The College of Arts and Humanities has seven academic Schools and associated Research Centres and Institutes. The College is committed to providing a world-class learning environment for graduate research students from a diversity of backgrounds and experience, attracting students from all over the world, including the US, Canada, India, China and throughout the EU. UCD Arts and Humanities prides itself on its global outlook and extensive collaboration with national and international partners. Through its internationally recognised innovation and excellence in research, the College makes a significant contribution to the intellectual and cultural life not only of Ireland but also in a global context. Our world-leading scholars have received numerous awards and external recognition for their research as well as funding and grants from the Irish Research Council (IRC), the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), and the EU’s Research Framework Programmes.
The UCD Smurfit School PhD is one of the leading programmes of its type in Europe. The course is integral to the research culture of the School – excellent students and post-doctoral researchers from all over the world and a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds receive the welcome and support needed to pursue a career in research. The programme is designed for those seeking a career in academia, business education, research, industry, consultancy or related professions.
Research is a cornerstone of academic activity throughout the UCD College of Engineering and Architecture. First and foremost, curiosity and the desire to increase the body of knowledge in the world are what drive our studies. The research is directed by our faculty members, and much of it is performed by postgraduate students (at both Master's and PhD level) and full-time post-doctoral research staff. In this way we are training a new generation of researchers, who will contribute to the economy and society by means of the advanced skills and knowledge they develop while at UCD. The College is very successful at securing research funding, in the last 5 years securing €117 million in research funding, while three of the College’s academics are ranked among the top 1% of the most cited researchers in the world.
The UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences has been established to exploit the synergies that exist across the One Health spectrum. The One Health initiative links the health of all living things, together with the existing synergies between human and animal health, public health and food science. The College supports the indigenous agri-food sector, animal health and medical professions through education and cutting-edge research.
Agriculture and Food Science is one of the top performing research areas at UCD and was ranked 24th in the world in the latest US News & World Report's Best Global University rankings. The UCD Institute of Food and Health, Centre for Humanitarian Action, and University Farm (Lyons Farm) are key enablers in Agriculture and Food Science research success at UCD.
The College of Science is a centre of cutting-edge research bringing together researchers across the biological, biomedical, chemical, geological, mathematical, physical and computer sciences.
Many of the activities of the College are located in the UCD O'Brien Centre for Science, the largest capital investment in Science in the history of the Irish State. The College has a very successful record in winning research funds, averaging €30m per annum, and has 230 faculty as well as over 370 research and support staff. In 2018 the College was home to 3121 undergraduate students, 1347 graduate taught students and 479 graduate research students from 96 countries, one of the largest Science communities in Ireland.
UCD College of Social Sciences and Law is a world-leading centre for education and research in the social sciences and related disciplines. UCD is ranked 109 in the world for Social Sciences, is in the top 250 in the fields of each of its eleven schools and ranked in the top 100 for Archeology, Law, Philosophy, Politics and International Studies, and Social Policy and Administration, and is ranked in the top 50 for Library and Information Management. Within the College, 94.85% of the faculty are research active, accounting for the sustained performance of securing research funding of over €28.7 million in awards over the last three years.
