Entry Points (2024)
520

Course Overview

Electronic and Computer Engineering is a course that aims to integrate two separate engineering fields to meet the joint demands made by the electronics and computer industries in today's world. This programme combines coursework in different aspects of both fields over four years, with an emphasis on the design of computing systems. Electronics and computers, along with their integrated applications, are playing an ever-increasing role in our lives, particularly in the domain of Information Communications Technology (ICT). This integration of electronic hardware (circuits) and computer software is driving a wave of innovation, shaping everything from consumer electronics and automotive advancements to robotic automation systems, telecommunication networks, medical devices and healthcare technology, industrial automation, renewable energy systems, and information technology services. This integration is paving the way for groundbreaking developments and revolutionising how we connect, communicate, and interact in our technologically-driven society. The ICT industry is experiencing exponential growth and electronic and computer engineering is at its forefront. The increasing use of ICT in every aspect of our lives ensures the continued relevance of this area of engineering.

 

Companies that design integrated electronics and computer systems require engineers who possess the software skills to complement traditional electronic hardware skills. The Electronic and Computer Engineering degree programme has been developed in response to these industry demands to develop students' hardware and software engineering skills in an integrated way and the analytical powers to apply them jointly.

 

Electronic and computer engineering students develop a range of skills including hardware design, software development, integrated system design, problem-solving, analytical thinking, research abilities, teamwork and collaboration, adaptability and ethical and professional conduct through a combination of quality teaching and significant practical laboratory work and projects. These skills enable graduates to effectively design and analyse electronic circuits and systems, develop software for various applications, integrate hardware and software components, solve complex problems, stay updated with emerging technologies, conduct research, collaborate in multidisciplinary teams, and uphold ethical and professional standards. Electronic and Computer Engineering students develop distinctive expertise, which empowers them to develop hardware and software specifically tailored for critical tasks, such as control systems, robotics, automotive applications, and Internet of Things devices etc. With this unique edge, electronic and computer engineering students are poised to excel in roles that require the integration of hardware and software to create efficient, smart, and connected solutions.

 

Graduates of this course are ideally placed to pursue their specialism in ICT, which has wide applicability both nationally, with many indigenous technology companies and the multinational sector, and internationally.

 

Integrated Masters (ME) and Work placement

All students registering for an engineering degree at University of Galway will be enrolled on an integrated five year programme; a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) (four years, Level 8) + a Master of Engineering (ME) (one year, Level 9). Upon successful completion of the five years of study, graduates will have the educational qualifications required for progression to Chartered Engineer. Students registering for an engineering degree at University of Galway in 2019 will make a decision at the beginning of 3rd Year to either remain on the BE+ME pathway (five years) or exit with a BE (four years). Students on the BE+ME pathway will avail of advanced engineering modules, a substantial research and development project, and a work placement of eight months duration during the 4th Year. For students exiting with a BE, the work placement (eight months) will occur during 3rd Year. Read more about Engineering work placements.

 

Accreditation

All Engineering Degrees at University of Galway are professionally accredited by the statutory professional body, Engineers Ireland. This “Accreditation” means that the degree has been assessed and approved to meet the educational requirements for professional Engineers.

Under an international agreement (Washingon Accord), any Degree accredited by the National professional body (Engineers Ireland) is recognized internationally. So having an “Accredited” degree means that employers outside of Ireland can (1) understand the quality/education achieved by a graduate and (2) know that it is equivalent to their own Education system/standards, and (3) can offer appropriate employment on this basis. For example, certain functions (sign off on large civil engineering construction projects) can only be carried out by a chartered engineer.

Engineers Ireland changed the criteria for Accreditation in 2012, and now require a Masters (Level 9) qualification as the education standard required for Registered Professional Titles of Chartered Engineer* (prior to this, a Level 8 degree was required). The changes were implemented because the standard European engineering qualification (degree or diploma) is at level 9, and European industry maintains a strict differentiation between those engineers qualified at level 9 and those qualified at level 8. Any graduate interested in working in Europe/Worldwide is now strongly advised to get an accredited level 9 award.

Engineers Ireland accreditation can be obtained at the following levels:

o             Level 8:  4-year honours degree – associate engineer

o             Level 9:  5-year masters degree – chartered engineer

*A Chartered Engineer is the highest professional education standard in Engineering. A chartered Engineer is competent (because of their education and training) to assume personal responsibility for   the   development   and   application   ofengineering in research, design, construction, manufacturing, superintending, managing and  in  the education of the engineer. His/her work is predominantly intellectual and varied and not of a routine mental or physical character. It requires the  exercise  of  original  thought  and  judgement  and  the  ability  to supervise the technical and administrative work of others.

 

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

All academic staff listed here teach  Bachelor and Master of Engineering (Electronic and Computer) at the University of Galway.

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 Level in the Leaving Certificate, including Irish, English, Mathematics, a laboratory science subject (i.e., Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics with Chemistry (joint), Agricultural Science or Computer Science) or Technology, and any two other subjects recognised for entry purposes. Additional requirements: Minimum H4 in Mathematics or, alternatively, obtain a pass in the Engineering Maths Qualifying Exam (held in the University).

Additional Requirements

Students must obtain a minimum of Grade H4 in the Higher Level Leaving Certificate paper in Mathematics or, or, alternatively places available (which may vary in number year to year) may be allocated to those candidates who have achieved the points requirement for the programme that year, who satisfy the general requirements for Matriculation in the College of Engineering and Informatics and who attain a Pass in the Engineering Maths Qualifying Examination. The places available will be allocated in strict order of merit based points attained in the Leaving Certificate. Due to capacity constraints, not all candidates who achieve a pass in the examination may receive an offer.

For A-Levels: A minimum of Grade C in Mathematics is required

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

4 years

Next start date

September 2025

A Level Grades (2024)

universityofgalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

20

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date
NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

GY406

Course code

Course Outline

Year 1

Year 1 covers the basics of mathematics and science as they apply in engineering, as well as an introduction to engineering, including engineering graphics and computing.

Year 2

Year 2 covers theoretical and practical foundation in electronics and computing including programming languages, circuit analysis, digital and analogue electronics, sensors and instrumentation, communication technologies and electromagnetics.

Year 3&4

You make your decision at the start of year three whether to remain on the five-year integrated BE+ME programme or to exit with a BE at the end of year four. Year 3 continues with further training in design of digital and analogue systems, programming languages and database systems, communications and signals and systems. Year 4 covers a range of advanced topics in electronic and computer engineering including real time systems, machine learning, integrated circuit design, telecommunications software, digital signal processing and distributed systems and computing. All modules include practical classes to provide you experience of hardware/software tools for circuit design and testing. These skills are developed further in project work. Modules on professional skills such as project management are also included.

Year 5 optional

At the School of Engineering we are focused on ensuring that you will be educated to the highest standards, and will have the necessary qualifications to avail of all of the professional opportunities presented to you, both in Ireland and across the world. You will be enrolled on an integrated five year programme; a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) (four years, Level 8) + a Master of Engineering (ME) (one year, Level 9). Students on the BE+ME pathway will avail of advanced engineering modules, a substantial research and development project, and a work placement.

Year 5 combines advanced core modules in Electronic & Computer Engineering (sample modules include Artificial Intelligence, Embedded Image Processing, Internet of Things Systems Design, Computer Security and Forensic Computing, and Mobile Device Technologies) with modules on transferrable skills/professional development and an individual capstone research project (nine months long) to develop skills in specialist areas such as biomedical electronics, signal processing, embedded systems and communications. Upon successful completion of the five years of study, graduates will have the educational qualifications required for progression to Chartered Engineer. Full information on the optional 5th Year is provided here.

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits
You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module
An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Subject
Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
Optional
A module you may choose to study.
Required
A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Required Core Subject
A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
Semester
Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

Further Education

Upon completion of the undergraduate degree, suitably qualified students have the option to enrol and continue their studies to Masters or PhD level.

Students can advance to Masters level (ME) through our one year taught Masters programme (September-June) that builds on the successful completion of their undergraduate programme, subject to a sufficient standard (2nd Class Honours minimum). This programme is an integrated follow-on to the BE programme and is designed to meet Engineers Ireland’s criterion for Level 9 degrees, providing graduates with a route to Chartered Engineering status that will be recognised worldwide.

Masters degree education is becoming increasingly the norm internationally in Engineering, and this programme strengthens the ability of our graduates to compete nationally and internationally at the highest level for employment in industry and other sectors of the economy.

In our PhD programme, students develop highly innovative state-of the-art solutions to current problems in Electronic & Computer Engineering, particularly in technologies such as signal and image processing, medical electronics, embedded systems and communications. Many PhD students work closely with industry on the research and development of solutions in a diverse range of applications such as: automotive, biomedical, environmental, aerospace, energy and the Internet of Things.

 

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Completing the University of Galway/Engineers Ireland-accredited BE degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering offers a passport to national and international career opportunities in the wide and diverse range of industries, utilities and other organisations that use electronic and computer engineering expertise. This includes such areas as electronic system design, medical systems, healthcare, networking and distributed computing, telecommunications, automotive electronics, industrial automation, consumer electronics, broadcasting, management information systems and energy management systems. There is strong demand for Electronic and computer Engineering graduates across a wide variety of industry sectors in Ireland and abroad. ICT expertise offers you the prospect of doing research or working in the industry in these interesting, exciting and challenging areas.

 

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€7,268 p.a. (€7,408 p.a. including levy) 2025/26

Fees: Tuition

€4,268 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Non EU

€27,000 p.a. (€27,140 p.a. including levy) 2025/26


EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy* €140. *Payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.  Further detail here.

For 25/26 entrants, where the course duration is greater than 1 year, there is an inflationary increase approved of 3.4% per annum for continuing years fees**.
**Excludes Full-Time EU Undergraduate fees.  These are fixed and do not change.

Find out More

Mary Costello
Electrical & Electronic Engineering 
T +353 91 492 728 
mary.costello@universityofgalway.ie
URL for School/College webpage: https://eee.universitygalway.ie/
Other Useful Links: Follow us on https://twitter.com/eeeuniversityofgalway

What Our Students Say

Eva

Eva De Barros |   Electrical and Computer Engineering

Overall, I am extremely happy I chose to do engineering. My favorite part about the course is the plethora of subjects we get to study not just in first year, but throughout the next 3 /4 years of our degrees. In first year, I had the chance to study subjects I was familiar with from Leaving Cert while also learning skills I never thought I would enjoy or understand such as computer programming, a module I went into with no prior knowledge but encouraged me to choose ECE as my course of study. First year alone taught me that engineering is all about thinking on your feet, sharing knowledge and getting creative with solutions, a lesson that I think is essential for any future career based in STEM. As well as this, being an engineering student has enabled me to obtain a summer internship with an University of Galway based research institute who are exploring technologies at the convergence of Computer Science, Web Science and Artificial Intelligence. These are key areas in the future of computer technology and having an opportunity to explore these technologies has allowed me to gain an insight into the world of work I will be entering upon graduating.
Orla

Orla Sealy Phelan |   Electrical and Computer Engineering

My favourite thing about studying ECE at University of Galway was the range of modules taught over the 5 years. In first year, students are introduced to different engineering concepts, including an introduction to the different denominations of engineering to help them to decide which path they would like to pursue. From second year onwards, after choosing to study ECE I studied a wide range of subjects from the manufacturing and design of the chips needed to make computers, to the high-level programming languages used to control them. This array of modules helped me to decide which area I am most interested in, while also giving me a good fundamental knowledge of the other areas. The eight-month work placement which I completed in my fourth year was invaluable in preparation for my future career. It gave me the opportunity to work in industry and learn from experienced engineers, while also allowing me to use the skills I had learnt over the course of my degree to produce real products, used by customers. I am currently working as a software engineer, and the modules which I studied at University of Galway have been crucial to my success in the field.