Undergraduate Degree Options for USA Students
Most undergraduate degrees in Ireland are four years in length, while some have an option to be completed in three years with early specialization via Direct Entry. Whichever option best suits you, your UCD degree will be internationally recognized wherever you choose to use it.
Students from the United States can apply to study at UCD either through the university directly or through the Common App.
Direct Entry and Liberal Arts
Direct Entry (3 or 4 years)
Join UCD with your “declared” degree and dive into more streamlined material right away, cutting back on “general education requirements.”
- Best fit for students who know exactly what they would like to study and want to get started.
- Three-year bachelor’s degrees are available in areas like Arts, Business, Social Science, and Sport & Performance.
- Science, Law, Agriculture, and Food & Nutrition are always four-year bachelor’s degrees.
- Engineering and Architecture are offered as either a 4-year bachelor's course or a 5-year, integrated 3+2 bachelor's and master's program.
Liberal Arts and Science Entry (4 years)
The Liberal Arts and Science Entry is more similar to the American approach, where you come in with either an intended or undecided degree, or where you have multiple academic interests. This approach allows you to sample across Architecture, Agriculture, Arts, Business, Engineering, Science and Social Science in the first few years before affirming your best fit degree and still graduating in four years!
- Due to a highly regimented curriculum, some programs (including Law) are not able to participate in the Liberal Arts & Sciences degree path.
- The program applied to on your UCD application will be Liberal Arts & Sciences for this option regardless of where your chief academic interest(s) may be.
| Year 1 | Years 2–4 | Degree |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Arts & Sciences | Year 2 3 & 4: Agricultural Science Program | Agricultural Science (BAgrSc) |
| Liberal Arts & Sciences | Year 2 3 & 4: Food Science, Human Nutrition, or Sustainable Food Systems Program | Food Science, Human Nutrition, or Sustainable Food Systems (BSc) |
| Liberal Arts & Sciences | Year 2: Liberal Arts & Sciences → Years 3 & 4: Architecture Program | Architecture (BSc) |
| Liberal Arts & Sciences | Year 2: Liberal Arts & Sciences → Years 3 & 4: Engineering Science Program | Engineering Science (BSc) |
| Liberal Arts & Sciences | Year 2 3 & 4: Science Program | Science (BSc) |
| Liberal Arts & Sciences | Year 2 3 & 4: Social Sciences Program | Social Sciences (BSc) |
| Liberal Arts & Sciences | Year 2: Arts Program → Years 3 & 4: Arts Program | Arts (BA) |
| Liberal Arts & Sciences | Year 2: Liberal Arts & Sciences → Years 3 & 4: Business Program | Business (BComm or BSc Business) |
What Can I Study?
The best international students from around the world study at UCD because it is one of the world's top universities. Explore the wide range of program options for undergraduate students below, and embark on an education that will ensure you have future career success. Or find country-specific entry requirements for international students.
- Agriculture, Food and Nutrition
- Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy
- Arts and Humanities
- Business and Management
- Engineering
- Law and Criminal Justice
- Health and Medicine
- Physiotherapy
- Radiography
- Science, Computer Science and Actuarial Science
- Social Sciences
- Sports and Performance
- Sustainability and Environment
- Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science
