Postgraduate Study

There are over 1,700 universities awarding postgraduate degrees in the US. With each offering its own areas of specialisation, reputation and curriculum, there is bound to be one that is a great fit for you.

Postgraduate Degrees on Offer:

There are several types of postgraduate degrees offered in the US. Unlike Ireland, there are no pure research degrees. Rather, degrees include a combination of research and taught components.

• Academic Master’s degrees are generally completed in two academic years (though there are a few one-year programmes) and commonly lead to a career in academia or research. Students typically complete a thesis as part of their studies. In the humanities, these degrees may also involve meeting a minimum language requirement. Please note that some institutions will only offer admission for academic/research-based Doctoral degrees, although under circumstances they may award a Master’s degree to students who successfully complete the required coursework and Master's thesis, but do not go on to complete their Doctoral dissertation.

• Professional Master’s degrees are designed to prepare you for a particular profession (e.g. business administration, architecture, social work, public policy/administration, etc.). Professional degrees generally require a set of mandatory core courses and electives, allowing students specialise or take courses outside the department. They usually emphasize coursework and are unlikely to require a thesis. Rather, students may complete an internship or capstone project at the end of their degree programme.

• Doctoral degrees typically require between 4 and 6 years of study, though this will vary by university, department, topic of study and student. In general, the degree consists of 2-3 years of coursework culminating in oral and written qualifying exams before the student is admitted to doctoral candidacy and embarks on 2-3 years of dissertation research. A dissertation of publishable quality work is then required, followed by an oral exam or 'defence' to complete the degree.Depending on the department, students may apply for a two-year Master’s programme and then continue on working toward the Doctoral degree, or begin the Doctoral programme straightaway.

• JD/LLM degrees in law: Law is a postgraduate degree in the US. Students may complete a 3-year JD degree following undergraduate study. Upon completion of the JD degree, students sit a bar exam to become qualified to practise law in a given state. The JD degree prepares individuals to practise law in the US. More often international students do a 1 or 2-year LLM - Master’s in Law degree, if they have a first degree in law in Ireland. LLM degrees offer specialised study in a particular area of law, such as international law or tax law.

• MD degree in medicine: Medicine is also a postgraduate degree in the US. Students typically complete a first degree in a science-related field before completing a four-year medical school degree.

Competitiveness of Admission:

We would be remiss if we did not point out that some departments at the top-tier US universities have low admissions rates. Therefore, to help ensure you receive several admissions offers from which to choose, you will want to select a well-rounded list of universities.

We recommend applying to a maximum of 2-3 highly-competitive universities and pairing these selections with 2-3 universities at which you fall on the upper end of the average admissions exam scores and GPAs of last year’s admitted students. This information should be published on the university website.

Admissions Criteria

• Academic Performance: Students educated in the Irish system will generally be expected to have achieved a minimum of a 2.2 on their first degree in order to be considered for entry into a US postgraduate degree course. However, to ensure that you receive full, accurate and up to date information, we recommend that you contact individual universities about whether your qualifications are sufficient to be considered for admissions.
• Compelling Reason for Pursuing a Postgraduate Degree at Their Institution: Whilst is it is very important to convey a strong interest in and knowledge of the field in which you hope to study, faculty members assessing your application will also be looking for a detailed explanation of your interest in pursuing a degree at their institution. It is, therefore, imperative that within your application you demonstrate compelling reasons for pursuing that specific postgraduate degree at that particular university.
• Relevant Work Experience and Coursework: In the US, it is common for departments to not require a full undergraduate degree in the field of study to which you are applying. However, if you do not have a relevant undergraduate degree, you will need to demonstrate interest or knowledge of the field, perhaps via relevant work experience or coursework.
• Extracurricular Involvement: US university staff will also want to have a sense of your personality, personal and professional interests after reviewing your application. By highlighting your involvement in extracurricular activities, you will be able to tell them more about who you are as a person, as well as placing your academic achievements in context.

Getting Started with your Application:

Deciding to attend graduate school is not a decision to take lightly. Graduate education in the United States is a major personal, intellectual, social, emotional, and financial investment. It takes time and commitment. To make it a little easier, EducationUSA has come up with a 5 Step Process for Postgraduate Study in the US. Click here to read more and to start your application.

Costs and Availability of Funding:

Alongside completing your admissions applications for postgraduate study in the US, you will also want to research and consider financial matters.Tuition and fees rates can vary significantly from university to university, as there are no standard government set fees as in Ireland. The cost of living can vary drastically as well, by location.

If college affordability is a key consideration for your university selections, you may wish to try some of these strategies for choosing universities:

• Consider public universities to minimise the initial tuition and fees rates charged
• Choose universities at which there is a lower cost of living, such as universities in suburban or rural areas or in the South and Midwest
• Choose universities at which you will be a top student as funding is often reserved for the most qualified applicants

For more information in relation to funding postgraduate study / research, visit the finances section of our website here.