NCI Course Details

Graduates of this course have specialised knowledge of the key theories and principles relevant to business; are equipped with good personal skills in communication, problem-solving and teamwork; understand the latest thinking in areas of HRM, marketing, finance and management; and have the ability to apply knowledge and skills to solve problems within the business world.

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 link below for more information:

• Saturday, June 28th 2025 - 10am-1pm

Year 1

• Personal & Professional Academic Skills
• Fundamentals of Management
• Applied Creativity
• Business IT Skills Project Management
• Irish Business & Society
• Introduction to Entrepreneurship
• Introduction to Business Statistics

Year 2

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

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

This undergraduate course is a two-year higher certificate. It is run over four semesters with continuous assessment held throughout the course and examinations at the end of each semester.

On completion you will receive a QQI Higher Certificate in Business at level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications.

Upon successful completion of the Higher Certificate in Business, graduates can potentially gain entry into year two of NCI’s BA (Honours) in Business degree.

Recent Masters’ graduates include students who have progressed from the Higher Cert in Business to the BA Honours in Business, on through to successful completion of NCI’s MA in Human Resource Management.

This course provides an excellent basis for starting work in a variety of roles within business, commercial or public sector bodies. It equips you with the knowledge and skills needed to build a successful career in the business world.

Minimum entry requirements are a grade O6/H7 or above in five subjects. A minimum of grade O6/H7 must be obtained in English. A grade O6/H7/F2 must be obtained in Mathematics. Applicants from a PLC/further education course must have a full level 5/6 award and meet the CAO points requirements. Applicants who hold 3 distinctions at level 5 and meet the CAO points requirement, will be considered for entry to Year 2 of the course.

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

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

The course may be particularly appealing to students who are unsure about committing themselves to a degree programme, but who want the option to transfer on to the second year of a business degree in the future.

2024 CAO Points Guide :* 250

*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 NC103.

Students must obtain a minimum of 5 passes and a full award and meet the CAO points requirements to apply for this Level 6 course.

Visit our QQI Applicants page for further information.

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):

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