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Opportunities to progress to third level courses from Monaghan Institute

For students who are interested in progressing to third level, but who may not have achieved the Leaving Cert points required for degree programmes, there are a large number of courses in the further education/Post-Leaving Certificate (FE/PLC) area that can act as a platform for entry to universities and Institutes of Technology (IT). These include pre-university Arts, Science, Engineering, Computer Science, Multimedia, Business, Tourism, Sport, Nursing, Childcare etc.

There are no points requirements for PLC courses. Further Education Colleges accept students with a minimum of five passes at Leaving Cert or a Leaving Cert Applied qualification (or QQI Level 4 award) and an interview. There are a range of relevant courses available at Monaghan Institute that offer students the opportunity to compete for university and IT places based on what they have achieved in a relevant course. They are a boon to students who have not decided exactly what they want to do at third-level, or who may come up shy on points for their preferred CAO choices.

Course fees charged by Monaghan Institute are substantially lower than those of higher education colleges and students may also be eligible to apply to SUSI for the PLC maintenance grant (means tested) – see www.susi.ie

Most PLC courses are still open for application and staff at Monaghan Institute will continue to meet students and offer places until the courses are full. The majority of courses will fill up quickly over the next week or two, so early application is recommended.

Mature students are also welcome to apply. Persons in receipt of certain social welfare benefits may be eligible for the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) or for the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) – see www.studentfinance.ie for details.

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