Notre Dame University
Notre Dame University was founded by Reverend Edward F. Sorin in 1842. Notre Dame has become one of the top colleges in the country (next to Harvard and Yale) – which is why getting accepted is very competitive. It is known for having some of the best career opportunities for students to choose from and excellent academic programs to put them on the track they want to be in when launching their careers.
Students who are unsure of what they want to major in or how to reach their goals can use the university’s advising program. This program – which has been praised by a vast majority of its students – will help students to create a game place from day one that will help them to find their true career. From résumé tools to mock interviews, ND students are ready to hit the ground running when they cross the dais at graduation. Alumni are also a fantastic resource; as one student shares, “The Notre Dame network connection is outstanding for juniors/seniors. ND graduates will go out of their way to help another Domer.”
The University is organized into four undergraduate colleges (Arts and Letters, Science, Engineering, and Business Administration), the School of Architecture, the Law School, the Graduate School, five major research institutes, several centers and special programs, and the University Library system. Fall 2003 enrollment is approximately 11,400 students, with approximately 8,300 of those at the undergraduate level.
One indicator of the quality of Notre Dame’s undergraduate programs is the success of its students in post-baccalaureate studies. The medical school acceptance rate of the University’s pre-professional studies (pre-medicine) graduates is more than 70 percent, twice the national average, and Notre Dame ranks 18th among private universities (first among Catholic institutions) in the number of doctorates earned by its undergraduate alumni, a record compiled over some 70 years.
The Graduate School, established in 1918, encompasses 46 master’s, 2 first professional, and 25 doctoral degree programs in and among 27 University departments and institutes. While its graduate student body is small in comparison to many research institutions, Notre Dame nonetheless ranks among the nation’s top 50 universities in number of doctorates awarded annually.
At Notre Dame, education always has been linked to values, among them living in community and volunteering in community service. Residence hall life, shared by more than four of five undergraduates, is both the hallmark of the Notre Dame experience and the wellspring of the University’s rich tradition. A younger tradition, the University’s Center for Social Concerns, serves as a catalyst for student volunteerism. Almost 90 percent of Notre Dame students engage in some form of voluntary community service during their years at the University, and approximately 10 percent devote a year or more after graduation to serving the less fortunate in the U.S. and around the world.
No description of Notre Dame would be complete without mentioning the Fighting Irish athletics. Among college football teams, Notre Dame has compiled the highest winning percentage and the most national championships and Heisman Trophy winners. In recent years, Notre Dame also has developed one of the strongest overall athletic programs in the nation, with perennially powerful teams in women’s soccer, fencing, volleyball, basketball, cross-country, softball, tennis, and swimming, and in men’s fencing, baseball, lacrosse, cross-country, tennis, and hockey. In addition, Notre Dame ranks among the top three universities in the overall graduation rate of its student-athletes.
With 1,250 tree-lined acres containing two lakes and 166 buildings with an insured replacement value of more than $1.4 billion, Notre Dame is equally renowned for the quality of its physical plant and the beauty of its campus. Sacred Heart Basilica, the 14-story Hesburgh Library with its 132-foot-high mural depicting Christ the Teacher, and the University’s 120-year-old Main Building with its famed Golden Dome are among the most widely known university landmarks in the world.