Griffith College Dublin (GCD) () is one of the longest-established private third level (higher education) colleges in Dublin, Ireland.
Overview
Established in 1974, with four campuses in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, Griffith College is one of the two largest independent higher education college in Ireland, with a student population of around 7,000 with 1,400 overseas students from over 77 countries. It is named after the former Griffith Barracks on the South Circular Road in Dublin.
The 7-acre Dublin campus is close to the city centre, where Griffith College has an additional campus. Student Halls of Residence are located on campus, close to the library, creative studios, the student bar and restaurant, gym facilities, and the Students Union.
Griffith College runs full and part-time degree and higher education qualifications in Law, Accountancy, Business, Computing Science, Journalism, Media, TV Production, Film Production, Design, Fashion, Music, and Drama.
The college offers professional accountancy programmes for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), ACA, CPA and IATI, Griffith College is a goldStar CPA approved Educator.The ACCA has awarded Griffith College Dublin the Platinum accreditation – the highest recognition by the ACCA, and is also an ACCA CPD registered course provider.
The Griffith College Dublin campus is the home of the Leinster School of Music & Drama. Established in 1904, the Leinster School offers theory classes in Music & Drama to groups and individuals subject to availability. The Leinster School is also an examining body and has a Theory Examinations Syllabus with levels from Preparatory to Grade 8.
History
The college was established in 1974 by Diarmuid Hegarty and incorporated in 1978 as the Business and Accounting Training (BAT). Originally located on Morehampton Road, in 1991 the Business and Accounting College moved from Milltown Park, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, to the Griffith Barracks site and changed its name to Griffith College Dublin.In 1979 Griffith College was designated as being an institution under the Irish Government's National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA) Act. In 1990 the first degree course was offered by Griffith College in Computer Science and it was validated by the University of Ulster. In 1992 it was followed by a Business Studies degree. This arrangement ceased in 1996 and the degrees were validated by Irish National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA), the predecessor of HETAC.
In 1992 the Tiernan Design School moved to the Griffith Campus, becoming the Griffith College Faculty of Design. In the late 1990s Newman College, Dublin became part of Griffith College.
In 2005, Griffith College Dublin merged with Skerry's College to form Griffith College Cork. Skerry's College had been active in Cork since 1884.
In September 2006 Griffith College Dublin merged with the Mid-West Business Institute to form Griffith College Limerick.
Griffith College City Centre
In 2018, the college opened Griffith College City Centre, off Mary Street in Dublin 1. The Dublin city centre facility offers courses such as Professional Accountancy, BAs in Accounting and Finance and also Business, Diplomas in Business Management and Human Resources Management, a Professional Diploma in Management and Leadership, and a Certificate in Applied IT and Office Skills.
Faculties
The College is divided into a number of faculties: Faculty of Business Graduate School of Business The School of Professional Accountancy Faculty of Law Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science The Professional Law School Faculty of Computing Science Faculty of Journalism & Media Communications Faculty of Design The Leinster School of Music & Drama Faculty of Training & Education Corporate Training Short Courses Griffith Institute of Language
Faculty of Law & the Professional Law School
Griffith College Dublin is home to Ireland's largest law school, incorporating the Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Professional Law Schools.
Innocence Project
In September 2009, David Langwallner, Dean of Law, founded the Irish Innocence Project at Griffith College.
The Irish Innocence Project reviews claims of wrongful conviction and miscarriages of justice in Ireland. It is based on the famous Innocence Project in the USA.
Final-year law students, drawn from Griffith, Trinity College Dublin and DCU, work with qualified and practising barristers, who in turn are working closely with the Griffith Dean of Law, to give post-conviction reviews of cases. Currently there are 20 active files and cases going back before the courts.