Since Carlow is a Catholic college vested in Church Trustees and supported by its Church constituency, it has a specific mission to provide courses to train people for ministry in the Christian churches. In recent years, Carlow College has developed a number of courses in Parish Ministry, which have been offered as part of a one-year certificate in Social Studies.

The College’s most ambitious part-time course is a 2 Year Postgraduate Diploma in Business Studies in Parish Planning and Administration accredited by HETAC. It is geared towards training lay people for leadership in parish communities and its graduates have found employment in parishes across the country. This course is ecumenical in its approach and has drawn students from a number of denominations.