interstudy: University College Dublin

  Ireland

• Dublin: 
Dublin

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring 
Dates: Middle September - Middle December / Early January - Late May

Description: University College Dublin is the largest of the three constituent colleges of the National University of Ireland. It has a combined undergraduate and graduate student body of over 18,000 studying in ten faculties. The main campus is at Belfield, about three-and-a-half miles from the center of Dublin. Belfield, on the south side of the city, is a beautifully landscaped 300-acre campus and the site of the strikingly modern arts, commerce, law, agriculture and administration buildings, together with the library, sports center and restaurant. The college dates its origin from the foundation of the Catholic University of Ireland that opened in 1854. In the reorganization of the Catholic University that took place in 1881, University College Dublin was established as a separate entity run by the Jesuits. Numbering among its professors include the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, and among its students James Joyce and Francis Sheehy Skeffington. The college received its charter in 1908, when it also became non-denominational and was linked with Cork and Galway University Colleges as constituent colleges of the new National University of Ireland. From its foundation, University College Dublin was based in St Stephen's Green in Dublin city center. But between the 1920s and 1960s a number of faculties and schools were added, and during the 1960s the college was transferred to the Belfield site, where it now continues to expand.

Dublin, now capital of the Republic of Ireland and the country's principal seaport, was in Celtic times a small settlement at a ford over the River Liffey. Viking raiders built the town into a thriving trading center, and it subsequently became the seat of English government in Ireland until independence in 1922. With its wide streets and gracious architecture, Dublin is a capital city offering numerous theaters, museums, art galleries and cinemas, and is also the setting for many international sporting events. Just west of the City is Phoenix Park, the largest enclosed public park in Europe, while to the south, and easily accessible by public transport, some of the most beautiful scenery in Ireland is to be found. Within easy reach of the capital is the ferry port of Dun Laoghaire, linking Dublin with Liverpool and Holyhead in mainland Britain, and to the north of the City is the main international airport, linking Dublin with North America.

Highlights: There are several aspects of the interstudy University College Dublin program that set it apart from other study abroad experiences. Among these are:

- Academic flexibility - interstudy's open academic policy allows students to take virtually any course in the undergraduate course catalog, without imposing interstudy course requirements.
- Spacious green campus with state-of-the-art facilities and a vibrant student body, all within a short bus-ride of the Dublin city center.
- Full academic integration - courses are taught by Irish professors, in classes filled with Irish students
- Convenient access to sites such as Phoenix Park, St. Stephen's Green, and Christ Church Cathedral
- Specific academic strengths in Archaeology, Celtic Studies, and History

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: See interstudy's website

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to American and Canadian Participants.

Participants Travel to Ireland Independently or in Groups

Scholarships are Available. interstudy awards scholarships each semester based on academic merit and/or financial need. Award amounts vary. Scholarship applications may be downloaded from the interstudy website, and must be submitted no later than May 1st for Fall Semester and November 1st for Spring Semester.

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Transcript
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

Year Founded: 1980