🇮🇪 19 institutions · 278,880 students
Every publicly funded university in Ireland, and who studies there.
The Higher Education Authority publishes enrolment for each university, technological university and college it funds — including how many students come from outside Ireland, and from outside the EU.
Students
278,880
at 19 institutions, 2024/25.
From outside Ireland
16.0%
44,485 students from Northern Ireland, Britain, the EU and beyond.
From outside the EU
32,945
11.8% of students — generally the ones charged non-EU fees.
Postgraduate
23.9%
66,530 students on master's, PhDs and postgraduate diplomas.
All 19 institutions
Enrolment in 2024/25. "From abroad" counts Northern Ireland, Great Britain, the rest of the EU and outside the EU.
Universities (7)
| Institution | Students | From abroad | Non-EU | Postgraduate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University College DublinDublin | 34,715 | 23.0% | 17.4% | 34.7% |
| University College CorkCork | 25,100 | 18.3% | 13.9% | 31.5% |
| Trinity College DublinDublin | 21,085 | 32.9% | 22.0% | 32.5% |
| University of GalwayGalway | 20,095 | 20.2% | 15.8% | 26.6% |
| Dublin City UniversityDublin | 19,890 | 11.5% | 7.5% | 23.7% |
| University of LimerickLimerick | 19,065 | 15.1% | 12.3% | 25.9% |
| Maynooth UniversityMaynooth | 15,560 | 8.4% | 5.9% | 17.5% |
Technological universities (5)
| Institution | Students | From abroad | Non-EU | Postgraduate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Technological UniversityGalway · 3 campuses | 27,340 | 10.8% | 6.9% | 15.0% |
| Technological University DublinDublin · 3 campuses | 25,025 | 8.9% | 5.7% | 14.7% |
| South East Technological UniversityWaterford · 2 campuses | 15,445 | 7.2% | 4.9% | 14.7% |
| Munster Technological UniversityCork · 2 campuses | 15,245 | 5.6% | 3.7% | 12.4% |
| Technological University of the ShannonAthlone · 2 campuses | 12,875 | 8.6% | 7.5% | 16.4% |
Institutes of technology (2)
| Institution | Students | From abroad | Non-EU | Postgraduate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundalk Institute of TechnologyDundalk | 5,240 | 15.9% | 7.7% | 10.0% |
| Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and TechnologyDún Laoghaire | 2,410 | 11.6% | 5.0% | 18.7% |
Specialist colleges (5)
| Institution | Students | From abroad | Non-EU | Postgraduate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National College of IrelandDublin | 6,205 | 40.7% | 39.0% | 52.6% |
| RCSI University of Medicine and Health SciencesDublin | 5,670 | 41.2% | 38.6% | 44.0% |
| Mary Immaculate CollegeLimerick | 4,890 | 2.4% | 1.7% | 14.7% |
| National College of Art and DesignDublin | 1,520 | 6.3% | 3.3% | 14.1% |
| St. Angela's College, SligoSligo | 1,490 | 0.7% | 0.0% | 21.1% |
Growing fastest
Change in enrolment from 2023/24 to 2024/25.
What isn't here. Ireland's private colleges don't report to the HEA, so they aren't listed. Tuition fees aren't published per institution as open data — the national picture is in our Ireland study guide. Entry points are set by the CAO each year and aren't reproduced here.
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Source: Higher Education Authority (HEA), student enrolment data 2018/19–2024/25, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Counts are rounded by the HEA to the nearest 5.