Draft:J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics

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Overview

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J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics
MottoPro Utilitate Publica
Motto in English
For The Public Good
TypePublic
Established1915 (1915)
Parent institution
University of Galway
AccreditationAACSB, AMFBA, ATHENA SWAN SILVER, EMFD,PRME
Location
Galway
,
Republic of Ireland
CampusUrban
Websitehttps://www.universityofgalway.ie/business-public-policy-law/cairnes/

The J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics is the business school of the University of Galway, located in Galway, Ireland. It is one of three schools within the University’s College of Business, Public Policy and Law (alongside the School of Law and Shannon College of Hotel Management)[1].

The school offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive education in business and economics, and it is named in honor of John Elliot Cairnes[2] (1823–1875), an influential Irish economist who served as professor of political economy at the University of Galway (formerly Queen’s College Galway) in the mid-19th century [3]. The J.E. Cairnes School is situated on the university’s riverside campus along the River Corrib and enrolls over 2,800 students across its programs[4].

It is considered one of Ireland's oldest business schools,[citation needed] with degrees first recorded to have been awarded in the year 1915.[5]

History

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Business and economics education at Galway can be traced back to the university’s founding in 1845. One of the original faculty positions at Queen’s College Galway (the predecessor to University of Galway) was a Professorship of Political Economy and Jurisprudence[5]. Notably,[original research?] John Elliot Cairnes – described by John Stuart Mill as "one of the ablest" economists of his time – held the chair of political economy in Galway in the 1850s and 1860s[6]. The modern School of Business traces its beginnings to the early 20th century: the Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) degree was introduced in 1915, establishing a formal Faculty of Commerce that same year[5]. This makes business education at Galway over a century old; in 2015 the university celebrated “100 years of the Bachelor of Commerce degree,” marking the centenary of the commerce faculty and its programs[5]. Over the decades, the Commerce faculty expanded its offerings in accounting, finance, management, and marketing. In 1964, the university launched its Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, one of the earliest MBA programs in Ireland. The MBA at Galway celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022[7]. By the late 20th century, the business school had grown significantly in student numbers and disciplines. In a major structural reform of the university in 2007–2008, the old faculty system was reorganized into colleges and schools. The former Faculty of Commerce was reconstituted as the J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics under the College of Business, Public Policy and Law.The school took on the name of J.E. Cairnes to honor the legacy of the Galway professor and economist[2].

In recent years,[when?] the J.E. Cairnes School has attained international accreditations and recognitions. In March 2021, it earned accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), placing it among the fewer than 5% of business schools worldwide accredited by AACSB[8].This followed a multi-year quality review process and aligned the school with global peers such as Harvard, Berkeley, Warwick, and others in the AACSB network[8].The school’s MBA program is AMBA-accredited (accredited by the Association of MBAs), indicating it meets global standards for MBA education.[7]

The school's MSc. programs in the marketing discipline has been consistently ranked over the years to be among the best masters in marketing programs in the world.[9][failed verification]

Academic programs

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Undergraduate programs: The J.E. Cairnes School offers a range of undergraduate degrees in business and economics. The flagship program is the Bachelor of Commerce (BComm), a three-year business degree in which students study core areas such as economics, accounting, finance, management, and marketing. In later years of the BComm, students can specialize in fields like Accounting & Performance Measurement, Economics & Public Policy, Marketing Management, Human Resource Management, or Digital Business, among others[10]. The school also offers the BComm (International), which includes language study and a year abroad. Specialized undergraduate degrees have been introduced, such as the BSc in Financial Mathematics and Economics, an interdisciplinary program combining economics and quantitative methods[11].Additionally, the school contributes to joint programs (for example, business-related streams in the Bachelor of Arts and science-business combined degrees). Students often have opportunities for work placements and international exchange as part of their undergraduate experience.[citation needed]

Postgraduate and MBA programs: At the postgraduate level, the school delivers a wide portfolio of taught Master’s degrees (MSc) spanning its disciplines. These one-year (full-time) or two-year (part-time) MSc programs include offerings in Marketing, International Management, Corporate Finance, Accounting, Business Analytics, Human Resource Management, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Science, among others. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a notable program at Galway: it is a part-time executive MBA designed for experienced professionals, first launched in 1972. The MBA is accredited by AMBA and is structured around key pillars of leadership, innovation, and business for society[7].It emphasizes experiential learning and has a strong alumni network, and has been noted as one of Ireland’s longstanding MBA courses[7].In addition to taught masters, the school supervises research degrees including the Ph.D. in disciplines like Economics, Management, and Marketing, and specialized doctorates.

Professional education: The J.E. Cairnes School provides executive and professional development courses as well, sometimes in collaboration with industry and professional bodies. Many of the school’s programs have professional accreditation or alignment (for example, accounting graduates can obtain exemptions from accounting bodies’ exams). The school has also developed online and hybrid learning options for certain programs, reflecting a commitment to flexible education delivery[4].

Research and Faculty

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The J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics is a research-active institution, with particular strengths in fields such as applied economics, public policy, innovation, business information systems, and management. It is home to several research centers and clusters. Notably, the Whitaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change is based in the school – it is the largest national research institute in Ireland focused on business, social, and public policy issues[12]. Established in 2012 and named after famed economist and public servant T.K. Whitaker, this institute brings together over 200 researchers from business and the social sciences to study topics ranging from innovation and entrepreneurship to healthcare management and environmental sustainability. The Whitaker Institute’s work has included influential studies on economic development, population migration, and public policy – for example, research by its Population and Migration cluster on educational outcomes for young migrants has informed national integration strategy[12].

Faculty of the school include economists, management scholars, accountants, and industry professionals. Many faculty members are engaged in interdisciplinary research and advise public bodies and businesses. For instance, faculty in economics at Galway have published research on macroeconomic policy and serve on national advisory councils. (The current Head of School, as of mid-2020s, is Professor Alma McCarthy, a leadership and human resources expert.) The school emphasizes a research-led teaching approach: academic staff incorporate their research findings into classroom teaching and supervise student research projects.

In terms of research output, the school’s scholars contribute to international journals across economics, finance, management, and marketing. According to the Times Higher Education subject metrics, University of Galway’s citation impact and research reputation in Business & Economics place it among the top institutions in Ireland for research influence[13].. The school also regularly hosts international conferences and workshops, and it operates seminar series for economics and business research.

Rankings and Reputation

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The J.E. Cairnes School has increasingly been recognized in global academic rankings and by accreditation agencies. In 2021, the school achieved AACSB International accreditation[8], a hallmark of excellence held by fewer than 6% of business schools worldwide. AACSB accreditation followed a comprehensive evaluation of the school’s programs, faculty qualifications, research, and student learning outcomes. Attaining this accreditation placed University of Galway’s business school in an elite group globally (at the time, approximately 876 institutions worldwide)[8]. The school is also AMBA-accredited for its MBA program, meaning the Galway MBA meets the rigorous standards of the Association of MBAs[7].As of 2025, the school attained the third major international accreditation, EQUIS, and attained the “triple accreditation / triple crown” status held by only a handful of Irish institutions such as University College Dublin’s Smurfit School[7].

According to the QS World University Rankings, the University of Galway is ranked 284th globally[14]. The J.E. Cairnes School’s MSc programmes in Marketing have been consistently listed among the best worldwide, most recently placing 101st in the QS Business Masters (Marketing) ranking[15].This ranking reflects the school’s growing international profile in teaching and research. The university overall is in the top 1% of universities worldwide, and its business programs attract a mix of domestic and international students, contributing to a strong international outlook score in rankings[4].Galway’s business graduates have also been rated highly for employability in regional and national surveys,the school’s reputation benefits from its links to industry and the achievements of faculty and alumni. It has formal partnerships with industry through sponsored professorships and an advisory board of business leaders. The Sunday Times has previously highlighted NUI Galway’s strengths in graduate employability and named the university as “University of the Year 2022,” citing, among other factors, its research and industry engagement initiatives[9]. In 2025 the school has been shortlisted under the 'business school of the year' category by Times Higher Education Awards[16].

Student Life

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Students at the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics benefit from a range of extracurricular opportunities related to business. The university’s array of student societies includes several focused on business and economics. The University of Galway Business Society (BizSoc) is one of the university’s most active student organizations, aiming to support students in exploring the world of business and to host networking events, guest lectures, and skill-building workshops[17]. BizSoc regularly invites prominent business leaders and alumni for talks, and it organizes an annual business ball and case competitions for students. Another group, the Women in Business Society, was established to empower female students pursuing business careers and to connect them with mentors and role models[18].

Many business students participate in national and international competitions, such as case study challenges, finance competitions, and startup contests. The school’s IdeasLab is an on-campus innovation hub that runs the Start100 student incubator program. Start100 is a six-week accelerator for student entrepreneurs, culminating in a pitching competition where teams of students present start-up ideas to judges from industry and academia[19]. In 2024, over ten student teams went through this incubator, and prizes (including seed funding and mentorship) were awarded to the best business ideas – for example, a first-year commerce student won the top prize for an augmented-reality clothing startup[19].

Notable alumni

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Over the past century, the J.E. Cairnes School (and its predecessor commerce faculty) has educated many graduates who have gone on to distinguished careers in business, public service, academia, and other fields. The following is a selection of notable alumni of the school and their accomplishments:[tone]

References

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  1. ^ "College of Business, Public Policy and Law - University of Galway". www.universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  2. ^ a b "J.E. Cairnes - University of Galway". universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  3. ^ "John Elliot Cairnes". www.hetwebsite.net. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  4. ^ a b c "National University of Ireland, Galway | AACSB Accredited". www.aacsb.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  5. ^ a b c d "November 2016 - University of Galway". www.universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  6. ^ O'Brien, George (1943). "J. S. Mill and J. E. Cairnes". Economica. 10 (40): 273–285. doi:10.2307/2549829. ISSN 0013-0427. JSTOR 2549829.
  7. ^ a b c d e f McAuliffe, Nora-Ide. "MBA Options 2021: Spotlight on courses around the country". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  8. ^ a b c d "March - University of Galway". www.universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  9. ^ a b "University of Galway". Top Universities. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  10. ^ "Colleges & Schools - University of Galway". www.universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  11. ^ Ying, Kong (April 1988). "China Will Send Seventy-two Secondary School Foreign Language Teachers to Study Abroad This Year". Chinese Education. 21 (1): 49–50. doi:10.2753/ced1061-1932210149. ISSN 0009-4560.
  12. ^ a b "NUI Galway's Whitaker Institute Identifies Emerging Achievement Gap Between Young Migrants and Their Non-Migrant Peers". www.universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  13. ^ "World University Rankings by Subject 2025: Business and Economics". Times Higher Education (THE). 2025-01-15. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  14. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2026: Top global universities". Top Universities. 2025-10-20. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  15. ^ "QS Business Master's Rankings 2026: Marketing". Top Universities. 2025-10-20. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  16. ^ THE. "THE Awards 2025". www.the-awards.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  17. ^ "University of Galway - Societies - Business Society". socs.universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  18. ^ "University of Galway - Societies - Women in Business Society". socs.universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  19. ^ a b "June - University of Galway". www.universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  20. ^ "RTÉ Archives | Michael D Higgins". www.rte.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  21. ^ "Who is Catherine Connolly?". www.catherineconnollyforpresident.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  22. ^ "In my life ... Enda Kenny". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  23. ^ "April 2015: Dómhnal Slattery, CEO, Avolon". Business & Finance. 2015-05-07. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  24. ^ Dermody, Joe (2016-10-28). "Brexit to be top priority for incoming Bord Bia chief". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  25. ^ Healy, Alan (2021-06-29). "Teneo scandal: Who is Declan Kelly?". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  26. ^ "New man in CRH chair". Irish Independent. 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  27. ^ Hancock, Ciarán. "Financial services group in Galway sells for €170m". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2025-10-29.