Leaving Cert

Leaving Cert Subjects

Guide to Leaving Cert Subjects

Subject Choice for LC

Towards the end of Third Year (or Transition Year if you are taking it), students will be asked to choose which subjects they would like to study for their Leaving Cert.

First you must consider which Leaving Cert programme you will take. This will depend largely on what is offered in your school. Explore The Three Leaving Certs here.

There are usually more subject options available for Leaving Cert than Junior Cycle, which means you can focus your studies more on the areas you are interested in.

Your choice of subjects in the Leaving Cert may effect what courses or employment options are available to you after you leave school, so it is important to take the time to choose carefully.

Find out all you need to know about each subject here. 

Use the Menu on this page to explore all your options.

Deirdre Sayers, Primary School Teacher

What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?

I took seven subjects for my Leaving Cert. These were primarily arts subjects with the exception of Biology and Maths.

These subjects were ideal for a B.Ed. Degree course. They would have restricted my entry into the sciences, however. In hindsight I would not have done anything differently for the career path I choose. However, I might have had a wider career path if I had studied a wider base of subjects.

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Patrick Kinnaird, Marine Biologist

What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?

I think it’s important to keep your options broad at school so you remain open to discovering different interests. At first, I didn’t particularly enjoy science, but after one lesson on fish, I realised I actually found it engaging because it connected with my hobbies. From there, my interests developed, from science to biology, then ecology, and eventually marine biology.

That said, I also learned that within any field there will be areas you enjoy more than others. For example, I find the chemistry side of marine biology more difficult to stay interested in, but I recognise its importance for understanding the bigger picture.

Looking back, I feel I chose my subjects well for my career path. The only subject I wish I had taken would be Photography. At the time, I didn’t realise how central it would become to my work, particularly in recording and analysing sightings. But hindsight is always clearer, and overall, I think my choices gave me a strong foundation for where I am now.

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Sinead Lew, Senior Tax Manager

What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?

I decided in second year in college that I was interested in Tax as a career. I really enjoyed the tax modules in college and I decided at that point, that I wanted to pursue a career in Tax (as opposed to Accountancy). We completed two tax modules in second year, which gave me a really good insight into what tax was all about!

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