For-Credit Programmes (International)

Programme Overview

Mary Immaculate College offers five for-credit short programmes designed for current 3rd Level International students. Each programme includes an online component followed by a face-to-face component held at MIC in Limerick. Students will earn three (3) US credits/6 ECTS upon successful completion, which can be transferred to their home university. The programmes include:

• Global Citizenship, Migration and Sustainability
• International Philosophies of Education and their Impact on the Classroom
• Oral History in Educational Contexts
• Ethical Approaches to Community Engagement
• International Research Methods Summer School

Programme Content

Global Citizenship, Migration and Sustainability - 3 US credits/6 ECTS

This programme aims to develop students' understanding of global issues, processes, trends, and systems. Key themes include:

• Social Justice
• Exodus and Exile
• Displacement and Identity
• Inclusion and Belonging
• Sustainability
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Human Rights
• Human-Environment Relations

Delivery: The programme is delivered in a blended format, featuring 12 asynchronous lectures and 2 synchronous lectures over four weeks, including interviews with field experts. Students will complete the academic study before arriving at MIC, where they will engage in on-campus lectures and site visits. During their time at MIC, students will participate in facilitated discussions, workshops, reflections, debates, field trips, and other interactive classes.

Assessment: Assessment is based on active engagement in both online and in-class activities and the completion of a reflective journal. Successful students will receive 3 US credits/6 ECTS, transferable to their home university.

Ethical Approaches to Community Engagement - 3 US credits/6 ECTS

This programme explores the theories underpinning moral judgments and their applications to contemporary moral issues. Students will:

• Examine the key elements of Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics, Virtue Ethics, and Ethics of Care
• Investigate competing visions advocated by philosophers of each theory
• Critically engage with arguments to assess their strengths and weaknesses
• Discuss ethical issues central to Applied Ethics, focusing on Social Justice and Community Engagement

Delivery: The blended delivery mirrors the structure of the Global Citizenship programme, including both online and in-person components.

Assessment: Similar to the Global Citizenship programme, assessment includes engagement in activities and the completion of a reflective journal.

Oral History in Educational Contexts - 3 US credits/6 ECTS

In this programme, students will construct alternative perspectives on the past through oral dialogue. Topics include:

• Evaluating Oral History as a historiographical and pedagogical tool
• Oral History, Ethics, and the Law
• Concepts of memory through oral history classroom-based work
• Narrativity through oral history work
• Oral history and digital storytelling as pedagogical approaches
• Frames of interpretation and analysis in oral history
• Oral History in Society
• Interviewing and Listening Techniques in Oral History

Delivery: The programme's structure follows the blended delivery model, engaging students with online content before they arrive on campus.

Assessment: Assessment is based on active participation and a reflective journal, similar to previous programmes.

International Philosophies of Education and Their Impact on the Classroom - 3 US credits/6 ECTS

This short-term programme invites students to explore global educational philosophies and indigenous educational practices. Students will:

• Develop a critical understanding of diverse global educational philosophies
• Promote inclusive and non-ethnocentric educational practices
• Reflect on their educational philosophy and its manifestation in educational systems

Delivery: Following the established blended model, with online study preceding the in-person lectures.

Assessment: Assessments include active participation and completion of a reflective journal.

International Research Methods Summer School – 3 US credits/6 ECTS

This programme is designed for postgraduate students, focusing on educational research skills. Participants will:

• Cultivate skills necessary for conducting educational research
• Develop a research question
• Explore qualitative and quantitative research designs
• Understand the ethics process and reflect on their positions

Delivery: The blended format includes online lectures followed by an in-person component featuring a two-day conference with faculty from MIC's partner universities. Participants will engage in workshops and discussion fora, culminating in a 'thesis-in-three' competition to summarize their research.

Assessment: Similar in structure to other programmes, with emphasis on engagement and a reflective journal.

Conclusion

These innovative programmes at Mary Immaculate College provide a robust opportunity for international students to engage with pressing global issues through an academic lens, preparing them for impactful contributions in their respective fields.

Mary Immaculate College (MIC), known in Irish as Coláiste Mhuire Gan Smál, is a university-level College of Education and the Liberal Arts in Limerick, Ireland, academically linked with the University of Limerick. Founded in 1898 by Bishop Edward Thomas O'Dwyer and the Sisters of Mercy for the professional education of Catholic primary school teachers, MIC is the oldest third-level institution in Limerick City.

The foundation stone was laid on 8 December 1898 on an 11-acre site jointly purchased by the Bishop and the Sisters of Mercy, with construction led by Dublin architect George Byrne and Limerick contractors Molloy. The College opened its doors to its first students on 21 September 1901, and was officially opened on 16 May 1902. From its original 75 young women enrolled in 1901, MIC has grown into a multi-campus institution with a student population of over 5,000.

Mission

Mary Immaculate College is a third-level Catholic College of Education and the Liberal Arts. The College community promotes excellence in teaching, learning and research at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and seeks to foster the intellectual, spiritual, personal and professional development of students within a supportive and challenging environment that guarantees the intellectual freedom of staff and students. In particular, the College seeks to foster in its students a spirit of justice and compassion in the service of others, together with an openness to the religious tradition and values of each individual.

The College promotes a sense of identity enriched by an awareness of its Catholic tradition, the cultures, languages and traditions of Ireland, and its special commitment to the Irish language. Mary Immaculate College respects cultural diversity and strives to promote equity in society, providing an environment where all have the freedom and opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Founding vision

MIC continues to embrace the founding vision of Catherine McAuley, who established the Sisters of Mercy as champions for the most marginalised in society, with the conviction that education was essential to that mission. This emphasis on social justice and educational inclusion remains central to the College's institutional identity as it has grown and diversified over more than 125 years.

Academic structure

MIC offers programmes across two faculties, Education and Arts, spanning Level 4 to Level 10 on the National Framework of Qualifications. Undergraduate programmes are offered in:

• Primary and Post-Primary Teaching (Bachelor of Education, Teaching Council-accredited)
• Liberal Arts, with a choice of 14 subjects across a flexible, wide-ranging programme
• Early Childhood Care and Education
• Psychology, including a Bachelor of Science in Psychology incorporating workplace experience
• Drama and English
• English Language and Literature

The MIC Thurles campus additionally offers post-primary teacher education programmes in Home Economics, Gaeilge, Mathematics, Business Studies, Theology and Religious Studies, and Accounting. Postgraduate study is available across both faculties at Diploma, Master's and PhD level, alongside professional development and lifelong learning programmes.

Campuses

MIC is a multi-campus institution with centrally located, state-of-the-art facilities in both Limerick City and Thurles, Co. Tipperary:

• MIC Limerick: the College's original and main campus on South Circular Road, home to the historic 1899 building that remains central to College life today, alongside a state-of-the-art Sports Complex completed in 2008 at a cost of €16 million, and the 510-seat Lime Tree Theatre, officially opened in October 2012
• MIC Thurles: incorporated into MIC in 2016, originally established as a second-level school in 1837 and later a major seminary, today offering seven undergraduate programmes delivered by staff from both the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts, with on-campus accommodation and the O'Dwyer Library housing approximately 15,000 print resources

Both campuses are characterised by an informal, relaxed atmosphere and a close rapport between students and staff, with the amenities of city and town life on the doorstep.

Affiliation with the University of Limerick

MIC has been academically linked with the University of Limerick since a formal partnership was established in 1990, with UL becoming MIC's accrediting body. Degrees were conferred by the National University of Ireland until 1994, and by UL from 1995 onward. In 1999, MIC became the first Irish College of Education to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree programme. The first PhD was awarded by MIC in 2003. MIC is also a member of the Shannon Consortium, a collaborative framework alongside the University of Limerick and Technological University of the Shannon.

Student life and facilities

• Wired FM (Wired 99.9FM): Limerick's only licensed student community radio station, run in partnership with the Technological University of the Shannon
• Lime Tree Theatre: a 510-seat venue on the Limerick campus hosting theatre, music, comedy, traditional arts, school performances and conferences
• MIC Munster GAA Centre of Excellence and extensive College Sport opportunities, supported by the dedicated Sports Complex
• CRAFT Maker Space, supporting hands-on creativity and enterprise
• Mary Immaculate Students' Union (MISU), marking 25 years of representing the student body
• Clubs and Societies, Arts and Culture programming, and a strong Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Interculturalism (EDII) commitment
• Recognition as an Age Friendly Campus
• Careers Service, Study Abroad opportunities, and an Off-Campus Programme

Leadership and governance

The College's first six Presidents were members of the Sisters of Mercy, beginning with Sr Paul Quinlan in 1898, followed by Sr Veronica Cullinan, Sr Celsus Barry, Sr Loreto Ní Chonchúir, Sr Cabrini Moloney and Sr Angela Bugler. Professor Peadar Cremin, appointed in 1999, was the seventh President and the first lay person to hold the position. He was succeeded by Professor Michael A. Hayes in 2011 and Professor Eugene Wall in 2018, the ninth President in the College's history. Mary Immaculate College is currently led by Professor Dermot Nestor, President of the College, with the Bishop of Limerick serving as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.