As students are for the first time receiving course offers from Trinity under the new CAO point system, nanoscience has seen major drop in points, alongside classics and English studies.
This year, STEM courses have taken a dip in points, which will be disappointing to those in the sector going to great lengths to attract students to their field. The most dramatic drop was nanoscience, which plunged to 542 points after years of notoriously high points.
After a few years of small increases, engineering took a 30-point knock, landing at 470 points while engineering and management, which had seen a 15-point increase last year and a 45-point increase the year before, decreased by 16 points to 499.
Continuing downward from last year, computer science dropped by 13 points to 467, while computer science and a language experienced a 22-point decrease. The only similar course that saw an increase was computer science and business, which went up by 15 points in line with the trend of an increase in points for business courses.
General science went down this year by six points, offered at 499, mirroring trends seen in similar courses in other Irish colleges today.
The notable exception to this decline in STEM courses is management science and information system studies, which rose by 13 points bringing it to 578, a meteoric increase from its 515 points in 2014.
Following the recent announcement of the restructuring of entry into general science, which will next year see some direct-entry science courses absorbed into the new structure, these direct-entry courses saw significant decreases this year. Human genetics dropped by 27 points, earth sciences saw a 10-point drop, medicinal chemistry decreased by four points, while nanoscience took a 53-point dive. The year before many stand-alone, direct entry science courses end as part of wider reforms to Trinity’s undergraduate degree, chemistry with molecular modelling was the only direct-entry course to see a minor increase in points.
Drama and theatre studies returned to 455 this year from 425, after a drop in points last year.
Music went down again this year, solidifying the downward trend that saw last year’s 50-point drop in the points. Music education, the only course in Ireland where students qualify as secondary-school music teachers after four years, dropped by 26 points this year.
Arts and humanities courses, apart from TSM-entry courses, saw some significant decreases. History took a 12-point hit bringing it to 488, while classics saw major decrease of 42 points. English studies took a 30-point dive to 485.
This year early and modern Irish reversed a downward trend with a 12-point increase to 387. World religions and theology also increased this year, rising 20 points.
Trinity’s business courses saw an increase in demand this year with business, economics and social science rising by 10 points to reach 520. Trinity’s new business course, offered for the first time last year, saw a rise in nine points today, with offers for those who achieved 544 points or more.
Law and business was offered at 589 points, a rise of four points, maintaining its place as the highest-points law course in the country. Similarly law and politics increased by six points, reaching 581. Business studies with a language saw changes in both directions with the Spanish, Russian and French strands seeing increases of 14 and 12 and three-point increases respectively, while the German and Polish strands decreased by six and eight points respectively.
European studies saw a 15-point decrease this year to 520 points, with the newly developed Middle Eastern and European languages and cultures course starting out at 506 points this year.
Following a few years of lingering at just under 500 points, political science and geography has seen a 25-point increase to 520 this year.
Social studies, which is the only degree course in Ireland where students qualify as social workers at the end, took a 16-point knock this year.
Catholic theological studies went up to 360 from 330 points last year.
Across the board, health sciences saw mostly small increases in points, with medicine returning to 732 after a two-point increase, following last year’s surprising small dip in points. Dental science remains popular and this year experienced a four-point increase, bringing it to 589 points.
After some stagnation, general nursing decreased this year by 15 points to 410. Mental health nursing, intellectual disability nursing, children’s and general nursing and general nursing at the Adelaide School of Nursing all saw minor decreases.
Students choosing Trinity as their first preference increased this year, in line with last year’s increase, which reversed a downward trend.
CAO first-round offers were released to students this morning at 6am and the second round is expected on August 31st.
