Application process
The semester program of the Dublin Business School requires a (subject) high school diploma and proof of English language skills (TOEFL, IELTS, DAAD test, etc.). If this hurdle has been overcome, the application documents must now be compiled:
- Application form
- Proof of English
- Desired course list
- Certified English transcript of records of the courses completed so far
- Copy of the bachelor’s certificate or bachelor’s transcript in English
- curriculum vitae
- Copy of passport or identity card
- contact form
- General application conditions.
The application documents can be found on the MicroEDU homepage.
As soon as all the necessary documents were in place, I emailed them to MicroEDU for review. After my contact at MicroEDU gave me positive feedback on my application, I sent the original documents to the organization by post. MicroEDU forwarded the complete application to their contact person at DBS after a new check. Within 3 weeks I received the acceptance / confirmation of admission from the DBS by email. The application period is approx. 6-9 months before the start of the course, ie for the winter semester 2014/15 (September-December) the application deadline was June 30, 2014. The staff at MicroEDU tried very hard and made the application process much easier for me. MicroEDU is an excellent organization!
Dublin Business School was founded in 1975 and consists of around 9,000 students. A wide variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses are offered. Basically, the focus of the DBS is on business courses, but lectures from areas such as journalism and psychology can also be attended. The Dublin Business School does not have its own campus, but is made up of several buildings just under 10 minutes’ walk apart. All buildings are located in the south of Dublin and are equipped with “door codes”, which are communicated to every student at the beginning of the semester. The DBS facilities include a cafeteria, two libraries with PC and group rooms and five lecture buildings. In addition, the DBS offers the rental of laptops. Anyone who wants to can join so-called “societies”, which include sports of all kinds as well as theater, poetry, law, literature, film and surf groups. The DBS library is characterized by access to external databases and online journals. Likewise, there is no shortage of books and magazines in the print medium. Read more student reviews on Anycountyprivateschools.
The on-site support was very good, the DBS employees are very friendly and helpful.
Courses and lectures
After a detailed introduction and welcome at the DBS, the course was chosen. I had to achieve a total of 30 ECTS. You could put together the timetable yourself with the help of the contact person. It is always important to ensure that the courses include “prerequisites” and that times do not overlap. As soon as the courses were completely selected, they were added to Moodle. If courses from the Learning Agreement change, this must be adapted accordingly with the new courses and discussed with the home university. When choosing a course, I decided to only take master’s courses. I have taken the following courses, each with 10 ECTS, at DBS:
- Strategies for Human Resources
- Integrated Marketing Communications in a Digital Age
- Human Capital Management and Development.
The courses I chose were mostly very small (5-10 students). As a result, the lectures were interactive and characterized by many discussions, presentations and case studies. The examination results were queried differently in the individual subjects. Because a subject is assessed with 10 ECTS, the scope of the examination and the workload is very high. In addition to the lectures, I attended the weekly Academic Writing Support and library classes such as
- Preparing a Literature Review
- Finding Books, Articles and More for Business Students
- Planning, Writing, Referencing Assignments for Business Students
- Zotero workshop
You do not receive ECTS for these additional courses or workshops, but they are extremely helpful when writing assignments and the learning effect is very large.
Leisure
There are many ways to spend your free time in Dublin. In addition to shopping and cinema, the city of Dublin offers many museums and attractions for little money. Impressive and an important landmark of the Irish is the Guinness Store House. With a free walking tour through the south and north of the city, you can quickly find your way around. Not to be forgotten is the impressive library at Trinity College, where films like Harry Potter have been filmed. A major attraction in Dublin are the unique pubs and nightclubs. The Temple Bar district is known worldwide and is one of the pilgrimage cities of many tourists. Away from the many tourists, Irish students head towards Harcourt Street, south of St. Stephen’s Green.
Travel
When the weather is nice, you should definitely go to the Howth Peninsula and take a hike around the island. In my experience, the west coast of Ireland is particularly worth seeing. From Kilkee over the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands to Galway and further on in the Burren is one of the most beautiful routes and breathtaking nature experiences in Ireland. Historically, Belfast in the north of Ireland is extremely exciting. A tour with the so-called “Black Cabs” is recommended here in order to be able to see and understand the conflict prevailing there. Not far from Dublin are the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough, which are used as health resorts by the Dubliners. For traveling, the intercity buses such as the “Bus Éireann” are an inexpensive and comfortable alternative to the “Irish Rail”. If there are more than 3 people, it is even worthwhile to get a rental car, which has proven to be relatively uncomplicated. The advantage of a car is that you can get to places where there are not so many tourists. However, it should not be forgotten that left-hand traffic prevails in Ireland.
