Arts

Bachelor of Arts (Joint-Honours)

Entry Points (2024)

300

Course Overview

The Bachelor of Arts (Joint-Honours) course is the flagship undergraduate course in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies at University of Galway. This is a highly flexible, subject based course with a structure that enables you to shape your own degree. This makes it an ideal course for a student who wants to pursue their own academic interests in a versatile way.

There are 23 exciting subjects that you can choose from and these are structured in 7 subject groups. In Year One, you will select three subjects from the range of subjects offered (please note you cannot select more than one subject in a subject grouping). You will choose your subjects when you register for the course in Year One. After first year, you will continue to study two of the three subjects to degree level.

The duration of the course is dependent on the subjects selected. If you are studying two non-language subjects, this will be a three year course. If you are studying French, Spanish, Italian or German, the course will be four years. In Year 3, you will study abroad in a country where the language is widely spoken before returning to complete final year and you will graduate with a BA (International). If you are taking two of the above language subjects to degree level, you will study abroad in two countries where the languages are widely spoken. This will usually involve an academic year abroad in one country and a summer placement in the other relevant country. For students studying Gaeilge as one of your subjects, this will also be a four-year programme. You will spend third year off-campus, with one semester in the Gaeltacht and the other semester on a work placement in the Irish language sector. If you are studying another European language with Gaeilge, you will spend one semester studying abroad and one semester in a Gaeltacht setting.

A BA(Joint-Honours) degree equips you with a range of professional and interpersonal skills to be successful in your career or further study. Our graduates are working in a wide range of industries including education, the creative arts, media, broadcasting, finance, marketing, public relations, human relations, psychology, law and many others.

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/ H7 in the Leaving Certificate, including Irish, English, another language and three other subjects recognised for entry purposes.

Additional Requirements

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

3 yrs: BA, 4 yrs: BA international

Next start date

September 2025

A Level Grades (2024)

universityofgalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

850

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

30 (More Info)

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

GY101

Course code

Course Outline

In first year you are required to select 3 subjects to study. There are 21 different subject choice available, the subjects are grouped into 7 groups, the reason they appear in groups is that you can only select one subject from a group. On progression to second year, you drop one subject and continue to study the two other subjects to degree level.

Additional information on Arts subjects

In University of Galway we refer to the department that teaches a subject as a 'Discipline'. The table below shows the subjects, in their subject groups. You can follow the links to the Discipline website for each subject. Read a brief introduction (subject description, overview of course content and career options) to each subject available to BA (Joint-Honours) students here . ‌
Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Archaeology French Mathematics and Mathematical Studies	Law Psychology Celtic Civilisation Performance and Screen Studies	Ancient Classics Geography German Léann na Cumarsáide Modern Irish Culture (Music and Literature) Global Media	English Economics
Group 5	Group 6	Group 7
Sociological and Political Studies Information Technology Léann an Aistriúchán	History Spanish	Gaeilge Italian Philosophy

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'.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Further Education

Many Arts graduates undertake research-based or taught postgraduate programmes. These may be academic or vocational in their focus and prepare graduates for employment in a broad range of careers, including teaching, law, languages, social work, performing arts, journalism, policy development, creative industries, business, heritage, information technology and public administration. We offer a range of taught masters degree and postgraduate diploma programmes of interest to Arts graduates. In the past number of years, the College has pioneered the development of structured PhD programmes which combine the traditional research dissertation of the PhD with generic and discipline-specific training modules designed to enhance your skills and employability.

Career Prospects

Arts graduates are found in almost every walk of life and BA graduates from University of Galway occupy leading positions in commercial, social, educational, and public organisations at home and abroad.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

There is a wide variety of careers open to Arts graduates in commercial, social, educational and public organisations. Indeed, Arts graduates may be found in every walk of life.

Your Career with an Arts Degree

The Bachelor of Arts degree is University of Galway’s most popular Undergraduate programme, and the second largest degree programme in the country. Arts graduates are amongst the most employable graduates in the world because of their versatility and ability to think critically and independently. An Arts degree provides you with a unique combination of intellectual skills, knowledge and interpersonal competence that will make you highly adaptable in a constantly changing workforce.

Arts graduates are not locked into one set of skills that may become redundant in the future; they are flexible, multi-skilled critical thinkers, well prepared to meet the challenges of the modern jobs market. The Arts degree is the perfect foundation for a wide range of interesting and rewarding careers.

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Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€5,598 p.a. (€5,738 p.a. including levy) 2025/26.

Fees: Tuition

€2,598 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Non EU

€19,000 p.a. (€19,140 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

College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies
T +353 91 493 958
F +353 91 495 508
E artsundergrad@universityofgalway.ie.
www.universityofgalway.ie/arts

What Our Students Say

Hannah Healey | Current Student

I chose to study Arts because it gives you a wide variety of subjects to choose from, so it seemed the best option for me. I hope to do a postgrad in Public Relations once I'm finished.