MIC partners with Limerick and Clare ETB and Tipperary ETB to launch Ireland’s first tertiary degree pathway into primary teaching

MIC partners with Limerick and Clare ETB and Tipperary ETB to launch Ireland’s first tertiary degree pathway into primary teaching. Picture: Brian Arthur

MIC Partners with Limerick and Clare ETB and Tipperary ETB to Launch new tertiary five-year degree pathway into primary teaching

The new five-year programme provides an additional route into primary teaching with the aim of diversifying the teaching profession.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD and Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton TD, today announced details of an exciting and innovative new five-year tertiary pathway into primary teaching, marking a national first in teacher education.

This strategically distinctive programme, which will be delivered by Mary Immaculate College (MIC), in partnership with Tipperary Education and Training Board (TETB) and Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB), is designed to broaden access to the Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching) by providing an additional entry route outside of the traditional Leaving Certificate pathway. MIC will be the first higher education institution in Ireland to offer a tertiary pathway of this kind into primary teacher education.

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A central aim of the programme is to diversify initial teacher education by supporting students from groups that are under-represented in higher education, including mature learners, students from socio-economic or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, people with disabilities, care‑experienced learners, Travellers, Roma, migrants and refugees. While open to all who meet the entry requirements, applicants from these priority groups will be prioritised in shortlisting.

The pathway has been developed in close collaboration with the National Tertiary Office, aligning with national priorities to strengthen pathways from further education into higher education and to address workforce needs in education.

Speaking on the announcement, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, said, “This tertiary pathway into primary teaching is an excellent example of how collaboration across the further and higher education sectors can open up new opportunities for learners.

“It provides a practical and well‑supported route into a profession of critical national importance, while also advancing the objectives of our access and participation policies. I commend MIC, Tipperary ETB, and Limerick and Clare ETB for their leadership in delivering this innovative programme.”

Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton TD, added, “This landmark programme represents a transformative step in how we prepare future primary teachers in Ireland. By creating a new five-year tertiary pathway, we are opening the doors of teacher education wider than ever before, ensuring that talented and committed individuals, regardless of background, have the opportunity to enter the profession.

“Through our partnership with Tipperary ETB and Limerick and Clare ETB, Mary Immaculate College is proud to lead a national first that not only expands access, but strengthens the diversity of our future teaching workforce.”

Welcoming the announcement, Professor Dermot Nestor, President of Mary Immaculate College, said, “Ireland’s First Tertiary Degree Pathway into Primary Teaching, developed in close collaboration with Tipperary ETB and Limerick and Clare ETB, widens participation in the profession beyond a single, narrow point of entry.

“It opens opportunities for people of different backgrounds, with different voices, and different stories, to find their way into primary teaching. This is a vivid illustration of MIC’s enduring vision of education — as the building of relationships, the dissolution of barriers, and the creation of the conditions for human flourishing.”

The pathway programme is simultaneously a response to the conditions of a changing world and an anticipation of what that world will need: a teaching profession that draws on and reflects the full range of lives, needs, and aspirations that are carried into every classroom.”

The pathway begins with Year 1 in further education and training, delivered by both Tipperary ETB in Nenagh and Limerick and Limerick and Clare ETBs, Mulgrave St. Campus, Limerick city. Year 1 is designed to build academic confidence, study skills and readiness for degree level learning.

Students who successfully complete this year will be awarded a NFQ Level 5 QQI Major Award in Education Studies – Primary Pathway. Upon successfully achieving the required progression results of the certificate programme, students will progress seamlessly to MIC Limerick to complete the four-year Bachelor of Education-Primary Teaching whereupon successful completion, graduates will be eligible to register with the Teaching Council as primary school teachers.

Chief Executive of Tipperary ETB, Clodagh Kelly, called it a crucial addition to education provision in the mid-west region, “Tipperary ETB, through our Further Education and Training wing, Tipperary FET College, is proud to launch this new five-year Tertiary degree pathway programme in partnership with Mary Immaculate College Limerick.

“This exciting collaboration opens a unique pathway for students from diverse backgrounds to qualify as primary school teachers, offering opportunities that were previously unavailable in our region.

Research shows that structural barriers to progression persist for many people, regardless of their academic potential. Guided by our core values of Excellence, Equality, Community, Care and Respect, this new Tertiary degree pathway programme reflects our commitment to turning that reality around. It opens a genuine pathway to a career as a primary school teacher for people across the region who may not have had access to this opportunity before.”

Echoing these sentiments, Bernadette Cullen, CEO of Limerick and Clare ETB said, “Limerick and Clare ETB is delighted to be part of this pioneering collaboration with Mary Immaculate College and Tipperary ETB to establish a new Tertiary Bachelor of Education pathway programme.

“This initiative will promote diversity in initial teacher education pathways, widen access, and enhance opportunities for learners across the region. We look forward to working closely with our partners to deliver a high-quality programme that will benefit students, schools, and communities.”

Applications to the tertiary pathway programme will open on April 29 with a deadline of May 28, and the programme will commence in September 2026.