Most students will study between eight and ten subjects or their equivalent as part of their junior cycle programme. It’s important to stress that this limit applies only to the number of subjects and short courses that can appear on the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA). Schools can offer a greater number of subjects, short courses, and other educational experiences as part of the curriculum and will report to parents on student achievement in these.
A maximum of four short courses (each one equivalent to half a subject) can be included, but there is no compulsory requirement that schools include short courses on the JCPA. 
The table below indicates the possibile combinations of subjects and short courses that schools might offer, but other configurations are possible too.