Irish Language and Literature - BA (Hons)

Overview

Achieving excellence in modern Irish. Students will gain experience of the Irish Language sector, of the Gaeltacht and of Irish speaking communities.

Summary

The University offers a comprehensive range of programmes in Irish in both part-time and full-time mode at a number of centres which serve a diverse constituency of students. The breadth of Irish language provision at Ulster and the practice amongst staff and students of using Irish as a primary medium of communication reflects the Universitys strong commitment to cultural and linguistic diversity within Northern Ireland. The Universitys Irish programmes play a vital role in preserving, sustaining and celebrating Irelands Gaelic literary and linguistic heritage as well as serving the demands of the Irish language sector within the local and international job market. Our programmes will enable you to participate fully in the Irish language community as a confident and independent user of the language and to support you in gaining stimulating and fulfilling employment.

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Our programmes fulfil the needs of individuals who wish to acquire the necessary competence to fully participate in the Irish language community as confident and independent users of the language. The BA programme has been designed to reflect our vision of leading in the provision of professional education for professional life. To that end, students on the programme will study a broad range of modules covering the main aspects of Irish Studies including language and grammar, literature, history, folklore, dialectology. translation and Irish in professional contexts.

All staff in Irish are members of The Irish and Celtic Studies Research Institute which was rated the second in the UK for Celtic Studies in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014. Staff members are leading figures in the Irish Language revival movement and play key advisory roles at governmental level.

Careers & opportunities

Graduate employers

Graduates from this course are now working for:

• BBC
• CCMS
• Cultural Heritage Centre
• RTE
• The European Parliament
• Vodafone

Job roles

With this degree you could become:

• Administrator
• Civil Servant
• Communications Manager
• Interpreter
• Irish Language Officer
• Teacher
• Translator

Career options

Employment opportunities exist in a wide range of areas including education, the media, publishing, government, librarianship and various areas of business.

The employability profile of our students in recent years has been more than impressive, with a disproportional number of our ex-students holding senior positions in Irish language organisations throughout Ireland. This includes: Several translators within the European Union, Chief Executive of Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (Irish medium education advisory body), Senior Programme manager with Foras na Gaeilge (cross-border body responsible for Irish), Programme Manager with CCEA, President of Conradh na Gaeilge, Director of An Carn Translations, Principal of Gaelscoil an tSrátha Báin (Strabane Irish-medium primary school) and a Senior Producer in the BBC. The unprecedented growth of the Irish language in recent years has resulted in an increase of demand for services through the medium of Irish. Due to this, our students find themselves in the enviable position of being able to be circumspect when it comes to choosing the career path they wish to follow.

Graduates will also be well equipped to pursue postgraduate studies in the broad field of linguistics, folklore, Celtic Studies, translation and sociolinguistics.

For information on postgraduate research opportunities see: www.arts.ulster.ac.uk/rgs

Work placement / study abroad

Students can study abroad as part of Erasmus+ and have an opportunity to study for a semester in the Donegal Gaeltacht.

Students can gain placement experience as part of An Ghaeilge Ghairmiúil in Year 2.

Apply directly

Next steps if you are applying directly:

1. find your course
2. check you meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements and any course-specific requirements
3. If your first language is not English, check you meet the English language requirements for your given course