Q: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your position at GCD?
I work in the International, we are responsible for the recruitment and care of all international students. We have around 1000 international students that make up approximately 10% of our student population. The GCD International Office was established to accommodate the needs of overseas students and is committed to ensuring that these students’ time in the College will be as enjoyable and rewarding as possible, both from an academic, cultural and social point of view..
Q. Could you inform us about Griffith College Dublin? We also would like to learn what distinguishes the GCD from other Irish higher education institutions?
Griffith College is Irelands largest independent college. Situated in the heart of Dublin on a seven acre campus. We offer state of the art on campus accomodation. Griffith Halls of Residence is a superb development of high quality student accommodation located on the grounds of Griffith College Dublin. Just 10 minutes walk from St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin city centre, Griffith Halls of Residence boasts an enviable central location that makes this development ideal not just for Griffith students, but also students attending any of Dublin’s universities or other third level institutions.
We have five faculties, our Business faculty has a premier status ACCA program and two of the number one places for ACCA papers were GCD students this year. Our Journalism department is excellent, The Irish Prime Ministers daughter attended GCD and completed her three year Journalism and Visual Media Degree. She has gone on to write several highly successful Novels and Hollywood are making a movie of her first book!
We have an award winning journalism department that specializes in Interior design and Interior architecture, we have also recently launched a new course in Fashion Design, this includes elements of Italian language as you spend the fourth and final year studying in Milan in Italy which is of course Fashion design capital of the world.
We have an Computing science faculty with extremely strong links to Industry. Ireland in the software capital Europe and has all of the major Multi national Head Quarters in or around Dublin, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Google, Dell, EBay to name but a few and last year we placed more students as interns into Microsoft than any other institution.
Our Law faculty is the largest law school in Ireland and in 2004 Griffith College Dublin became the first independent college in the country to have its degrees (LLB and BA in Business & Law) accredited by the Honorable Society of King’s Inns. This means that graduates of these programmes’s have direct access to the King’s Inns’ entrance examinations without having to first complete the Inns’ diploma course or qualifying diploma examinations
Our International MBA Program (the only one in Ireland) includes two years paid work experience in Ireland and is jointly validated by HETAC and Nottingham Trent University.
Q: For students who are interested in studying university in Ireland what does GCD offer at both UG and PG level?
We offer a variety of courses ranging from one year certificate program, two year diplomas or 3 and 4 year primary degrees. We also offer Masters programs in Computing and Business.
Q: Ireland is gaining popularity as a study abroad destination among Turkish students. What you do recommend for the students who want to study in this dynamic country?
There can be few better cities than Dublin, the capital of Ireland in which to enjoy your time as a student. Dublin has a population of 1.5 million, with all the amenities of a big city, yet still retains a small town atmosphere. It is friendly and safe and is a city of culture with a wide variety of art galleries, museums, theatres, cinemas, shops, restaurants and cafes, nightclubs, zoological gardens and much more. Most of these amenities are within easy walking distance of the college and visitors are never at a loss for entertainment.
Dublin is also a university town with a proud tradition of learning and scholarship. Student life adds to the city’s legendary ambience and the city attracts young people from all over the world who come to sample its unique atmosphere. As a student at Griffith College Dublin all this excitement is literally on your doorstep.
Q: One of the biggest barriers preventing our students from studying in university abroad is a lack of financial resources. It is obvious that tuition fees are cheaper at GCD than her neighbour. Could you make a comparison between the UK and Ireland? How much are the tuition fees and living expenses?
Ireland is a fantastic place to live and has all of the attributes of the UK but can be substantially cheaper. The average cost of Tuition is €8000 which translates to around £5,500. The cost of living too is much more manageable as the average student would spend around €7000, this would include all living costs such as accommodation, food, transport etc. Students are also entitled to work 20 hours per week. The average wage for students is around €10 per hour which means many students earn €800 per month which they can use to help subsidise their living expenses.
Q: Some of our readers may ask about the financial aid options considering they are assertive on their records. Are there any scholarships available for clever students?
For students with an outstanding academic background partial scholarship may be available.
Q: Do you have any other suggestions for Turkish students who are pursuing academic programmes in Ireland?
Please contact Alternatif for further details and for information about the next step in the process.
James Link
Marketing Executive
Griffith College Dublin
South Circular Road
Dublin 8
Ireland
Tel: +353 1 416 3374
Fax: +353 1 473 0045
Email: james.link@gcd.ie
Web: www.gcd.ie
