Location

Notre Dame's program in Ireland is located in the city of Dublin, a capital city of 1,000,000 people located on the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. Physically a small city — all the major museums and sites are within walking distance — it has a rich cultural life manifest especially in its established and experimental theater and traditional Irish and classical music. Dublin also boasts several excellent museums including the National Museum, with Celtic objects from the 8th and 9th centuries, and the National Gallery of paintings, which has a large collection of Irish artists. It is a young city, with over 100,000 college-age students in its many educational institutions.

Students will take courses at the Keough Naughton Notre Dame Study Center in Dublin and at the Republic of Ireland's best universities — either University College Dublin (UCD) or Trinity College Dublin (Trinity). Notre Dame's Keough Center is located at O'Connell House on Merrion Square, the most elegant Georgian square in central Dublin.  The building was the former home to Daniel O'Connell, the early 19th century Irish Catholic political leader. Notre Dame's Center is directed by Professor Kevin Whelan, an historian and member of the Royal Irish Academy. Professor Whelan taught at Notre Dame in the spring semesters of 1997 and 2000.

University College Dublin was founded in 1851 as the Catholic University, and in 1908 it became a part of the National University of Ireland and lost its denominational character. It is now located on a lovely, green 350-acre campus at Belfield, three miles from the center of Dublin. The largest university in the Republic, it is home to over 15,000 students. Trinity College Dublin celebrated its Quatercentenary in 1992. Located in the heart of the capital, the campus extends over 40 acres and includes five quadrangles with buildings from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries. The Old Library (1712) contains the famous Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript that dates back to 800 AD. Trinity is home to about 9,000 students.

Program of Study

The Dublin Program is unique in that it can accommodate students from all of Notre Dame's colleges — Arts and Letters, Business, Engineering and Science.

A few highly qualified juniors will enroll in Trinity College for an entire academic year, taking courses in their majors. Trinity's catalogues and course descriptions are available at: www.tcd.ie  It is up to the student to put together a curriculum that has the approval of the major department(s) and college on campus. Students must be able to adapt to the Irish system, as they are students of Trinity and subject to the same exam system as Irish students enrolled at the university. They will also enroll in two courses at the Notre Dame Center for a total of thirty academic credits over the year.

About 30 students per semester will enroll in UCD. While most students will participate in the ND/UCD program for one semester, students can apply to stay at UCD for an entire year. At UCD students must limit their course choices to one faculty — either Arts, Commerce, Engineering or Science. Within those faculties there is a wide range of subjects, and students are advised to choose courses with the help of an advisor in their college. Catalogues for the Arts, Commerce, Engineering and Science faculties are available in the International Study Programs Office. Click here for links to course information for Trinity College-Dublin (TCD) and University College Dublin (UCD).

Keough Naughton Notre Dame Centre Classes:
In addition to their courses at UCD and Trinity, Dublin program students will enroll in Professor Whelan's course, Introduction to Ireland, and a philosophy or theology course at the Keough Naughton Centre. The philosophy and theology courses are designed to complete Notre Dame's second philosophy and theology requirements. At least one of each will be taught each semester.  Students may also take a Film/Literature course in the first semester and a Irish Literature course in the second semester.

Mission Statement for the Keough Naughton Centre

The Keough Naughton Centre of the University of Notre Dame in Dublin is committed to excellence in the provision of an International Studies Programme in Ireland. We welcome students of all majors through direct enrollment at Ireland's best universities: simultaneously, we advance their knowledge of Irish Studies through the ND Centre classes. We are a community of learning, of faith, and of culture, dedicated in a team setting to supporting one another in our journeys of discovery. We are Irish ambassadors for the Notre Dame mission, committed to what we are and what we do as a University. Through immersion in the life of Ireland, we endeavour to ensure that participants in our programme find their time here to be happy, productive and fulfilling on every level - intellectual, personal, spiritual and cultural.

Academic Year Calendar:
Students in the Dublin program will arrive in Ireland by mid-September. Students at UCD for the first semester will complete their exams before Christmas. Examinations at both Trinity and UCD extend into the month of June, and students who participate in the program for the academic year or second semester must stay until they are complete.

Eligibility for the Program

Trinity eligibility: For study abroad junior year, sophomores with a GPA of 3.3 or higher may apply. Students need to have academic background in the subject(s) they would like to pursue (basic courses in the major).

University College Dublin eligibility: Sophomores wishing to pursue the UCD option need to have a 3.0 GPA. Participation in the program is normally during the junior year.

Participants are chosen by a selection committee for International Study Programs and by Trinity College. Application deadline: November 15.

Additional Information

There is much more we can tell you — about this location, vibrant religious, cultural and recreational life of this community ... about the student housing, transportation, health care and much, much more. It is, after all, the details that make this program so appealing. Interested? Just click here for additional information.