Are you passionate about teaching young children? With a Professional Master of Education (PME) from Hibernia College, you can register to work as a primary teacher with the Teaching Council of Ireland. You’ll learn to nurture the intellectual and personal development of children, and have the opportunity to instil a love of learning that will remain with them their entire lives. Prior teaching experience is not required to apply.
Our PME programme prepares students to become the best teachers they can be.
The Professional Master of Education (PME) in Primary Education is a 120-credit award at Level 9 delivered over 24 months. It is a blended learning programme, combining online and face-to-face delivery to develop professionals positioned to be leaders in the field of primary education.
The programme consists of a sequence of modules that reflect contemporary issues in education and the skills and knowledge required to be primary school teachers who enable effective student learning. Our emphasis on research ensures that student teachers understand teaching a form of self-critical learning. Student teachers are trained to use evidence-based reflection to continually improve their practice.
Hear from former students in our Alumni Profiles. Almuni offer advice to anyone considering the PME programme. They share their own reasons for choosing Hibernia College, prior experience, research during the programme and career plans.
Hibernia College is monitoring the changing situation in relation to COVID-19. All School Placement and Gaeltacht arrangements, dates and procedures are regularly reviewed in line with the most recent health and safety advice. The College reserves the right to make any changes as it sees fit.
Application Fee
€95
Tuition Fees*
▪ On acceptance of place: €1,000 deposit and €50 Garda Vetting fee
▪ 1st instalment (before course begins): €6,500
▪ 2nd instalment (approx. 10 months later): €7,500
▪ Additional costs are incurred for each Gaeltacht stay and are payable to a third-party provider.
*There will be a 5% tuition increase from Autumn 2022.
How to Pay Tuition Fees
The application fee is paid online and must be paid in full before an application can be processed. Payment of tuition fees are to be made by bank transfer.
Loan Facility
INTO Credit Union has formulated a loan facility that may interest you. Please click here for more information.
Tax Relief
Under current Revenue rules, tax relief is available if you are eligible at the standard rate of income tax (20%) for qualifying tuition fees. From September 2017, subject to compliance with Revenue regulations, students who are eligible will be able to claim approximately €800 per year in tax relief over the 2 years of the course, thereby reducing the actual cost of the course to €15,000 – €1,600 = €13,400. For further information, please click here.
Please note that the above, provided for information purposes, is of a general nature and is not a substitute for formal advice on taxation matters. We recommend, where necessary, you seek professional advice in relation to taxation matters.
Hibernia College has approval, under s.65 (4) (b) of the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012, to offer students Learner Protection Insurance. For more details, click here.
An undergraduate degree at Level 8 or higher on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) which has an ECTS weighting of at least 180 credits.
The grade and subject of the degree are not relevant for the purpose of meeting the minimum entry requirements.
Please note that an NFQ Level 8 Higher Diploma on its own does not fulfil this requirement.
Department of Education Minimum Leaving Certificate Entry Requirements
| Subject | Grade | |
| Irish | C2 Higher Level | H4 |
| English | C2 Ordinary Level | O4 |
| Or | ||
| E Higher Level | H7 | |
| Maths | C2 Ordinary Level | O4 |
| Or | ||
| E Higher Level | H7 | |
GCSE/GCE A Level Requirements
Alternatives to English, Irish and Mathematics Requirements
Alternatives to Irish Requirement
Alternatives to Mathematics Requirement
Please note that the above are the only accepted entry requirements as set by the Department of Education. As these are Department of Education imposed requirements, unfortunately the College will not be in a position to accept any alternative qualifications.
Garda Vetting
Hibernia College offers programmes of study that require participants to work with children and/or other vulnerable groups. For this reason, successful applicants will be required to complete and sign a Garda Vetting Invitation Form. By completing and signing the Garda Vetting Invitation Form, the applicant is granting permission to Hibernia College to process details of any prosecutions/convictions for the purpose of assessing the candidate’s suitability for the course for which he/she has applied and the completion of work placements associated with the course.
Primary Degree Level
If you are unsure of the level of your primary degree, contact the conferring college or university, the awarding body or the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland at www.qqi.ie. In order to gain entry to the programme, candidates are required to possess a Level 8 award as per the NFQ. While Hibernia College will make every effort at the time of application to check the level of the award and notify applicants if the College believes there may be a concern with their qualification, it is each applicant’s responsibility to check the level of their award. Hibernia College will not be held responsible in the unlikely event a graduate of the PME programme is refused admission to the Register of Teachers.
Mature Students
Note that there are no concessions for mature students. All applicants must meet the same minimum entry requirements to be considered for admission to the programme, and all applicants who meet those requirements will be called for interview.
All applicants who are deemed to have met the entry requirements and who have submitted a fully completed application form with supporting documentation and have paid the application fee will be invited to interview.
We strongly encourage applicants to submit their completed application form as early as possible.
Once your online application has been reviewed and processed, you will be called for an interview. The interview will comprise of a 20-minute general component and approximately 10 minutes of an oral Irish component to determine your language proficiency, including but not limited to conversational fluency including verb usage, vocabulary, grammar and tenses. To improve your Irish language skills, we advise regular practice and completion of an Irish language course that will adequately prepare you for interview.
Prior to interview, you should be speaking Irish conversationally for at least 30 minutes per day. It is also essential to comprehensively prepare for the general component of the interview, including your motivations for becoming a teacher and up-to-date knowledge of teaching in Ireland.
Please also note that if you have achieved a minimum of 65% / B1 Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (oral) (TEG) this will be accepted in lieu of the Irish interview.
The general interview may focus on elements including but not limited to:
Please note that this list is given as a guide only.
Gaeilge is a core subject of the primary curriculum and a good command of the language is necessary in the teaching profession.
The PMEP is a Level 9 programme with two Gaeilge modules and you will be expected to study the language at that level. At interview, you must demonstrate a level of Gaeilge that proves your ability to teach the language effectively in the classroom.
Before submitting your application, you should be able to hold a conversation through the Irish language for at least 30 minutes. The interview itself will be a 10-minute, fast-paced conversation assessing your use of tense and grammar and your general level of comfort speaking the language.
Acceptance and entry to the course is by interview. The process is as follows:
Once an interview has been scheduled, in the unlikely event that an applicant has no choice but to cancel, the Admissions Team will endeavour to reschedule the interview. However, during busy periods or nearing the start date of the programme, this may not be possible.
Please note that if you are not able to attend the interview on the date offered, it is important to communicate this to the Admissions Team at the earliest opportunity.
The PME in Primary Education is a flexible programme, but requires a full-time commitment.
The following is a guideline of the commitment required:
Online Tutorials
You should expect to have approximately 3-4 tutorials each week (Mon.-Fri.). Tutorials are 1-1.5 hours in length and occur typically between the hours of 6–9 p.m. Please note that these classes are live and you will be expected to attend at the times stated.
Face-to-Face Lectures
You will meet approximately two Saturdays per month at a regional study centre from 9.30 a.m.-4.30 p.m. Locations for the centres are determined closer to the start of term as locations are based on where our students are located. There will also be a number of on-site weeks.
School Experience
You will complete 24 weeks school experience in total throughout the programme. Placements are broken down into two 7-week blocks and one 10-week block. Students arrange their own placements, and at least two of the placements must be in different schools.
Gaeltacht
You will be required to spend 4 weeks in the Gaeltacht (e.g. two weeks in each year).
The College does not provide verification that the programme is defined as full-time or part-time for the purposes of third parties, as those third parties have different definitions of these terms.
No. It is not a requirement to have prior teaching experience to be eligible to apply for this programme.
There are two start dates per year, in the spring and autumn, normally in April and September.
No, and there is no upper age limit for enrolling on the programme. All applicants must meet the same minimum entry requirements to be considered for admission to the programme, and all applicants who meet those requirements will be called for interview.
Blended learning is best understood as a ‘hybrid’ learning model consisting of online and traditional face-to-face tuition. Hibernia College programmes integrate online collaboration tools, multimedia content and digital communication technology with traditional face-to-face components, such as live tutorials, workshops and classroom practice. While the breakdown differs from programme to programme, it is approximately 45% online and 55% offline.
Learning in this way with Hibernia College allows students the flexibility of completing a large part of the course from home. The only required travel is to face-to-face lectures, Gaeltacht and school placements.
The key to a successful blended programme is the seamless integration of all course elements and the judicious use of appropriate technologies to make courses accessible, interactive and engaging. With nearly 20 years of experience in the design and delivery of this model, Hibernia College offers effective learning programmes that incorporate the best of both online and traditional teaching methods.
If you are unsure of the level of your honours degree, contact the conferring college or university, the awarding body or Quality and Qualifications Ireland at www.qqi.ie.
While on the programme, student teachers are required to complete School Placement at a minimum of two different schools. This experience allows students to develop connections at various schools to help pave the way for future employment. Though it is not guaranteed that graduates secure employment with a school where they have completed a placement, this has happened with a number of our alumni. Our alumni discuss their own employment experiences after qualifying in our Alumni Profiles.
As part of an applicant’s research to undertake the Professional Master of Education (PME) programme, we recommend researching employability within the geographic region you plan to teach. Review current job opportunities and discuss your prospects with future employers. Local principals can provide insight or recommend resources. The College cannot guarantee employment for each individual student, but there remains a strong demand both home and abroad for Irish-qualified teachers.
Yes, there is a limit. In the interest of fairness to applicants who are unsuccessful, the College will accept a maximum of four applications per programme.
If you have any additional questions, please email us at advisor@hiberniacollege.net.
