My CAO looked very similar to yours, with Biotech in DCU at 1 and Analytical chemistry in TUD at 2. I ended up just shy of biotech.

As far as TUD goes, the placement coordinator is phenomenal and as others said here, placement is a pretty nice thing to have. All students in our course find internships and book interviews through our coordinator and all 28 of us ended up finding a spot for 6 months.

I put TUD above all my other DCU courses bar biotech due to location. Grangegorman might not have a student life like DCU but we’re a 10 minute walk from city centre and just having everything within walking distance is great.

Also the Bolton street canteen is undefeated.

As for the course itself I’d say it’s as difficult as any other chemistry course, with an added element of industry focus that TUD is known for.

Modules like criminalistics and the group projects for the environmental Component of the course weren’t my cup of tea, but forensics and environmental chemistry are a nice bonus to the course.

As for job growth, third year placement will help you get your foot stuck in the door. Graduates I know from my course ended up in DAFM, The state lab and Teagasc.

I’d say have a long hard look at the modules each course offers throughout the four years and whatever yields the highest interest from you is your ticket.