CAO points 2026: full course list
What courses took in the 2026 offer rounds.
Every course and what it took in 2026
CAO Round 2 Points 2026: biggest drops and changes explained
Round one and round two, as the CAO published them. A dash in the round two column means no Round 2 figure is published in this source. It does not explain why, or predict later offers. Sort any column, or narrow by level, institution or search.
Round 2 published 7 September 2026. Replies close 9 September at 3pm Irish time. Check your offer in My Application and the CAO offer calendar (opens in a new tab). AQA means all qualified applicants; * means not all applicants on that score received an offer; # indicates a test, interview, portfolio or audition; v marks a new competition for available places. Each symbol belongs to the round beside it.
Median
339
Mean
357
Across the 1,180 courses comparable with 2025, points rose: 631 up, 459 down, and the middle course moved +1.5.
Showing 1,277 of 1,395 courses
118 courses are hidden, the ones the CAO marks as needing a portfolio, an audition, an interview or a test. Where that assessment is scored and added to the Leaving Certificate total, the figure beside the course is not a points total and cannot be compared with the rest. .
- Random selection
- More people had these points than there were places, so the last places went to a lottery. Having the points did not guarantee an offer.
Showing 60 of 1,277
CAO points 2026 in figures
Worked out from the 1,237 courses above that published a points figure. Courses scored on a portfolio, an audition or the GAMSAT are left out of every number here, because those figures are not points and averaging them in would produce something that describes nothing.
What were the average CAO points in 2026?
The two figures below are the whole list at once. The average broken down splits them by year, by level, by subject and by college, which is where a figure starts being about courses a reader is actually considering.
Median
339
The course in the middle. Half of the 1,237 courses asked for less than this.
Mean
357
The arithmetic average, pulled upward by the handful of courses in the 600s.
Courses counted
1,237
Every course with a round one points figure in 2026.
At 625
5
Courses that took the maximum a Leaving Certificate can give. On 2 of them the last places went to a random selection, so 625 was not a guarantee.
Did CAO points go up or down in 2026?
Across the 1,180 courses with a comparable figure in both 2025 and 2026, points rose. The middle course moved +1.5, which is the number worth holding on to: the headline cases at either end are a handful of courses, not the year.
Went up
631
53 out of every 100 compared courses.
Went down
459
39 out of every 100 compared courses.
Stayed the same
90
Same figure in both years, to the point.
Which courses rose the most in 2026?
- Construction Management DK732Dundalk Institute of Technology+180
- Graphic Communication Design GC480Griffith College+174
- Pharmacy Technician US660Technological University of the Shannon+161
- Architectural Technology DK731Dundalk Institute of Technology+136
- Social Care Work US781Technological University of the Shannon+133
- Automation and Robotics US916Technological University of the Shannon+128
- Business US720Technological University of the Shannon+126
- Electronic Engineering with Computer Systems US751Technological University of the Shannon+122
Which courses fell the most in 2026?
- Tourism and Event Management SE922South East Technological University-245
- Computing DB500Dublin Business School-154
- Computer Science, Linguistics and a Language TR039Trinity College Dublin-138
- Sound Engineering and Music Production DB534Dublin Business School-106
- Education - Primary Teaching - International MI004Mary Immaculate College-90
- Theology MU002Pontifical University, St Patrick's College-87
- Sustainable Farm Management and Agribusiness SE509South East Technological University-85
- Computing AU261Atlantic Technological University-75
A course moves because of how many people put it first and how many places it had, not because it got harder or easier. A big jump usually means a small course: take twenty places off a course with sixty and the last person offered is a long way up the list.
How the 2026 points were spread
- 600 and over1%12
- 500 to 59912%145
- 400 to 49922%266
- 300 to 39935%428
- 200 to 29928%344
- Under 2003%42
Each bar is that band’s share of the 1,237 courses, drawn against the largest band rather than against the full width, so the difference between the middle bands is visible.
The highest points courses in 2026
- Dentistry CK702University College Cork (NUI)625
- Economics and Finance DN670University College Dublin (NUI)625
- Management Science and Information Systems Studies TR034Trinity College Dublin625
- Dental Science TR052Trinity College Dublin625
- Dental Hygiene (interview) TR802Trinity College Dublin625
- Dentistry RC007RCSI University of Medicine & Health Sciences613
- Global Business (USA) DC116Dublin City University602
- Actuarial & Financial Studies DN230University College Dublin (NUI)602
The lowest points courses in 2026
- Sound Engineering and Music Production DB534Dublin Business School109
- Business in Marketing DB573Dublin Business School112
- Film and Creative Media DB576Dublin Business School116
- Interior Architecture & Design GC490Griffith College120
- Fashion Design GC495Griffith College142
- Business GB001Galway Business School142
- Business BY002IBAT College Dublin145
- Business Studies DB571Dublin Business School146
A low figure means the places were not contested, not that the course is a lesser one. Several of these are at private colleges, where the fees rather than the points are what keeps the numbers down.
Questions people ask about 2026 points
What were the average CAO points in 2026?+
Across the 1,237 courses that published a round one points figure in 2026, the median was 339 points and the mean was 357. The median is the course in the middle, so half of all courses asked for less than 339 points. Courses scored on a portfolio, an audition or the GAMSAT are left out, because those figures are not on the points scale.
Did CAO points go up or down in 2026?+
Of the 1,180 courses with a comparable figure in both 2025 and 2026, 631 went up, 459 went down and 90 stayed the same, so points rose overall. The middle course moved +1.5 points.
Which course rose the most in 2026?+
Construction Management at Dundalk Institute of Technology, CAO code DK732, went from 120 points in 2025 to 300 in 2026, a rise of 180. A course moves because of how many people put it first against how many places it had, not because it became harder.
Which course fell the most in 2026?+
Tourism and Event Management at South East Technological University, CAO code SE922, went from 473 points in 2025 to 228 in 2026, a fall of 245.
What was the highest CAO points course in 2026?+
5 courses took 625 points in 2026, the most a Leaving Certificate can give, among them Dentistry at University College Cork (NUI). On 2 of them the last places went to a random selection, so having 625 was not a guarantee of an offer.
What was the lowest CAO points course in 2026?+
Sound Engineering and Music Production at Dublin Business School took 109 points, the lowest round one figure published in 2026. A low figure means the places were not contested, not that the course is a lesser one.
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Where these figures came from
Checked 8 September 2026. Remember that a course's points are the points of the last applicant offered a place, not a threshold set in advance. Why the numbers move. CAO source (opens in a new tab)