We know that not everyone can take up their place in UCC straight away. Everyone's personal circumstances are different and you may wish to defer your entry to UCC for a year.
If you wish to defer your place, do not accept your CAO offer. Apply for a deferral through our Admissions Office.
Accept your offer through the CAO
If you received a CAO offer, you can accept it straight away through the CAO. Even if you are hoping to receive a higher preference offer in a later round, you should still accept your current offer. You can still accept a higher preference offer later, but a higher preference offer isn’t guaranteed. Only those who are absolutely certain they do not want to accept an offer should not accept the offer.
Register as a Student
Registering involves officially enrolling in UCC as a student. This is when you will enrol on your degree course, pay your fees, upload ID documentation, and receive your Student ID Card. These are essentially your first steps to becoming a UCC student.
For more detailed information, visit our Registration section.
Find accommodation
Be proactive and book accommodation as soon as possible. For relevant information visit the Accommodation Office website.
The Accommodation Office can be contacted during normal business hours and by emailing resservices@ucc.ie or by calling +353 (0)21 490 3849.
On-campus orientation
Orientation is compulsory. You must attend on the day that is allocated to your degree programme. You can find the full schedule on our Orientation page.
During orientation you will:
- Meet your classmates
- Tour the library and campus
- Attend an IT Workshop
- Attend the compulsory Bystander Intervention / Consent Training
- Meet your Peer Support Leader who will support you throughout your first year
- Hear from the Students' Union
- Learn all about Clubs and Societies and how to join.
Orientation will set you up for success in your first year.
Academic induction
During academic induction, you will be introduced to the academic side of your university experience, including:
- a welcome from some of our leading academics
- how your course is structured and what you will learn during your degree
- an overview of your academic timetable
- how you will be taught, how exams will take place, what assignments you will get and more
- opportunities to ask questions during live Q&A sessions
- ...and much more!
Freshers' Fest
The Freshers' Fest is on Saturday 13 September so save the date now. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet your classmates again. You can attend workshops, take tours, sign up for Clubs and Socs. We will have music and food stalls which add to a carnival atmosphere on campus. Your family and friends are welcome too - we will schedule events/activities for them at the Open-Door Welcome for Family & Friends.
You will receive your UCC Guide to Success 2025 and Freshers' Fest brochure in the post shortly after you accept your offer.
We look forward to giving you a BIG UCC WELCOME.
Got an admissions query?
If you have an Admissions related query, please reach out to us.
For fees queries, please contact 021-4903000 and select Option 1.
Time: 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday
Any other UCC queries?
If you have any other UCC related queries, please visit our frequently asked questions portal.
Register with the state examinations commission
The State Examinations Commission (SEC)'s portal will give you access to Leaving Cert results, script viewing and other resources. If you haven't already done so, register with them for any results-related queries.
Considering a change of course?
Any registered student can make an application to change their course. CAO waitlists and Leaving Certificate appeals are honoured until the close of the CAO season.
We make our decisions on applications to change course based on the following criteria:
- The availability of places in the course you want to change to
- The entry qualifications for the course you want to change to
You must have the Leaving Certificate points or equivalent and must meet the matriculation requirements of the course you want to change to in order to make a Change of Course Application. In addition, a place must be available in the course that you want to change to. As part of the application process, you will be need to ensure that the desired programme is the right course for you.
Please note: If you are successful in their change of course application, you will have to bring yourself up to date with course work. We won't accept change of course as grounds for poor performance at examinations later in the academic year.
Decisions
If you are not eligible for change of course, you will be notified immediately. If you have been successful in your application for a change of course we will officially notify you by email. You should check your student email account regularly for correspondence from the Admissions Office.
Successful applicants will be notified by the Admissions Office and your record will be updated by the Student Records & Examinations Office. You will be issued with a new Student ID Card. Check out our First Year Change of Course information if you want to apply.
The Change of Course process is now closed for 2024. If you are having difficulty in your course please see the Having Second Thoughts information page to look through the options available to you, including contact details for our First Year Experience Coordinator Nóirín Deady.
