Graduate Attributes

    Maynooth University offers a curriculum and an intellectual, cultural and social environment that provide students with opportunities to reach their full potential. On completion of their degree, graduates will have had a thorough education in the important knowledge, qualities, skills and insights of their disciplines, and will have developed fundamental intellectual skills of analysis, synthesis, critique and communication. Additionally, Maynooth University graduates will be empowered to develop qualities beyond disciplinary or technical expertise to make meaningful and positive contributions to the development of the community and society in which they live, with awareness of the local and global context of that contribution.
     
    Maynooth University students are encouraged to strive for academic excellence within a community of scholars, to take responsibility for their own learning and to develop a capacity for lifelong learning. Through their programme of study, students are expected to acquire:
    • A deep understanding of the fundamental concepts, the practical skills, and an appreciation of the richness and diversity of current research in the disciplines they have chosen to study
    • The fundamental intellectual skills of analysis and reflection, verbal and written communication, numeracy and digital literacy, and conceptual and critical thinking applicable to a range of work and life situations
    Maynooth University students are encouraged to utilise opportunities for self-development within a challenging programme of study, and graduates are expected to:
    • Be empowered to recognise and embrace learning as an enjoyable and valuable experience
    • Be self-motivated, able to work independently and contribute effectively to team projects
    • Be capable of gathering and critiquing information from a variety of sources
    • Be intellectually responsible, self-reflective, open-minded, adaptable, curious and creative
    • Uphold high ethical and professional standards

    Maynooth University students are encouraged to be socially, culturally and environmentally aware and to:

    • Recognise their social, environmental and civic responsibilities
    • Have integrity, honesty, a sense of justice, and respect for human rights
    • Appreciate cultural diversity
    The successful development of these attributes will empower graduates to contribute to knowledge, learning, to their communities and societies, locally and globally. The development of these attributes enhances employability and creates a capacity for purposeful innovation and creativity by educated, ethical and civically engaged graduates.