University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD; Irish: Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 students, it is Ireland’s largest university, and amongst the most prestigious universities in the country. Five Nobel Laureates are among UCD’s alumni and current and former staff.
UCD originates in a body founded in 1854, which opened as the Catholic university of Ireland on the Feast of Saint Malachy and with John Henry Newman as its first rector; it re-formed in 1880 and chartered in its own right in 1908. The Universities Act, 1997 renamed the constituent university as the “National University of Ireland, Dublin”, and a ministerial order of 1998 renamed the institution as “University College Dublin – National University of Ireland, Dublin”.
Originally located at St Stephen’s Green in the Dublin city centre, all faculties have since relocated to a 133-hectare (330-acre) campus at Belfield, four kilometres to the south of the city centre. In 1991, it purchased a second site in Blackrock. This currently houses the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.
A report published in May 2015 showed the economic output generated by UCD and its students in Ireland amounted to €1.3 billion annually
Academic
Colleges and schools
UCD consists of six colleges, their associated schools (37 in total) and multiple research institutes and centres. Each college also has its own Graduate School, for postgraduates.
List of colleges and their respective schools following restructuring in September 2015.
UCD College of Arts and Humanities
- UCD School of Art History and Cultural Policy
- UCD School of Classics
- UCD School of English, Drama and Film
- UCD School of History
- UCD School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore
- UCD School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics
- UCD School of Music
- UCD College of Business
- UCD School of Business
- UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business
- UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business
- UCD College of Engineering and Architecture
- UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy
- UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering
- UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering
- UCD School of Civil Engineering
- UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
- UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences
- UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science
- UCD School of Medicine
- UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems
- UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science
- UCD School of Veterinary Medicine
- UCD College of Social Sciences and Law
- UCD School of Archaeology
- UCD School of Economics
- UCD School of Education
- UCD School of Geography
- UCD School of Information and Communication Studies
- UCD School of LawUCD School of Philosophy
- UCD School of Politics and International Relations
- UCD School of Psychology
- UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice
- UCD School of Sociology
- UCD College of Science
- UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science
- UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science
- UCD School of Chemistry
- UCD School of Computer Science
- UCD School of Earth Sciences
- UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics
- UCD School of Physics
UCD College of Business
The UCD College of Business is made up of the Quinn School of Business, the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, and UCD Business International Campus. The former constituent school, the UCD Quinn School of Business (commonly The Quinn School), is the building in which the UCD College of Business’s undergraduate programme is based. It is located in a three-story building on the Belfield campus and is named after Lochlann Quinn, one of the main financial contributors to the school. Other donors included Bank of Ireland, AIB, Irish Life & Permanent, Accenture, KPMG, PwC, Dunnes Stores and Ernst & Young.[51] When first opened in 2002, it claimed to be the only business school in Europe with a specific focus on technology and e-learning.
UCD Horizons
At the beginning of the 2005/2006 academic year, UCD introduced the Horizons curriculum, which completely semesterised and modularised all undergraduate. Under the new curriculum, students choose ten core modules from their specific subject area and two other modules, which can be chosen from any other programme at the University.