Do you want to inspire and influence future generations and play a key role in the intellectual development of young children? And do you need a teaching course that allows you to study from anywhere in Ireland?
If this sounds familiar, studying with Hibernia College in an accessible and supportive environment might be the choice for you.
The Professional Master of Education in Primary Education is perfect for you if you want to work with children aged 4-12.
The Primary teaching course is for those passionate about teaching young children. This course will enable graduates to register to work as primary teachers with the Teaching Council of Ireland.
You will receive opportunities to learn how to nurture and support the development of the full potential of the child and instil a love of learning that will remain with the child through all stages of formal education.
Through your engagement with the course, you will work in a diverse range of schools, experience a wide range of classroom settings and engage in action research in a supported environment.
Furthermore your cooperation with fellow students and faculty will foster a strong sense of collegiality and team spirit.
It is not a requirement to have prior teaching experience to be eligible to apply for this course.
The Professional Master of Education (PME) in Primary Education is a 120-credit award at level 9 and the duration of the programme is two years. It is a blended learning programme, combining online content, virtual learning environments and face-to-face delivery to develop professionals and experts who are positioned to be leaders in the field of primary education.
The PME in Primary Education at Hibernia College consists of a sequence of modules that reflect the contemporary issues faced by teachers today and the skills and knowledge required of them in order to be expert primary school teachers who enable effective student learning. In particular, it recognises the importance of ensuring that student teachers consider that teaching itself is understood and practised as a form of self-critical learning by them; learning that is driven by inquiry, reflection and improvements based on evidence (Teaching Council 2011).
Application Fee: €95
Course tuition fees: €15,000
Fees are payable as follows:
Year 1: €7,500
Year 2: €7,500
A deposit payment of €1,000 is required to secure your place. The balance of Year 1 fees, €6,500 are payable by the applicable due date.
Hibernia College is an approved college for the purposes of s.474 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, enabling eligible students to avail of tax relief on tuition fees paid. More details are available on the Irish Revenue website.
Garda Vetting Fees: €50
Gaeltacht fees: 2 blocks of 2 weeks duration, cost per block €750 and payable to third party Gaeltacht provider.
Graduation: current fee is €100
Payment of course fees can be made by either bank transfer or cheque/bank draft. Application fees are paid via PayPal, and must be paid in full before application will be processed.
Fees are correct at time of publication, but may be subject to change.
Loan Facility for Students
The Comhar Linn INTO Credit Union have introduced a loan facility for students of primary teacher education. Please click here for more information.
Programme Director, PME Primary
Mary began her career as a primary school teacher having graduated from St. Patrick’s College Drumcondra. She worked at all class levels and as a Resource Teacher for children with Special Needs for many years, both nationally and internationally. In 2001, she was seconded by the Department of Education and Science to provide professional development in the area of Learning- Support with the Primary Curriculum Support Programme (PCSP). She then went on to work in several roles before taking over as Deputy National Co-ordinator PCSP with specific responsibility for the implementation of numeracy and literacy programmes under DEIS.
In 2012, Mary became a full-time member of the primary team at Hibernia College working as Deputy Programme Director and Head of School Experience. She was subsequently appointed as Programme Director of the Primary programme in 2014. She is committed to ensuring that Hibernia College continues to prepare, develop and support reflective teachers who are academically strong, pedagogically skilled and responsive to the needs of all citizens. Mary also serves as a Ministerial Appointee on the Teaching Council.
Her research interests include literacy, early childhood education, educational leadership and teacher education. She has presented at national conferences including the INTO Education Conference, the Reading Association of Ireland Conference and at the United Kingdom Literacy Association International Conference.
Head of Teaching Learning and Assessment, PME Primary
Dr. Lorraine Duffy graduated with a Bachelor of Education from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. She has worked as mainstream class teacher, learning support teacher and English language support teacher for many years, both nationally and internationally. In addition Lorraine holds a Doctorate in Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin which focuses on intercultural education and cultural diversity in the early childhood classroom. She has worked as a researcher and policy analyst on childhood development issues and has had her research published.
Lorraine has been appointed as Head of Teaching Learning and Assessment on the primary team and is committed to ensuring a quality learning experience for all students at Hibernia College in terms of pedagogy, self reflection and research.
Lorraine’s research interests include child and family well-being, immigration and schooling, intercultural education, early childhood education and teacher education.
Head of Research, PME Primary
Dr. Aoife M. O’Brien is a qualified primary school teacher who received the Trinity College Dublin Gold medal upon completion of her B.Ed. Aoife holds an M.A. from Trinity College Dublin and was awarded a Trinity College Dublin Faculty scholarship and a Government of Ireland postgraduate scholarship by the Irish Research Council (IRCHSS) to begin her Ph.D. in Education which was completed in 2015. Aoife is currently Head of Research for the PMEP programme at Hibernia College and looks after the development of the content of the research module and delivers content via onsites and webinars. Aoife is also subject lead for SPHE whereby she designs and develops the on-line material. Aoife’s research interests include SPHE, mental and emotional wellbeing among primary and post-primary students, special educational needs (i.e., rare diseases such as 22q), and pre-service teacher training and education.
| Subject | Grade for entry in April ’17 | Grade for entry in September ’17 |
| Irish | Grade C3 (Higher Level) | Grade C3 or H4 |
| English |
Minimum C3 (Ordinary Level) or Minimum D3 (Higher Level) |
Grade O5/H6 |
| Maths |
Grade D (Ordinary Level or Higher Level) |
Grade H6/O6 |
The following will also satisfy the minimum Irish language requirement:
The following will also satisfy the minimum requirements in Irish, English and Mathematics:
Please note that the above are the only accepted entry requirements as set by the Department of Education and Skills (DES). As these are DES imposed requirements, unfortunately the College will not be in a position to accept any alternative qualifications.
Note 1: Garda vetting Hibernia College offers programmes of study that require participants to work with children and/or other vulnerable groups. For this reason, students on this programme will be required to complete and sign a Garda Vetting Form. By completing and signing the Garda Vetting 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.
Note 2: Primary degree level If you are unsure of the level of your primary degree, contact the conferring college or university, or contact 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 Higher Diploma is refused admission to the Register of Teachers.
Note 3: 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 payment of the application fee, will be interviewed.
We strongly encourage applicants to submit their completed application form as early as possible.
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 re-schedule 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 in a position to attend the interview on the date offered, it is important that this is communicated to the Admissions Team at the earliest opportunity.
The interview is approximately 30 minutes.
The interview is in two parts. The Gaeilge component is approx. 10 minutes. The general component is approx. 20 minutes.
The general interview component may focus on elements including but not limited to:
Please note that this list is given as a guide only.
The Irish language component of the interview will consist of a general conversation in relation to you, your interests, the Irish language and education and will focus on:
It is important to note that material should not be memorised in advance as this will limit your ability to communicate effectively with the panel. You will also need to be comfortable with changes of tense and to have the ability to use a wide range of verbs and vocabulary accurately.
Many applicants who have not been in regular contact with Irish since Leaving Certificate benefit from preparatory measures such as conversation classes, ciorcail chomhrá, Gaeltacht courses, listening to Irish language radio programmes on Raidió na Gaeltachta or Raidió na Life, watching the news on TG4 and reviewing a good Irish grammar book. In preparation for the Irish interview, we advise applicants to engage with the language as often as possible to improve fluency and accuracy.
Gaelchultúr (www.gaelchultur.com) offer a range of Irish language courses that you may wish to avail of to improve your Irish.
Hibernia College is a blended learning institution dedicated to improving access to higher education through the delivery of flexible programmes. The College’s PME is the most accessible and flexible initial teacher education course in Ireland and the only programme that is available to graduate student teachers wherever they live.
This PME programme does require a considerable commitment of the student for self-study, online tutorials, and onsite workshops. In addition, Gaeltacht courses and school experience periods are scheduled in blocks of several weeks at a time. Online tutorials take place after 6pm on week-day evenings and on-demand programme content is available for students to study at a time that suits them.
The following is a guideline of the commitment required:
No. It is not a requirement to have prior teaching experience to be eligible to apply for this programme.
There are two intakes per year, in the spring and autumn.
No. 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.
Yes, there is a limit. In the interest of fairness to applicants who are unsuccessful, the College will accept one repeat application following the initial application.
Following which, they must take a break in applying for two calendar years. This is intended as a means of affording applicants the time required to address any shortcomings identified in their application.
The live online tutorials generally take place on weekdays from 6 – 9.30 pm
If you are unsure of the level of your honours degree, you should contact the conferring college or university, or contact the awarding body or the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland at www.qqi.ie.
No. There is no upper age limit.
The demographic explosion in Ireland, coupled with the short term shortage in the number of newly qualified teachers resulting from new Teaching Council requirements, and the increasing international demand for Irish trained teachers, results in a highly favourable employment outlook for our graduates.
According to the Irish Independent (29/04/2015), Public Expenditure Minister Howlin said the country would need an extra 3,500 primary and secondary school teachers by 2021.
While the College cannot guarantee employment for each individual student, there will be a very strong demand for newly qualified teachers into the future.
Blended learning is best understood as a ‘hybrid’ learning model; integrating online learning with traditional face-to-face tuition. A standard Hibernia College programme integrates online collaboration tools, multimedia content and digital communication technology with traditional on-site and face-to-face components, such as live tutorials, workshops and classroom practice. While the split differs from programme to programme, it is roughly 45% online and 55% offline.
Learning in this way with Hibernia College allows you the flexibility of completing a large part of your course from wherever you are, with the only travel being to onsite training days and school placements.
Increasingly, more colleges are taking a blended approach to their courses. 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 over 10 years experience in the design and delivery of this model, Hibernia College has a solid base on which to build better and more effective learning programmes that incorporate the best of both online and traditional teaching methods.
The Higher Diploma in Arts in Primary Education is no longer running and has been replaced by the PME in Primary Education. Information on the HDAPE course can be found here.
If you have any additional questions, please email us at info@hiberniacollege.net.
