: www.dkit.ie/fees

Leaving Certificate Entry Requirements:

Six Grades at O6 or H7 in Leaving Certificate

→ INCLUDING At least two H5 Grades
→ AND English Grade O2 or H5


Northern Ireland/UK Entry Requirements:

Applicants must meet the matriculation requirement of 6 different subjects which must include:

→ English at:

    • GCSE (Grade A)
    • OR AS Level: Grade C
    • OR A Level Grade D

→ 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).

There is no placement, as part of this course. However, past students have undertaken voluntary placements on archaeological digs and also in local archives and libraries. 

Dr. Conor Brady (Programme Director)
Phone: +353-042 9370200 ext 2965
Email: conor.brady@dkit.ie

Course ID DK861
CAO Round 1 Entry Points (2023) 228 Points
Course Type Undergraduate
Study Mode Full-Time
Level 8
Duration 3 Years
Starting Date September 2024
School School of Business & Humanities
Department Humanities
Awarding Body Dundalk Institute of Technology
Download BA (Hons) Digital Humanities Brochure
Delivery Method On Campus

How To Apply

Apply on CAO

All standard entry first-year applicants must apply for entry through the CAO. See Important application dates for CAO and information for specific applicant types below:

CAO Code: DK861
Apply on CAO

Advanced Entry & Transfer Applications

Advanced Entry is for applicants who have previous educational achievements and/or work experience and want to be considered for direct entry into year  2, 3, or 4 of a course. This includes students looking to transfer to DkIT from another Higher Education provider.

Closing Date: 6th June
Apply Now

International Application (non-EU)

International Applicants (not from or living in the EU) can apply through an agent or directly to DkIT to study this course.

Disclaimer: All module titles are subject to change and for indicative purposes only. All courses are delivered subject to demand and timetables are subject to change. Elective Module options will only run subject to student numbers. The relevant Department will determine the viability of each elective module option proceeding depending on the number of students who choose that option. Students will be offered alternative elective modules on their programme should their preferred elective option not be proceeding. Award Options for Common Entry Programmes: The relevant Department will determine the viability of each award option proceeding depending on the number of students who choose either option. If the numbers for one of the Award options exceed available places, students for this option will be selected based on Academic Merit (highest grades).