Visiting Students (Study Abroad)/Incoming Erasmus Students

School Co-Ordinator

Dr Melanie Otto currently serves as the School's coordinator for all incoming visiting students. She can be reached at ottom@tcd.ie and during her virtual office hours (by appointment). Her office is Arts Building 4009.

Visiting Student Handbook 2023-24

Visiting Student Handbook 2023-24

Fresher and Sophister Timetables/Module Directory 2023-24

Timetable 2023-24 In order to access your timetable, please login to your my.tcd account

Michaelmas Term 2023: Important Dates

Michaelmas Term 2023 Dates: The FIRST DAY of Michaelmas Term will be 4 September and the LAST DAY will be 1 December. Teaching of second, third, and forth-year modules begins 11 September and ends 1 December. Teaching of first-year (Junior Fresh) modules will begin 25 September and end 1 December. All Visiting and Erasmus students should plan to stay at least until this day. The assessment period will be scheduled for the week starting 11 December 2023. The mode of assessment will be confirmed at the beginning of term. We advise students to plan to be in Dublin during assessment week as some assessments may be in person.

Hilary Term 2024: Important Dates

The FIRST DAY of Hilary Term for all modules will be 22 January 2024 and the LAST DAY will be 12 April. The assessment period runs from 29 April to 3 May. The mode of assessment will be confirmed at the beginning of time. We advise students to plan to be in Dublin during assessment week as some assessments may be in person.

Information for Students Arriving in September 2023 (Michaelmas Term)

Module enrolment will be managed by Academic Registry and take place online 4- 22 September (provisional at the moment).

You should receive details of this process prior to 4 September. However, if you have been approved to take sophister (upper level) modules in the School of English, you will need to choose your modules in advance of this, in consultation with the Visiting Student Co-ordinator. A Doodle Poll to sign up for a Zoom meeting with Dr Otto will be circulated in Mid-August, with meeting slots on 4 and 5 September. If you are only taking Fresher (lower level) modules with us, you do not need to sign up for a Zoom meeting. Please do not attempt to enrol for any sophister modules for which you have not been pre-approved because you will not be able to take these modules and may therefore end up short of credits. If you want to take modules based in other Schools, you will need to consult them regarding their policies regarding module sign-up.
You will also receive an email informing you of an induction meeting that will take place on Monday, 4 September.

Module Codes and Credits  

Most School of English modules with codes in the form ENU1XXX and ENU2XXX as well as the School's Trinity Elective, Travel and Literature count for 5 ECTS per term (the exceptions are Genre and Irish Writing, both 10 ECTS); most modules with codes in the form ENU3XXX and ENU4XXX count for 10 ECTS per term, but there are also a number of 5 ECTS modules. Students are allowed to take a maximum of 30 ECTS only per term. Students can take less, if this is allowed by their home university and/or study abroad provider. 

Module Descriptions

Links to detailed information on the modules to be offered during academic year 2023-24 can be found below. Please consult these when deciding which modules you would like to register for:

Senior Sophister Module Descriptions 2023-24

Junior Sophister Module Descritpions 2023-24

Fresher Module Descriptions 2023-24

Special Courses also open to VS and Erasmus Students: 

• Reading Ireland A and Reading Ireland B 2023-24 (Lecture based Sophister module; students can take both components or only one of them; only available to students approved for Sophister Options in advance). Reading lists for both modules are provisional at the moment and may be subject to change.

Module Reading Lists

Fresher Course Reading Lists 2023-2024 can be found here.
Sophister Course Reading Lists 2023-2024 can be found here.
Reading Ireland A (ENU44055) Reading List 2023-2024 can be found here. The module is likely to change a little. Module Convenors: Dr. Darrell Jones and Dr. Jarlath Killeen
Reading Ireland B (ENU44056) Reading List 2023-2024 can be found here(to be updated shortly). The module remains (largely) the same as last year but this template is provisional.

All reading list material can be purchased in Hodges Figgis bookstore, located close by to the main college campus at 56-58 Dawson Street, Dublin 2

The English Literature section of the campus library is located on the 1st floor of the Ussher Library, marked with an x below.

Assessment Advice

Students studying in the School of English should consult the School of English Style Booklet for citation guidelines and the Junior Fresh Guidelines on Essay Writing for Visiting and Erasmus Students.

All students should complete the following plagiarism tutorial before beginning coursework https://www.tcd.ie/library/support/plagiarism/story_html5.html.

The VS co-ordinator will send some assessment information and hold a drop-in Q&A session in each term before the submission date for the first piece of coursework.

How to Apply to Study in the School of English

Information on the application process for Visiting and Erasmus students can be found on the Study at Trinity webpage.  We can only sign you up for modules in the School of English (which start with the prefix ‘ENU’).

You will have to enrol with the co-ordinators in other departments if you also wish to take modules there. English is one of the most popular subjects chosen by Visiting Students, and so we generally have a very large and geographically diverse body of international students with us at any one time. For this reason, places here are limited, and we cannot guarantee that a student will be able to enrol on all the modules that they have applied for, particularly at Sophister level. Other departments in which you may wish to take classes include History, Linguistics, and Philosophy.

We ask that all students who are accepted to study here carefully study our Visiting Students Handbook and list of available modules prior to arrival so that registration goes as smoothly as possible.

Many of our Visiting Students are particularly interested in Irish Writing, and this is indeed one of the School's major strengths. However, we also have several other areas of research and teaching specialty - amongst them Old and Middle English, Renaissance, eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century literature, contemporary writing, and popular literature, American and postcolonial literature. We encourage prospective students to consider the full range of courses available.

Important Further Information for Incoming Study Abroad/VS/Erasmus Students

• Trinity Student Learning and Development have published a new guide: How to Study in Trinity: A Guide for International Students. This guide aims to inform international students on the various aspects of Trinity’s academic culture and expectations and offers practical advice on how to approach certain academic challenges that international students might experience.
  
  
• General information about module registration, module enrolment forms and change of mind forms will be found on the Academic Registry Study Abroad webpage later in August.
  
  
• The latest up-to-date information on application procedures and Visiting/Erasmus Student life at Trinity College Dublin can be found here.
  
  
• A helpful Orientation Map of Trinity College Dublin can be found here.
  
  
• Arrival and Securing Housing in Dublin:
  For those students planning to secure their accommodation after they arrive, please note that there has been a serious shortage of accommodation in Dublin and prices are high. Please plan to spend some time looking for a place and do plan to arrive before the beginning of the term so that looking for a flat/room does not keep you from starting your academic work. Beware of scams that offer to secure you a place and request that you send them money before you arrive. You can find more information on finding housing in Dublin on the Students’ Union webpage here. You can also find information on what to do after you arrive here. If you need a document verifying your status as a visiting student at Trinity in order to secure a lease, Dr. Otto can issue you with this.

Student Experience

The School of English has a lively and very welcoming body of undergraduate and postgraduate students who have set up their own literary societies, journals, magazines and reading groups. We encourage visiting students to get involved in student life in College. More information about student societies can be found here. You can also follow information about the School events on our Facebook page.

Students studying at Trinity College Dublin have access to a comprehensive level of student support. Information about student support can be found here.

• College Map
• Academic Staff Contact Details
• Meet the Study Abroad Team, Global Relations
• Apply to Study at Trinity

Frequently Asked Questions

I have been accepted for Sophister options. What can I do to prepare for my registration meeting?
Unfortunately, the amount of time the co-ordinator can spend registering each student is limited due to high visiting student numbers and the necessity to meet with every new arrival before the start of classes. Whilst she is happy to provide advice to those unsure of their options, she will not have the time to talk you through your potential choices in detail. It is therefore expected that students will have familiarised themselves with the modules which interest them in advance of their registration meeting. Please check this page regularly for updates. Students should also consult the Sophister timetable which will be circulated in advance of these meetings.

Can I leave Trinity and Ireland before the end of the teaching term?
Visiting and Erasmus students must plan on staying in College until the end of the teaching term. Only students with a documented medical or family emergency may request to leave early. If you find yourself in an emergency situation while studying abroad, please contact your Tutor or the Visiting Student Coordinator for advice.

Who can enrol in School of English modules?
Only students who have been accepted by us in advance of arrival, which means in most cases that they listed the School of English on the relevant application forms and were subsequently informed by Academic Registry that they have been accepted into English. The only exception is the School's Elective Travel and English Literature, which can be taken by any Visiting Student in either MT or HT.

Can I take any module within the School of English?
If you have been pre-accepted for both Sophister and Fresh modules in advance of arrival, yes (although in the case of Sophister options, this depends upon the availability of places on individual modules).

I have been accepted for Fresh modules only, but I’ve seen a Sophister module I’d love do too. Is this possible?
This is not possible. There is a lot of pressure on places in Sophister level modules, and we can only accommodate students who have already been approved to take them in advance of their arrival.

Can I audit a module?
No, auditing modules in the School is not permitted.

Can I register for any Postgraduate modules within the School of English?
No, visiting undergraduate students cannot take postgraduate modules in the School.

How do I collect my marked essays if I am still in Trinity College?
Marked essays will be available via Blackboard.

How do I get my marks/results/transcripts/essays returned after I leave Trinity College?
A Transcript of Results is sent by the Academic Registry to the student’s home university. The School of English does not give out results. Results will be made available through the TCD student portal. This process is not carried out by the School of English, so students with any queries regarding online access to results should contact Academic Registry.

Contact

Email Melanie Otto or Abigail Ó Bardáin or make an appointment with Dr Otto for virtual office hours in the first instance.