Notre Dame boasts a very robust study abroad program, with more than half of Notre Dame students studying abroad before they graduate. The options for the location of your study abroad excursion are also limitless as well, with the University being very receptive of students wanting to study in an area that Notre Dame does not usually send students. That being said, for some majors it is a bit trickier when trying to navigate the study abroad process. This is why I am here to talk about my experience in studying abroad as an engineering major.
Unless you come into Notre Dame toting a sizeable amount of AP credit, studying abroad as an engineer can prove to be difficult. This is mainly due to the fact that a lot of international universities simply don’t offer the required courses that are needed in order to complete a lot of the engineering majors within the four years. Despite this, there are still ways to study abroad as an engineer. The College of Engineering in fact offers a year-long study abroad program in Dublin, Ireland, as well as semester long programs in Dublin, Santiago, Chile; Cairo, Egypt; London, England; and Puebla, Mexico. These programs are specially designed for engineers so that they offer a significant number of technical courses, which allow students to have an overseas study experience while still maintaining the ability to graduate in four years.
In addition to these options, there are others as well. The College of Engineering offers five summer study abroad programs in Bejing, China; London, England; Dublin, Ireland; Rome, Italy; and Alcoy, Spain. I participated in the Dublin Summer Engineering Program, and would highly recommend it to all who harbor an interest in studying abroad during their time at Notre Dame. The program lasted six weeks, and while taking classes, I was able to travel all around Ireland on countless “field trips”, as well as spend a weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland. I loved Ireland so much that I actually started taking an Irish language course at Notre Dame so that I can apply for a language immersion program in Ireland that Notre Dame routinely sends students to.
In conclusion, students coming into Notre Dame as an engineer wanting to study abroad need not fret! There are so many great options out there that surely the right place can be found. The time that one gets in college is the best period to be abroad for such a long duration, and I would definitely recommend taking advantage of that opportunity. Whether you follow the path I took toward the Emerald Isle, or venture elsewhere in the globe, I can guarantee it will be an experience not easily forgotten.