University of Limerick

Based in the south of Ireland, the University of Limerick is home to more than 12,000 students. The institution, granted university status in 1989, was the first to be established in the Republic of Ireland after the founding of the state in 1922.  A unique feature of the student experience is that all students are eligible for an 8-month work placement coordinated by the university as part of the Cooperative Education Programme. The university has a network of more than 1,600 employers, making the Co-op programme one of the biggest in the European Union. Around 30 per cent of students in the programme work internationally for their placement, across Europe, Asia and America. The alumni community has one of the highest employment rates out of graduates in Ireland. Many students live close to the university campus, particularly in Castletroy. There is also a good amount of student accommodation on campus, arranged into five student villages. The University of Limerick has adopted aspects of the US university system. For example, students receive a grade point average as a result of evaluations. Arts and sciences are both key to the university’s mission; there are a number of dedicated and specialised scientific research centres, alongside the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, and collections of Fine Art. Notable graduates of the university over the years include politicians, sportspeople and more than one dancer of Riverdance.