Frequently Asked Questions

GCAS (The Global Centre for Advanced Studies) was founded in 2013 as the first college in the world to offer academic programmes on a debt-free, cooperative model, co-owned by its faculty, staff, and graduates. GCAS is a constituent college of Woolf, which awards our BA, MA, LL.M., and PhD degrees. See our Accreditation page for details.

GCAS operates as a cooperative rather than a traditional university. Tuition is significantly lower than at comparable institutions, every accepted student receives a tuition-reduction scholarship of up to 50%, and tuition can be paid in instalments. There is no application fee. Our goal is for every student to graduate without educational debt.

When you graduate from GCAS you become a co-owner of GCAS College Dublin alongside faculty and staff. That means a voice in the institution’s governance, lifetime access to our community, and a stake in the future of GCAS. We believe education should be a collaborative endeavour, not a commodity.

Yes. GCAS is a constituent college of Woolf, and our degrees are awarded by Woolf, a higher education institution licensed in Malta by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA). Credits are given in ECTS and levels in EQF: the BA is EQF level 6, the MA and LL.M. degrees are EQF level 7, and the PhDs are EQF level 8. See our Accreditation page for full details.

Our degrees are awarded by Woolf and use the European credit (ECTS) and qualification (EQF) frameworks, which are designed to make qualifications easier to compare across countries. Recognition is always decided by the university, employer, or authority receiving your degree, so if you plan to use it for a specific purpose, such as further study or professional registration, we recommend checking their requirements in advance. Our graduates have gone on to doctoral study and to academic and professional posts in many countries. See our Accreditation page for more.

We offer a بكالوريوس في الدراسات متعددة التخصصات, an ماجستير في الفلسفة, an ماجستير في التحليل النفسي, an ماجستير في اللاهوت, an ماجستير في السياسة, a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Business & Tax Law, a PhD in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and a PhD in Natural, Mathematical, and Computational Sciences. All are awarded by Woolf. See our Accreditation page for details.

All courses are delivered fully online through live virtual seminars, not pre-recorded lectures. You engage in real-time discussion with faculty and peers from around the world, and sessions are recorded so you can revisit them. Seminars are typically held at weekends to accommodate working professionals across time zones. We also host optional in-person seminars in cities such as Florence and Paris.

Seminars are held at weekends, so most students study alongside work or family commitments. The BA runs for three years full-time, with part-time completion possible in four to six years. The MA programmes are designed to be completed in 12 months, with a three-month grace period at no extra cost; after that, a fee of €250 per month applies to cover ongoing student support. The PhDs take 36 months unless Advanced Standing is granted.

No. Our بكالوريوس في الدراسات متعددة التخصصات (180 ECTS, EQF level 6) welcomes inquisitive, self-directed thinkers from every educational background. A secondary school diploma is standard, but our admissions committee evaluates life experience, personal motivation, and writing ability holistically, alongside traditional transcripts.

No. The ماجستير في التحليل النفسي (90 ECTS, EQF level 7), awarded by Woolf, is a non-clinical academic research degree covering Freudian foundations, Lacanian theory, Jungian thought, and cultural critique. It is designed for scholars, artists, and theorists applying psychoanalytic concepts to culture, technology, and philosophy, and does not by itself qualify graduates for clinical practice.

Not at all. A Bachelor’s degree is required for the ماجستير في الفلسفة, but it can be in literature, the social sciences, the arts, or an adjacent discipline. We welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds who demonstrate strong analytical writing and a deep interest in continental philosophy and critical theory.

Yes. Our 90 ECTS (EQF level 7) Master of Arts programmes are designed to be completed in 12 months, and many students finish in 12 to 13 months. Seminars are held primarily at weekends and are recorded, so working professionals can balance study with career commitments. Every student receives a three-month grace period beyond the first 12 months at no extra cost; after that, a fee of €250 per month applies to cover ongoing student support.

No. The ماجستير في اللاهوت at GCAS is entirely non-confessional. We approach theology through critical political theology, radical ethics, and the philosophy of religion, examining belief systems as historical, social, and political forces.

Our PhD in the Humanities and Social Sciences and PhD in the Natural Sciences are research-only doctorates at EQF level 8, awarded by Woolf. There is no taught coursework: your candidacy is focused entirely on original research, writing a dissertation of roughly 80,000 to 100,000 words, peer seminars, and your oral defence.

No relocation or visa is required: doctoral research and one-to-one supervision take place entirely online. In your first year you work with a GCAS PhD supervisor to narrow and define your research topic. For Years 2 and 3 you help choose the supervisor who will guide your dissertation, who may be a GCAS faculty member or an expert from outside GCAS whose work matches your research area. Candidates are also invited, though not required, to attend optional research seminars in Europe. See Supervision at GCAS and our PhD Supervisors page.

Requirements vary by programme. For the BA you need a secondary school diploma or equivalent; for Master’s programmes, a Bachelor’s degree; for PhD programmes, a Master’s degree. Standardised tests such as the SAT, ACT, and GRE are not required. All BA applicants are asked to write about why they want to study at GCAS.

No. Applications are open year-round on rolling admissions, so you can apply and begin your studies at any time. The process takes about two weeks from the day you start to a decision. Start your application.

We assess transfer credits case by case. For the one-year MA programmes we generally don’t accept transfer credit, as the programme is so short. Contact our admissions team with your transcripts for an assessment.

No. Because all programmes are delivered online, no student visa is issued and no relocation is required. You can study from anywhere in the world.

Before scholarships, tuition is €3,500 per year for the BA, €6,000 for each MA (€3,500 if you apply this academic year), €6,000 for the LL.M., and €6,000 per year for the PhDs, but every accepted student receives a tuition-reduction scholarship of up to 50%. The same fees apply to Irish, EU, and international students. See the programme pages for full details: ماجستير الفلسفة, ماجستير التحليل النفسي, ماجستير في اللاهوت, ماجستير في السياسة, دكتوراه العلوم الإنسانية والاجتماعية, and دكتوراه العلوم الطبيعية.

Yes. Every accepted student receives a tuition-reduction scholarship of up to 50%, tuition can be paid in instalments, and there is no application fee. Our aim is that finances never prevent a qualified student from pursuing their education.