Design points 2026

Design is offered at 10 colleges in Ireland, with entry points that differ widely between them. The CAO files it under arts.

Lowest entry point

112

across the last 5 years

Highest

416

a spread of 304 points between colleges and years

Some courses here are scored on a portfolio, an audition or an entrance test as well as points, and those figures can run past 625. They are left out of the three figures above, because they are not on the points scale. What that means.

Where it is offered, and what it took

Round one points for each college, year by year. A dash means the course did not run that year, or no figure was published. The last column is the change on the previous year the course ran, which for most is 2026 against 2025.

Some colleges appear twice below with the same course name. Where the level differs, one is an honours degree and the other is not, and the points differ accordingly. Where the level is the same, the college teaches on more than one campus and the CAO lists each under its own code, so the code is what tells them apart.

College	Course	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	Change
Atlantic Technological University	Design - common entry AU234· Level 7Atlantic Technological University	–	–	–	227	237	+10
Atlantic Technological University	Design - Common Entry AU330· Level 8Atlantic Technological University	–	318	312	–	–	-6
Atlantic Technological University	Design - Common Entry AU519· Level 7Atlantic Technological University	–	254	251	241	232	-9
Atlantic Technological University	Design - Common Entry AU619· Level 8Atlantic Technological University	–	301	–	–	–	–
Atlantic Technological University	Interior Architecture and Design AU820· Level 7Atlantic Technological University	–	273	270	271	270	-1
Atlantic Technological University	Interior Architecture and Design AU926· Level 8Atlantic Technological University	–	416	401	400	400	0
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology	Design - Common Entry GA274· Level 7Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology	270	–	–	–	–	–
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology	Design - Common Entry GA284· Level 8Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology	329	–	–	–	–	–
Griffith College	Interior Architecture & Design GC490· Level 7Griffith College	AQA	112	203	130	120	-10
Institute of Technology, Carlow	Visual Communications and Design CW047· Level 7Institute of Technology, Carlow	279	–	–	–	–	–
Institute of Technology, Carlow	Visual Communications and Design CW088· Level 8Institute of Technology, Carlow	264	–	–	–	–	–
Institute of Technology, Carlow	Design CW707· Level 7Institute of Technology, Carlow	220	–	–	–	–	–
Institute of Technology, Sligo	Interior Architecture and Design SG331· Level 7Institute of Technology, Sligo	225	–	–	–	–	–
Institute of Technology, Sligo	Precision Engineering and Design SG336· Level 7Institute of Technology, Sligo	273	–	–	–	–	–
Institute of Technology, Sligo	Interior Architecture and Design SG348· Level 8Institute of Technology, Sligo	356	–	–	–	–	–
Letterkenny Institute of Technology	Design - Common Entry LY408· Level 8Letterkenny Institute of Technology	301	–	–	–	–	–
Limerick Institute of Technology	Art and Design (Common Entry, portfolio) LC110· Level 8Limerick Institute of Technology	813#	–	–	–	–	–
Limerick Institute of Technology	Creative Media and Design LC504· Level 7Limerick Institute of Technology	161	–	–	–	–	–
Limerick Institute of Technology	Creative Media and Design LC517· Level 8Limerick Institute of Technology	253	–	–	–	–	–
South East Technological University	Design (Visual Communications) SE201· Level 8South East Technological University	–	283	292	301	314	+13
South East Technological University	Visual Communications and Design SE204· Level 8South East Technological University	–	346	220	235	290	+55
South East Technological University	Design SE209· Level 7South East Technological University	–	257	280	308	250	-58
South East Technological University	Visual Communications and Design SE210· Level 7South East Technological University	–	305	195	214	245	+31
Technological University of the Shannon	Art and Design (Common Entry - portfolio) US800· Level 8Technological University of the Shannon#	–	794#	785#	837#	816#	–
Technological University of the Shannon	B Ed Art and Design (Offered jointly by TUS and UL - portfolio) US801· Level 8Technological University of the Shannon#	–	945#	841#	949#	948#	–
Waterford Institute of Technology	Design (Visual Communications) WD137· Level 8Waterford Institute of Technology	299	–	–	–	–	–

# beside a course, an interview, portfolio, audition or test is required. Beside a figure, that assessment is included in the number, which is why it can be above 625. * not everyone on that score was offered a place, so places were drawn at random among applicants on it.

Why some figures here are above 625

625 is the most anyone can score on Leaving Certificate points alone. The courses marked # above are assessed partly on a portfolio, an audition or an entrance test, and the published figure adds that assessment to the points. So it sits on its own scale and can run well past 625.

A figure of 900 does not mean 900 points. It means points plus a portfolio mark, and you cannot compare your own total against it. That is also why the calculator leaves these courses out when it works out what your points would have reached.

Reading this table

The spread here is 304 points, which is the most useful thing on this page. The same subject is far easier to get into at some colleges than others, so a total that misses one entry on this list can comfortably clear another.

None of these numbers is a threshold. Each is the points of the last applicant offered a place that year, so it describes where the queue was cut rather than a standard the college set. What moves them.