Application
Applying to Dublin Business School (DBS) was straightforward and relatively quick. MicroEDU has supported me in all matters. Instead of the TOEFL test, which of course would have cost money, I was able to take a written in-house test of the Dublin Business School over 2 or 3 hours directly at MicroEDU in Münster, which was then sent directly to Dublin for correction. The result also followed within 2 weeks.
Studying at Dublin Business School is certainly a little different, especially when compared to state universities. There is no campus, but there are three main buildings in the middle of Dublin, which are not far from each other – including two full-fledged libraries that are more or less geared towards BA or MA students. The furnishings in the buildings and the rooms themselves are very modern, and each room has a computer and projector. Visit educationvv.com to get information about California State University Chico student exchange program.
The students at DBS are all international, but the average for the master’s courses is certainly higher. I myself am completing the Master of Science in International Business at the Dublin Business School and can only recommend the course itself and the business school. The lectures are extremely structured, very scientifically oriented and the lecturers convince with practical experience and scientific experience. Among “our” lecturers there was an ex-CEO of the largest telecommunications company in Ireland, an ex Cambridge student with extensive international experience and many other interesting careers, which of course can add a lot of topics to the lectures. All lectures contain an assignment and an exam, whereby one is forced to work continuously. The exams themselves are feasible, but in order to achieve good grades, it is not sufficient to simply reproduce the lecture documents; you need to research the literature yourself. My course itself was audited by the University of Wales, which had a great and important influence and therefore the level was correspondingly high.
On-site support
In addition to the general friendliness of Irish people, every employee knows that students have paid a lot of money for the respective course. Accordingly, the focus is always on the student and if there are any problems one is helped directly. The administration is very internet-oriented, assignments are uploaded to the intranet and everything else happens via the intranet and internet.
Accommodation
Dublin is expensive, and so is the accommodation. There are some student accommodation (not from the DBS), some of which are a bit out of the way. Since the city center of Dublin can actually be reached on foot, and the DBS is also in the middle of the city, accommodation centrally in the city center makes sense. The prices may be a bit higher, but you save yourself a monthly ticket for the buses (approx. 90 euros) and one or the other taxi ride late at night. Dublin is divided into districts, for example the DBS is in Dublin 2. Overall, Dublin 1, 2 and 8 can be recommended, everything else is likely to be too far away. In addition, it is said, and it was largely my experience, that Dublin 1 and especially the area around Connolly Station is not recommended, as it is sometimes a bit unsafe, but mostly not extremely dangerous. Apartments in Dublin usually only have electric heating, the costs are always a bit difficult to calculate and are offset against the rental price. There are no waste or water costs, the quality of apartments cannot always be compared with “German standards”. In the end, you should calculate with around 500 euros in rental costs plus 50 euros for ancillary costs in order to get a nice and well-located apartment. An early search is only recommended, as students from all universities in the city are looking for apartments especially at the beginning of the semester in September / October.
Leisure
As already indicated, Dublin is a very expensive place, even if the economy is not doing very well. A pint costs well, and often five euros. Food is also expensive, but if you go shopping at Lidl or Tesco, the cost of catering is limited – at least at home.
But Dublin is great. The city offers everything a student is looking for – and everything is also very centrally located. The very touristy Tempelbar district always offers live music in all pubs, but generally you don’t see a lot of locals. There are neighborhoods with super-nice restaurants and small bars just a five-minute walk away. In the vicinity of St. Stephen’s Green is the club district of Dublin, with some nice clubs that look more inconspicuous from the outside, but are usually larger than you think.
Each semester offers a week of “Reading Week”, before and after the exam weeks there is another Reading Week. Of course you can fly home at the time, but it can also be used for assignments or a round trip around Ireland. I see the latter as a must, because Ireland has more to offer than Dublin. You can rent vehicles from the local rental offices and explore Ireland on your own, or you can take a guided tour but usually only take one or two day tours. Cities like Cork, Galway and Belfast (already UK) are highly recommended, but the landscape between these cities offers incredible impressions.
