EU/EFTA/UK students who have been offered a place on an undergraduate course in University College Cork may be permitted, on application to the Admissions Officer, to defer first-year entry to the University for one year. Applications are considered from students applying via CAO and via UCCApply. 

It is not always possible to defer entry. We consider deferred entry requests on a case-by-case basis according to a range of factors, including programme quota, the nature of the offer and the reasons set out by the applicant. If the application for deferred entry is on medical grounds, the applicant may need to provide a letter or certificate from a doctor.

There is no guarantee that a deferred entry application will be approved in any circumstance.

Deferred entry is not a Leave of Absence from a year beyond first year. For further information on applying for a Leave of Absence, see the Having Second Thoughts? page.

Deferred Entry - CAO Programmes

Applying for Deferred Entry of a CAO place

1. Do NOT accept the CAO offer.
2. Complete and submit the Deferred Entry Application Request below immediately but no later than two days before the 'Reply Date' shown on the CAO Offer Notice.
3. A non-refundable administrative fee of €50 is required to process a deferred entry application. 
4. The Admissions Office will email the decision to the applicant within one week of the application.

Deferred Entry Conditions

1. UCC will not approve deferred entry for applicants who intend to take up another higher education place in the current academic year. If you do this, you will forfeit the deferred place.
2. You must follow the procedure for taking up a deferred entry place as outlined above.
3. Deferred entry places are not guaranteed and may be subject to a quota.
4. Deferred entry will not be granted for:
   1. Late rounds offers, where candidates have not achieved the Round 1 cut-off points score
   2. Where granting deferred entry will significantly disadvantage applicants competing for places on the course the following year
   3. Places on Medicine or Dentistry programmes
5. The University cannot guarantee that the programme will run for the planned year of entry, that it will not be amended, or that the student fees will stay the same.

Late Deferred Entry Applications

If you have already accepted your place and subsequently wish to defer entry, you should contact the Admissions Office immediately, as the Admissions Office may be able to offer the place to the first waitlisted CAO applicant.

After week 3 of Semester 1, UCC can only consider Deferred Entry applications in exceptional circumstances, e.g. serious medical grounds.

Registered first-year students deferring their registered course on medical grounds should, in the first instance, contact the First Year Experience Coordinator Nóirín Deady (n.deady@ucc.ie).

Taking up a Deferred Entry place

To take up a deferred entry place, you must reapply through CAO by 1 February the following year, pay the appropriate application fee to CAO, and place the deferred entry course as the only preference on the CAO application. You should submit a query through the Prospective Student webform with the new CAO number as soon as you receive it. 

If you breach the conditions of the deferred entry place, you will forfeit the deferred entry place and will have to reapply through the CAO and compete for a place in the normal way. 

Deferred Entry - UCCApply Programmes

Applying for Deferred Entry of a UCCApply place

1. Accept your UCCApply offer on the UCCApply portal.
2. Complete the online Deferred Entry Application Request below.
3. A non-refundable administrative fee of €50 is required to process a deferred entry application.
4. If UCC grants the deferred entry, we will send you a confirmation email, and a place will be held and re-offered the following year, provided the programme runs the following year.

Taking up a Deferred Entry Place

Applicants who have successfully deferred entry to their UCCApply programme will be re-offered the programme the following year, provided the programme runs.

Application Form