Equality Studies

   The Graduate Diploma  in Equality Studies is the only programme of its kind in Europe and offers a unique opportunity to examine global equality issues from a range of perspectives.

The Graduate Diploma in Equality Studies was designed for those who wish to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of global social justice issues and explore strategies for change. Drawing students from across the globe, the course emphasises the relationship between theory and practice  with a view to brining about positive social change. You learn about and develop your own ideas on a wide range of equality, human rights and global justice issues. You will benefit from the opportunity to specialize in areas of particular interest such as capitalism and social justice, gender justice and feminism, global inequalities, human rights law and practice, and minorities and discrimination.

The learning environment is student-centred and participatory with students from a wide range of backgrounds with diverse experience and interests including community activists, development practitioners, educators, healthcare professionals, civil servants and journalists.

The purpose of the graduate diploma in Equality Studies is to cultivate an interdisciplinary appreciation of equality issues of both national and international significance, informed by extensive reading, critical analysis, advanced conceptualisation and independent research across social, political, cultural, economic and legal fields of enquiry. In addition to training across the 5 core disciplinary areas, the programme enables students to specialise further by choosing a single optional module in a particular sub-field of equality studies, thereby allowing the student to achieve greater breadth of knowledge across the field of equality studies taken as a whole. The programme is aimed at students who wish to develop a career or further studies in the field of equality, or who wish to become advocates or activists for equality in civil society or politics.  The School adopts a student-centred approach and promotes a critical, emancipatory and feminist pedagogy that is carried through all aspects of the teaching and learning process. Teaching is dialogical and operates on the principle that students have much to bring to the learning experience, that students can learn from each other and that staff can learn from students. Assessment takes a variety of forms, including the traditional essay, public scholarship, collaborative work and project work, but does not include a minor dissertation.  Extensive student feedback is sought for all modules and this is used to review and revise subsequent courses, assignments and assessments.

If you are not a UCD student and have not applied previously, you must register before using the system for the first time. You'll find step-by-step instructions on how to apply in our instructions for applicants [pdf] and video tutorial.

If you have already registered you can return to the secure system using the login details you registered with. If you are a current or previous UCD student, please use your UCD student number (the system will pre-populate your personal details and you will not be requested to send transcripts).

Due to essential maintenance work, the service may be disrupted, or unavailable entirely, from time to time. Please be patient during these times. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Details of upcoming scheduled maintenance windows, if any, will appear on the right.