Demand for arts falls as UCD applicants eye STEM courses
By Brían Donnelly | Aug 20 2018
First round CAO offers released today saw 10 undergraduate degrees in UCD experience a drop in the points required for entry, with points for arts courses falling across the board. 5 courses remained the same while a further 26, mostly science and health-related courses, saw rises. Although applications for all level-8 courses fell by almost 4% year-on-year, UCD has largely weathered the decline in applications, experiencing only a 0.7% fall in first preferences. The largest drop in all first preference applications was by 8% to Trinity College Dublin, followed by the University of Limerick, at 7.5%. There are now 14 UCD courses which require over 500 points. Economics & Finance rose a single point to 590 and is the joint highest point course in the country, while other business-related courses experience a decline in points required. Actuarial & Financial Studies fell by 11 points, while Economics declined by 12 to 476. Commerce International rose by 1 point and Commerce International fell by the same. Law (BCL) remains the same as last year at 522 and Business & Law rose 10 points to 531. The BA Int. in Modern Languages experienced the largest drop in points, falling 65 points to 399. Points for UCD’s new four-year Humanities degree have been set at 301, while the reformed three-year Arts course stands at 381 points. The new four-year BSc in Social Sciences requires 392 points, while the requirement for the reformed Sociology & Social Policy degree is 291. Points for the existing Sociology & Social Policy course topped 400 in recent years. Many science-related courses experienced increased demand, with Biomedical Health and Life Sciences rising by 23 points, Engineering rising by 11, Science by 10 and Food Science by 18. Agri-environmental science dropped by 22 points to 397, while Dairy Business experienced a decline by 19 points to 432. Points for undergraduate Medicine, which include HPAT results, remain at 734. Radiography also remains static at 509 while Physiotherapy is up 1 point to 554.