Strong demand for courses at Maynooth University: Increase in CAO points for ICT, Science and Entrepreneurship courses

Monday, August 17, 2015 - 09:00

Maynooth University has seen continued growth in student demand for its courses on the 2015 CAO, with particularly strong demand in Business, Law, ICT and programmes associated with innovation and enterprise.
 
Maynooth’s B.Sc. Computer Science and Software Engineering has increased to 365 points, up 5 points on 2014. The University’s Science degree has increased to 405 points, up 5 points on last year, with a similar increase for the BSc in Biological and Biomedical Sciences.
 
Reflecting an increasing demand for innovation and design related expertise within industry, Maynooth’s BBS Entrepreneurship is up 5 points to 360 points, while the BSc in Product Design (Marketing & Innovation) is up 20 points to 385 points.
 
The Maynooth Arts degree remained strong at 350 points, the same level as last year while Social Science increased by 10 points to 390 points. Maynooth University’s course with the highest points, BSc in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics increased to 525, up 10 points on 2014.
 
Maynooth University is Ireland’s fastest growing university with an undergraduate intake of 2,800 this year, an increase of 6% on last year. Discussing the CAO points, Prof Aidan Mulkeen, Vice-President Academic/Registrar and Deputy President, Maynooth University said:
 
“We are delighted with the strong demand for our courses.  The Maynooth University combination of a student-friendly learning environment and high quality courses is attracting ever-increasing numbers.
 
We have seen continued strong demand for our Arts degree, which attracted over 1,200 first preferences. The flexible structure of this degree is proving a very attractive feature, as it allows students to choose a wide range of subject combinations from literature, humanities, social sciences, business and law.  As we phase in our new curriculum, which will provide students with even more flexibility to customise their own programmes, we expect to see further increases in demand.” 
 
Maynooth is also performing well in sciences and ICT, with increases in points for the B.Sc. degree, the B.Sc. in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, and Computer Science and Software Engineering.
 
To meet this demand we are developing our campus.  The EOLAS building opened this summer, expanding our capacity in ICT and Computer Science.  We have a new education building under construction, and we are expanding our student accommodation with the construction of 300 additional bedrooms on campus.  These are the first phases of a major investment programme which will see additional teaching buildings, student services, sports facilities and campus accommodation over the next five years.”
 
In July, Maynooth University opened the doors to its newest building, Eolas, the focal point for ICT on campus which will facilitate increased student numbers. The €20.6 million, state-of-the-art facility is also home to the University’s Business Incubation Centre, MaynoothWorks, a hub for spin-out companies and start-ups looking to benefit from the proximity to world-class researchers, motivated students, and entrepreneurial activity.
 
With a more flexible degree structure available for students from September and continued investment in campus infrastructure, Maynooth University is well positioned for further growth.