University College Dublin, Ireland

Overview

History,  Affiliation & Rankings 

University College Dublin, also called UCD, was established in 1854 and has a prestigious 160 years of heritage. It was initially known as the Catholic University of Ireland. It went through many name changes in 1880 and 1908. In 1997, it was called the National University of Dublin and after ministerial orders in 1998, it got its final name as University College Dublin. The public research institution is a member institution of the National University of Ireland. It is affiliated with AMBA, EUA, NUI, IUA, UI, Universitas 21 and CESAER. The 2021 QS World University Rankings ranked UCD 117th in the world and the 2020 QS World University Rankings for employability and reputation ranked the institution 1st in Ireland and 78th in the world. According to the 2021 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, UCD is placed within the range of 251-300.

Infrastructure, Campus & Courses

The UCD campus is spread over an area of 330 acres, which includes 6 colleges for the fields of Arts & Humanities, Classics, History, Music, Engineering, Architecture, Chemical & Bioprocess & Civil Engineering, Information & communication studies, Law & Earth Sciences. The most popular majors at UCD include Biological and Biomedical Sciences; Social Sciences; Psychology; Engineering; and Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences. Ranked among the top 1% of higher education institutions in the world, the institution offers award-winning student facilities, 70+ active student societies, 55 official sports clubs and excellent facilities, fully-furnished and well-equipped campus residences, a world-class UCD library among other things.

Accomplishments & Alumni

UCD prides itself on its global network of 2,79,000 alumni currently living and working in 169 countries. Notable alumni of UCD include the author and poet James Joyce, Irish novelist Maeve Binchy, Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, rugby player Brian O' Driscoll, film director Neil Jordan, broadcaster Vincent Browne, and businessman Tony O' Reilly, former President of Ireland Douglas Hyde and Irish novelist Roddy Doyle. UCD is Ireland's leader in graduate education with more than 9,900 graduate students; around 20% of whom are graduate research students. In addition, over 1,500 students at UCD benefit from a structured PhD programme along with its research-led culture.  

Student Diversity & Visiting Companies

University College Dublin has an international reputation for being at the forefront of innovative research and creative discovery. Also, UCD works closely with the Irish State Agencies and EU funding bodies to develop collaborative industry linkages and can advise on the wide range of public funding mechanisms for research collaboration. University is committed to student diversity regardless of race, gender, sex, religion, sexual orientation nationality and their recent report mentions that out of their 33,000 enrolments, around 7,923 were international students from 144 countries. Students can sign up at target connect which advertises for recruitment fairs providing exciting opportunities for vacancies and internships in the field of Business, Engineering, Finance & Management. Top hiring companies are Accenture, SAP, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Linkedin, HubSpot and many more. 

Covid-19 Response

As Covid-19 continues to affect countries across the globe, the University College Dublin has been committed to looking after the health, well-being and academic progress of its students. Given below are measures adopted by UCD, which will summarise the key responses it is taking with regards to the pandemic:

• The university is planning on delivering on-campus teaching  with 1m social distancing among students in class and lecture settings.

• The maximum number of people allowed in a classroom will be in accordance with the current public health guidelines.

• The university has prepared its Return to Campus guide, letting all students have access to the campus.

• All international students should notify the SIRC Office in advance if they plan to return to campus, in order to confirm travel insurance.

• The university continues to provide scheduled access to certain campus facilities including libraries and other onsite study space.

• Although deferral is allowed for one year only, the university may consider certain exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

• Although national vaccination is now being rolled out, classes will be conducted online rather than on campus.