Ninth Level Ireland

“All students are grappling with the hurdles of online learning right now regardless of course, but for students in courses such as music, visual arts, and drama, the traditionally physical elements of their subjects have brought additional challenges to the shift online. A piano student needs a teacher to guide their fingers over the keys; a drama student needs to look into another performer’s eyes for full immersion …” (more)

[Olivia Flaherty-Lovy, Trinity News, 14 October]

“College has been done and dusted for a year and a half now. The second-hand smoke and that feeling of shared procrastination of the Arts Block are starting to feel like long distant memories. Yet, the angst I feel over that irritating question which pervaded my college years is still as pertinent as ever …” (more)

[Irene Falvey, Irish Times, 10 March]

“Education for the creative industries has been rapidly growing for many years. New and innovative further and higher education courses, such as creative coding and technology and creative business management, have been introduced to keep ahead of the exploding demands of the world we live in …” (more)

[Bashir Makhoul, Times Higher Education, 27 February]

“The importance of the arts to the economy and the country generally must not be underestimated when the distribution of third-level funding is being decided, the president of University College Cork says. Patrick O’Shea was speaking at the announcement of a €60,000 annual investment by UCC in a collaboration with Cork Opera House that will expand training for future performers and arts organisation leaders …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 21 February]

“Sir, – Given the recent successful record of Irish graduates with arts degrees, Conor Kileen, as quoted in Carl O’Brien’s article (January 20th), is right to emphasise their worth. He needed, however, to stress the quality requirement …” (more)

[Eda Sagarra, Irish Times, 23 January]

“This week a number of major reports confirmed what most recent arts graduates could probably have told you without the need for costly research: they earn less than other students in the years after college. The draft findings of a Central Statistics Office study, which tracked the earnings of thousands of young college graduates over a five-year period, found that IT and computers students earned most …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 20 January]

“Arts and humanities students earned less than other groups of graduates for up to five years following college, according to the draft findings of a major new study. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is due to publish research shortly which tracked graduates’ weekly earnings across different fields of study between 2010 and 2015. The draft findings show that arts graduates earned the least in their first year after college (€310 per week) …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 15 January]

“As our economy picks up, we can expect more calls like the one this week from Prof Mark Ferguson, the Director of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Yet his call for a doubling of science funding – pitched as a vital cog in Ireland’s future – is an apt reminder of the vastly unequal funding landscape for arts and science researchers. If the path to research funding is rocky for Ireland’s scientists, it’s an alpine climb for staff in arts faculties …” (more)

[University Times, 14 January]

“Universities should increase the entrepreneurship taught in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, according to a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The review looked at five higher education institutes selected by the Department of Education and the OECD …” (more)

[Shauna Bowers, Irish Times, 8 November]

“They’ve always been an easy target. And nowadays, jibes about arts degrees and low-paying jobs provide plenty of material for meme-makers online. ‘Oh, you have an arts degree?’ says a self-satisifed Willy Wonka in one. ‘Yes, I would like to upsize my combo meals, thanks.’ The stereotype may not be new or accurate, but …” (more)

[Peter McGuire, Irish Times, 16 October]

“With some exceptions, Trinity’s degree structure is divided on clear lines. Much like the campus itself, with its hubs of the Arts Block and Hamilton Building, most students take a course that’s neatly labelled under ‘Arts’ or ‘STEM’, with courses that bridge the divide often finding themselves lost in a confusing and bureaucratic maze …” (more)

[University Times, 25 June]

“A popular meme that has recently appeared several times on my social media newsfeed outlines the qualifications needed to work in McDonald’s: a degree in geography, English, classics, history, or, practically, any other arts-related degree. This thorough piece of quantitative research highlights the demonisation of arts degrees …” (more)

[Simon Foy, Universty Times, 15 April]

“A chara, – I note with interest a feature in your paper on the utility of the arts degree (Carl O’Brien, ‘What’s the point of an arts degree’, Analysis, March 18th). Once the default choice of many school-leavers, the BA now faces competition and sometimes displacement from BSc, BComm and many competing disciplines …” (more)

[James Lawless, Irish Times, 3 April]

“University College Dublin’s (UCD) large Bachelor of Arts programme is getting a makeover. For the September 2018 intake, the course will get a significant overhaul, seeing the addition of internships, research and a variety of new combinations purportedly aimed at improving educational and employment opportunities. Maynooth University, too, may extend its arts degree from three to four years with potential for internships and research …” (more)

[University Times, 26 March]

“University College Dublin is to extensively reform its arts degree courses to try and improve the chances of students getting jobs when they graduate. Points for arts degrees have been falling in recent years as students and their parents question the job prospects linked to these qualifications …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 18 March]

“You’ve probably heard the joke before: science students spend their careers asking ‘why does it work?’; engineering graduates ponder ‘how does it work?’; while arts graduates, ask : ‘do you want fries with that?’ Gags about arts graduates and Mcjobs may be old, but the latest facts show not a lot has changed …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 18 March]

“Joseph O’Connor: I did an arts degree, English and history, at UCD, and it was one of the most valuable experiences of my life. I was very lucky in that my teachers included such great people as Declan Kiberd, Seamus Deane, Hugh Gough, Ronan Fanning, Mary Daly and Michael Laffan …” (more)

[Martin Doyle, Irish Times, 28 September]

“These days, all the focus seems to be on how science and technology are the ‘sexy’ subjects everyone should be doing, but employers say arts courses develop crucial skills for the modern workplace …” (more)

[Peter McGuire, Irish Times, 13 September]

“It’s that time of the year when the Central Applications Office (CAO) makes offers of third level places to Ireland’s school-leavers. Places are allocated on the basis of a complex but transparent system of supply (of courses by third level institutions), demand (for courses by school leavers), and grades (obtained by school leavers in the second level terminal examination, the Leaving Certificate) …” (more)

[Eoin O’Dell, Cearta, 22 August]

“Students have been bombarded with calls to study science, technology, engineering and maths (known collectively as Stem) over the past few years. The message seems to be working, as points for those courses have risen across the board for the first round of CAO offers …” (more)

[Peter McGuire, Irish Times, 22 August]