Ireland is well-known for its excellent education quality, as shown by its third-place ranking among OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations in 2022, achieving a tertiary education rate of 54 per cent which outperforms the OECD average of 41 per cent. Moreover, over 14 per cent of the Irish hold master’s degrees, and nearly 150 courses available in 2024 offer varied opportunities for those seeking to advance in their fields.
Despite this, a rising trend among Irish students is applying to foreign colleges as the course content and sometimes even tuition fees are regarded as more favourable than what’s offered back home in their preferred areas of study.
One such student, Jack Cook, is a part of a research programme in Luxembourg. He reports substantial differences from other master’s programmes, with a focus on preparing students for an academic career. Smaller class sizes, usually just 12 students per batch, foster a hands-on environment where students and professors both contribute to the lesson, stressing more on tutorial-style learning rather than conventional lectures.
Cook emphasises on the flexibility of the master’s programmes at the University of Luxembourg. According to him, students have to acquire 120 credits to graduate, but the decision on how to obtain these credits is left to the students. The course structure facilitating the freedom for students to delve into subjects of their choice and deciding when to take classes, offers ability to tailor the course content, something he believes greatly assists in identifying the specific research needed for their thesis and maintaining an academic career.
Nonetheless, although the course structure is deemed more ‘conducive to student needs’, the academic workload is generally considered more substantial compared to the Irish counterparts.
The 25-year-old expounds on the hurdles associated with the vast amounts of reading assigned per class, especially when one is taking multiple courses. However, he acknowledges the effectiveness of this model, once one has adapted to it, in mitigating stress during examination periods. In his view, students who keep abreast of their readings are better off during exams.
He goes on to highlight the distinct grading system, which is more akin to the French model where marking ranges from 0 to 20. Following the coursework usually permits a 14-16 grade, whilst 17-19 gradings prove challenging to reach and a 20 grade is virtually unobtainable.
Just like in Ireland, the second-year Philosophy learner shares that securing available accommodation is a primary struggle for Luxembourgan students. However, he highlights that once adequate housing is found, its affordability is comparatively more appealing, with an average price of €450 per month for student room rentals at university facilities. Off-campus private housing could inflate this cost by two-fold – leading students to consider residences in neighbouring cities like Metz in France or Trier in Germany.
For him, free transportation within Luxembourg, coupled with the absence of tuition charges– save for a €200 semester-based registration fee – considerably offsets accommodation expenses. Therefore, studying in Luxembourg and residing either on campus or in a nearby city has proven more economical than the combined tuition and rent costs in Dublin.
In fact, the alluring cost-effective opportunities of studying abroad seem superior, especially when Master’s program fees in Ireland range from €9,500 to €30,000. Eoin O’Brien, currently pursuing his one-year Master’s degree in the Netherlands, says his course has cost him just €2,120, inclusive of paid internship and student assistantship programs. This equates to a mere fraction of the minimum €10,000 he would have spent in Ireland.
Drawing correlations to the housing situation in Ireland, accommodation in the Netherlands presents similar challenges with sky-high demand and scarcity of supply, giving landlords the upper hand in dictating rental prices. There have even been instances, similar to past experiences in Galway, where people resorted to camping on campus due to the shortage of housing facilities. The lowest rent observed was €40 per month, although rates typically swing around €550 and €750.
The educational methodology, especially in the realm of assessments, also appears to differ from the Irish counterpart, shares the 23-year-old student. Two conventional exams with one being an ‘open book’ type have fundamentally made learning more comprehensive and less about pure memorisation. Assignments and seminar presentations are also commonplace, taking place monthly.
Application of knowledge in the real-world context and technological use are other key aspects of the Dutch study approach. This extends into subjects from neuropsychology, where students design media like web interventions and virtual reality rehab solutions, to diverse areas like law. This approach aligns harmoniously with the Netherlands’ technologically advanced ethos, and the same has been mirrored in the accounts of peers from various study domains.
Meanwhile, in Luxembourg similar to Ireland, exams have their regular role but accompanied by other continuous assessment methods. Jack Cook explains that class participation factored into 10% of the grade, another 25% went to facilitation or the ability to teach a subject, while the remainder was determined by the end-of-term paper. This method was initially quite an adjustment as Irish grading typically relies heavily on final exam performance. Non-participation or attendance could consequently impact your scores significantly in Luxembourg.
The high living expenses in Luxembourg, understandably higher than his previous experience in Dublin, might deter many from considering it as a study destination. However, as a saving grace, the University maintains five canteens for students serving diverse food options at an affordable price.
Guy Flouch, from the European Universities Central Application Support Service (Eunicas), states that presently approximately 1,400 Irish students are pursuing their master’s degrees in Europe. The allure of studying there comes not only from reasons of affordability and the quality of courses, but also from the lifestyle and overall experience the continent offers.
“As many of the courses offered by some of the finest European institutions are either free or very low priced, Irish students find themselves being able to pursue postgraduate opportunities beyond what is accessible to them domestically,” Flouch indicates. He also emphasises that in the context of a globalised job market, these students will accumulate cross-cultural abilities as well as experiences and insights that will be valuable to a diverse mix of employers, locally and internationally. He adds on by saying, “Students will also create lifelong memories.”
For more details about studying overseas, one can visit www.eunicas.ie.