science at DCU vs UCD

emerjane08

Im not really that sure what I want to do In college next year but I know I want to do something in science so Im gonna do a common entry degree and am set on DCU because the degrees are all very jobs based but my friends are very pro UCD and keep telling me things like the science facilities arent half as good as those at UCD and that science lectures at DCU would much rather be lecturing at UCD etc I assume this is all them just being anti-any college other than UCD but I was hoping someone could tell me about the facilities at DCU and if the degrees are any good and are they any good for getting a job?

Thanks

Dave0301

I would highly recommend DCU for Science, but then again I may be biased.

The facilities are excellent, and there are a number of research opportunities after you complete your undergraduate. Employers rate degrees from DCU, and you will complete your INTRA which will help buff up your CV.

Never had any problems with the lecturers, tutorials are good if you make the most of them, and I always got help if I emailed looking for it.

I was recruited straight from university before I completed my degree, but went into science education, so industry may be different.

cw67irl

I started Science this year as a 26 year old mature student, Am loving the course the lecturers, facilities everything are top notch!! Couldnt recommend it highly enough!In DCU that is!!!

Urizen

I personally loved DCU science. I was in CES and moved into the Environmental course, and adored it. We got a very varied education, covering chemistry, biology and physics with a cheeky bit of maths thrown in. Fantatic course, excellent lecturers, good company... I really can't fault it. I have heard recently that UCD redid their science block, but I can't speak for that. I know I wouldn't change my experience for anything, anyway.

Not to mention that DCU student life is epic, love the place so much I did my M.Sc. there too :P

But again, I am biased as all hell.

emerjane08

thanks for the help, definitely gonna put it down as first choice now !
was wondering if i did common entry for the 1st year does that mean i go into the 2nd year of my chosen course?

p1akuw47h5r3it

emerjane08 wrote: »

thanks for the help, definitely gonna put it down as first choice now !
was wondering if i did common entry for the 1st year does that mean i go into the 2nd year of my chosen course?

Depends on what you want to do. You'll have to compete for Bio tech and the rest you should be able to just enter into.

Arciphel

If you want to compare universities, then a good tool is the HEA report from December last year, available at http://www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/evaluation_framework_long.pdf The report is a bit long, so a summary of some key stats are below.

For science, it's really useful to see:
1 - the scientific publication record and the impact that these publications are having as a way to assess a universities standing in the scientific community.
2 - Number of PhD students per member of staff, number patent applications and licence agreements with industry.
3 - Number of level 8 and level 9/10 graduated who are employed.

PhD graduates per 10 academic staff
UCD - 1.8
DCU - 1.2

No. of Web of Science Documents per Academic
UCD - 4.4
DCU - 2.5

Relative Citation Impact (World Average = 1)
UCD - 1.3
DCU - 1.0

Patent Applications
UCD - 81
DCU - 23

Full-time Academic Staff with PhD qualification
UCD - 72%
DCU - 77%

Total expenditure per student (RGAM)
UCD - €15,211
DCU - €15,090

Net space per student
UCD - 7.6m²
DCU - 8.6m²

Level 8 (Degree) Graduates in Employment (2010)
UCD - 36%
DCU - 46%

Level 9/10 (Masters / PhD) Graduates in Employment
UCD - 62%
DCU - 70%

emerjane08

thanks for that was really helpful