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Ireland

Strongest English-speaking tech job market in this study, but no family reunification during the Master's.

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Quick facts

At a glance

Tuition

€15,000–€31,000/year (typically €18,000–€25,000)

Living Cost

€500–€1,200/month (accommodation; higher in Dublin)

Part-time Work

20 hrs/week during term, 40 hrs/week during holidays

Research section

Overview

Ireland — Master’s Study & Migration Research (Bangladeshi Applicant)

Tier: Tier 1

|> Research date: 30 July 2026

Exchange rate used: €1 ≈ 141 BDT (mid-market, 29 July 2026, exchangerates.org.uk). All BDT figures approximate.

⚠️ Critical finding up front: Ireland does not allow Master’s (Stamp 2) students to bring spouse/child during the study period — family reunification is realistically possible only after graduation, once you hold a Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP). See §6. This is the single biggest drawback of Ireland for this profile, offset by the strongest tech job market and English-speaking environment of the three countries.

Risks and Challenges

  • Housing crisis (top risk): severe shortage and high rents, worst in Dublin — average €1,800–€2,400/month for a family apartment; securing accommodation from Bangladesh before arrival is hard; scams target international students.
  • Family separation: 18–30 months apart (see §6) — the defining trade-off of the Irish route.
  • Childcare cost: among Europe’s highest; a working spouse’s income can be largely consumed by crèche fees for one child.
  • Cost of living: Dublin is one of the EU’s most expensive capitals.
  • One-year MSc intensity: little time to job-hunt during the program; the Stamp 1G buffer mitigates this.
  • No official Irish presence in Dhaka: passport must travel to New Delhi (see §12).
  • Tech-market cyclicality: multinational layoffs happen; mitigated by breadth of employers.
  • Counterweights: English language, strongest tech job market of the three, no language requirement for citizenship.

Sources

Assumptions/uncertainties: CSEP salary threshold and NCS subsidy rates change annually — re-verify before applying. Irish visa approval statistics for Bangladeshis are not published. Biometrics policy for Bangladesh may change.

Research section

Education

Master’s Programs

Shortlisted CS / AI / Software Engineering / DevOps programmes (target: Sept 2027 intake):

University Programme Tuition (non-EU) Duration
ATU Galway MSc Computing €14,000 1 yr
ATU Letterkenny MSc Cloud Technologies €14,000 1–2 yrs
ATU Letterkenny MSc DevOps €14,000 1–2 yrs
SETU Carlow MSc Applied AI €14,000–15,000 1 yr
SETU Waterford MSc CS (Enterprise Software Systems) €14,000–15,000 1–2 yrs
Maynooth MSc CS (Software Engineering, MHG50) €18,000 1 yr
Maynooth MSc CS (Applied, MHG68) — incl. 6-mo placement €25,500 2 yrs
Griffith College (private) MSc Computing ~€13,575 net of standard bursary 1 yr
MTU Cork MSc AI €15,000 1 yr (60 credits)

Full per-programme detail, entry requirements, deadlines and scholarships: see university-list.md.

  • Duration: Mostly 1 year, 90 ECTS taught masters (MTU is 60 credits; Maynooth Applied and the ATU part-time tracks run longer).
  • English-taught: All programmes — Ireland is English-speaking, no language barrier.
  • Intakes: September is the main intake; SETU Applied AI also runs a January intake, Griffith also runs February.
  • Sept 2026 non-EU applications are mostly closed already — this shortlist targets September 2027 entry; see university-list.md for projected application windows.

Sources: atu.ie, setu.ie, maynoothuniversity.ie, griffith.ie, mtu.ie. Updated 14 Aug 2026 against Sept 2026-cycle course pages — all nine confirmed as taught (coursework) masters.

Academic Equivalency & Credit Mapping

  • A 4-year Bangladeshi B.Sc. in CS/CSE (UGC-recognized university) is generally accepted as equivalent to an Irish NFQ Level 8 honours bachelor for entry to Level 9 taught MSc programs. Universities assess directly; no separate state recognition step is needed for admission.
  • Typical entry bar: CGPA ≈ 3.0/4.0 (second-class upper, 2:1 equivalent) for Maynooth and MTU; SETU and Griffith accept 2:2 or lower with relevant work experience (SETU Applied AI even accepts no degree + 10 yrs experience) — see university-list.md for exact bars per programme.
  • ECTS: Irish taught MSc = 90 ECTS; your 4-year B.Sc. maps comfortably (240 ECTS-equivalent). Subject prerequisites (programming, math) are satisfied by a CSE degree.
  • No additional bridging coursework normally required for CS→CS progression.

Coursework-Based Master’s Programs

  • All nine shortlisted programmes are taught masters (coursework + labs + dissertation/project), not research masters — dissertation weighting ranges from an AI research project within MTU’s 60-credit structure up to a 30-credit dissertation at ATU (Cloud/DevOps) and SETU Enterprise SE.
  • Guaranteed placement: only Maynooth’s MSc CS (Applied, MHG68) includes a mandatory 6-month industry placement (Year 2). The rest have no internship window — the post-study Stamp 1G period substitutes for it.
  • No entrance exam anywhere in this shortlist — only English proficiency (IELTS/TOEFL/Duolingo) is required.
  • Company collaborations & careers: graduate-programme hiring is Dublin-multinational-heavy (applications Sept–Nov of your study year) — apply to graduate programmes in your first term regardless of campus location.

Sources and assumptions/uncertainties: see overview.md. Programme-specific sources: university-list.md.

Research section

Universities

Ireland — Shortlisted Universities (Target: September 2027 intake)

Research date: 14 Aug 2026. September 2026 non-EU deadlines have mostly passed — figures below are this year’s cycle, used to project Sept 2027 windows. Re-verify exact dates/fees with each admissions office closer to application time.

Projected application windows (Sept 2027)

Institution Portal likely opens Est. non-EU deadline Note
ATU (Galway / Cloud / DevOps) ~Oct–Nov 2026 ~Apr–Aug 2027 (varies by campus) Galway is between intakes now (next start Jan 2027) — unclear if a Sept 2027 non-EU round runs; email to confirm.
SETU (Applied AI / Enterprise SE) ~Nov 2026 Non-EU closes months before EU Fills non-EU seats fast — apply early.
Maynooth (MHG50 / MHG68) ~Oct 2026 (MU Apply) This year: 30 Jun (SE) / 28 May (Applied) MHG68 (Applied) filled before its own deadline this year — apply the moment the portal opens.
Griffith College Rolling Rolling, but seats fill ahead of Sept/Feb intakes No hard cutoff; earlier = better scholarship odds.
MTU (AI) ~Oct–Nov 2026 This year: 31 May Deadline is notably earlier than the rest — don’t leave this one late.

Scholarship timing matters: the Government of Ireland scholarship (GOI-IES) requires a conditional/final offer in hand before you can apply, and typically opens late Jan–closes Mar. For Sept 2027 entry, aim to have at least one offer by January 2027.

Cost comparison (non-EU / international)

Programme Tuition Credits Duration
ATU Galway — MSc Computing €14,000 90 1 yr
ATU Letterkenny — Cloud Technologies €14,000 90 1–2 yrs
ATU Letterkenny — DevOps €14,000 90 1–2 yrs
SETU Carlow — Applied AI €14,000–15,000 90 1 yr
SETU Waterford — Enterprise Software Systems €14,000–15,000 90 1–2 yrs
Maynooth — Software Engineering (MHG50) €18,000 — 1 yr
Maynooth — Applied (MHG68) €18,000 (Yr1) + €7,500 (Yr2) = €25,500 — 2 yrs
Griffith College — MSc Computing €16,000 + ~€1,075 fees, net ≈ €13,575 after standard bursary — 1 yr
MTU Cork — AI €15,000 60 1 yr

EU/Irish rates for comparison: ATU €6,300 · MTU €6,695 (+€7 USI) · Maynooth €7,400 (+€150 levy) · Griffith €8,150 · SETU €8,700 (Applied AI) / €4,950 (Enterprise SE, unconfirmed — check with fees office).

Programmes

ATU — MSc Computing, Galway (GA_KCOMG_V09)

  • 1 yr, 90 credits, on-campus. Broad, self-directed curriculum — 6 taught modules (own pick), Research Methods (5cr), Research Project (25cr, Jun–Aug).
  • Electives include ML, Cloud Native Computing, Cybersecurity, Text & Sequence Analytics.
  • Entry: Level 8 in computing/software dev or computer engineering. IELTS 6.0.
  • Contact: Dr John Healy — [email protected]. Non-EU currently closed for Sept 2026; next confirmed start is Jan 2027 — email to ask about a Sept 2027 non-EU round.

ATU — MSc Computing in Cloud Technologies, Letterkenny (LY_ICTEC_M)

  • 90 credits, 1 yr FT / 2 yrs PT. 100% continuous assessment, full-time attendance required.
  • Core: Infrastructure as Code, Virtual Server Admin, Networking, Hybrid Cloud + 30cr Dissertation.
  • Entry: Level 8 honours (2.2) in Computing or HDip; RPL possible.
  • Careers: Cloud Architect/Engineer/Systems Admin.

ATU — MSc Computing in DevOps, Letterkenny (LY_IDVOP_M)

  • Same structure/entry as Cloud Technologies, DevOps-focused modules (DevOps Software Engineering, IaC for DevOps Pipelines, DevOps Project Management, 30cr Dissertation).
  • Careers: Cloud DevOps Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Systems Software Engineer.
  • Was the only ATU programme still open to non-EU for Sept 2026 (separate international portal) — good sign for Sept 2027 timing too.

SETU — MSc Applied Artificial Intelligence, Carlow (SE61Y)

  • 1 yr, 90 credits, PG Diploma exit option. Modules: Programming/Tools for AI, ML, Deep Learning, AI at the Edge, Dissertation.
  • Most flexible entry on this list: Level 8 2:2 in CS normally; Level 7+ with 5 yrs relevant experience also considered; no degree + 10 yrs experience considered. Non-standard applicants interviewed. IELTS 6.0 (no band <6.0).
  • Two intakes typically: September and January.
  • Contact: Dr Oisin Cawley (course leader).

SETU — MSc Computer Science (Enterprise Software Systems), Waterford (SE61S)

  • 90 credits, 1 yr FT / 2 yrs PT (or slower). 6 taught electives (Agile, Cloud Architecture, Info Security, ML, Mobile Dev, UX) + Dissertation (Research Methods module + 20cr Dissertation).
  • Mixed classroom/online delivery; day-release friendly for industry students.
  • Entry: normally 2:2 honours CS degree; case-by-case exceptions for work experience. First-come-first-served once criteria met.

Maynooth — MSc Computer Science (Software Engineering), MHG50

  • 1 yr FT. Focus: requirements engineering, system design, testing, reliable software systems. Dissertation required.
  • Strictest entry: 4-yr Level 8 bachelor’s, 2:1 honours, CS or CS-heavy discipline; mandatory Programming/Databases/Data Structures/OOSE background. RPL route exists with 3+ yrs experience if no primary degree.
  • Docs needed: transcripts, graduation cert, passport copy, CV, 500-word personal statement. TOEFL code 8850.

Maynooth — MSc Computer Science (Applied), MHG68

  • 2 yrs. Yr1: 12 taught modules. Yr2: advanced module + major project + guaranteed 6-month industry placement.
  • Entry: 2:1 Level 8 CS (or equivalent CS content); programming mandatory, DB/networks/AI/ML/cloud beneficial.
  • Only programme on this list with a guaranteed placement — strong for employability and the Stamp 1G transition. Most expensive option. Filled entirely before its own deadline for Sept 2026 — apply the moment the portal opens for Sept 2027.

Griffith College — MSc in Computing, Dublin

  • Private, QQI-validated (not a university). 1 yr FT (1.5 yrs if starting Semester 2); PT over 4–5 semesters.
  • Stage 1: Data Mining, Mobile Dev, Concurrency/Distributed Systems, Research Methods. Stage 2: modern AI (CNNs/RNNs/LSTMs/transformers/LLMs/GenAI), Agile, Networking/Security, Cloud + Dissertation.
  • Most accessible entry: 2.2 Level 8 honours in Computing, or 2.2 HDip + relevant experience. Accepts Duolingo English Test.
  • Rolling admissions, no hard deadline — but seats and scholarships fill ahead of intake.

MTU — MSc in Artificial Intelligence, Cork (CR_KARIN_9)

  • 1 yr, 60 credits (smaller than the 90-credit programmes — factor into value comparison). All continuous assessment.
  • Topics: ML, deep learning, NLP, machine vision, big data, robotics, AI research project.
  • Most technically demanding entry: Level 8 honours in CS/Engineering/Computing, strong maths + advanced Python required.
  • €500 acceptance fee (deductible from tuition) once offered a place. PT online 2-yr version also exists (CR_KARTI_9).
  • Non-EU deadline runs notably earlier than other institutions — don’t leave this one late.

Scholarships

  • Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship (GOI-IES): stipend + fee waiver, highly competitive. Requires a conditional/final offer in hand first. 2026/27 cycle: opened 29 Jan, closed 12 Mar 2026; expect the 2027/28 cycle on a similar late-Jan–Mar timeline.
  • ATU Alumni Scholarship: 20% fee reduction — only for returning ATU alumni.
  • SETU: entry awards €1,000–4,000 based on entry criteria; separate academic-excellence scholarships (apply after offer); Global Advancement award for SETU undergrads progressing.
  • Maynooth: limited €3,000 scholarships for full-time Sept-start Master’s.
  • Griffith (most generous structure): €2,000 bursary to all international offer-holders + Academic Merit Scholarship (€1,000–2,000 by CGPA) + 10% sibling discount. Separately, the Griffith Global Excellence Scholarship offers 50% tuition for top academic/English scores (alternative to, not stackable with, the standard bursary/AMS) — at that level, Griffith drops to roughly €8,000 total.

Part-time work & post-study rights (all 9 programmes, Level 9)

  • During study (Stamp 2): 20 hrs/week in term, 40 hrs/week in holidays (Jun–Sep, 15 Dec–15 Jan). Needs IRP card + PPS number first. No self-employment/freelancing allowed. IRP registration: €300 per registration/renewal. Working over 20 hrs/week in term is the most common visa breach — treat as a hard limit.
  • After graduation (Stamp 1G): 24 months (two 12-month blocks) since all nine programmes are Level 9. Full work rights up to 40 hrs/week, no employer sponsorship needed, goal is converting to a Critical Skills/General Employment Permit.
  • Earnings: minimum wage figures vary by source (€12.70–€14.15/hr for 2026 — verify at workplacerelations.ie); at 20 hrs/week expect roughly €900–1,100 gross/month during term. Covers food/transport, not accommodation or tuition — treat as a supplement, not a plan.

How the field breaks down

  • Cheapest total cost of attendance: ATU Letterkenny (Cloud/DevOps) — €14,000 tuition + lower Donegal living costs. Trade-off: thinner part-time job market and graduate-employer presence than Dublin/Cork/Galway.
  • Best employability per euro: ATU Galway — €14,000, modern curriculum, Galway’s medtech/software cluster.
  • Best for specializing in AI: MTU Cork if Python/maths are strong; SETU Carlow if not (most forgiving entry route via experience).
  • Best academic brand: Maynooth — full university, established CS dept, but €18,000+ and needs a 2:1.
  • Easiest entry + best scholarship maths + location: Griffith College (private, not a university — matters for some employers/PhD applications, not most industry hiring).
  • Best if you want a job lined up before finishing: Maynooth MHG68, for the guaranteed 6-month placement.

Next steps

  1. Shortlist programmes now – Dec 2026; prep transcripts/IELTS/personal statement.
  2. Submit applications as portals open, Oct 2026 – Jan 2027 (Griffith first since it’s rolling).
  3. Aim for at least one conditional offer by Jan 2027.
  4. Apply for GOI-IES and institution scholarships once an offer exists, late Jan – Mar 2027.
  5. Visa (Stamp 2), accommodation, IRP prep: Apr – Aug 2027.
  6. Email ATU Galway ([email protected]) now to ask whether a Sept 2027 non-EU intake will run at all.

Sources

  • ATU: atu.ie course pages (Computing Galway, Cloud Technologies & DevOps Letterkenny)
  • SETU: setu.ie (Applied AI, Enterprise Software Systems)
  • Maynooth: maynoothuniversity.ie (MHG50, MHG68)
  • Griffith College: griffith.ie (MSc Computing)
  • MTU: mtu.ie (MSc AI)
  • Government of Ireland scholarship: official GOI-IES scholarship pages
Research section

Tuition & cost

Total Cost to Complete the Master’s Degree

Tuition (non-EU, CS/AI MSc): €14,000–€25,500 across the current shortlist (see university-list.md); most programmes cluster at €14,000–€18,000. (study.eu; university fee pages)

Itemized one-year budget (Dublin vs. non-Dublin):

Item Dublin (EUR) Cork/Galway/Limerick (EUR) Notes
Tuition 18,000–25,000 15,000–22,000 varies by program
Health insurance 200–500 200–500 mandatory private policy, min €25,000 accident + €25,000 disease cover (citizensinformation.ie)
Student visa fee 60 (single) / 100 (multi) same AVATS portal (irishimmigration.ie)
IRP registration 300 300 within 90 days of arrival (citizensinformation.ie)
Embassy/courier (Dhaka–New Delhi passport transit) ~50–100 same no Irish embassy in Dhaka; see §12
Accommodation 8,400–14,400 (700–1,200/mo) 6,000–9,600 (500–800/mo) severe shortage in Dublin, see §11
Food 2,400–3,600 2,000–3,000
Transportation 600–1,000 400–700 student Leap Card discounts
Books/materials 300–500 300–500
Miscellaneous 1,000–1,500 800–1,200
Emergency fund 1,500–2,000 1,500–2,000 recommended
Total (approx.) €33,000–€49,000 €27,000–€40,000
Total in BDT (approx.) ৳46.5–69 lakh ৳38–56.5 lakh @141 BDT/€

Visa financial proof: must show immediate access to €10,000 living funds for year 1 plus proof tuition is paid (irishimmigration.ie; citizensinformation.ie).

Cheapest realistic options: ATU (Galway/Cloud/DevOps, €14,000) and SETU (€14,000–15,000) — non-Dublin living costs €10,000–€14,000/year vs €13,000–€18,000 Dublin.

Scholarships for Bangladeshi students: covered in the Scholarships section — GOI-IES (€10,000 + full fee waiver, ~60 national awards/year, long-shot) plus per-university merit awards (partial, automatic or lightly competitive). Verdict: a bonus, not a funding plan — self-funding required.

Bangladesh Banking & Tuition Remittance

  • Student File mandatory: open at an Authorized Dealer (AD) branch of a scheduled bank (e.g., Bank Asia, Sonali, Standard Chartered BD) per Bangladesh Bank guidelines; the bank remits tuition/living costs directly to the university (Bank Asia student file service; Sonali Bank student file).
  • Documents: admission/offer letter, university cost estimate, passport, attested academic certificates, visa (for post-visa remittances), funding-source evidence.
  • Acceptable funding sources: own/parental/spousal savings, sponsor (close relative) income — documented with bank history, and tax documents (IT-10B / income tax return) of the sponsor where applicable.
  • Blocked account: Ireland does not use a blocked-account system (unlike Germany). The €10,000 proof is via your/sponsor’s statements + student file remittance evidence. Some applicants use Irish-bank “degree bond”-type products; not officially required.
  • Practical order: offer letter → pay tuition via student file → AVATS visa application with remittance proof.

Sources and assumptions/uncertainties: see overview.md. Bangladesh Bank student-file links: Bank Asia, Sonali Bank.

Research section

Scholarships

Ireland — Scholarships for a Bangladeshi Master’s Applicant (CS / AI / Software Engineering / DevOps)

Research date: 2 August 2026 (predates the Sept-2027 university-shortlist refresh in university-list.md — UL and University of Galway scholarships below are kept only for reference since those schools are no longer shortlisted; ATU and Griffith College scholarships have not yet been researched). 2026/27-cycle deadlines shown are the best available reference for estimating 2027/28 timing, not current deadlines. Exchange rate: see overview.md.

Quick-reference table

Scholarship Coverage Who can apply Application route Latest known deadline (cycle)
Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship (GOI-IES) €10,000 stipend + full tuition & registration fee waiver, 1 year Any non-EU/EEA/UK/Swiss applicant with an admission offer at an eligible Irish HEI Admission first, then separate HEA online portal 12 March 2026, 5pm Irish time (2026 cycle)
Maynooth University International Excellence Scholarship €5,000 tuition discount, 1 year (6 awards, 1 per world region) Non-EU PGT applicants, min. 80% in primary degree, offer accepted + deposit paid Admission + deposit first, then separate MS Form 31 March 2026 (2026/27 cycle)
Maynooth University International Merit Award €1,500 tuition discount (25 awards) Non-EU PGT/UG applicants, min. 80% in primary degree (for PGT), offer accepted + deposit paid Admission + deposit first, then separate MS Form 30 June 2026 (2026/27 cycle)
MTU automatic scholarship Reduces published non-EU fee by an unpublished, variable amount Self-funded non-EU applicants to qualifying programmes No separate application — automatic on offer N/A (automatic)
SETU International Academic Excellence Scholarship (IAES) 100% or 50% tuition fee scholarship Self-funded non-EU applicants who already hold Offer/Conditional Offer/Accept status Admission (or conditional offer) first, then separate competitive application Closed for 2026/27; reopens for Sept 2027/28 cycle
SETU International Student Entry Award 7%–30% partial tuition fee remission Self-funded non-EU full-time applicants No separate application — automatically assessed from the programme application N/A (automatic, evaluated at offer stage)

Not yet researched: ATU and Griffith College scholarships (both now shortlisted in university-list.md but this research pass predates that shortlist change).

Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship (GOI-IES)

  • Administered by: Higher Education Authority (HEA), funded by the Government of Ireland, delivered in partnership with Irish higher education institutions (HEIs).
  • Coverage: €10,000 stipend for one year of full-time study (contribution toward living/student costs), plus a full tuition and registration fee waiver for that year, provided by the host HEI as matched funding. For programmes longer than one year, the fee waiver may be extended by the HEI at its discretion, but the €10,000 stipend does not increase.
  • Scale: 60 scholarships total for the 2026/27 academic year, across all disciplines and all eligible HEIs in Ireland — this is a national, cross-disciplinary, cross-nationality pool, not CS/Ireland-specific. Upper limit of 5 awards per HEI; the top 12 ranked applications nationally (top 20% of the 60) are automatically funded.
  • Eligibility (all four required):
    1. Domicile of origin outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland, and the UK (Bangladeshi nationals qualify).
    2. Have received an offer (conditional or final) of a place as an international, fee-paying student in a full-time, in-person taught master’s (≥1 year), postgraduate diploma (NFQ 9, ≥1 year), or research programme at an eligible Irish HEI.
    3. Have never previously held a GOI-IES scholarship.
    4. Not a Russian or Belarusian citizen.
  • Application route — read carefully: Admission comes first. A candidate must already hold an offer of admission (conditional or final) from an eligible HEI before submitting a GOI-IES application. The offer document (offer letter, offer email from Admissions, or a portal screenshot confirming the offer) must be uploaded as part of the GOI-IES application. Applying for admission and applying for GOI-IES are two entirely separate processes: admission goes through the university’s own application portal; GOI-IES goes through the HEA’s own online GOI-IES application portal, not through the university.
  • Required documents: Proof of admission offer (as above); two references uploaded directly by the applicant via the GOI-IES portal (references must be dated within one year of the call closing date, written in English or translated and notarised); a personal statement addressing (a) the benefit of the scholarship to the applicant/HEI/Ireland/country of origin, (b) how the applicant will engage with Irish society beyond their studies, (c) long-term interest in Ireland.
  • Selection criteria (marking scheme): Academic qualifications, achievements and work experience — 40 marks. Personal statement — 45 marks (split 15/15/15 across the three sub-criteria above). Two references — 15 marks. Minimum threshold to be considered: 60/100 marks. HEIs also shortlist based on institutional strategic priorities (country of origin mix, field of study, study cycle, institutional capacity) before the HEA’s independent panel scores applications.
  • Deadline (2026 cycle): Call opened 29 January 2026; application deadline 5pm Irish time, 12 March 2026. Results expected early June 2026. The 2027 cycle’s dates are not yet published; by analogy expect a similar January-opening/March-deadline pattern, but confirm on the HEA GOI-IES policy page closer to the time.
  • Eligible institutions: Confirmed via the official 2026 GOI-IES Appendix 1 (Eligible HEIs, updated 28 January 2026) that Maynooth University, MTU, and SETU (all currently shortlisted in university-list.md) appear on the eligible-HEI list; ATU and Griffith College eligibility not yet checked.
  • Competitiveness: Official applicant-pool numbers are not published. What is publicly known: only 60 awards nationally per year, across all nationalities and all disciplines at all eligible HEIs, described by the HEA itself as “highly competitive” with “a large number of applications… received each year.” Given global demand for Irish government scholarships, treat this as a long-shot / lottery-ticket opportunity rather than a plannable funding source — this matches tuition.md’s existing verdict.
  • Official sources: HEA GOI-IES policy page; 2026 GOI-IES Call Document (PDF); 2026 GOI-IES Appendix 1 — Eligible HEIs (PDF).

Dropped from the shortlist (kept for reference only)

UL (€2,000/yr Faculty of Science & Engineering scholarship, automatic) and University of Galway (reported up to €10,000 “Global Excellence Scholarship,” unconfirmed on an official page) both had non-EU scholarships researched previously — but neither university is in the current university-list.md shortlist, so details aren’t maintained here. See git history if needed.

Maynooth University — International Scholarships

Maynooth publishes three distinct non-EU scholarships relevant to a taught postgraduate applicant, all confirmed on the official International Scholarships page:

International Excellence Scholarship

  • Coverage: €5,000 tuition fee discount, one year. Six awards total, one per world region: North America, Latin America, South Asia (Bangladesh falls in this region), East Asia, Southeast Asia, Rest of the World.
  • Eligibility: Non-EU fee-paying student; must have already accepted the offer and paid the deposit; applying for a full-time postgraduate programme; minimum overall result of 80% in the primary (undergraduate) degree.
  • Application route: Admission and deposit payment come first (this is a hard eligibility gate, not just a preference) — only then can the candidate submit the separate scholarship application via an MS Form (linked from the official scholarships page).
  • Deadline (2026/27 cycle): Applications opened 1 February 2026, closed 31 March 2026.
  • Required documents: A personal statement describing prior academic performance/accomplishments and motivation for choosing Maynooth, demonstrating academic readiness and fit with Maynooth’s strengths.
  • Competitiveness: Only one award per region worldwide (South Asia region) — extremely competitive by construction, though the applicant pool size is not published.

International Merit Award

  • Coverage: €1,500 tuition fee discount, 25 awards available (a much larger pool than the Excellence Scholarship).
  • Eligibility: Non-EU fee-paying student; offer accepted and deposit paid; open to full-time postgraduate-taught (PGT) and undergraduate applicants; PGT applicants must have a minimum 80% overall result in their primary degree.
  • Application route: Same pattern — admission + deposit first, then a separate MS Form application.
  • Deadline (2026/27 cycle): Applications opened 1 April 2026, closed 30 June 2026.
  • Required documents: Personal statement on what attracted the applicant to Maynooth, programme fit, and goals.
  • Competitiveness: With 25 awards available (vs. 6 for the Excellence Scholarship), this is the more realistically attainable of Maynooth’s merit awards for a strong-but-not-top-1% applicant, though the 80% primary-degree threshold is a hard cutoff worth checking against Bangladeshi grading-scale equivalence in advance.

International Loyalty Scholarship (for context only — not applicable to a first-time applicant)

MTU Non-EU Scholarship

  • Coverage: MTU states explicitly that it “does not currently offer full scholarships” to non-EU students; instead, successful candidates may be awarded a partial reduction of the published non-EU tuition fee — the exact amount is not published as a fixed figure and appears to vary by programme/candidate.
  • Eligibility: Self-funded, classified as non-EU for tuition purposes, applying to a qualifying programme (not all programmes are eligible).
  • Application route: No separate scholarship application — candidates are automatically considered once approved for a programme. If awarded, the scholarship is noted on the Offer Letter itself.
  • Deadline: Not applicable (automatic, tied to the programme application — see MTU’s 31 May 2026 non-EU deadline in university-list.md §5).
  • Payment note: If a scholarship is awarded, MTU requires the deposit to secure both the place and the scholarship to be €1,000, paid within 4 weeks of the offer (vs. the standard €500 acceptance fee for applicants without a scholarship).
  • Competitiveness: Not published; framed as a modest, automatic, non-guaranteed reduction rather than a plannable funding source.
  • Official sources: MTU International Non-EU Fees; MTU Non-EU Fees.

SETU Scholarships

SETU runs two distinct, non-overlapping non-EU award schemes:

SETU International Academic Excellence Scholarship (IAES)

  • Coverage: 100% (Full IAES) or 50% (Major IAES) of SETU tuition fees, applicable only to tuition (not living costs). A limited number of students are selected per world region each year.
  • Eligibility: Self-funded non-EU international students starting a new full-time on-campus undergraduate or taught-postgraduate programme; not already receiving another scholarship; not already enrolled at SETU.
  • Application route — explicit sequencing confirmed officially: Applicants must already hold Offer, Conditional Offer, Accept, or Conditional Accept status on their SETU programme application before they are eligible to submit an IAES application. Full-IAES recipients who pay a deposit have it refunded after registration; the IAES cannot be combined with any other tuition scholarship.
  • Deadline: Applications for the 2026/27 intake are closed; the scheme reopens in 2027 for the September 2027/28 intake (confirmed officially, so this is a directly-stated future-cycle signal, not a projection). Exact 2027/28 deadline not yet published — check the SETU Scholarships page periodically.
  • Selection process: Evaluated primarily on academic merit plus a holistic review by the SETU Academic Committee for International Academic Scholarships and Awards (ACISA), which recommends candidates to Academic Council; decisions communicated within 8 weeks of the application deadline; Council’s decision is final.
  • Competitiveness: Explicitly described as a “limited number of students per region” — competitive, but the specific applicant pool size is not published.
  • Official source: SETU International Academic Excellence Scholarship Policy.

SETU International Student Entry Award

  • Coverage: A partial fee remission of 7%–30% of tuition, varying by programme, academic credentials, and English-language attainment (figures confirmed for the 2025/26 intake; 2026/27+ figures not separately re-confirmed but described as an ongoing scheme).
  • Eligibility: Self-funded non-EU students pursuing full-time, in-person undergraduate or taught-postgraduate study at SETU’s Carlow, Waterford, or Wexford campuses (online/part-time/off-shore excluded).
  • Application route: No separate application — SETU Global automatically determines eligibility and award amount from the information already supplied in the standard programme application (academic transcripts and English test scores); the award status is communicated with the programme offer.
  • Deadline: Not applicable (automatic, tied to the programme application deadline — see SETU’s ~1 June visa-required deadline in university-list.md §6).
  • Competitiveness: Because this is automatic and graduated (7–30% band) rather than all-or-nothing, it is the most realistically attainable award on this entire list for a solidly-qualified applicant — essentially guaranteed to some degree for most admitted non-EU SETU applicants, though the exact percentage is not guaranteed to be at the high end.
  • Official source: SETU International Student Entry Awards Policy.

Overall competitiveness summary

  • GOI-IES is the only “headline” fully-funded scholarship in this list and is a long shot: 60 awards/year nationally across every discipline, nationality, and eligible HEI in Ireland, with no published applicant-pool number but described by the HEA itself as receiving “a large number of applications” — realistically not a plannable funding source, consistent with tuition.md’s existing verdict.
  • University-specific merit awards (Maynooth €1,500–€5,000) are partial, automatic-or-lightly-competitive, and stack-limited — useful for shaving a few thousand euros off tuition but not enough to change the overall self-funding requirement.
  • SETU’s Entry Award (7–30%, automatic) stands out as the most realistically attainable discount on this list precisely because it requires no separate application and is graduated rather than pass/fail — worth factoring into a SETU-specific cost estimate with more confidence than the others.
  • Bottom line, matching tuition.md §2: treat every scholarship in this document as a possible bonus on top of a fully self-funded budget, not as a funding plan. Apply to GOI-IES and the relevant university merit schemes anyway (the cost of applying is time, not money, for all of them once admitted), but do not delay visa/financial-proof planning while waiting on results.

Sources

Data not found / could not be verified — flagged explicitly rather than guessed:

  • MTU’s exact non-EU scholarship amount (stated only as “not a full scholarship,” no fixed euro or percentage figure published).
  • 2027/28-cycle deadlines for every scheme except SETU’s IAES (which officially confirms it reopens in 2027, without yet giving an exact date).
  • Applicant-pool / success-rate statistics for GOI-IES, Maynooth’s awards, and SETU’s IAES — none of these publish approximate applicant numbers or success rates.
  • ATU and Griffith College scholarships — not yet researched (see note at top of file).
Research section

Visa

Post-Study Work Visa

Third Level Graduate Programme → Stamp 1G.

  • Availability: automatic entitlement for graduates of Irish institutions, apply within 6 months of award.
  • Duration for Master’s (NFQ Level 9): 24 months (granted 12 + 12 renewal).
  • Rights: full-time work (up to 40 hrs/week), no employment permit needed, any employer.
  • Extension: beyond 24 months only in exceptional/compassionate cases; the intended path is Stamp 1G → employment permit (CSEP) → Stamp 4.
  • Sources: irishimmigration.ie stamps; ICOS Third Level Graduate Scheme; UCD Stamp 1G page.

Visa Success for Bangladeshi Applicants

  • Documents: AVATS application summary, passport, letter of acceptance (full-time course ≥15 h/week on the Interim List/ILEP), proof tuition paid, evidence of €10,000 immediate access funds, private medical insurance, IELTS, gap/study-history explanation, statement of purpose, sponsor documents (see §13), prior refusals declared (irishimmigration.ie; Education Ireland Bangladesh checklist).
  • Process: Online AVATS application → document submission at VFS Global Dhaka → processing at Embassy of Ireland, New Delhi.
  • Bank statements: 6 months’ history typical; large unexplained recent deposits are a classic refusal trigger; funds must be documented with source (see §13).
  • IELTS: universities typically require 6.5 overall for CS MSc (some 6.0); the visa side expects evidence of English meeting the institution’s requirement.
  • Common rejection reasons: finances not credible/source of funds unclear, weak course-choice justification (“course hopping” profile), gaps in study/work history, doubts about intention to study, incomplete documents. Refusal appeals take ~6 months (AECC Bangladesh).
  • Processing time from Bangladesh: ~4–8 weeks plus ~1 week Dhaka–New Delhi passport transit each way (AECC Bangladesh; VisaThing).
  • Interview: generally no interview for Irish study visas from Bangladesh; decisions are paper-based (unofficial consultancy sources; no official interview requirement published — treat as “not normally required”).
  • No official visa-approval-rate statistics for Bangladeshi study visas are published; anecdotal reports suggest refusals are common where finances are weakly documented. Uncertainty flagged.

Embassy Jurisdiction & Travel Requirements

  • No Irish embassy in Bangladesh. Study-visa applications are lodged online (AVATS), documents submitted via VFS Global Dhaka, and adjudicated by the Embassy of Ireland, New Delhi (VisaThing; AECC).
  • Biometrics: Bangladesh residents are currently not required to give biometrics for Irish visas, and no appointment is needed to submit at the Dhaka centre (Education Ireland Bangladesh) — verify at application time, rules change.
  • Interview: not normally required (see above). You do not need to travel to India; the passport travels by courier (add ~1 week each way + courier fees ~€50–100 equivalent).
  • No Indian visa needed since personal travel to New Delhi is not required.

Sources and assumptions/uncertainties: see overview.md.

Research section

Jobs & work

Job Market

Ireland hosts the EMEA headquarters of Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, plus strong domestic/fintech sectors (Stripe founders are Irish; Workday, Salesforce, Intercom, Mastercard, Fidelity all have large Dublin engineering offices).

  • Demand (2026): demand continues across software engineering, cloud, AI, cybersecurity, data; ~1 in 4 employers expects to increase hiring in 2026 (Mason Alexander tech market report; GemPool Q1 2026 update).
  • Most in-demand: AI/ML (LLM engineering), cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP, Kubernetes, CI/CD), cybersecurity, data engineering, full-stack. .NET demand solid in fintech/insurance (Dublin, Cork). DevOps/SRE roles plentiful at multinationals.
  • Graduate salary: average graduate software engineer Dublin ≈ €48,000; typical range €40,000–€52,000; US multinationals pay €55,000–€75,000 for new grads (Glassdoor Dublin 2026; Morgan McKinley 2026 salary guide).
  • Major hiring cities: Dublin (dominant), Cork (Apple, cybersecurity cluster), Galway (medtech + software), Limerick.
  • Job-opening counts: no official government count; recruitment indices above are the best available proxy — labeled estimate.

ICT roles are on Ireland’s Critical Skills Occupations List (software engineers, AI developers, cloud architects, SREs — SOC-2135/2136), qualifying for CSEP sponsorship at a minimum salary threshold of €38,000/year — the key to the family/PR pathway (§6–8) (citizensinformation.ie CSEP).

Part-Time Work During Study

  • Hours: 20 h/week during term, 40 h/week during holidays (June–Sept + 15 Dec–15 Jan) — Stamp 2 condition (citizensinformation.ie).
  • Wage: national minimum wage €14.15/h from 1 Jan 2026 (Irish minimum-wage guidance). 20 h/week ≈ €1,130/month gross; little/no income tax at that level (USC exempt ≤€13,000/yr).
  • Covers living costs? Outside Dublin: most of it. Dublin: no — rent alone can exceed part-time income. Do not budget on part-time earnings covering everything.
  • Ease of finding: good — English-speaking retail/hospitality/delivery/campus jobs are abundant; easier than in Finland/Sweden where local language matters.
  • Common jobs: retail, hospitality, warehousing, care assistance, campus roles, delivery.

Net Salary After Tax

Entry-level software engineer, single-earner household, Dublin, 2026:

Gross/year Income tax + USC + PRSI (approx.) Net/month (approx.)
€40,000 ~€7,300 ~€2,720
€48,000 ~€10,400 ~€3,130
€60,000 ~€15,800 ~€3,680
  • Bands: 20% up to the standard-rate cutoff (€44,000 single, €53,000 married single-earner, 2026), 40% above; USC up to 8% tiered; PRSI ~4.2%. Verify with Revenue tax calculator; figures are estimates.
  • Rent is the dominant expense — see overview.md for the Dublin family-apartment range.

Sources and assumptions/uncertainties: see overview.md.

Research section

Family

Bringing My Family

The hard truth: Ireland’s Non-EEA family reunification policy does not permit Stamp 2 Master’s students to sponsor spouse/child. Only PhD students (and certain employment permit holders) qualify (irishimmigration.ie family dependents; Y-Axis Ireland dependent visa).

Realistic timeline for this profile:

  1. Year 1: study alone (family stays in Bangladesh).
  2. Year 2 (Stamp 1G): technically still not a sponsor category for reunification; family typically still waits.
  3. On obtaining a Critical Skills Employment Permit job (ICT roles qualify; €38,000+ salary threshold for critical-skills occupations): spouse and child can apply to join immediately, no waiting period, no financial-dependency test beyond the permit itself (citizensinformation.ie CSEP; ISD spouse/partner page).
  4. Family visa processing from Bangladesh (long-stay “D” join-family visa): typically several months (~6 months is common guidance; ISD publishes a 6-month business target for CSEP family — confirm at time of application).

Expected family separation: roughly 18–30 months (study year + job search + family visa processing). Budget emotionally and financially for this.

Spouse Work Rights

Once the spouse arrives as the spouse of a CSEP holder, they receive Stamp 1G: work immediately, full-time, any sector, no separate work permit needed (irishimmigration.ie; citizensinformation.ie). Spouse’s Stamp 1G time counts toward citizenship residence.

  • English-speaking labor market: spouse employability is the best of the three countries (no local-language barrier).
  • Salary expectations: minimum wage €14.15/h (~€29,000/yr full-time) for unskilled work; professional roles depend on qualifications.
  • During your study period the spouse is in Bangladesh — no work rights question arises until the CSEP stage.

Family Friendliness

  • Healthcare: public system (HSE) with fees for many services unless you hold a medical card; quality good but waiting lists notorious. CSEP families typically use employer/private insurance. Rating: moderate.
  • Childcare: the weak point — full-time crèche Dublin €900–€1,400+/month before subsidy; National Childcare Scheme (NCS) universal subsidy knocks €2.14/hour off crèche fees for children under 15, bringing typical middle-income cost to €800–€1,100/month (Find a Crèche 2026 guide; Relocate Ireland). Among the highest in Europe. Rating: poor–moderate.
  • Education: free primary/secondary public schooling, English language — strong for a migrating family. Rating: good.
  • Safety: low violent crime; Dublin has pockets of petty crime. Rating: good.
  • Public transportation: adequate in Dublin (Luas, DART, buses), weak elsewhere; car often needed outside cities. Rating: moderate.
  • Work-life balance: statutory 4 weeks leave; tech employers generally good; commutes in Dublin can be long due to housing. Rating: good.
  • Overall quality of life: high (English language, friendly society, EU standard of living) but housing and childcare costs bite hard. Rating: good, with cost caveats.

Healthcare & Childcare (spouse + infant)

  • During study: you must hold private insurance (§2); spouse/child are in Bangladesh.
  • After family joins (CSEP stage): family members resident in Ireland can access public healthcare; “ordinarily resident” status gives HSE access, though without a medical card GP visits (~€60) and ED fees apply. Most tech employers provide family private insurance (VHI/Laya/Irish Life), which is the practical solution.
  • Maternity & infant care: free public maternity and infant care scheme; free GP visits for children under 8.
  • Childcare costs/subsidy: see Family Friendliness above. ECCE free preschool from age ~2y8m. Waiting lists of 6–18 months for infant places in Dublin are common — join lists before the child arrives.

Sources and assumptions/uncertainties: see overview.md.

Research section

PR & citizenship

Permanent Residency (PR)

Pathway: Stamp 2 (study, 1 yr) → Stamp 1G (2 yrs) → CSEP job → after 21 months on CSEP apply for Stamp 4 (live + work without permit, 2-year renewable) (citizensinformation.ie).

  • Long Term Residency (5 yrs legal residence) exists, but in practice citizenship by naturalisation is the target: 5 years reckonable residence (citizensinformation.ie citizenship).
  • ⚠️ Student time counts only partially: Stamp 2 study years are not reckonable for naturalisation. Stamp 1G (graduate), Stamp 1 (CSEP), and Stamp 4 time are reckonable. So the citizenship clock effectively starts after graduation.
  • Language requirement: none (English). Income: no fixed threshold for naturalisation; must be of good character and self-sufficient.
  • Continuous residence: final year before application must be continuous residence in Ireland.
  • Realistic timeline: 1 yr study (not counted) + 5 yrs (1G + CSEP + Stamp 4) → citizenship application ~6 years after arrival. Spouse’s clock runs from her arrival.

Difficulty rating: Moderate. No language test and no points system (easier than most of EU), but student years not counting and the CSEP dependency add time and risk.

Sources and assumptions/uncertainties: see overview.md.