Postgraduate applications for mature or part-time students

Entry requirements if you don't come straight from college

If you have been out of academia for some time, don’t worry if you do not have the undergraduate degree entry requirement. Most institutions will consider the qualifications you do have in conjunction with your relevant experience when assessing your suitability for the course. They will be just as interested in your skills and experiences as in your paper qualifications.

Conveying your suitability for the course as a mature student

Mature students frequently have a diverse range of skills and life experiences to share. It is important to be able to link the relevance of these skills and experiences to the particular course, and thus convey your suitability for the programme. Think about how you can show that you will be able to cope with a particular programme. You may be asked questions such as:

• Do you feel your work experience is relevant to this course?Why?
• Do you feel that your previous courses (if any) are relevant?Why?
• Why should we choose you?

Conveying your suitability for a part-time programme

Students applying for part-time programmes should be able to convey excellent time management skills and an enthusiasm for the course. Showing an ability to multitask, such as juggling various work and family commitments, will help strengthen your application. 
We would like to thank Nicole O’Neill, Co-ordinator of Graduate Studies at Dublin Institute of Technology; Marie Kielty, Careers Officer, ITT Dublin; and Angela Collins, Careers Adviser, Waterford Institute of Technology, for their help with this article. This article appeared in postgradireland 2008.

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