Ireland's Global University

Over 160 Years of Education 

UCD is one of Europe's leading research-intensive universities; an environment where (opens in a new window)undergraduate education, masters and PhD training, research, innovation and community engagement form a dynamic spectrum of activity.

Since its foundation, the University has made a unique contribution to the creation of modern Ireland, based on successful engagement with Irish society on every level and across every sphere of activity. The international standing of UCD has grown in recent years; it is currently ranked within the top 1% of higher education institutions world-wide. UCD is also Ireland's most globally engaged university with over 38,000 students drawn from 152 countries, including over 5,000 students based at locations outside of Ireland. The University's main Dublin campus occupies an extensive parkland estate of 133 hectares and offers world-leading facilities including the UCD O'Brien Centre for Science, UCD Sutherland School of Law, UCD Lochlan Quinn School of Business, UCD Moore Centre for Business, and the UCD Student Centre.

As Ireland's largest university, with its great strength and diversity of disciplines, UCD embraces its role to contribute to the flourishing of Ireland through the study of people, society, business, economy, culture, languages and the creative arts, as well as through research and innovation. The University's Strategy 2020-2024 (opens in a new window)Rising to the Future outlines the objectives and major strategic initiatives set in place in order to accomplish UCD's vision for this era.

Tackling Global Challenges: Research and Innovation at UCD

Research and innovation are essential drivers of a dynamic economy, an informed society and a vibrant culture. The spectrum of research and innovation at UCD encompasses individual scholars, research groups, start-up companies and large-scale collaborations with industry and other partners. Research is conducted within each of the University's extensive range of disciplines, and in multidisciplinary research programmes addressing challenges of global scale.

In 2022/23 UCD researchers secured €161 million in research grants from national and international funding agencies, companies and foundations. Since 2012/13 UCD researchers have secured over €1.3 billion in such grants. Their research underpins national research and technology institutes and centres, including the SFI funded (opens in a new window)Insight Centre for Data Analytics, (opens in a new window)Food for Health Ireland, (opens in a new window)Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG), (opens in a new window)CeADAR Centre for Applied Data Analytics and Machine Intelligence, (opens in a new window)BiOrbic, Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, (opens in a new window)I-Form Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and NexSys (Next Generation Energy Systems). UCD is the national leader in winning European Union research funding.

Over the last decade UCD researchers have increased their annual number of papers in the international literature by 62% and have authored more than 40,000 papers in total. These papers are cited by other researchers at a rate that is 74% above the world average. In addition, 62% of the papers were co-authored with institutions in other countries/regions, underlining UCD’s role as Ireland’s global university.

As Ireland's leader in innovation, technology transfer and commercialisation, UCD's commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship recognises the importance of active participation and collaboration to exploit leading-edge research and development outputs. Supports for innovation include NovaUCD – the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs, NexusUCD – the Industry Partnership Centre and the AgTechUCD Innovation Centre at UCD Lyons Farm. Since 2003 UCD has provided support to over 550 companies and early-stage ventures through the services and supports provided across the university, through NovaUCD, and through business support programmes run and managed by NovaUCD.

Defining Educational Excellence: Teaching and Learning at UCD

The first year retention rate at UCD is 93%. UCD has ranked number one in Ireland for Graduate Employability since 2018 (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022).

UCD is globally recognised for its excellence in teaching and learning – 4 subjects are ranked in the top 50 in the world in the latest edition of the most-consulted university rankings ((opens in a new window)QS World University Ranking by Subject 2024). This quality of teaching is complemented by a high standard of support. Every incoming first year is assigned a peer mentor and there are student advisers for every programme.

UCD is ranked 101 - 200 in the 2023 (opens in a new window)Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which benchmarks universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UCD is Ireland's leader in graduate education with almost 11,000 graduate students; over 19% of whom are graduate research students. 2,021 PhD students benefit from a structured PhD programme as well as the research-led education culture at UCD.

The (opens in a new window)UCD Horizons scheme of modern, modularised education based on learning outcomes sees 50% of students take modules outside their subject areas. 

Engaging Globally

UCD's world extends beyond its campus, city and borders. UCD students and worldwide network of 304,426 alumni benefit from a UCD education that enables them to thrive and contribute in an increasingly global community. As the number one 'university of destination' for international students coming to Ireland, UCD's 9,593 international students make up 25% of the student body, while international academics make up 33% of UCD's faculty.

With 400 partner universities for student exchange, UCD offers extensive global study opportunities and is engaged in partnerships including such networks as (opens in a new window)Universitas 21, the (opens in a new window)Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), (opens in a new window)UNICA and the (opens in a new window)EUA.

UCD expertise is recognised worldwide, with international accreditations for UCD degrees from the world's leading professional organisations in Veterinary Medicine, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Regional and Urban Planning, and Engineering. The (opens in a new window)UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is one of less than 60 schools worldwide to hold triple accreditation from the US, Europe and the UK accrediting bodies, and the (opens in a new window)MSc in International Management there is now regarded as the seventh in the world, according to the (opens in a new window)Financial Times Global Master in Management Ranking 2019.

UCD faculty engage in international research collaborations, sharing and contributing to a global bank of knowledge. To further expand this global engagement, UCD has developed a network of UCD Global Centres in North America, UAE, India, China and Malaysia; each of which provides a hub of research and education connections for students, faculty, alumni and partners.