Widening Participation
Widening Participation
The Law School is committed to promoting the University's achievement of a diverse and inclusive scholarly student community, making UCD a University for All. University for All is a whole-institution, evidence-based approach to mainstreaming inclusion in UCD, ensuring that all students feel welcome, belong and are valued.
The University for All initiative is governed by the University’s Widening Participation Committee. Membership of the committee is drawn from all Academic Programme Boards, Policy and Support Services, in addition to Student Access Leaders, UCD Students’ Union and co-opted members from UCD EDI and Global. The committee is provided with policy advice, expertise, and operational support by UCD Access & Lifelong Learning.
UCD’s Strategy to 2030 commits to continuing to build the diversity of our student population, further deepening the University for All initiative, widening participation of under-represented groups in learning at UCD, and ensuring the supports are in place to enable each student to thrive.
UCD Access & Lifelong Learning delivers a range of initiatives to facilitate widening participation in UCD, including outreach, admissions and student support. Through UCD Access & Lifelong Learning, students from a variety of backgrounds including mature students, school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and those with a disability are encouraged to progress and succeed at UCD. UCD Access & Lifelong Learning is responsible for seven entry pathways which enable entry to study at UCD: University Access Courses, DARE (Disability Access Route to Education), HEAR (Higher Education Access Route), Lifelong Learning, Open Learning, Mature Years, and QQI-FET. You can find out more about these entry pathways as well as how to apply here.
A broad range of supports is available to UCD students via UCD Access & Lifelong Learning: namely, Disability Support, Financial Support, Academic and Personal Support, and Digital Support.