Post Primary Teacher Education - Religious Education & History

Mature applicants are those aged 23 years, or above, on 1 January in the year of entry. All candidates (presenting with EU/Non EU qualifications) applying on the grounds of mature years should apply ONLY through the CAO by 1 February.

For many DCU courses, mature application assessment is based on the CAO application and in some instances, an assessment and/or interview. ‘Other’ experience, apart from performance in examinations, may be taken into consideration - this may be work experience, further studies, or other such experience deemed to be relevant to the application. Interviews will take place in April either in person or remotely.

For more information, please contact the Mature Student Officer, orla.stafford@dcu.ie or dcu.ie/mature-students
For general and admission enquiries, please visit dcu.ie/registry/ug-admissions

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Entry 2024

Early online application (discounted): Fee €30 Closing Date: 20 January 2024 at 5pm

Normal online application: Fee €45 Closing Date: 1 February 2024 at 5pm

Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee: €60 Closing Date: 1 May 2024 at 5pm

Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2024 at 5pm

Exceptional online late application (see page 34 of the 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee €60 Closing Date: 22 July 2024 at 5pm

Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.

LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2024. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2024, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2024 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2024 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €60 applies.

Exceptional Late Applications (Exception to the timetable)
The exceptional closing date of 22 July at 5pm applies only to applicants who are registered as an undergraduate student on 1 May 2024 in any year in any one of the participating HEIs (subject to the exclusions listed below). In order to avail of the Exceptional Late Application facility you must have entered the HEI through the CAO system. This is an exceptional late closing date and all steps must be completed by 5pm on 22 July. No changes may be made after this date.

If you did not enter your current course through the CAO system, you must first contact the Admissions Office of the HEI to which you wish to apply and they will inform you if you may submit an application direct to the institution.

Exclusions:
You may submit a late application only for entry to courses other than your existing course. If you wish to repeat the year in the same course you must arrange this within your HEI.

Mary Immaculate College Limerick, Marino Institute of Education, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick and Maynooth University have special procedures in place in the case of current or previous students who wish to apply for entry to another course in the same HEI. Such applicants must contact their Admissions Office to determine the application procedure. However, if you are a student in another HEI and you wish to apply to any of these five HEIs, you should apply through CAO.

Refer to page 34 of the 2024 CAO Handbook on how to make an Exceptional Late Application.

Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2024 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:

General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices

Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course

Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants

Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR

Why DCU?
- Specialised centre of excellence, with a rich history in teacher education – it’s what we do

- Teaching placements take up 25% of the course - preparing you to teach in the 21st-century classroom

- You will be qualified to teach Religious Education (RE) and English to Honours Leaving Certificate level

- Graduates are employed in key educational positions in Ireland, Europe and internationally

- Most teaching happens in small groups where you will get to know your fellow students well

About You
Are you interested in teaching in post-primary schools? Are you deeply interested in teaching these subject choices? Are you interested in playing a key role in the educational development of the next generation?

Understanding: Post-Primary Teacher Education
The four-year Post-Primary Teacher Education degree in Religious Education and History is a ‘concurrent’ teacher education course – meaning that academic study and professional teacher training are integrated in all four years. This is in contrast with the ‘consecutive model’, where you first complete an undergraduate degree and must then apply for entry to the Professional Masters in Education in order to qualify as a post-primary teacher.

This course, as well as preparing you in the two distinct areas of Religious Education and History, will also place emphasis on teamwork, leadership, communication and creativity – skills that will inspire you to work as a post-primary teacher and also in a variety of other professions.

This course, as well as preparing you in the two distinct areas of Religious Education and English, will also place emphasis on teamwork, leadership, communication and creativity – skills that will inspire you to work as a post-primary teacher and also in a variety of other professions.

Course Structure
A major attraction of this four-year course is that you will study in small class groups within the larger University context. Throughout the course you will cover the following integrated areas:

Foundational and Professional Studies in Education
DCU offers a student-friendly, supportive, open, dynamic and practical approach to the study of Education. Given its diverse nature, the study of Education and Religious Education is exciting, engaging, and challenging; something that is reflected in the variety of modules on offer to you over the course of your four years.

Teaching Including School Placements
One of the most exciting and rewarding elements of the course is our hands-on approach to school placement. Over the four years of the course, you have an opportunity to gain valuable and extensive experience within a range of teaching and learning environments, including observation of practice, micro-teaching, peer-teaching, team-teaching and school-based placement (in both primary and post-primary sectors). You are supported throughout your professional development by experienced school placement tutors and school-based cooperating teachers. School placement also enables you to learn about and involve yourself with the wider school community through taking part in activities, initiatives and work outside of your classroom teaching. There is a specific focus on this aspect of school life during Context and Engagement week.

Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics
Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics provides a strong foundation for teaching Religious Education in post-primary level schools and meets the subject criteria required by the Teaching Council. The modules include: Ethics; Philosophy; Scripture; Systematic Theology; World Religions. You are encouraged to explore a wide range of topics and develop the skills to work in contexts of cultural and religious diversity.

English
Studying English Literature provides you with the skills to think creatively and intelligently about the fundamental roles played by storytelling and song-making in civilization. You will look at a wide range of literature and become familiar with the vital characteristics and contexts of drama, poetry, film and fiction. You will study style and substance: what literature describes, but also how it does it. Our priority is developing your critical independence, enabling you to read and reflect on literary texts across traditions: from Greek tragedy to Breaking Bad, Jane Austen to Father Ted, Shakespeare to Kanye West.

History
Our aim is to provide you, as a student of history, with the material and methodologies you will need in order to discover, examine and interpret some of the major issues and questions which will inevitably arise from your studies. The course offers a broad range of modules covering topics in Irish, European and World History from the medieval to the modern period.

Music
The study of music combines an opportunity to develop your own musicianship to a high level with a chance to experience a wide range of musical styles through performance studies, historical, analytical and contextual inquiry, and composition. Subject areas include compositional techniques, music history and contextual studies, solfège/ musicianship and keyboard skills, choral and instrumental performance, Irish traditional music, choral conducting, and music technology. All students participate in performance ensembles, which play an active role in the University’s cultural life, and which prepare you for the diverse challenges involved in music teaching and musical life more broadly.

What Will I Study?
Year 1
Education and School Placement:
Teaching Studies Foundational | Psychology and Human Development | Introduction to Religious Education | School Placement 1

Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics
History of Christianity | Sacramental Theology and Ritual Studies | Introduction to the Bible | Foundations of Ethics

English
Fictions | Poetry: A User’s Guide | Irish Drama and its Contexts | Academic Skills for Third Level

History
From Union to Treaty: Ireland, 1800 – 1921 | The Making of Modern Europe, 1789 – 1918 | After the Revolution: Ireland, 1922 – 1998 | Academic Skills for Third Level

Music
Solfège and Music Theory | Performance, Choir, Aural and Keyboard 1 | Harmony, Counterpoint, and Composition 1

Year 2
Education and School Placement
Teaching Studies Intermediate | Curriculum and Assessment | Learning and Teaching Religious Education | School Placement 2

Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics
Introduction to Philosophy | Liturgy and Worship | Prayer and Prophecy in Israel | Christology: Systematic, Historical, and Interreligious Perspectives | Justice and Peace | Science and Religion | The Letters of Paul

English
Shakespeare | The Tragedy-Comedy Complex | Poetry in Context | Great Books: How Canonicity Works

History
Ireland and England under the Tudors | From Wittenberg to Westphalia: Europe, 1500 - 1648 | Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe | The Twentieth-Century World since 1918

Music
Music History and Culture A | Irish Traditional Music | Harmony, Counterpoint, and Composition 2 | Performance, Choir, Aural & Keyboard 2

Year 3
Education and School Placement
Teaching Studies Advanced | History and Philosophy of Education | Religious Education: Theories and Approaches | School Placement 3

Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics
World Religions | Philosophy and Sociology of Religion | The God Question | Global Ethics | Latin American Liberation Theology | Taizé: Theory and Practice of Ecumenism | Islam: Beliefs and Practices | Religion and Gender

English
Romanticism | Gothic | Modernism

History
From Absolutism Towards Enlightenment: Europe, 1648 – 1788 | Ireland in the 17th and 18th Centuries | Revolution: The English and American Experience

Music
Music History and Culture B | Music Technology | Performance, Choir, Aural & Keyboard 3

Year 4
Education and School Placement
Sociology of Education | Religious Education: Integration Seminars | School Placement 4 | Research Project

Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics
Bioethics | Ecumenism | The Gospels: Themes and Issues | Theological Anthropology | Topics in Continental Philosophy | Research Paper

English
Postmodernism | Reading Seminar

History
Twentieth-century Topics | Twentieth-century Ireland | Research Paper

Music
Advanced Performance, Conducting, Musicianship | Orchestration and Contemporary Composition

English: or a full list of subjects see dcu.ie/DC010
History: For a full list of subjects see dcu.ie/DC011
Music: For a full list of subjects see dcu.ie/DC012

Additional Information
This course will enable you to register with the Teaching Council of Ireland on graduation.

Upon graduation you can apply for employment in post-primary schools as a teacher of Religious Education and your related course subject (English/History/Music) up to and including Honours Leaving Certificate level.

Contact Details
Tel: +353 (0) 1 700 9247
E: pj.sexton@dcu.ie
E: studenthelp@dcu.ie
Visit Us Online dcu.ie/DC011 (History)

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