Further Education & Training

The universities actively support a range of alternative pathways into higher education, in order to meet the needs of diverse groups of learners.

While there have been positive developments in this space, progress is still needed in order to reach the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education target of 10% of new entrants progressing from further education & training.

The IUA Access Steering Group is working to contribute to achieving this target through a more consolidated system-wide approach, building on the useful work recently undertaken by other stakeholders.

The Irish universities welcome applicants from candidates who wish to progress from further education & training to higher education with appropriate awards at Level 5 or Level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) or equivalent. Flows between higher education and further education & training can be bi-directional and not necessarily chronological.

For information on pathways, please visit the admissions pages of the university websites here: