Short Courses (non-accredited)

Our short courses will start the week of the 9th of February and are offered online or in person (classroom) on campus. The short (non-accredited) courses run for 8 weeks - one evening per week. On Campus classes run from 7pm to 9pm and online classes run from 7:30pm to 9pm. See full listing below:

Short Courses 2026

Monday

Latin language and metrics | Classroom

Tutor: Marilena Carabellese

This short course offers students an introduction to the Latin language, designed for learners who want to build a strong foundation in grammar while also gaining basic metrical knowledge needed to read Classical poetry. Over eight weeks, students will develop core linguistic skills alongside an appreciation of how Latin works as a literary language.

The course begins with the essentials: the Latin alphabet, pronunciation, vowel quantity, stress patterns, and syllabification, equipping students with confidence in reading Latin aloud. From there, students progress through the major noun declensions, learning how case endings function and how nouns and adjectives work to form clear and meaningful phrases. Key verb forms are introduced early, including the indicative form of “sum” and regular verbs in the present tense, with a focus on person, number, mood, and basic sentence structure.

As the course develops, students expand their grammatical range to include additional declensions, prepositional phrases, and commonly used subordinate clauses (“ut” and “cum”), as well as an introduction to the subjunctive mood. Alongside syntactical study, the course introduces the fundamentals of Latin poetic meter. Students learn how to identify long and short syllables, recognise metrical feet, and practise basic scansion exercises.

In the final weeks, attention turns to dactylic hexameter, the metre of epic poetry. Through guided reading and scansion of selected lines from Vergil’s Aeneid, students explore how meter shapes meaning and enhances literary expression. The course concludes with integrated readings that combine grammatical analysis and metrical interpretation, offering a well-rounded and engaging entry point into Latin language and literature.

An Introduction to Western Philosophy | Classroom

Tutor: Rachel Coventry

This course examines how the history of philosophy shapes contemporary thought. It introduces central problems in current philosophy, including ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and the philosophy of technology, by tracing how these questions emerge from earlier philosophical debates. Each week focuses on a single theme, showing how historical concepts continue to structure present ways of thinking. The course is introductory and assumes no prior background in philosophy.

Tuesday

Beyond Survival: Everyday Digital Skills with Modern Tools | Online

Tutor: Aleksander Rammos

This course is for adults who are already using computers in their daily life, but feel they are not getting as much out of it as they could. Over eight weeks, learners will work with a familiar toolkit - mainly Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and AI helpers such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Each week the course looks at how these tools are used in everyday situations: writing and sharing documents whilst managing version controls, keeping notes and tasks in one place, working with others online, and the carefully guided use of AI Assistants for ordinary jobs like drafting, editing and planning. By the end of the course, learners will have developed a digital portfolio that fits their own work and study, making daily screen time more productive.

The History and Transformative Potential of Neurodiversity | Classroom

Tutor: Eilís Ní Chaoimh

This course will provide an overview of the historical development of the concept of neurodiversity. Based on a close examination of texts produced by neurodivergent individuals, this course will explore the emergence and development of the idea of neurodiversity from the early 1990s to the present day. This course will be interactive and may challenge preconceived notions regarding neurodiversity and its connection to the disability rights movement, as well as its significance for us today. Throughout the course, a particular emphasis will be placed on the lived experience of neurodivergent people. Case studies will be discussed that demonstrate areas where neurodiversity may play a transformative role in securing equality and access to fundamental rights for neurodivergent people. It also examines critiques of neurodiversity and its real-world implications in education and the criminal justice system.

Refreshing and improving your Irish | Online

Tutor: Daithí Ó Madáin

SNAS is a short on-line Irish-language course at intermediate level that is aimed at learners who completed the Leaving Cert at some stage and want to brush up on their Irish. Listening and spoken skills are emphasised during the course as well as language-learning strategies. Eight units are taught over an eight-week period.

Is gearrchúrsa Gaeilge ar líne ag an meánleibhéal é SNAS atá dírithe ar fhoghlaimeoirí a rinne an Ardteist am éigin agus atá ag iarraidh snas a chur ar a gcuid Gaeilge. Cuirtear béim ar scileanna éisteachta agus labhartha chomh maith le straitéisí foghlama teanga le linn an chúrsa. Múinteoir 8 n-aonad thar thréimhse 8 seachtaine.

Wednesday

Film form and content (How to look at a film) | Classroom

Tutor: Noel Hendrick

"Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out." This is a quote from the American filmmaker Martin Scorsese, what he refers to as ‘in the frame’ will be at the centre of the topics we cover over the duration of this short course. The aspects of ‘what’s in the frame’ include the cinematography, editing, art direction and other features. These features are often referred to as the ‘formal features’ of a film. This course aims to show how a filmmaker uses these features to ‘make meaning’ and tell a story. For example, why might the 2007 film There Will Be Blood or the 1984 film Paris, Texas favor a particular color palette? Each class will focus on a different approach to understanding these individual features. Through a range of film examples and discussion, the course aims to introduce students to a means of critically engaging with the notion of film form.

Adapting to Climate Change | Classroom

Tutor: Alan Brouder

This is an eight-week introductory course that explores one of the defining challenges of our time: how societies can live with climate impacts that are already unfolding while preparing for those still ahead. The course is designed for anyone who is curious, concerned, or simply wants to explore the possibilities and limits of adaptation. It would also be of interest to business leaders who need to consider what the future might look like.

Participants will explore how climate change affects different people and places in unequal ways, and what individuals, businesses, and governments can do to reduce risks and strengthen resilience. Sessions are informal and engaging, combining short talks, accessible readings, group discussion, and real-world case studies from around the world.

Key concepts such as vulnerability, exposure, and adaptive capacity are explained in clear, everyday language and illustrated with practical examples. The course also addresses global inequality directly, asking who is most affected by climate impacts, who has contributed most to the problem, and what responsibilities high-emitting countries and industries may have.

A further focus is on how climate adaptation operates internationally. Participants are guided through the basics of the UN climate negotiations and the Paris Agreement, and explore how adaptation finance is mobilised, allocated, and contested. The course also considers Ireland’s role in supporting adaptation in lower-income countries through its development cooperation. Overall, the emphasis is on shared learning, open dialogue, and building a practical understanding of how to adapt to a changing climate.

Thursday

The Practice of Poetry | Classroom

Tutor: Rachel Coventry

This short course combines close attention to poetic craft with a workshop-based approach to writing. Drawing on examples from contemporary poetry, it examines how form, sound, and meaning work together to make a poem. Participants receive weekly prompts connected to the topics covered in class. Practice is understood broadly and includes drafting and revising work, submitting poems for publication, and performing at readings. The course is suitable for all levels, from beginners to poets who are already publishing or working towards a first collection.

Contemporary Irish Voices: Reading Across Time, Form & Experience | Online

Tutor: Rachel Andrews

This course explores the rich and evolving landscape of Irish writing from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Each week, we pair two writers—across generations, genders, genres and perspectives—to open up questions about how Irish literature has changed, what it shares, and where it diverges.

We will read fiction, memoir and essay, considering established voices alongside emerging ones, and looking at rural and urban writers as well as those using formal experimentation and genres beyond fiction to examine aspects of Irish life. The pairings are designed to spark conversation: How do Maeve Brennan's stories of Dublin in the early years of the Irish state connect to John McGahern's work examining the suffocating rigidity of mid-century rural Catholic Ireland? How do Doireann Ní Ghríofa and Melatu Uche Okorie write into the gaps and silences in Irish memory and culture? What happens when we read Mike McCormack's formal experimentation alongside Sara Baume's detailed attention to place?

The course is built around short weekly readings and guided discussion. No prior knowledge of Irish literature is needed—only curiosity and a willingness to read closely and talk openly. Participants will encounter minority and marginalised voices, experimental and traditional forms, and writers asking what it means to live, remember, and belong in Ireland now.

Saturday (28th February & 7th March, 10am-4pm)

Alexander Technique  |  On Campus

Tutor: Richard Brennan

The Alexander Technique is a method of self-awareness on many levels. It is very simple and can be understood by anyone, yet at the same time it is very profound. It is a way of improving balance, posture and co-ordination. Many people think that the Alexander Technique involves improving posture by ‘sitting up straight’. Nothing could be further from the truth. It involves being aware and releasing the unconscious tension from our body allowing us to move through life with greater ease.

It can dramatically help prevent or alleviate backache, neck pain, arthritis, insomnia, depression as well as a whole range of physical aches and pains that are so common in our society today. Many people find that the Alexander Technique helps their confidence and self-esteem, spontaneity, leading to greater contentment and happiness. 

The workshop will cover the needs of the group, but the following topics are usually covered:

• Easing back and neck pain
• Improving posture without effort
• Improving breathing
• Reducing stress
• Sitting, standing and walking with ease
• Mind/body/emotional unity

Saturday (14th & 21st February, 10am-4pm)

Essential Trainers Skills, An Introductory Course | Classroom

Tutor: Dr Marie Morrissey

This course is designed to enable participants to understand and acquire the knowledge, key skills and competences that are essential components of a training course. Participants will learn how to identify and analyse a training need, plan, design, implement a training course, evaluate the training process and understand the challenges around AI in the context of quality assurance.

You will also learn key delivery skills for effective training and develop techniques for analysing group dynamics for effective group learning. This course will be of interest to you if you are involved in community/voluntary groups, involved in training, or work as a trainer in an organisation.