The MA in Music Therapy is a two-year full-time program of study which prepares graduates for professional practice as a music therapist. The course requires a high level of music skill at entry allowing students to make the transition to the use of these music skills in therapeutic work with a range of client groups in different contexts. Students attend clinical placements throughout each semester of the course; these are usually offered at various sites in Ireland but sometimes can be offered abroad. Music therapy theory, research skills, sensitivity to cross-cultural issues and the use of the self in relating to others form the basis of studies to prepare students for work in the clinical practice context.

The Masters in Public Administration (MPA) is a 1 year full-time or 2 year part-time interdisciplinary program aimed at providing students with analytical and professional skills, combined with knowledge of public management and policy making in government. The modules offered in the MPA program are designed to provide participants with a rigorous and inter-disciplinary curriculum in public administration, economics, and law. The MPA aims to equip students with a comprehensive knowledge of the nature, role and development of the public sector, and an awareness of public service values. Students take compulsory modules in Public Administration, Economics, Organisational Behaviour, Policy Analysis and Law. For the research element of the program students participate in a research methods module designed for practitioners and complete an individual research project.

On successful completion of the program, student should be able to: identify the fundamental psychological processes that underlie psychological phenomena in cognition, developmental psychology, social psychology, personality psychology, and biological psychology; understand the fundamental principles of research methods; critically evaluate current issues in psychological research and its applications in society; demonstrate how psychological issues can be investigated and critically evaluated; select and develop strategies to investigate and solve psychological issues on the level of individuals and groups; apply the fundamental psychological concepts and practices to psychological issues in research and in the social context; demonstrate expertise in applying psychological methods when assessing and solving psychological issues; demonstrate interpersonal competencies and professional sensitivity including ethical behaviour; conceptualise, research and write critical assessments of psychological areas of investigation; understand and evaluate the significance of psychological research and the findings that it can provide; critically evaluate psychological applications to solutions in society considering contextual limitations and the feasibility of psychological interventions.

This program, which is run jointly by the Department of Economics and the National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies, is geared to provide students with an understanding of the international tourism industry and an appreciation of the key issues affecting its continued development; it also presents an opportunity to gain insights into the marketing and management issues impacting on the sector; students are also presented with opportunities to update their language and information technology skills, their communication and presentation skills, and to interact with tourism industry practitioners and visiting international faculty; research skills are developed through dedicated methodology modules leading to the completion of a dissertation on a chosen topic in tourism; an integral part of this course is an international field trip which all students undertake.

The focus of the program is to qualify practicing teachers and other professionals to become qualified guidance counsellors. The professional guidance counsellor brings to bear specific skills in counselling individuals in the areas of personal, social, educational and career development. In order to fulfil their roles as guidance counsellors effectively, participants on the program will be educated in a broad range of knowledge, skills and competencies within the context of a lifelong learning framework. The strong focus on personal development on the program strives to promote self-understanding and insight for a deeper appreciation of the counselling process.

The course covers the fundamental business disciplines: accounting, business communications, economics, human resource management, information management, knowledge management, management principles, marketing management, organisational behaviour and strategic management.

The program is designed to provide students with an advanced understanding of how modern societies are governed through the complex interaction between public and private actors at different levels of government; the ability of national governments to determine domestic policy outcomes is increasingly limited by interdependencies with local and European levels of government; furthermore, the distinction between governmental and non-governmental organisations is increasingly blurred when the formulation and implementation of policies relies heavily on the cooperation of private actors; taking a multi-level and governance perspective, the program offers a distinctive approach to the study of politics and policy-making.

This exciting MA in Interdisciplinary Design Practice is open to anybody with a design degree or any associated discipline. It has been designed to respond to the needs of industry for graduates to gain the required combination of knowledge, skills and competencies to work within interdisciplinary teams in the design, technology, services, and cultural sectors.

The aim of the Masters of Arts in Financial Management is to provide an educational experience that enables participants to achieve an integrated understanding of the operation and strategy of Financial Management, and to develop appropriate intellectual and personal skills. Specifically the programme is designed to offer participants the opportunity to gain a detailed knowledge of the underpinning theory and effective practice of Financial Management which will be of particular benefit in a range of management and leadership roles as well as in specialised Financial Management roles.

This course is a challenging, but rewarding one-year taught programme, running from September to August, with a new and updated syllabus. The programme receives generous exemptions from the Professional Accountancy Bodies. Graduates of the programme receive full CAP 2 exemptions from Chartered Accountants Ireland, 11 exemptions from CPA Ireland, and 8 exemptions from ACCA. In addition, while maintaining the focus on preparing graduates for the accounting profession, the updated programme now incorporates a 30-credit Accounting Research Project. This module encapsulates learnings from the taught component and offers students the opportunity to engage with research literature to ensure the development of both practical and theoretical skills in the discipline.

This innovative programme is designed to enable leaders across all sectors to integrate health and wellbeing into their working environments. Once considered ‘nice-to-have’, a strategic focus on the health and wellbeing of all employees, including owners and managers, is now a must-have to attract and retain talent, providing an excellent return on investment for your company. Many organisations are going through a period of unprecedented change, and specialists in workplace health and wellbeing will be critical in successfully managing that culture shift.