Courses

Most students will take 15 credits per semester.

• Please review your courses with your academic or study abroad advisor to ensure they will transfer back to your home school and that you are following your home school’s policies.
• Please be flexible – we can’t guarantee specific courses. If your participation in the program depends on a particular course, be sure to make a note on your online preferences form.
• Please indicate 7-10 courses, including alternates, on your academic preferences form that you are pre-approved for and can take while abroad. In the event of scheduling changes, time conflicts, prerequisites or cancellations, this ensures that you will be prepared to finalize your courses once overseas.

Optional Arcadia Courses 

Fall or Spring applicants have the option to take a 3 credit independent study course through Arcadia or a 4 credit virtual internship placement. Independent study students will work with an Arcadia faculty supervisor on a semester-long independent research project to produce an original research paper and presentation of your findings. Virtual internship students will work approximately 20 hours per week for an organization located across Europe and participate in the Cornerstone Course. If you are interested, see the course syllabus below and indicate your interest on your Academic Preferences Form.

Course Restrictions

• Admission into the English and History departments is competitive. 
• English - Space is limited in upper level (Sophister) courses in the English Department and courses are only available to English majors. Students are limited to enroll in a max of two Sophister courses. If you want to take Sophister courses, you must list at least one Sophister course on your academic preferences form.
• Political Science - open only to Political Science majors.
• Chemistry - open to Academic Year and Spring Semester students only.
• Film Studies - limited spaces.
• Linguistics - most courses are Master's level and occasionally on offer to study abroad students. You should expect a longer admissions decision time frame.
• Trinity Electives - this is not a Department and does not count as one of your departmental choices. If interested, apply for these classes after you arrive at Trinity. Admission is granted when space is available. Students can take up to 2 Trinity Electives per semester. 
• The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin degree program is not open to study abroad students.
• Law - open to study abroad students, although not applicable to law in the U.S. Many U.S. schools do not give credits for these classes.
• Economics - open only to Economics majors.  

Special Nomenclature

In Ireland, the word for class or course is module.

When choosing courses: 

• The Michaelmas term is the fall semester.
• The Hilary term is the spring semester.
• Academic Year students may also take Trinity term courses.

Choosing Your Courses

• Select up to four departments of study.
• List courses of interest in those selected departments/subject areas. 
• Arcadia can only submit to departments from which you list classes on your online course form. Example: if you select History but list no History courses, you will not be considered for admission in the History department.

Trinity College Dublin accepts students by department. Only select departments in which you have already completed some course work at the university level. AP and community college credit will not be considered.

• Semester = 30 ECTS credits (15 American credits). 
• Academic year = 60 ECTS credits (30 American credits). 
• In general, courses are 5 ECTS or 10 ECTS; however, not all departments may have adopted this two weight system yet.

In the Trinity College Dublin course catalog, expand the Module Directory heading for a listing of each Department.

• To view courses, select the Department(s) where you would like to take courses. Each Department will list its course offerings and include a short course description, means of assessment, credits, entry requirements, and course duration.
• Courses offered each semester generally remain consistent from year to year. Irish universities usually don’t post next academic year’s course catalog until just weeks before the fall semester starts.
• Carefully review the courses when making your selection. 
• You will only be able to enroll in courses that are listed in the Visiting Students section of Trinity's course catalog.

Enrollment Process

Official course registration will take place upon arrival at TCD. The academic preferences form you submit to Arcadia prior to acceptance is not set in stone. You will have a two week drop/add period at the beginning of the semester where you can make changes to your course registration.

Miscellaneous/Fees

There is a surcharge (special course fee) that is assessed by TCD for coursework completed in certain science, math, or engineering courses. This surcharge will be added to your account after you register for courses at Trinity

Grade Scale

The following information is vetted and provided by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) on the Electronic Database for Global Education (EDGE).

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COPYRIGHT AACRAO EDGE.