6. International Graduates
International Graduates: This relates to non-Irish domiciled students who have completed their studies and graduated in Ireland.
This chapter details the outcomes of International graduates, with comparison to Irish-domiciled graduates. More detailed analyses are available in the dashboard.
Overview of International Graduate Population
Of the 64,858 graduates, 10,515 are International graduates (16.2%). Gender composition is similar to Irish-domiciled graduates, with 53.9% females and 46.1% males.
The most common programme types are Taught Masters (57.8%) and Undergraduate Honours Degrees (27.6%). A small proportion of International graduates completed PhDs (3.9%). As most International graduates pursue Taught Masters or Undergraduate Honours Degrees, the sections below focus on these two programme types. Data on other programme types are available in the dashboard.
The median age for International graduates is 25.1 years old at the time of graduation. For Taught Masters, this is 25.7 years old, and 23.2 for Undergraduate Honours Degrees.
One in 3 International graduates studied Business, Administration & Law (33.8%).
Nearly half of all International graduates studied in Dublin-based HEIs (48.9%), compared to 37.8% of Irish-domiciled graduates.
Programme Types by Gender
Overall, for International graduates, the most common fields of study are Business, Administration & Law (33.8%), ICTs (13.3%), and Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction (11.6%). For Irish-domiciled graduates, the most common fields of study are Business, Administration & Law (24.3%), Health & Welfare (15.9%), and Arts & Humanities (13.0%).
Nonetheless, this differs by gender.
For females, the most common fields of study are Business, Administration & Law (35.5%), Health & Welfare (14.2%), and Arts & Humanities (11.6%).
For males, the most common fields of study are Business, Administration & Law (31.9%), ICTs (19.2%), and Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction (18.1%).
Main Graduate Destination
Taught Masters
Nine months after graduation, 76.8% of International graduates are in employment. For Irish-domiciled graduates, this is 87.8%.
By field of study, largest employment differences between International and Irish-domiciled graduates are observed in Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction (70.4% of International in employment; 91.6% of Irish-domiciled in employment), and Services (67.6% of International in employment; 87.0% of Irish-domiciled in employment). Nonetheless, note that International and Irish-domiciled graduates of the same field of study may pursue different sectors for employment.
While 16.2% of International graduates are unemployed nine months after graduation, only 6.3% of Irish-domiciled graduates are unemployed.
Unemployment is highest for International graduates in Services (29.8%), followed by Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics (21.3%), and Arts & Humanities (20.6%). While 29.8% of International Services graduates are unemployed nine months after graduation, only 4.5% of Irish-domiciled Services graduates are in unemployment.
Undergraduate Honours Degree
Over half (58.7%) of International graduates are employed nine months after graduation, compared to 70.3% of Irish-domiciled graduates.
More than 1 in 4 International graduates pursue further study (27.6%). For Irish-domiciled graduates, this is 20.5%.
While 9.9% of International graduates are unemployed nine months after graduation, 7.1% of Irish-domiciled graduates are unemployed.
Did you know?
In the StudentSurvey.ie National Report 2021, students were asked:
“How much does your institution emphasise contact among students from different backgrounds (social, racial / ethnic, religious, etc.)?”
Amongst Undergraduate Final Year students, 1 in 3 (34.4%) said “Very Little”, 35.9% said “Some”. Only 29.7% said “Quite a bit” or “Very much”.
Employment Outcomes
This section relates only to graduates who are in employment nine months after graduation.
Taught Masters
Nine months after graduation, 71.7% of International graduates are working in Ireland, while 28.3% are working overseas. Most Irish-domiciled graduates work in Ireland (95.7%).
Two-fifths of International graduates earn more than €35,000 per annum (43.7%). This is compared to 55.7% of Irish-domiciled graduates.
While International graduates most commonly source employment from Social Media / Professional Networking Sites (23.3%) and Recruitment Sites (21.1%), Irish-domiciled graduates are more likely to source employment from already working there (22.8%) and Recruitment Sites (19.2%). Only 9.6% of Irish-domiciled graduates source employment from Social Media / Professional Networking Sites.
One-fifth of International graduates consider their course Irrelevant or Very Irrelevant to their job (23.4%). For Irish-domiciled graduates, this is 18.1%.
Undergraduate Honours Degree
Of the International graduates in employment, 61.4% stay in Ireland for employment, while 38.6% are employed overseas. For Irish-domiciled graduates, 95.6% stay in Ireland for employment.
Just over half of International graduates are on Permanent or Open-Ended Contracts (52.7%). A higher proportion of Irish-domiciled graduates are on Permanent or Open-Ended Contracts, at 58.6%.
While 14.7% of International graduates are employed on a graduate internship / placement, only 5.8% of Irish-domiciled graduates are on graduate internships or placements.
By relevance of course to job, 26.9% of International graduates consider their course Irrelevant or Very Irrelevant to their job. This is similar for Irish-domiciled graduates, at 26.4%.
Further Study Outcomes
This section relates only to graduates who are in further study nine months after graduation.
Taught Masters
Of the graduates who pursue further study, 71.5% are in further study in Ireland, and 28.5% are studying overseas. For Irish-domiciled graduates, 89.0% choose to pursue further study in Ireland.
Field of study pursued differs for International and Irish-domiciled graduates. While 83.8% of International Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction graduates pursue further study in the same field, only 47.3% of Irish-domiciled graduates pursue further study in the same field. Instead, it is common for Irish-domiciled Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction graduates to pursue further study in Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics (21.4%) and Services (20.7%).
Undergraduate Honours Degree
Of graduates pursuing further study, less than half pursue further study in Ireland (49.6%), while 50.4% are studying overseas. A much higher proportion of Irish-domiciled graduates stay in Ireland for further study (89.9%).
Taught Masters are the most common award sought in further study, with 76.7% of International graduates pursuing this, and 70.0% of Irish-domiciled graduates.
Of International Business, Administration & Law graduates pursuing further study, 69.4% pursued further study in the same field, while 18.8% pursued further studies in Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction. This is not evident amongst Irish-domiciled graduates, with 78.4% of graduates pursuing further study in Business, Administration & Law, and only 0.5% pursuing further study Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction.
Of International Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction graduates, most pursue further study in the same field (91.8%). For Irish-domiciled graduates, 73.6% stay in the same field, while 9.4% pursue Business, Administration & Law.
Amongst International ICT graduates, the majority stay within the same field of study (81.9%). For Irish-domiciled graduates, 55.1% stay in the same field, while 23.3% pursue further study in Business, Administration & Law.
On the reasons for pursuing further study, 37.3% of International graduates pursue further study to change or improve career options. This is compared to 22.7% of Irish-domiciled graduates.
Study the same course again
The below chart illustrates the proportion of graduates who responded “Very Likely” or “Likely” in response to the question “How likely or unlikely is it that you would study the same course again?”. Any country of origin with less than 50% of graduates saying “Very Likely” or “Likely” are displayed in red. Any country above the 50% threshold is shown in green.
Taught Masters
Overall, 60.7% of International Masters Taught graduates are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again. This is compared to 75.2% of Irish-domiciled graduates.
However, looking at this in more detail, the likelihood differs by country of origin. This is potentially interrelated with field of study, provided in the graph above. The most common fields of study for International Taught Masters graduates are Business, Administration & Law (40.8%), ICTs (17.5%), and Social Sciences, Journalism & Information (8.5%).
Business, Administration & Law
Looking at the most common field of study for International Masters Taught graduates, two-fifths of International Business, Administration & Law Postgraduate Taught graduates come from India. Of graduates who come from India, just under half (49.3%) state that they are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again. Of Irish-domiciled graduates, this is 73.4%.
ICTs
Of International Postgraduate Taught ICT graduates, 63.1% come from India. Of these graduates who come from India, 58.6% state they are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again. Of Irish-domiciled graduates, this is 77.6%. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that every country had a minimum of 50.0% of graduates “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again.
Social Sciences, Journalism & Information
One in five International Postgraduate Taught Social Sciences, Journalism & Information graduates come from India (20.6%). Of these graduates, just over one in three are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again (34.5%). This is 70.8% for Irish-domiciled graduates.
Undergraduate Honours Degree
Overall, 72.3% of International graduates are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again. This is compared to 71.6% of Irish-domiciled graduates.
The most common fields of study for International Undergraduate Honours Degree graduates are Business, Administration & Law (23.8%), Health & Welfare (21.8%), and Arts & Humanities (13.9%).
Business, Administration & Law
Of the International Business, Administration & Law graduates who have completed their studies in Ireland, 22.1% come from China. Looking at the proportion of graduates “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again, 69.8% say that they are “Very Likely” or “Likely”. This is compared to 72.0% of Irish-domiciled graduates. Every country had more than 50.0% of graduates that they are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again.
Health & Welfare
Just less than one-third of International Health & Welfare graduates come from Canada (30.7%). A higher proportion of Canadian students say that they are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again (83.9%) than Irish-domiciled graduates (76.4%). Moreover, every country had more than 50.0% of graduates saying that they are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again.
Arts & Humanities
Over one-fifth of International Arts & Humanities graduates come from the UK (22.3%). Of these graduates, 61.3% said that they are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again. Amongst Irish-domiciled graduates, this is comparable, at 63.1%. Again, every country saw more than 50.0% of graduates saying that they are “Very Likely” or “Likely” to study the same course again.
Looking for more information?
More detailed outcomes for the Class of 2020 graduates are available as interactive dashboards at the following links:
Next Chapter: Earnings Analysis
Note: filtering can result in a low number of graduates that fit specific criteria. Any criteria that result in less than five graduates being represented are excluded from the graphs in this report. Nonetheless, the Total provided will be inclusive of any excluded fields.