Tell me about UCD
– It is Ireland's largest university, with 30,870 students, including those studying overseas.
– Ranked within the top one per cent of institutions worldwide, according to the Times Higher Education Rankings.
Why change to UCD?
– Really excellent facilities, including a new student centre and sports centre with an Olympic-size swimming pool, dance studio, 3D cinema, debating chamber, and drama theatre, as well as a vast choice of clubs and societies, with over 150 to choose from.
– UCD was one of the first to allow students to choose electives from outside their chosen discipline. So a medical student might take a law course, an arts student might delve into food science, or a commerce student might take a history module. Many courses also offer omnibus entry, so students can sample several subjects in first year before committing to a specialisation. And there’s such a wide choice of courses – including arts, architecture, agriculture, commerce, engineering, law, nursing, medicine, and science so that you can create a very diverse little pick and mix.
– International opportunities: UCD has strong partnerships with other leading universities in Europe, North and South America, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore. There are over 5,000 international students on campus.
– UCD is a research-intensive university and a huge number of lecturers are at the top of their game internationally, which heavily informs the curriculum.
Why not change to UCD?
– Ireland's largest university can be a lonely and daunting place for first year students away from home. The university has taken steps to address this with buddy systems but it can take a while to settle in.
– Belfield isn’t the most beautiful campus, with students often describing it as a concrete jungle. The Soviet-style arts block is particularly oppressive, and there’s no unifying aesthetic to the college.
What's changed since February?
– In December 2012, UCD announced new science and maths post-primary teaching paths for undergraduates, offered through common-entry science.
What's the advice from UCD?
Pick what you're good and what you will enjoy. Many students are still undecided and UCD keeps their learning as broad as possible for as long as possible, with omnibus entry in many subjects including science, engineering and agriculture.
Most popular course 2012
Arts in UCD still has the most CAO preferences of any course in Ireland.
What courses have declined in popularity?
Architecture fell in popularity since the collapse of the construction boom.
UCD in three words:
Enormous, expert, outward.
