Summer Courses
Summer courses are available for 6-7-year-olds and 8-13-year-olds (one-week sessions) at DCU and at other colleges and institutes of technology around Ireland. These students normally study two related subjects in either the morning or the afternoon session.
The summer programme for older students (12-17-year-olds) runs only at DCU. These courses give students the opportunity to study college-style and college leveled courses in subjects that are not otherwise available to them in the education system, such as Biotechnology, and War and Conflict Studies. Two sessions of three weeks each run each summer, usually from mid-June until the end of July or early August. With current financial situation, less people have been able to afford the steep cost of the programme, especially since the Government cut CTYI's funding in 2009. Because of this, students can now attend both sessions of the course, and the age bracket has been increased to include up to age seventeen.
Some of the students at the summer programme come from overseas, mostly from the United States and Continental countries such as France. Owing to the intensive nature of the programme, most of the 190-250 students who attend each session are residential, living in college accommodation for the duration of the course.
Weekdays in the summer programme are highly structured. Classes run from 9am to 3pm, with an hour's break for lunch. Activities take place from 3.15pm to 5pm, supervised by the residential assistants (RAs). Between 5pm and 6:30pm students have dinner and are required to attend a meeting with their RA group. 6:30pm to 8:30pm is taken up by the study period, which is supervised by the teaching assistant. Social time takes place between 8:30pm and 10pm, with lights-out at 10.30pm. On weekends, social activities such as discos, shopping trips, visits to the cinema, excursions to various interesting sights in Ireland, talent shows, mock casino nights and so on are organised.
Students on the older students programme study one subject intensively over three weeks. The courses on offer tend to cover material that is at first-year university level or its equivalent, and involve subjects not taught (or widely taught) for the Leaving Certificate. The subjects offered vary slightly each year.
In 2012, the following courses were offered: 21st Century Technology Skills, Behavioural Psychology, Biotechnology, Business & Innovation, Computers & Animation, Computer Gaming, Criminology, Cutting Edge Science, Cyber Psychology, Economics & Politics, Engineering, Game Theory, Heritage Studies, Japanese, Journalism, Law, Maths Experience, Medicine, Multimedia with Photography, Novel Writing, Philosophy, Social Psychology, Veterinary Science and War & Conflict Studies.
Read more about this topic: Centre For The Talented Youth Of Ireland
Famous quotes containing the words summer and/or courses:
“We say ourselves fortunate to be driving by today.
That we may look at them, in their gardens where
The summer ripeness rots. But not raggedly.
Even the leaves fall down in lovelier patterns here.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)
“However, our fates at least are social. Our courses do not diverge; but as the web of destiny is woven it is fulled, and we are cast more and more into the centre. Men naturally, though feebly, seek this alliance, and their actions faintly foretell it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)