Certificates and diplomas are valid qualifications in their own right. They may also be used as building blocks to degrees if students perform sufficiently well in the exams. The usual route is to take a two-year certificate followed by a one-year diploma and a one- or two-year add-on degree. The following is a list of add-on degrees currently available:

Athlone IT: software engineering

Carlow IT: software engineering

Cork IT: computer applications

Galway Mayo IT: software systems engineering; information technology for business; software development

Dundalk IT: commercial computing

Letterkenny IT: applied computing

Limerick IT: information systems; business computing

Portobello College: computer science (fee-paying)

Sligo IT: business computing

Tallaght IT: computing (information technology)

Tralee IT: information systems management; computing (software development)

Waterford IT: commercial software development

DIT allows eligible diploma students to progress by transfer to the third year of an appropriate degree programme.

By the time you finish your diploma, even more add-on options will be available.