DkIT Available Places will open through the CAO from 12 noon tomorrow, Thursday, 27th August, giving students another opportunity to explore degree courses with spaces remaining for September.
The facility may be useful for students who did not receive the offer they hoped for, have changed their mind about their original course choices or are now considering staying closer to home for third-level study.
Dundalk Institute of Technology says additional places are expected across areas including Business, Computing, Arts, Hospitality, Nutrition and Health.
Available Places are courses where vacancies remain after CAO offers have been issued.
How DkIT Available Places works
Students who already have a CAO application can apply for an Available Place without paying another fee.
They can log into their CAO application and select the option to add an Available Place course at the appropriate level.
Students who did not originally apply through the CAO can also use the Available Places facility. DkIT says new applicants, including applicants from Northern Ireland, can make a new application on payment of a €45 fee.
The CAO Available Places system opens at 12 noon on 27th August. Courses entered by 11am on 3rd September can be considered for Round Two offers, which are due to issue on 7th September.
Students still need to meet the minimum entry requirements for the particular course they are applying for, and having an available place does not automatically guarantee an offer.
Focus on employment and workplace skills
DkIT President Dr Diarmuid O’Callaghan said the Available Places facility gives students another route into programmes at the institute.
“The available places option gives students the opportunity to participate in a range of our fantastic courses and we welcome applications from potential students. Our programmes at DkIT are designed not only to prepare students academically, but also to equip them with the skills required to be work-ready and highly employable in their chosen industry.
“The results of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) 2024 Graduate Outcome Survey, released earlier this year found that of those surveyed 76.5% of DkIT graduates of undergraduate honours degrees were working full time and that DkIT had the highest percentage in full-time employment across Irish Third-Level Institutes of the graduates surveyed.”
DkIT’s course offering includes programmes with work placement and strong links to employers across a number of sectors, while the institute is also introducing new undergraduate options for 2026, including courses in Drama, Theatre and Film, Musical Theatre, Music and Maths, and Cybersecurity and Computing Infrastructure.
Another option after CAO Round One
For students across Drogheda, Louth, Meath and the wider North East, Available Places can provide another option after Leaving Certificate results and first-round CAO offers.
Students interested in DKIT Available Place can view the current options through DkIT and apply through the CAO once the facility opens.
DkIT’s first-year induction for the 2026/27 academic year is scheduled for 10th and 11th September, with the semester beginning on 14th September.
