Trinity sees strong rise in CAO applicants for the 2025/6 academic year
Posted on: 11 March 2025
10,569 students picked Trinity as their first choice for level 8 courses, an increase of 13.5%.
Trinity College Dublin attracted significantly more applications in the first round of the 2025 CAO.
A total of 23,548 students applied to Trinity programmes, representing 28% of all CAO applicants, up from 26% in 2024.
10,569 students picked Trinity as their first choice for level 8 courses, an increase of 13.5%.
The total number of course applications to Trinity in 2025 is 50,947, an increase of 15% over the 2024 figure of 44,166.
Across the board, the CAO recorded 84,572 applications for third-level places, 10% more than the 2024 figure of 76,899.
Vice-Provost Orla Sheils said she was delighted with the increased interest in Trinity.
“This is a wonderful outcome and we look forward to welcoming a new cohort of students to Trinity later this year, as they embark on an exciting new stage in their lives.
“We are disappointed that this year’s Leaving Certificate students still have to deal with the consequences of a post-marking uplift, as a legacy of the COVID era. Still, we look forward to working with DFHERIS (Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science) and the Department of Education to bring us to a point where the results are, once again, timely and restored to pre-pandemic grades.”
Some highlights from Trinity’s first-round applications include:
- First preference applications for TR051 Medicine have increased by 6%, having dropped for the last two years.
- Also popular were TR091 General Nursing (++84%), TR054 Occupational Therapy (+62%), TR053 Physiotherapy (+54%).
Among courses in Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, those which performed well include:
- TR087 Business Studies and Russian (+156%),
- TR022 Early and Modern Irish (+100%),
- TR019 Law and German (+100%).
In the faculty of STEM, popular courses included:
- TR034 Management Science and Information Systems Studies (+73%)
- TR038 Engineering with Management (+74%).
- TR032 Engineering has increased by 32%
- TR03 Theoretical Physics up 25%.
ENDS
Media Contact:
Catherine O’Mahony | Media Relations | catherine.omahony@tcd.ie