NCI Course Details

Students of this course may also be able to take advantage of an opportunity to engage in a year-long, accredited work placement between years two and three. This placement is credit-bearing and comprises an extra year in the degree. Access to such placements is limited and highly competitive.

Graduates of this course have a great foundation in all aspects of the modern business world, understand how to analyse and solve business problems and are highly employable in areas such as management, marketing, industrial relations, economics and international trade.

CAO Open Day

If you are unable to attend our CAO Open Day event taking place on May 10th, we will be running another event in June where you will also have the opportunity to meet current students and lecturers and get a tour of our campus.

Click on the links below for more information:

• Saturday, June 28th 2025 - 10am-1pm - Register Here

Free Leaving Certificate Revision Sessions

Join our free Leaving Cert Revision Sessions in Honours English and Ordinary Maths, taking place during the Easter Mid-term Break, from April 22nd to 24th.

Sign up via the link below:

• Tuesday 22nd April - Thursday 24th April - 9:30am - 1:30pm - Register Here

This course is ideal if you want a broad understanding of business or you don’t yet know in which area of business you would like to specialise. The course is for school leavers, mature students and graduates of QQI level 5/6 programmes who wish to embark on a course of full-time study.

Graduates of the BA (Honours) in Business course at NCI are now employed at huge employers including LinkedIn, Accenture, AIB, Arvato, Citi, Bord Gáis, Deutsche Bank, IBM, State Street, Willis Towers Watson and UPS.

Read more about the career pathways of NCI business students.

This undergraduate business course is a three-year honours degree (four years with the option of a placement*). The main course is run over six semesters with continuous assessment held throughout the course and examinations at the end of each semester. In each year of the degree, any student with an overall average of 70+ will win a Dean’s Award. On completion, you will receive a QQI BA (Honours) Degree in Business at level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications.

*Students are eligible (subject to availability) to complete a work placement on year three of the programme and graduate after four years with 240 ECTS credits.

Upon successful completion of the BA (Honours) in Business, graduates with the appropriate entry requirements can progress to postgraduate business courses at level 9 on the National Framework of Qualifications including MSc in Management, MSc in International Business or MA in HRM, all available at National College of Ireland.

Flexible Choices for High-Achieving Students

Work placements are highly regarded by graduate recruiters and offer many advantages to students. Advantages include the opportunity to make contacts in industry, networking experience, work-based practical skills and experience, assisting in developing personal and professional confidence, and an opportunity to boost your employability prospects when you graduate.

In years two and three, there are extra choices available for high-achieving students (averaging 60% plus):

• Between year two and three – a year-long work placement
• In your final year – a capstone project

Minimum entry requirements are a grade H5 and above in two higher level subjects together with a minimum of O6/H7 in four other subjects. A minimum of grade O6/H7 must be obtained in English. A grade O6/H7 must be obtained in Mathematics. Applicants from a PLC/further education course must have a full level 5/6 award, three distinctions and meet the CAO points requirement.

For applicants whose first language is not English, please note the English language entry requirements.

For international students, please visit NCI's Your Country section to view the specific entry requirements for your region.

Mature applicants, applicants with a disability or those applying through the DARE or HEAR access schemes can find out more information on the application process.

Please note that exams can be scheduled during the morning, afternoon or evening Monday to Saturday.

NCI strongly advises that all students should have access to a suitable laptop for their course. A student Laptop Loan Scheme may be available for certain eligible students.

The College recommends the following laptop requirements for students joining this course:

Processor:

Intel 7th (or higher) generation processors (Core i-3, i-5, i-7,i-9-7x)
or AMD Ryzen 3rd generation processors, running at 2.0GHz and above (Intel Atom/Celeron or AMD Athlon/Sempron Processors may cost less, but may not meet your requirements)

Random Access Memory (RAM):
8 GB minimum

Solid State Drive (SSD) Capacity:
256 GB minimum

Wireless Card:
802.11 a/b/g/n compliant with Bluetooth Capability (incompatibilities have been noted with the Qualcomm Atheros Wireless Adapters and software device drivers)

Graphics Card:
Direct X9 or later

Supported Operating Systems:
Windows 10 Home/Pro

Year 1

• Academic Management Skills
• Business Law
• Economics for the 21st Century
• Financial Accounting
• Human Resource Management
• Individual Behaviour in The Organisation
• Marketing in the Digital Age
• Quantitative Methods

Year 2

• Financial Management
• Management
• Project Management
• Social and Organisational Behaviour
• Technologies for Business
• Career Management Skills
• Entrepreneurship
• Global Business Environment
• Macroenvironment Policy and Sustainability
• Professional Development Skills

Year 3

• Business Statistics and Analytics
• Economic and Social Policy
• Marketing Management
• Strategic Management
• Sustainability and Business Ethics

Year 3 Elective Modules

• Capstone Project Preparation
• Change Management and Organisational Development
• Financial Management Tools for the Enterprise
• Public Relations and Social Media
• Applied Behavioural Economics
• Capstone Project
• Corporate Environmentalism
• Data Analysis (Psychology)
• Essentials of Employment Law
• Global Operations, Planning and Design
• Sales Management

For more information on the electives and specialisations of this course, please download the BA (Honours) in Business brochure.

For information on the modules taught on this course view our module descriptors.

This course qualifies under the Free Fees Initiative and Student Grant Scheme.

Did you know you can apply for a Sports Scholarship at NCI?

Watch this video to hear from our current sports scholars Stephen Achukwu (basketball) and Adam Leonard (football):

2024 CAO Points Guide :* 300

*For each course we have given a guideline based on our points over the past 3 years. This is a guide only, points vary each year.

The CAO course code is NC009.

Students must obtain a minimum of 3 distinctions and a full award and meet the CAO points requirements to apply for this Level 8 course. 

Visit our QQI Applicants page for further information.

The fee for this course for international students is €10,000 per year. For more information on international fees, please visit International Fees & Funding and International Scholarships.

Learn more about studying at NCI as an international student.

For domestic students applying through the CAO, this course applies under the free fees initiative. For further information, please see Free Fees Initiative.