University College Dublin - Study Abroad

Overall, my experience in Ireland was wonderful. I made some great friends through this program and had the internship of a lifetime. The minor drawbacks of this program are the distance from Dublin City Center and the difficult balance of work and school while still getting the most out of your time abroad.

Highlights: the friends I made in my program, Irish people, and great craic, traditional Irish music, day trip to Causey farm, Dicey's, exploring both Ireland and the rest of Europe

Setbacks: proximity to the city, trying to complete time-consuming class projects while working full time

For someone who had never been abroad before, University College Dublin helped me continuously along my study abroad program to ensure I had a quality experience. My one recommendation for future participants is to take advantage of the free trips offered by the college during the weekends. Places like the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant's Causeway were some of my favorite trips and I highly recommend going with friends. The overall experience in Dublin gave me a better perspective on the similarities and differences there are between my home country and Ireland that you just can't learn in a textbook. If you are on the fence about studying abroad, do it. You won't regret it.

I come from a small liberal arts college, and I knew that I wanted something different at a college with 30000+ students. The experience turned out to be very different in many senses. Back home I only go to the dining hall, but here I do groceries twice a week and learned how to shop economically. The lectures at my home institute are an average size of 15 people, whereas here the lectures are taught in huge classes (all of my classes are about 60 people but I know there are much bigger classes in other departments). The accommodation is nice--I share an apartment with three Americans. We have a common room/kitchen, 2 restrooms, and we each get to live in a single. To me, the college community here is loose, but from that arises a stronger sense of independence and anonymity, which can be a good thing or not depending on what you want.

I am taking one studio that counts as 3 modules, two other architectural modules, and one module from the archaeology department called Discovering Ireland: Landscape and Heritage. The studios here are BRILLIANT. There are 60+ kids in my class and we are divided into 5 groups, each having 2 tutors. The tutors here teach part-time and all work as architects. The studio is divided into several components: drawing & making, desk critic (led by your group tutors), and presentation and general critic. They really teach you how to look at things like an architect, and draw things precisely/consistently, and the critic here is very informative. I would give 10 stars solely to the studio, but 6 stars to the academic life here in general. I personally much prefer the small and intimate classes back home, The modules I took here tend to be disorganised, and you get graded solely on one or two major assignment throughout the module. This can be scary when what's expected from you is unclear. The course load is pretty manageable and I almost have every weekend free of work. The students here are expected to decide their own workload and study independently. I could have learned more if there is a list of must-dos in the modules, but then I would not have this much time to explore Ireland and its culture.

The L&H soc here does amazing debates and I highly recommend everyone to check it out at least once. Every week, debaters from and outside of UCD and offer their opinions across a variety of themes. The debate chamber is set up like the British parliament and the debate scene is huge. I don't have time to find out about other societies due to the isolated location of the architecture school and its busy schedule. I use UCD's sports facilities quite often. The gym can get crowded in the afternoon, but there are plenty of space in the morning and evening. They also offer physical assessment and can advise you on your fitness goals.

The centre for study abroad is a great resource for American students. They do trips in Ireland/Northern Ireland once a week or every two weeks and they are completely free! I couldn't speak enough about how I appreciate them since living in Dublin is pretty expensive. All you have to do is to sign up. There are also movie nights/Thanksgiving dinner/test prep pizza party and stuff.

The UCD campus is not particularly charming for having huge grey concrete buildings, but there is a lake in the heart of the campus and you get a nice vibe from the community when you walk around. It's set in the suburb, but getting in town is easy. There are multiple bus stations that take you right to the centre of Dublin within 30 minutes. Some people find the transportation expensive (a round trip to town by bus is 5 euro). I do like to go into town, and Dublin is such a compact city where everything is within walking distance.

My year studying abroad at UCD completely made me who I am today. The memories made and skills gained there are invaluable. I took a lot of Irish culture courses that were not offered at my home university, and they are some of the most interesting course I took. I was learning about Irish culture and art history while living there, and that really enabled me to get immersed in the culture. I joined a music club on campus, traveled to every county in Ireland, and made a lot of international and local friends. Ireland will always be my home away from home.

After returning from Ireland I realized my passion was helping others study abroad, and I've been working as a study abroad advisor for the past 4 years.

I decided to study at University College Dublin immediately after I visited the study abroad office at my home university. The Irish culture and courses available aligned perfectly with my vision of a study abroad experience. When I arrived at UCD, the staff was extremely helpful and kind so that I was comfortable with my new temporary home! I have never been on a plane or outside of the United States before going to UCD and all my worries were washed away instantly. I made friends that lived locally and also some from Hong Kong and Vietnam. I was exposed to different cultures and experimented with food and languages while traveling the beautiful countryside! While traveling near the end of the semester, I was severely injured and required an emergency trip home. I was concerned about finishing classes while recovering from the injury. The staff and professors at UCD were extremely understanding and allowed me to finish my classwork while regaining my health closer to family. This experience has taught me many things - including learning more about myself. I was able to grow as an individual and learn how to manage school and missing home in a new environment. Studying abroad was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I will forever be grateful for the experience of a lifetime that University College Dublin has given me!