Past Review

By (Finance and Financial Management Services., Providence College) for

Arcadia: Dublin - University College Dublin

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
This was the best decision i have ever made in my entire life. I am so thankful that was parents allowed me to do this. It is so hard to put into words what you can experience in 4 months in another country. I have become more cultured and more appreciative of other cultures as a result of studying abroad. It makes me want to go back over there and see even more cities and countries of the world. It was an amazing journey that I will never forget

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The teaching methods and habits were very different than at PC. Almost every student in the classroom at UCD brought their laptop and the majority would be on facebook or another website not paying attention to the teacher. Like I said before, there was no continuous assessment which seems nice not having alot of work but you really dont know where you stand in the classroom. For Irish freshman, classes are on a pass/fail basis so many of them do not show up to class and school takes a back seat to the Dublin social scene.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

This was an amazing staff you did every to help you. Staying in a hostel during orientation helped us meet new people fast. They made us go on a homestay one weekend which was a great experience. They took us out to dinner twice. One time I couldnt go on a program trip but wanted to go another weekend and one of the staff members sent me an itinerary which we followed to a T.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

3 bedrooms, a bedroom, shower room and a big room with a living room area and kitchen. The only things that we really needed were a mircowave and a bigger refrigerator. Besides that I really cant complain <br /><br /> It was a good location and I thought it had everything we needed besides a microwave. Each of us had our own bedroom and we were near all the people in our group. We were in the freshman apartments which could get a little loud and crazy some nights

* Food:

The food in Ireland is not very good. Shopping for yourself made things a little bit easier but even the selection in stores were not that great. It sometimes got annoying having to walk to buy groceries and having to carry it back. Overall its not unbearable and you can make do.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The pubs and social sense in Dublin are second to none. Everywhere you go in Dublin its a good time. You can go into a pub, have a pint of Guinness and watch people play traditional Irish music around a table. There are so many places to choose from. At one point, I went to 12 different pubs in 3 days, all within a half mile of eachother.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

The campus was well guarded and there was never any real reason for concern anywhere

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Dublin is very expensive, but so are most cities in Europe. Try to find the cheapest flights and hotels if you can. The Euro looks like monopoly money so dont try to spend it like your playing the board game.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? DO IT!!!!!!!!! ITS AN EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Business Ethics

Course Department:
Instructor: Cavanaugh
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This was my favorite class at UCD because of the professor. He made the class very interesting and used many real life examples to help teach the material. He was a fair grader and always had positive things to say about a presentation and how you could improve on the next one. I enjoyed going to this class each week
Credit Transfer Issues: I received credit for my second PC Philosophy requirement
Course Name/Rating:

EU and the Business Environment

Course Department:
Instructor: PJ Paul
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This was another course that I was excited to take because I really knew nothing about the EU and what a great place to learn about it at a university in one of the EU countries. The professor was a really nice guy and tried to get the class interested in the topic. Some things I found very interesting but others were very dry political stuff. Many of his powerpoint slides had question marks next to words or phrases so you had no idea what they meant. I would probably take it again and try to get more out of it
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

irish History

Course Department:
Instructor: Marnie Hay
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This course was for American study abroad students only. While come of the material was boring history information, some stuff like the founding of the GAA and the Irish Famine I thought were really interesting topics. Being that I have family in Ireland, I really tried to get alot out of this course.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

International Marketing

Course Department:
Instructor: Simon Bradley and Qun Tan
Instruction Language: English, and some broken English
Comments: This was my least favorite class at UCD. The professors did not know how to run a class or how to teach to a class. There was always a group presentation before every class, which took about 45 mins to an hour. Then there would sometimes we a quiz which would take 15 mins. This left the professors to teach 2 chapters worth of material in 35 mins. I thought this class would be very interesting but it was my least favorite class
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

Course Department:
Instructor: Tom Murphy
Instruction Language: English
Comments: I thought this class was going to be very interesting but the professor made it a very boring class. He was very soft spoken and boring. It was hard to pay attention in this class especially when it was my last class before a 3 day weekend. He really gave no guidance on our assignments and you basically just did what you thought it wanted Before the final, I studied and researched to prepare and what I learned happened to be pretty interesting.
Credit Transfer Issues: