Transition Year Programmes

College-Level STEM for Transition Year Students
Delivered by Trinity Walton Club, STEM@Universi-TY gives TY students a unique chance to explore university-level STEM while building a standout portfolio. Choose from two formats:

1. TY Online Hybrid Programme (21-week course with three modules: Physics (Mechanics), Design Engineering, and Computer Science & Statistics).

2. TY On-Campus Programme (20-week programme, 2 options to choose from: Physics (Mechanics) or Mathematics (Calculus).

Our next TY experience will run in Trinity College, Dublin 21-24 October 2025 Our Transition Year work experience programme “Exploring Materials” links school students with AMBER researchers at the CRANN Institute and Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute in Trinity College Dublin and with AMBER researchers working in the Tissue Engineering Research Group at the Royal College of Surgeons.

The Department of Botany hosts transition year students for a week-long structured work experience programme. Students have the chance to experience what happens behind the scenes in an active research environment, working alongside technical staff, PhD students and professional scientific researchers. In addition to working at the Trinity Botanic Gardens, students have the chance to extract DNA in the molecular laboratory, to examine plant/animal interactions, to examine seed germination and storage using the Irish endangered plant seed-bank, to measure, in the field, critical environmental parameters and to work in the internationally important Herbarium. In addition, transition year students will meet with staff and attend presentations.

The School of Computer Science and Statistics runs week-long workshops in January each year for transition year students who have an interest in studying Computer Science at 3rd level. These workshops provide a unique learning space where students work together in teams on a series of technical projects with both hardware and software components which can include: building and programming robots, animation, game design and web design. These workshops also provide an insight into the third level environment with lots of interaction between students and staff. Space is extremely limited, application process opens after Junior Certificate results have been released.

Join us in the School of Education in Trinity College Dublin for a week where we will explore learning spaces of the future and how to make education better for everyone. If you are a current Transition Year student you can apply for a place on our TY Visions for Education programme. We will focus the TY week around the theme of learning spaces of the future. Our goal is to encourage fun, inclusion and collaboration. The programme involves sessions around design thinking, diversity and equity, leadership, student voice and empowerment and innovation for learning. The participants will complete a team-based project focused on learning experiences for the future In the team. All skills are needed and valued.

Trinity College Dublin and St. James’s Hospital will host a one-week programme for Transition Year (TY) students. It aims to give TY students an opportunity to understand what it is like to have a career in the medical profession and to gain an insight into college life when studying medicine as an undergraduate. Students will get to meet and hear from professionals working in a variety of medical specialities including cardiology, surgery, radiology, intensive care and clinical research.

The School of Nursing and Midwifery runs a one-week programme for transition year students. This programme provides an introduction to the professions of nursing and midwifery, and is delivered through both lectures and practical sessions. For further information on the programme and the application process.

The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences offers placements for transition year students every year. Placements are possible in October/November and February/March, and are restricted to two students per week. A range of activities with our pharmacy students are available to TY students, including a tour of the facilities, attending lectures, seminars, workshops and practicals.

The School of Physics hosts a number of popular outreach events during the academic year. Our annual Transition Year Physics Experience (TYPE) is a week long programme introducing students to a range of subjects including nanophysics, electricity, optics and astrophysics.

The Department of Zoology offers a week-long structured programme to transition year students. The programme will introduce you to what it is like to be an undergraduate, and will give you insight into what a trained zoologist does. Among many other activities designed to let you experience the huge breadth of zoology, you will carry out research exercises alongside parasitologists, developmental biologists, behavioural ecologists and freshwater biologists. You will meet (and interview) technical staff, PhD students and professional scientific researchers, learn to evaluate a blog and present its salient points to your classmates, and attend a real research seminar.