About Undergraduate Studies

The Trinity undergraduate curriculum aspires to educate inquiring citizens by developing independent and critical thinking skills, and by encouraging our students to play a central role in their own intellectual formation. 

In our degree programmes students attain specialised knowledge and skills through engaging in lectures, seminars, tutorials, and laboratory classes, and with an emphasis on small-group teaching. But they also learn from each other, from involvement in clubs and societies, and from attending lectures in disciplines other than their own.  In this way we encourage our students to realise their full potential and we support them in acquiring the skills which will enable them to be active, thoughtful learners in their life after graduation, and to make a valuable contribution to society.

There are certain core principles which make the Trinity curriculum distinctive.  We seek to nurture critical thinking, to promote the understanding of research processes, and to advance the ability to form, articulate and communicate independent judgments.  Our curriculum seeks to cultivate these attributes in an environment that fully recognises the importance of research and scholarly enquiry.  Research-led teaching is crucial to achieving this distinctive curriculum, and it reflects the strong research activity in all disciplines of the university.

Trinity College’s four-year undergraduate programme enables us to deliver a unique learning experience.  Trinity students often achieve the same standard and depth in their final year as students on some postgraduate courses elsewhere.  This is because Trinity attracts some of the most able, motivated and hard working students from all thirty-two counties of Ireland, and from around the world, who are provided with world-class teaching and learning facilities.

Trinity is committed to maintaining and developing the ethos and quality of undergraduate education through research-led teaching and curriculum renewal.  A key objective over the past decade has been the promotion and development of nine attributes in our graduates so that they are inquisitive, analytical, reflective, creative, adaptable, widely read and ethically responsible, with an independent mind and an international outlook.  Our curriculum seeks to develop student leadership skills, and inspire graduates who are reflective and positive citizens and active members of the wider community.

The college officer with particular responsibility for undergraduate studies is called the Senior Lecturer, who serves as the Dean of Undergraduate Studies for the College.

The current  Senior Lecturer/Dean of Undergraduate Studies is Dr David Shepherd.