Chinese mainland students comprise 10.9 percent of international students in Irish higher education, making China the third-largest source country for international students in Ireland, as stated in the 2025 Report on Studying in Ireland.
The report, jointly published by EIC Education, Education in Ireland, and University College Dublin at the Irish embassy in China, provides insightful observations about trends in study applications in Ireland, in-demand programs, scholarships, and career prospects.
"Its purpose is to provide full guidance and assistance for Chinese students who intend to study in Ireland", says Sunny Sun, assistant general manager of EIC Consultancy and director of UK & Ireland Program Management at EIC. The number of Chinese students who received visas to study in Ireland has risen to 3,560 by 2024, an all-time high over the past decade and up 10.52 percent from 2023, Irish Visa Office data shows. Of all these students, the ratio of undergraduates to postgraduates is approximately 1:1.4.
Between 2015 and 2019, Chinese students going to Ireland for higher education gradually grew in numbers before declining between 2020 and 2022. Although numbers started to rise again in 2023.
Based on the Higher Education Authority of Ireland, for the 2023-2024 academic session, the Chinese mainland students' top five subjects of study included engineering, manufacturing, and construction; business, administration, and law; information and communication technologies; natural sciences, mathematics, and statistics; and arts and humanities.
Figures from EIC Education indicate that in the last six years, the most favored major among applicants from Chinese mainland has been "electronic and computer engineering" with 14.35 percent of applications, followed by business majors like finance (8.72 percent), marketing (7.46 percent), management (5.77 percent), and accounting (5.53 percent).
Ireland's well-established information industry generates a high demand for the computer and electronic engineering major, which not only enjoys plenty of jobs but also comes with access to advanced technology know-how and companies' R&D centers set up on campuses, according to EIC's Sun.
Also, the white paper discusses why Chinese students prefer studying in Ireland. It discovered that 59.1 percent of the respondents moved to Ireland for further studies due to the international recognition of Irish university diplomas. In addition, 55.7 percent are drawn to Ireland by convenient work visa policies and domestic job opportunities, and 42.6 percent perceive the cost of studying in Ireland as relatively low and affordable.
"Ireland's increased popularity as a study destination by Chinese students owes a great part to the safe and friendly diplomatic relationship between Ireland and China, thus international students are well accepted, as compared to uncertain study and visa policies in other nations", explained Education in Ireland's senior market advisor Peter Yang.
