Mary Immaculate College is a College of Education and Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, the university level College of Education and the Liberal Arts is academically linked with the University of Limerick. The college now has a student population of close on 5,000 enrolled in undergraduate programmes, a Contemporary and Applied Theatre Studies programme and a range of postgraduate programmes at Diploma, MA and Ph.D level. The college has a student retention rate of 96% – one of the highest in Ireland.
Degree programmes
MIC offers ten undergraduate degree programmes across both campuses. From 2017 the college’s BA in Liberal Arts is delivered jointly with the University of Limerick with Drama & Theatre Studies, Economics, Sociology, Politics, Public Administration, Linguistics/TESOL, and Spanish now being offered. MIC also offers a host of postgraduate programmes to doctoral level in Education and the Liberal Arts, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses and numerous access and inclusion pathways.
Student composition
Close on 10% of students on campus are mature students, a relatively high figure when compared to other third level institutions. The college, in addition to catering for mature students, also offers special entry to disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, refugees, members of ethnic minorities and Travellers. MIC also offers Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses and is committed to improving access to higher education for adults—a range of tailored programmes and supports that make the journey for adult learners as easy as possible.
Through its Erasmus and student exchange programmes, the college also has an overseas complement in its student body. Students come from England, Wales, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Nigeria, Italy, Sudan, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, China, United States, Indonesia, Norway, Denmark, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Iceland.
The college has recently expand into Mount Convent, a former Sisters of Mercy convent in O’Connell Avenue in Limerick, where it houses postgraduate students.
Wired FM
The college is home to a radio station, Wired FM, Limerick’s only student radio station with a broadcast licence, run in partnership with another Limerick college, Limerick Institute of Technology.