Faculty of Arts, Celtic Studies, Philosophy and Social Sciences

Introduction

The Faculty of Arts, Celtic Studies and Philosophy, offers a wide range of subjects academic programmes. Some of the programmes at undergraduate level include subjects from other faculties. The variety of subjects and disciplines is part of the essential richness of an arts degree, but what all the programmes have in common is that each, in its different way, requires us to consider and reassess the values by which individuals and society operate in, and reflect on, the modern world. Some of the subjects on offer form part of the second-level curriculum and will be familiar, in name at least, to many school leavers; other subjects, such as Philosophy, are not available for study at second level at the present time and will be new to most incoming students. Courses in the various subjects are divided into units called modules, each focussing on a particular component or topic. In all cases students can expect to be introduced to new and challenging approaches as they progress through the various modules in their area of study.

The subjects in an arts degree include some that have been at the heart of Irish and European learning for many centuries, and alongside these are new disciplines which have emerged in more recent times. An arts student is ideally someone with an enquiring and broad-ranging mind, and an indication of the enduring popularity of a Bachelor of Arts degree with students and employers is given by the numbers of undergraduates who opt for a BA degree in one form or another each year. Nearly 3,500 full-time students, well over half the entire student population, were in the
BA programmes in the last academic year; these consisted of about 2,800 undergraduates and 700 graduates.

Trí Ghaeilge a mhúintear gach cúrsa i Roinn na Nua-Ghaeilge. Múintear cúrsaí i Roinn na Sean-Ghaeilge trí Ghaeilge agus trí Bhéarla. Cuirtear fáilte roimh mhic léinn ar spéis leo na teangacha Ceilteacha agus atá ag iarraidh a gcuid eolais agus a gcuid scileanna intleachtúla a fhorbairt go cruinn. Pléitear leis an nGaeilge mar ábhar léinn agus mar
chuid luachmhar d’oidhreacht chultúrtha bheo na hÉireann agus na hEorpa.

The following pages describe undergraduate degree programmes that are available. The courses, and the examinations associated with them, are governed by the regulations set out in Section III above. Postgraduate degrees and courses
are described in a separate university publication.