¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ

The Drop-in service does not consist of formal tutorials or classes; rather students bring any questions they have regarding their studies to experienced tutors who have often completed this module in the past. Students come to the Drop-in Centre for a wide variety of reasons, but common examples include:

• getting help with lecture materials
• getting help with a particular concept covered in a lecture that you are struggling to understand
• getting help with laboratory report analyses
• students who have not studied a particular subject at Leaving Cert level and would like some extra support regarding new and unfamiliar concepts
• students who have returned to education after a career break and would like to refresh their scientific knowledge 

General opening hours

The Drop-in Centre is typically available from Weeks 3-13 each semester. We organise for tutors from a range of scientific subject specialties to be present throughout the week for two-hour sessions either in the morning or afternoon.

Examination opening hours

In addition to normal semester drop-ins throughout the year, we also organise for additional drop-in centre availability beyond week 13 each semester, and before August Repeat Examinations.

Our tutors are not assigned to cover a remit of specific modules, but rather are general subject specialists in either the fields of Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering/Process Technology, or Biology. As such, depending on the content covered in your module, you pick a session where tutor who is a specialist in that field will be present. See the table below for common examples of which specialism is most appropriate to attend depending on the module you need help with (please note, some modules can cover multiple fields, such as Physical Chemistry modules, due to the nature of the content covered in those modules). 

The Drop-in Centre can be found on the "Our Location" page

Generally speaking, our tutors offer academic support across the vast majority of first and second year modules through the Drop-in Centre. However, third and fourth year queries often require more specialised, in-depth knowledge. In these cases, it's best to connect with a specific tutor whose primary specialism aligns with your academic needs. 

1. Please refer to the list of tutors on our website to identify individuals you may already know (such as lab demonstrators or teaching assistants) or those you feel are best suited to support you. Please be aware that some of our tutors cover several scientific fields, and so you may not necessarily come for help at a slot typically designated for your subject area. For instance, a tutor may have extensive experience in Abaqus software, and they can cover both Engineering AND Biology due to their academic background. So, while you are an Engineering student, you may find yourself attending a Biology slot to get help as your needs can only be supported by a certain number of Engineering tutors, some of whom cover Biology also!
2. To find out when your selected tutor(s) are next working please check our social media channels (, and ) - we post the rota in advance of every Drop-in session. Alternatively, you can email us at slc@ul.ie to ask when a specific tutor is next covering the Drop-in Centre.