UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science Scoil na Talmhaíochta agus Eolaíocht an Chothaithe UCD

• Activities that are taking place currently on campus will continue, such as:
  • Practical and laboratory classes Clinical teaching and associated activities Studio classes
  • Practice based teaching
  • Outdoor fieldwork
• Activities that are currently being taught online will remain online.
• Online teaching will continue as per timetables
• Where there is any change to this position, your School/Module Coordinator will inform you for each affected module.

• More than 700 bookable study spaces will be available across five libraries and five dedicated study areas across the campuses
• Teaching spaces not in use will be accessible for self-study without booking (physical distancing must be maintained in these spaces)
• Residences and associated facilities will remain open
• On-campus catering will continue for collection or outdoor service
• Campus-based research will continue
• The student health centre will remain accessible
• The gym and pool will continue to operate for individual use
  
  

Further details of all the facilities and services available both on campus and virtually can be found here.

We are grateful to all those who are providing safe opportunities for you to get involved in the UCD Students’ Union, Clubs, Societies, virtual Freshers Week and associated events. Please ensure you are aware of the specific requirements for attendance on campus outlined in the Short Guide for Students Returning to Campus. 

Please keep 2m physical distance from those outside of your household wherever possible in both learning and social settings, sanitise your hands regularly throughout the day, wear a facemask when entering and using indoors spaces outside of your own home or residence, keep a contact diary, download and use the national COVID Tracker app and please avoid unsafe social gatherings. It is important that you continue to observe the public health guidelines wherever you are and keep safe and well. 

I want to assure you that the campus is a safe and welcoming environment and our faculty and staff are ready to provide you with the best educational experience we can offer, at distance or on campus.

Sincerely,

Prof Mark Rogers
Registrar and Deputy President

18th September 2020

Dear Student,

I am writing to update you on the implications of the Government announcement today concerning the imposition of Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions on the Dublin region and its impact on you coming to campus.   The Government has instructed that higher education institutions in Dublin take additional precautions to limit congregation of groups.

Consequently, the University Management has taken the decision to operate educational activities under Level 4 restrictions for the coming week in order to provide you with certainty regarding the commencement of the teaching trimester. 

This means

• Scheduled on-campus activity for the coming week will not take place unless you are specifically informed that it will occur
• Online teaching will commence on 21 September as per your timetable 
• Where you have scheduled face to face lectures, tutorials or labs, your Module Coordinator/School will inform you as to whether these classes will take place online or be deferred until such time as they can take place in a face to face context
• First year orientation will take place online

The campus will remain open so that

• libraries and study areas will be available to students
• residences will remain open
• on-campus catering will continue
• campus-based research continues
• the gym will continue to operate

I want to assure you that whether your classes take place at distance for the next few weeks or on campus, you will still experience the best education we can offer.  I will be writing to you early next week to update you further on our plans. Please continue to observe the public health guidelines wherever you are, and keep safe and well.

Best wishes,

Prof Mark Rogers
Registrar and Deputy President

Dear Student,

Congratulations on achieving your place on one of our programmes in the UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science. We are looking forward to welcoming you to UCD for the 2020/21 academic year.

We have been busy over the last few months making preparations to ensure that you will get the best of what UCD has to offer in terms of your education and student experience. At all times we will follow the most up-to-date national public health and University guidelines and I write to you to give you some idea of what lies ahead.

Once you have accepted a place on your chosen programme you will receive a welcome pack from UCD.  The next step is to complete your online registration; you will receive an e-mail on Friday 18 September indicating your registration start-time on 22 September. At that time you will be able to register for your modules and to start to build your personalised timetable based on the core modules and any options and electives that you select. 

Also, on 22 September we will start your orientation to UCD and we will send you detailed information in relation to orientation and registration from UCD separately. I encourage you to visit the new students website which will provide you with the most up to date and relevant information available.

The Autumn teaching trimester for Stage 1 undergraduate students will start on Monday 28^th September and continue until Friday 11^th December, with any examinations then being completed by 23^rd December. You can access additional information on trimester dates here. 

At the School of Agriculture & Food Science we aim to give you the best possible campus and blended learning experience. The School considers face-to-face interaction between students, and between students and faculty, as important elements of your learning journey.  Our programmes are full-time and it is important that you allocate sufficient time to your studies during the academic year to ensure you avail of the high quality education that we offer.

The School of Agriculture & Food Science has adopted the following general teaching and assessment principles for the Autumn trimester:

• Each student will have a detailed timetable and will be expected to participate in learning following this schedule.
• Most, if not all, lectures (especially for large classes) will be delivered online. These will either be live or pre-recorded.
• Essential practical teaching sessions, small group teaching, tutorials and field trips will be prioritised for face to face delivery where possible. Pre-laboratory preparation by students may be required, assisted by support materials made available in advance.
• Module assessment will, as much as possible, incorporate in-trimester or continuous assessment approaches. Any end of trimester exams will be online during the University assessment period from Monday 14^th December to Wednesday 23^rd

Unfortunately, I cannot indicate the exact amount of time that we hope you will spend on campus in the coming trimester, and I appreciate some of the planning challenges that you may be facing (for travel and accommodation for example). Your time on campus will be less than usual for the Autumn trimester and we intend to organise it in such a way as to maximize the benefits of attendance. Nonetheless, we may still have to amend the proportion of online learning if the prevailing public health guidelines associated with the pandemic change.  We will be considering extenuating circumstances that individual students may encounter.

If we can help you any further please get in touch with the UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science Programme Office (via the Student Contact Form), which you can access  here.  I also recommend that you regularly check the UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science website at https://www.ucd.ie/agfood/ where the most up to date information will be published at all times.

You can also view the UCD Covid-19 FAQS at:  https://www.ucd.ie/covid-19/.  The situation, as you know, is evolving and we will keep you informed of the most up-to-date advice as we draw closer to the start of term.

Congratulations again on achieving a place in UCD and I look forward to meeting you in due course.

With my very best wishes,

Professor Alexander Evans

UCD Dean of Agriculture

Dear Student,

Dean’s Message to Incoming Graduate Taught Students

24^thAugust 2020

Dear Student,

I hope this message finds you and your friends and family well, and that you have managed to make the most of some of the good weather over the summer.

We look forward to welcoming you to UCD for the 2020/21 academic year. We have been busy in the last few months preparing for various eventualities to ensure your education continues and that you can get the best of what UCD has to offer.  The coronavirus pandemic has been extremely challenging and at all times we have and will follow the most up-to-date national public health and University guidelines. Unfortunately, this means that the information below is subject to change, but I write to you to give you some idea of what lies ahead.

The Autumn trimester teaching term will run from Monday 21^stSeptember to Friday 11^thDecember for all graduate taught students.  You can access additional information on term dates at:  https://www.ucd.ie/students/t4media/continuing_20_21_dates.pdf

Online registration opens from 10^thSeptember and you will be allocated a Registration Start Time, the details of which will be sent to your UCD Connect e-mail.   At that time, you will be able to register for your modules and to finalise your personalised timetable based on the options that you select.  Note that the Spring trimester timetable is currently scheduled as normal.

At the School of Agriculture & Food Science we aim to give you the best possible campus and blended learning experience. The School considers face-to-face interaction between students, and between students and faculty, as important elements of your learning journey. 

It is important to remember that irrespective of the mode of delivery, the majority of our programmes are full-time options and it is important that you allocate sufficient time to your studies during the academic year to ensure you avail of the high quality education that we offer.

The School of Agriculture & Food Science has adopted the following general teaching and assessment principles for the Autumn trimester:

Each student will have a detailed timetable and will be expected to participate in learning following this schedule.

Most, if not all, lectures (especially for large classes) will be delivered online. These will either be live or pre-recorded.

Essential practical teaching sessions, small group teaching, tutorials and field trips will be prioritised for face to face delivery where possible.  In some cases, pre-laboratory preparation by students may be required, assisted by support materials made available in advance.

Module assessment will, as much as possible, incorporate in-trimester or continuous assessment approaches.  There will be no exams in the RDS in December 2020 and any end of trimester exams will be online.

Unfortunately, I cannot indicate the exact amount of time that we hope you will spend on campus in the coming trimester, and I appreciate some of the planning challenges that you may be facing (for travel and accommodation for example). Your time on campus will clearly be less usual for the Autumn trimester and we intend to organise it in such a way as to maximize the benefits of attendance. Nonetheless, we may still have to amend the proportion of online learning if the prevailing public health guidelines associated with the pandemic change.  As before, we will be considering extenuating and exceptional circumstances that individual students may encounter.

If we can help you any further please get in touch with the UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science Programme Office (via the Student Connector), which you can access at: https://www.ucd.ie/agfood/contact/programmeofficecontactform/

I also recommend that you regularly check the UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science website at https://www.ucd.ie/agfood/where the most up to date information available will be published at all times.

You can view the UCD Covid-19 FAQS at:  https://www.ucd.ie/covid-19/.  The situation as you know is evolving and we will keep you informed of the most up-to-date advice available as we draw closer to the start of term.

With my best wishes,

Professor Alexander Evans

UCD Dean of Agriculture