UCD engineering

Cian2000000

Alright guys, I just have a few questions about this course and UCD in general as I am unable to go to the open day and do not know a whole lot in
as I am from cork.
1) What are the facilities like and the buildings that most lectures take place in? Are they mostly modern and sufficent? I would likely be specialising in biomedical or mechanical.
2) I have seen some info on UCD horizons, for example i would love to keep on German with me engineering degree, would this be possible?
3) As I am from cork I have no idea what the social life at ucd is like, I understand it is huge etc but is nightlife still good?

Thanks alot guys.

OneOfThem Stumbled

Cian2000000 wrote: »

Alright guys, I just have a few questions about this course and UCD in general as I am unable to go to the open day and do not know a whole lot in
as I am from cork.
1) What are the facilities like and the buildings that most lectures take place in? Are they mostly modern and sufficent? I would likely be specialising in biomedical or mechanical.
2) I have seen some info on UCD horizons, for example i would love to keep on German with me engineering degree, would this be possible?
3) As I am from cork I have no idea what the social life at ucd is like, I understand it is huge etc but is nightlife still good?

Thanks alot guys.

I'll have a stab at answering this, tho I'm from Dublin, and I don't do eng.

1) The engineers have "their own building"
See here and here, Has always struck me as looking like a nuclear submarine on the inside. Somewhat confusingly though, most of your time will actually be in the science buildings. I suppose this makes sense given the number of science subjects you have to take, particularly early on. Most of these are relatively up-to-date.

I wouldn't know enough about the specialisation to comment, I can only direct you to the course structure.

2) Horizons won't ever give you a qualification, and you have to be careful because some programmes don't really offer students the opportunity to take electives. Electives are what you're thinking of, and they can be very useful (you take a module in the area, sometimes as if that were your main area of study). That is to say that while some modules are made "just to be electives", generally they are part of a larger bone fide program that you can just take a bite out of.

Looking at the programme for eng - it looks like there isn't any spot for electives in stage 1 anyway. Looks like there might be space for 1 elective module in stage 2 (biomechanical route), but I don't know for sure.

3) Living on campus is the most important aspect for you here. Again, I'm not best disposed to answer that, but it seems to me that luck of the draw factors into it. You get some information about the other people in your apartment in advance, but competition is fierce for spaces, so I doubt that there's much capacity to shop around.

There's lots of clubs and societies on campus, but there's only a solitary bar all by its lonesome as a form of genuine nightlife (everywhere else is "lights-out by 10.30pm" pretty much). As such, excursions to the city centre are the main avenue of entertainment, and which while grand, places UCD in a seriously more awkward position than let's say Trinity, that has that literally on its doorstep.

If you are considering going to UCD either Montrose or Merville accommodation would be the best, I'd say. Montrose, because it's not actually inside the campus, and not subject to UCD's policing (you are treated like an adult). It's also right beside the bus-stop for trips back from town, and within easy walking distance of everything you need. More expensive tho (as it's commercial).

Merville has all the advantages and disadvantages of campus accommodation, with bonus of Centra shop and proximity to Engineering building.