Course description
The new PGDip/MSc will provide you with the knowledge, professional and key skills that equip you for senior appointments in professional services, industry, the social economy, the voluntary, charitable and the public sectors.
Your professional development will be acknowledged by award of Graduate Membership (GradICSA) of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. With relevant experience you can then move to full membership of this worldwide body
This is the only university programme in the UK in which GradICSA can be awarded after the Postgraduate Diploma (120 M Level credit points) as all of ICSA's requirements are satisfied at this stage. This approval was given in recognition of the unique quality and design of the programme.
The PGDip/MSc programme offered in both full-time and part-time mode, (see details below). Both have the same content. Both programmes aim to equip you for a career in management and administration through the development of:
• The transferable intellectual skills necessary for senior management roles.
• The application of corporate governance to the organization.
• The study of management and organizational behaviour.
• The management of the finances of the organization.
• The management of the legal environment of the organization.
Graduates follow varied career paths. All graduates (2004-2007) who wished to pursue a graduate level career in a company secretary role in professional services companies in Ireland and overseas have met their goal.
The ICSA ICSA is the professional body for Chartered Secretaries. A Chartered Secretary is a professional qualified in company law, accounting, corporate governance, administration, company secretarial practice and management. They are trained to chart a course through regulation, legislation and best practice, and to deliver effective operations.
Chartered Secretaries work as company secretaries and in other senior positions in companies, charities, local government, educational institutions and trade bodies. The Institute has 44,000 Members and 28,000 Students in over 70 countries.
Duration and Mode of Attendance
Induction Week Offered prior to the start of Semester I, the induction week aims to prepare you for Masters level work and to provide organisational experience as a foundation for later learning. The induction week contains:
- Introduction to the UK Legal system (1 day)
- Accounting (1 day)
- Residential - outdoor management development (2.5 days)
Students who have prior learning, typically from work experience and relevant education, may be exempt from part of the induction week
Modes of Study
(Full-time) - one calendar year. September to September. You will have graduated (or be about to graduate) with an honours degree in any subject or wish to build upon undergraduate studies in law, accounting and relevant business studies.
(Part-time) - two to three calendar years.
Part-time students are normally in employment. The maximum credit value of module you can take in any semester is 30 points. If you follow this pattern you may complete the MSc in two years taking the full diet of Semester III (Summer) modules and the Postgraduate Diploma in 18 months without Semester III modules.
-You will be required to take Company Law and Financial Accounting in Semester I of the first year. You then decide what other module to take with the remaining three modules taken. In Semester II you choose any two modules per year. In Semester III all modules should normally be completed before you begin the dissertation. The dissertation may be completed in any semester.
-AssessmentA wide range of assessment methods allow you to effectively demonstrate your understanding and skill. Six of the fourteen modules are assessed by coursework only (projects, assignment, group assignments), seven by a combination of coursework and examination, and one by examination only.
-ICSA Conditions for Award of Grad ICSA You must have completed the registration process for collaborative students paid the relevant fee (currently £500) to become be a registered student member of ICSA before you have completed the PGDip.
-You cannot have any exemptions on the PGDip for prior Masters level work.
-You cannot be condoned any failure in coursework or examination.
Structure and Content
Semester I - ALL 10 CREDIT POINTS
-Company Law
-Organisation Behaviour and Management
-Financial Accounting
-Operations and Quality Management
-Human Resource Management
-Public Administration and Governance
Semester II - ALL 15 CREDIT POINTS
-Corporate Secretaryship
-Corporate Financial Management
-Management Accounting
-Corporate Social Responsibility
-(Students may exit after semester two with a Postgraduate Diploma in
-Management and Corporate Governance with Grad ICSA)
Semester III
-Leadership and Change (10 credit points)
-Research Methods (10 credit points)
-Dissertation (30 credit points)
one elective from:
-Issues in Public Management (15 points)
-E-Business (10 points)
-Developing Leadership Competencies (10 points)
120 credit points are required for award of the PGDip, 180 for the MSc
Depending on the choice of electives potentially a student may complete a Masters with more than 180 credit points.
Careers And Postgraduate Opportunities
90% of graduates have been employed in company secretarial services or trust services in a graduate level position. The employers include Deloitte, KPMG, AL Goodbody, Arthur Cox, PWC, Barclays Wealth, Ernst and Young, Northern Trust, BiSys, BDO Stoy Haward, and other smaller providers of services e.g McClure Watters (Belfast). Employment has been mainly in Dublin. Other areas have been Belfast, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Scotland
