Leaving Cert

Leaving Cert Subjects

Guide to Choosing Subjects

There are lots of factors to consider when choosing your subjects for Leaving Cert, so it's important to do plenty of research in order to make an informed decision. Use the CourseFinder to search courses and explore their individual entry requirements.

Most students will study SEVEN subjects for their Leaving Cert, although some students may decide to study an extra subject(s) outside of school. Subjects can be taken at either Higher or Ordinary Level.  Two subjects can be taken at Foundation Level: Irish and Maths.

Subject choice breaks down into the Core Subjects which most students will take (unless they are exempt)

English, Irish and Maths

and

FOUR Additional Choice Subjects

There are 3 important points to consider when choosing your additional Leaving Cert Subjects.

  1. What do I like?
  2. What am I good at?
  3. What subjects and grades do I need for the course/college I am interested in?

You're good at what you enjoy

It’s much harder to do well in a subject that you don’t enjoy. Therefore, choose what you're good at and it will come more naturally to you. Studying a subject you enjoy can help to decrease the pressure and workload immensely. 

Third Language

Most students choose to study a modern European language as it ensures that they don't rule out any course where a third language (i.e. other than Irish and English) is an entry requirement. Therefore, if you wish to keep all your options open, stick with at least one additional language. 

A third language is required for entry to National University of Ireland colleges for most degree programmes in Arts, Human Sciences, Social Science, Medicine and Health Sciences and some other degrees. The following NUI universities and colleges require a minimum of a Pass grade in a third language for most of their courses:

  • UCC
  • University of Galway
  • UCD
  • Maynooth University
  • The Royal College of Surgeons
  • Pontifical University, Maynooth
  • Shannon College of Hotel Management

Other colleges have a third language as a requirement for certain courses that have a large language component, e.g. European Studies, Languages & Marketing, Hotel Management, Languages & International Tourism.

***Health Sciences (e.g. Medicine, Pharmacy, etc) require a third language in NUI universities and colleges.

- Entry to the Cadetships in the Army, Army Equitation, Air Corps and Naval Service require a third Language.

- NCAD require a third language or Art

- Many Science and Engineering courses include the study of French or German from scratch.

No Third Language is required for the colleges below, unless it is a specific course requirement (a pass in Irish will suffice). If you are interested in studying a language in one of these college you should check the specific grade required.

  • Trinity College
  • University of Limerick
  • DCU
  • TU Dublin
  • The Technological Universities & DKIT

*No 3rd language required for Engineering & Science in Maynooth University

*No 3rd language required for Engineering, Science & Ag Science in UCD (except for DN440- Biomedical, Health & Life Sciences)

*No 3rd language required for Engineering, Science & Food Science UCC

*No 3rd language required for Engineering & Science University of Galway (except for GY304- Biotechnology)

*No 3rd language required for Gardaí, Nursing, Apprenticeships and most PLC Courses

This information can be subject to change - always check with the course provider or your Guidance Counsellor.

Science Subjects

  • Having a lab science (Agricultural Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Physics & Chemistry) is a requirement for some courses, so it is good to be aware of these before dropping science from your list.
  • Be aware that most courses in Healthcare professions require a science subject e.g. Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. Additionally, some Medical courses require TWO science subjects such as Dentistry and Medicine.
  • Some Engineering courses require a science subject, but many will accept an alternative e.g. the Leaving Cert subject Technology is accepted as an alternative for Maynooth MH304 and UCC CK600.
  • Biology is a firm favourite amongst students. Year-on-year the number of candidates taking Biology is in excess of the number of candidates taking ALL of the other sciences combined. It is the most popular Leaving Cert optional subject, however this doesn’t mean it’s the easiest. Mathematically minded students may do better in Chemistry or Physics.

Practical Subjects

Practical subjects have project work that can account for a substantial percentage of the overall grade. This can often ease the burden of studying on students. Having a practical focus can also add variety to your Leaving Cert subject combination.

Course Work and Projects

Many subjects now contain a course work or project element and unfortunately the deadlines for these projects fall very closely together.

  • The deadline for the DCG coursework is in mid-January. March sees the deadline for projects in Engineering, Art, Technology and LCVP.  Home Economics Food Studies is November, Textile Studies is in April.
  • Agricultural Science coursework deadline is early April and the end of April sees the coursework deadline for History and Geography, as well as Religious Studies, Music, Home Economics (textile elective) and the Construction Studies project.
  • Orals for Irish and the modern European languages now take place at Easter.
  • It is wise to consider the coursework involved in the subject combination you are thinking about before making your final decision.

Interests and Aptitude/Ability Assessments

Many schools administer aptitude tests to students and offer feedback on your performance. You may show signs of having natural aptitude in one or two areas. Some areas you might show strengths in include: Verbal or Numerical Reasoning, Spatial Awareness or Mechanical Reasoning. Strengths in these areas can help to point you in the direction of career areas that could complement your ability.

The Career Interests Profiler on CareersPortal takes about 15 minutes to complete. This instrument provides you with a free printable report containing a summary of your career interests, along with some occupations that match your interest profile. Being armed with this information can help students to pick subjects that might feed into these careers.

Complementary Subjects

Everyone wants to reduce their workload, so think about what subjects might overlap. Home Economics and Biology overlap in human anatomy sections. There is a strong correlation between Physics and Applied Maths, and Agricultural Science has some overlap with Geography and Biology. The Link Modules in the LCVP programme are deeply rooted in the Business course. If a student chooses complementary subjects they might be able to cut down on some of the study.

Maths

If you choose to study higher level Maths it is worth noting that you will be rewarded a bonus 25 points, provided you achieve a H1 - H6 grade. Maths is not a requirement for every course and the number of courses now accepting foundation level maths has increased. 

Use the 'Accepts Foundation Level Maths' or 'No Maths Required' filters on the CourseFinder to search relevant courses. 

A few final tips

Do your research! Take your time and use the Subject Choice section on CareersPortal to help you. Oganise to meet with your Guidance Counsellor, while having a chat with your Subject teachers can also be of great value. Many subjects are very different from their Junior Cert equivalent so make sure the course is what you imagined it to be.

Consider picking a broad range of subjects: 

  • One Language
  • One Business
  • One Science
  • One Humanities/Applied Science

This combination will allow access to a broad range of courses/careers. 

And lastly. . .

Be independent! Try not to be overly influenced by others, choose the subjects you want to do and not the subjects all your friends are doing.

See our Quick Tips area for some brief pointers on choosing each subject. 

For more detailed information, browse Leaving Cert Subjects. 

Mary Ita Heffernan, Social Worker

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

I decided to do a 3 year degree in Social Science UCC, Cork which was a clear cut route into the area of Social Work. I also decided to undertake this broad degree course as it would provide me with a variety of different options to pursue after completion of my degree especially in the event that I chose a different career path to Social Work as I got older!

I also chose this course as it provided an introduction to a variety of subjects e.g. Social Policy, Psychology, Sociology Philosophy, Law, Economics and other interesting topics pertinent to certain areas of society .eg. homelessness, social issues such as drug use etc.

In second year, I had to choose which subjects I wanted to specialise in for my degree which ultimately meant that the subjects in question would be focused on in more detail rather than in a generalised context.

In my final year of the degree, I was very determined that Social Work was the career I wanted. Hence, I then completed a two year Masters in Social Work in UCC in order to obtain a Professional Qualification as a Social Work Practitioner. I loved this course and felt like I had finally “come into my own”. Again, this course offers an array of subjects (such as Family Law, Psychology, Working with Children and Families, Policies and Legislation governing Social Work Practice etc.) and skill development based classes (e.g. development and use of counselling skills etc.).

Throughout this two year Masters, one is required to complete two student placements in the field of Social Work - one in a voluntary area, the other in a  statutory agency – the student lists their preference in certain areas of Social Work. I worked firstly in a community development project and my second placement was in a child protection agency in a statutory setting on a specialist team working with children and families at risk where a parent(s) is a drug user.

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Kevin Power, Resource Manager

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

I took the regular subjects in school and I had a great interest in Geography and especially in Geology. But I cannot say that any of these subjects influenced my career path. However, after leaving school I worked for various forest harvesting contractors in my locality. It was from them that I developed a love of forestry and for the people who work in forestry. I would advise anybody to get some work experience in an area they hope to pursue in college.

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Deirdre Lavelle, Care Assistant

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

In school I studied English, Irish, Maths, History, and French. As I came to this line of work late in life experience and courses I have done since leaving school have been helpful to me.

I did the foundation in counseling skills course in Maynooth College, I feel this has helped me in my work as it developed my listening skills.

Also here I had my first introduction to non verbal communication and reading body language etc., which is very useful in my current job as I work with people who communicate largely by non verbal means.

If I could go back in time I would have worked harder in school and achieved a better leaving certificate, as I spent many years doing a job I was not suited to.

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