Dublin City University is an Irish university located 5km north of Dublin city centre, Ireland. Created as the National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin in 1975, we enrolled our first students in 1980, and were elevated to university status in September 1989 by statute.
Today DCU delivers more than 200 degree programmes across its five faculties: education, humanities and social sciences, science and health, engineering and computing, and business.
Dublin City University has 18,000 students, based from three academic campuses located close to each other in north Dublin. We have over 100,000 alumni across the world who live our ambitious institutional values of ”changing lives and societies”.
A core component of the DCU Strategy 2023-2028 is to enhance international engagement, and further to this we are expanding the number of international students attending our programmes each year.
Dublin City University Ranking
DCU has been ranked joint 59th globally by Times Higher Young Universities, making it one of the top 100 young universities in the world. We are the top ranked Young University in Ireland. In 2025, DCU remains in the ‘Times Higher World University Rankings’ as a top 450 institution. We pride ourselves on excellence in academia, as well as providing an equally comprehensive range of non-academic services to our students (accommodation, student support and other services).
Internationalisation
As Ireland’s University of Enterprise and Transformation we value global research, teaching, exchange, and collaborative programmes. Dublin City University has an extensive global network of partner institutions, comprised of over 200 institutions across more than 50 countries.
DCU offers students an immersive cultural experience and we pride ourselves on producing well rounded graduates both academically and professionally.
DCU International Academy
Established in 1992, our International Academy delivers a wide spectrum of training programmes and also manages recruitment of international students to undergraduate programmes. The academy receives approximately 6,000 international students per year for a range of training programmes, including:
- Foundation Year Programme.
- ESL year-abroad / semester abroad for students of partner universities.
- ESL semester and Study Abroad semester programme for students
- of partner universities.
- Micro credentials training programmes for international partners.
- Summer and Winter School programmes for international students.
- Residential Summer Camp programmes for international junior students.
- Ministay / PCTO / ASL / PON programmes with Host Family accommodation delivered September to May each year.
- Teacher Training Programmes and Pedagogic Development Programmes for lecturers.
- Internship / Volunteering / Work Placement Programmes for international students.
- Online programmes, catering for university partner requirements.
- Bespoke programmes delivered in-country (at overseas site) for international partners.
- Erasmus+ and other government funded programmes.
DCU International Academy has a broad capability to deliver mainstream and bespoke training programme, and welcomes partnership opportunities with international training associations. .
Campus Facilities
DCU has three campuses, located within close proximity of one another in north Dublin. They are Glasnevin Campus, St. Patrick’s Campus (which houses our Institute of Education) and the All Hallows Campus.
Glasnevin Campus is our main campus, and all students attending International Academy courses will be based from there.
DCU Glasnevin Campus is 85 acres in size, set in low-rise parkland development. The campus boasts a wide range of facilities, including:
sports centre and swimming pool, over 1,000 residential ensuite bedrooms, large library, five restaurants, cafes, pharmacy, physician, inter-faith centre and theatre.
The campus is modern, safe, and, with the growth of DCU, has undergone significant construction work in recent years which has added the U-Building (students union) and Polaris building (faculty).
In addition, DCU has exciting plans to build over 1,200 new residential bedrooms at Glasnevin in the coming years.
Accommodation
We provide two accommodation options for students – to live at our Student Residence or to stay at a DCU Host Family.
Student Residence accommodation allows students independent living – an ensuite bedroom in a shared apartment, self-catering.
We also offer Host Family accommodation to international students. Our Host Families are DCU inspected, to ensure they are appropriate to receive international students. Host Families are typically located within 10-60 minutes from our campus, and offer half board meals to students.
DCU Host Families are locals with a passion for welcoming international students to their homes. Many Host Families have hosted DCU students for over ten years, and understand the cultural challenges that international students face in Ireland, particularly in the early days of programmes.
The experience and dedication of our Host Families provides students with a homely and family-based platform for successful assimilation to Ireland. We are proud that over 97% of DCU IA students rank Host Family accommodation as “good” or “excellent”.
Safety and Welfare
Ireland is regarded as a safe and friendly destination for international students. Ranked the friendliest country in Europe and the 9th friendliest country in the world. The Global Peace Index has ranked Ireland as the 8th most peaceful place on earth.
At DCU, student welfare and support is our priority. Student counsellors are available in-person on weekdays. We also operate a 24 hour assistance telephone service to assist students should they require out-of-hours help.
Other Support Services
In addition to providing academic and accommodation services, we can also arrange a suite of ancillary services. Such items may include:
- Arrangement of or assistance with international flight booking.
- Student insurance.
- Airport transfer services.
- Dublin Public Transport Card.
- Field Trips to destinations in Ireland or elsewhere in Europe.
- Facilitation of visits to DCU by visiting professors, administrative staff or other staff.
DCU as a Base for European Adventures!
DCU is located 15 minutes from Dublin Airport, Ireland’s main airport. Many international students take advantage of the location of DCU and Ireland – London is just over one hour flight time from Dublin, and many other European capital cities are within 2-3 hours travel time.
Friends of Dublin City University
As an institution of high national and international standing, DCU regularly welcomes famous faces to our campuses. Over the years we have welcomed well-known
dignitaries from the worlds of politics, international relations, sport, literature and business, including:
- Mr. Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States.
- Ms. Mary Robinson, seventh president of Ireland.
- His Excellency Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland.
- Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.
- Ms. Christine Lagarde, former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- Mr. Seamus Heaney, 1995 Winner Nobel Prize in Literature.
- Ms. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, former President of Malta.
- Mr. Bertie Ahern, former Irish Prime Minister.
- Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton, former US Secretary of State.
- H.E. Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Chairperson and Speaker, Federal National Council, UAE.
- Mr. Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of International Airlines Group.
- Mr. Joe Schmidt, International Rugby Coach.