University College Cork is a rather large university. There are around 15,000 students that are both undergraduate as well as graduate students. During the summer; however, when I was there things were quiet. Many students travel back home for the summers or work in jobs around Ireland similar to how we do in the USA. Campus is very much like Iowa State University with a central campus, Memorial Union, and various buildings for the different departments. The "campus quadrangle" is pictured below and houses many administrative offices and the history of the university.
During my time at UCC, I took an Irish History and an Irish Literature course. Class was held everyday from 9:30 AM to 1 PM with a half an hour coffee break each day. We would typically meet from 9:30-12 with a main lecturer or professor and from 12-1 we would meet with to what we would call a "TA". The TA would host a seminar class and answered any and all questions we still had after lecture was finished. They helped us review for examinations and papers. I have included a picture of Dr. Simon Egan, who was my TA for the history section of the program as well as Dr. Michael Waldron, who was my TA for the English section.
Although classes at UCC were fairly laid back, the work load was still quite heavy. During my four weeks of class here, I wrote 2 papers and took an exam for both history and literature. Though I was told prior to leaving that I should take classes seriously, the amount of work still caught up to me. My advice is to get your work done first, so you can enjoy your time abroad as much as possible!
As a part of our program, we took several field trips. Our first field trip was to Camden Fort Meagher which is an old battle fort that has been changed into a museum and commemoration site. When we went on these field trips, we traveled by charter bus with our entire class along with our professors and spent the day together. On the right and below I have included several pictures from our field trip and the fabulous views of the ocean.
Our second class field trip was for an entirity of a Saturday. We went to Curraghmore House which is a royal palace and grounds that was part of a land grant in 1177 AD and is still inhabited by Lord Waterford. We enjoyed lunch in the servant's quarters and toured the beautiful gardens on the grounds. After this we continued on to Youghal where we visited and learned about one of the oldest monasteries in Ireland. I have included photos of my main professors speaking at this historic sight. Dr. Damien Bracken and Dr. Mary Breen were so knowledgable and welcoming to us! To end the day we visited St. Mary's Collegiate Church and Graveyard which was also in Youghal.
On the left is a photo of the apartment complex, Brookfield Village, that I lived in while studying at University College Cork. The apartment was rather small with four bedrooms and one bathroom. Each bedroom had a sink, wardrobe, desk, and drawers underneath a twin size bed. The living arrangements were comfortable. I lived with three other individuals that were participating in the same program as me and they were from all over the United States. The apartment village was right next to the university as well as a little cafe that offered breakfast, lunch, and a small amount of groceries which was very convenient.