Digital Policy

Graduate Diploma Digital Policy course is hybrid learning comprising of online & face-to-face delivery.

With support from Microsoft Ireland, UCD’s School of Information and Communication studies has estabished the Microsoft-UCD Digital Policy Programme with the goal of building digital policy training and capability in Ireland and Europe.



The innovative programme mixes the abstract and the applied with core modules from the School of Information and Communication Studies. This programme introduces students to basic concepts and issues in digital policy, giving a historical and critical understanding of how to theorise digital objects and environments by learning to situate them in perspectives such as platform capitalism, governance, data infrastructures and information analytics.



The Grad Dip in Digital Policy is designed to prepare graduates for careers in evaluating, implementing, and studying core topical, theoretical, and methodological issues that arise in digital policy today. The course will take a multi-disciplionary approach to investigating the institutional and public policy dimensions of the prevalence of digital technology, as well as the underlying social conditions (economic, political, and cultural) and public/private sector contexts that give rise to such technologies and their governance.



Our Digital Policy programmes are interdisciplinary. Flowing from content developed at our UCD Centre for Digital Policy, they are designed to offer graduates the opportunity to study some of the core topical, theoretical, and methodological issues that arise today. These include investigating the institutional and public policy dimensions of the prevalence of digital technologies, digital infrastructures, and data processing in all dimensions of life. Our programmes will allow students to study the underlying social

conditions (economic, political, and cultural) that give rise to and influence such technologies and their governance, as well as the multiple public sector and commercial contexts where policy is made and enacted.

Module Trimester Credits

Stage 1 Core Modules

IS40820 Research Theory and Practice Autumn 5

IS40840 Data & Society Autumn 10

IS40910 Digital Policy Autumn 10

IS40960 Digital Policy II Spring 10

IS41190 Regulation and Emerging Technology Spring 10



Stage 1 Options - A)3 of:

IS40640 and POL42540 are face to face only. All other modules are hybrid or online.

IS40730 Quantitative Data Analysis Autumn 5

IS40640 Research Methods Spring 5

IS40970 AI & Ethics Spring 5

IS41050 Platform Governance Spring 5

IS41550 Digital Media Literacy Spring 5



Stage 1 Options - B) Min 0 of:

(Option Module:)

POL42540 Applied Data Wrangling and Visualisation Autumn 5

A primary degree NFQ Level 8 with at least upper second class honours (2.1) or international equivalent in any discipline is required.



Applicants whose first language is not English must also demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 7.0 (no band less than 6.5 in each element) or equivalent



You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage. https://tinyurl.com/2ae2ffax

1 Year Full Time

2 Years Part Time

Commencing September 2025

On graduating, our students will be able to embark on a variety of careers in Ireland and globally. Our Digital Policy programme is designed to prepare graduates for careers in evaluating, implementing, and studying core topical, theoretical, and methodological issues that arise in digital policy today, both in the public and private sectors.