Course Focus: Business economics and social studies, TCD/EAP

Question: How can you study in four European countries and end up with a primary degree, a master's degree, and an "embarrassing number" of job offers?

Answer: Begin with Trinity College's Business Economics and Social Studies (BESS) course and, after two years, apply for the European School of Management/Ecole Europeenne des Affaires (EAP) programme.

Antoin Murphy, professor of economics and EAP co-ordinator at TCD, is enthusiastic about the benefits of the EAP, which produces trilingual business graduates, but says there is insufficient interest in the programme. Since TCD signed an agreement with the EAP, providing for a credit transfer system, TCD has never filled its quota of eight students.

Students are interviewed for the programme and there are two possible streams with students taking a three-year curriculum which includes management studies and practical business assignments in France, Britain and Germany or Spain - one year is spent in each country.

On successful completion of the programme students are awarded a Trinity degree (BA mod or BBS) and the EAP masters in management (a diplome de grande ecole delivered by the French Ministry of Education). Graduates doing the German stream are also awarded the Diplom Kaufmann.

Job offers for business graduates who are now proficient in three languages are plentiful, with average starting salaries exceeding £30,000. One graduate was offered a starting salary of £45,000. Not bad for a 22 or 23-year-old graduate, says Murphy.

So, why the lack of interest? Murphy says that Irish students are "still conservative about attacking European markets." Irish students may also be unaware of the status of the European institutions and qualifications.

There is also the money issue with annual fees of more than 30,000 francs. Smurfit has been very generous is helping with the fees, says Murphy, and students have also been innovative in coming up with ways to make money while they study.

Emma Delaney, a graduate of the programme, says she initially opted for EAP because she wanted to study in Paris. It's a big step to take but there is the reassurance that students who want to opt out after first year can return to TCD to do fourth year of their BESS programme, provided they pass their exams, she adds.

Her first year was spent in Paris. "It took two or three months to integrate and to get to know the class of about 130 students. First year, academically was not a huge challenge for students who had gone through second year in TCD." She says the French students did not have the same level of business subjects so it gave her time to get the language sorted out. "It's a different approach - less research work and more assignments in groups."

The year in Berlin was probably the most challenging year, with "pretty rigorous exams." Delaney remained in Germany where she now works for BP Oil.

"I'm biased, of course, but I would recommend the programme. It's a great experience in many ways - an experience in human relations, you must integrate into a new environment, become independent. It doesn't suit everyone. It is not a university environment - it's more an MBA-type environment."