Professional Certificate in Holocaust Studies

Awarded through the School of History, University College Dublin, this certificate is a Special Purpose Award at NFQ Level 9 carrying 15 ECTS and is ideally suited for teachers and those involved in community and outreach education.


The ProfCert in Holocaust Studies provides in-depth tuition on the historical significance and contemporary resonance of the Holocaust. The programme provides participants with information, tools and skills to address this subject in their areas of work, and to develop pedagogic expertise to complement their knowledge. The programme is divided into three modules, all of which must be completed by participants:

  • The Holocaust: New Perspectives: This module introduces students to the latest scholarship and debates about the Holocaust through a series of online lectures and discussion groups. It also encourages participants to think about how they can teach this new research in secondary schools.

  • Study visit to Kraków: Learning from the Holocaust (Easter holidays): A six-day programme that includes a four-day study visit to Kraków including Auschwitz-Birkenau. The programme is supported by two separate seminar days, one in preparation for the study visit and one on reflection afterwards.

  • Study visit to Berlin (Halloween half term): A visit to the city of Berlin in the country where National Socialism originated. The programme provides context for studying and teaching the Holocaust. Working with scholars and educators, the programme includes encounters with Holocaust survivors, visits to Holocaust sites, museums and education centres.

For more information on the ProfCert programme, click here.


What is involved?

  • Seven online lectures and seminars

  • Written assignments

  • Two study visits - Kraków and Berlin

Participants on the 2023 Berlin study visit listen to Dr. Thomas Lutz, Director of the Topography of Terror Museum.

Assignments and Lecture Details

Assignments:

  • 2,000 word essay on one of a list of topics provided by the School of History, UCD.

  • Two field diaries with respect to the study visits to Kraków and Berlin.

  • A Special Project that reflects the learning attained by undertaking the ProfCert in Holocaust Studies and how participants might integrate it in their areas of work.

Lecture Details:

Each lecture topic is accompanied by an online seminar or tutorial, so participants have the opportunity to discuss key issues and specific readings for each lecture topic.

1: Introduction: The Holocaust in Historiography
2: Jewish Life in Germany and Europe in the early 20th Century
3: Anti-Semitic Policies in the Third Reich
4: The Second World War and the Decisions for Genocide, 1939-42
5: The Implentation of the Holocaust in Europe, 1941-5
6: Resistance to the Holocaust
7: Legacies: The Holocaust after 1945

Course Fees

Registration for the ProfCert is in two parts:

  1. Registration at UCD is €1,500 (EU/EEA residents). This includes: lectures, seminars, grading of assignments and accreditation. More information on registering with UCD can be found here.

  2. Registration at Holocaust Education Ireland is €1,295 covering two study visits. This includes flights, accommodation, guided tours, lectures, seminars and visits to Holocaust sites.

Sympathetic payment plans are arranged - please contact the Holocaust Education Ireland office for more details.