IT ALL BEGAN IN 1845…
That was the year Queen’s College Galway was founded. Following construction of the iconic Quadrangle building, the University opened its doors four years later to the first cohort of just 63 students.
From humble beginnings, NUI Galway has grown massively in size and reputation over the past 170 years. Today they are ranked among the Top 2% of universities in the world and recognised as being one of the best universities for their international outlook.
With over 17,000 students and more than 2,400 staff, NUI Galway is the largest and oldest University in the West of Ireland. Over the past 170 years, they have built a distinguished reputation for teaching and research excellence in the fields of arts, social science, and celtic studies; business, public policy and law; engineering and informatics; medicine, nursing and health sciences; and science.
The Quadrangle first opened its doors to 63 students on 30th October 1849 and the University, then known as Queen's College was born. The University was one of three Queen's Colleges, the others located in Cork and Belfast.
The Quadrangle building, built in local limestone in a Tudor Gothic architectural style, is modelled on Christ Church at the University of Oxford. The 'Quad' still stands proudly at the heart of the University today as a testament to its past. It is now used primarily for administrative purposes and houses the offices of the President and the Vice-Presidents.
In the first academic year, 1849 -1850, the University began with three faculties, Arts, Medicine and Law but there were also schools of Agriculture and Engineering. Female students later joined the student body and in 1906 Alice Perry graduated from the college, believed to be the first female engineering graduate in the world to receive a first class honours degree in civil engineering
There are many historical buildings on campus, such as the James Mitchell Museum, established in 1952. This geological museum contains high quality collections sampling a significant diversity of the planet's geology, with a fine display of fossils, minerals and rocks.
TOP CLASS COURSES
NUI Galway offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and diplomas of international standard, which provide students with opportunities for personal and academic development, as well as giving them the knowledge and skills they need to pursue successful careers. They are ranked in the Top 2% of universities worldwide for the quality of their teaching and research.
BEST CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
The University's approach to innovative programme development means that courses are developed to reflect the ever-changing needs of the job market and the economy. They have one of the highest graduate employability rates in Ireland, with over 90% of their students employed or in further study each year.
