Center for Irish Studies

There is strong emphasis on dialogue and public speaking. Classes are discussion-based and interactive, using a question and answer format. You'll make presentations, sharpen your interviewing skills, craft research papers and receive one-on-one feedback from your professor.

Irish Studies students often pursue a graduate degree in history, literature or political science in the U.S. or abroad. Some also attend law school.

Outside the classroom, you can experience the diverse cultures, backgrounds and religions of people in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Study Abroad is a first-hand opportunity to discover the meaning and purpose of peace and reconciliation. In the past, students have met with leaders of the Irish and Northern Irish Governments as well as religious and community leaders.

Through generous scholarships provided by the Center for Irish Studies, summer study abroad programs take students to Ireland to visit such historic sites as Glendalough, depicted here in County Wicklow. During this trip, students also toured Dublin for several days, meeting with government officials and seeing museums and other sites, before heading north to Newgrange and the high crosses of Monasterboice. Next the trip took the students to Belfast, where they met people involved in conflict and resolution and peacebuilding from the time of the “Troubles” in the 1960s through the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 to the present. At the end of the trip, the students toured Galway and surrounding areas before returning from Shannon.

Other programs, such as the one to be led by Dr. Martin Lockerd in summer 2024, will visit Dublin, Galway and places in between when the students attend the Yeats’ Summer School in Sligo and study literature, history, culture and music over several weeks’ time.

You also can study for a semester abroad. Earn credit toward your UST degree while attending classes at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Ireland where we have an exchange agreement.

Students from Northern Ireland attend UST in their third year through scholarships sponsored by the Center for Irish Studies in collaboration with Study USA and the British Council. This year, Jack Terrins of the University of Ulster, is studying at UST. He is pictured here with Michelle Killgore, the student speaker at the 2023 Irish Gala, who studied immersive Irish language in Ireland on a Fulbright grant in summer 2023 and a scholarship from the Center for Irish Studies. Michelle graduated with a minor in Irish Studies in December 2023.

In addition to the academic program, each year the Center sponsors a Cultural Outreach Program, which includes 6 or more lectures, concerts and other events open to the University community and the public.