TRINITY College in Dublin has changed its admissions criteria in a bid to triple its intake of students from Northern Ireland.
From September, Trinity will admit several students from the north looking purely at the best 3 A-levels of the applicant.
In recent years the institution had effectively limited successful applications to students who have sat four A-levels.
All courses with the exception of medicine are included in the new scheme but only a maximum of three students per course will be admitted using the new route.
The minimum grade requirement is A, B, B.
Trinity has set itself a target of having 8 per cent of its students from the north - around 300 people a year.
Admissions from Northern Ireland have declined in recent years mainly due to the tough entrance criteria.
As only one in every eight students north of the border elects to study four A-levels, the pool from which it can attract candidates is much more limited than universities in the north or Britain.
Trinity said it has long aimed to be a university for the whole island.
Provost of Trinity Dr Patrick Prendergast said there was a need to reverse the decline in Northern Ireland students.
"Trinity has historically been a university for the whole island, attracting students with ability and potential from every county," he said.
"Unfortunately in the last few years our numbers from Northern Ireland have been in decline, and this has been a source of deep regret to our alumni, our students, our staff, and to me personally. With this feasibility study Trinity has acted to restore and re-establish a relation-ship that has done so much to build close links on this island between people from all backgrounds and traditions."
During the past year Trinity staff have visited schools and careers fairs across the north and has attempted to "reconnect" with schools, parents, teachers and alumni.
Praising the initiative, the Republic's education minister Ruairi Quinn said: "An all-is-land approach to education brings immense benefits to both societies. I am delighted to see Trinity finding innovative ways to attract students from Northern Ireland to study here at third level."
The north's education minister John O'Dowd, pictured, echoed his counterpart's comments.
"I am pleased that the necessity for applicants from the north to have four A-levels is being relaxed, as this has been one of the main barriers in the past," he said.
"I look forward to similar approaches being taken by the other universities in the south."
The institution announced in February that it may review its admissions policy to make it easier for northern students to win a place.
In April, Dublin City University announced a lucrative scholarship scheme to attract students from the north of the border.