Guidance Counsellors

Yes, for most courses. Students who are eligible for SUSI can apply for the grant to cover part or all of their Student Contribution fees, with the exception of the BA (Hons) in Psychology (PC414) which is a private fee-paying course.

SUSI eligible courses:

· PC404: BA in Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care)

· PC410: BA (Hons) in Arts & Humanities

· PC411: BA (Hons) in English & History

No. Unfortunately, there is no further funding available for new courses by institutions categorised as

“Other Colleges” where existing options are available in the region.

No – we don’t offer the HEAR or DARE schemes. However, we do offer some great student supports

and services for all our students. We would encourage any student with a disability, learning

difference or long-term health condition to reach out to our Academic Resource Office to discuss their

support needs and the services available to assist them. Further information is available here

Most of our undergraduate programmes have either direct work placements or workplace learning experience embedded as part of the programme. For example, our BA (Hons) in Arts & Humanities and BA (Hons) in English & History courses have a Workplace Learning Experience module included where students can gain hands-on, practice work experience, whilst our Professional Social Care students complete over 800 hours of supervised practice placement over two semester-long work placements.

The only undergraduate programme that does not include direct work experience is the BA (Hons) in Psychology, due to it’s condense three-year duration. Students are encouraged to undertake volunteer experience in areas of interest to assist in building their CV over their undergraduate studies to prepare for postgraduate study applications.

We welcome a diverse range of students to Carlow College each year –with anywhere between 55-70% of our first year students coming directly from the Leaving Cert. As a smaller institution, we also offer a supportive environment for mature learners returning to study and FE learners progressing from a QQI qualification.

In 2025, we have opened up a limited number of on-campus accommodation slots for students. The number will vary each year depending on the number of US Semester Abroad students that apply to study each year. Our advice is for any first year students to get in touch with our Students’ Union in July/August who will be able to advise of accommodation options available – supres@carlowcollege.ie

Our Students’ Union encourages like-minded students to develop and set up Clubs & Societies that facilitate their shared interests. We have a range of existing Clubs & Societies already including Photography Club, Intercultural Society, Comedy Club, Pride Society, Debating Society, Nerd Society and Chess Club.

There are also a number of sports teams including Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Hurling and Rounders.

Yes! We just completed our routine monitoring review with CORU in March 2025 and our BA in Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care) programme will continue to be listed as an approved qualification for professional registration as a Social Care Worker in Ireland.

Our BA (Hons) in Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care) is an add-on year programme all graduates of the Level 7 – BA in Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care) – have the option to complete. As it is validated as an add-on year, it is not a CAO course – however, by listing PC404 on their CAO, students automatically will have to option to continue onto the Level 8 programme after Year 3.