Study Ireland – Stories & Guides from International Students

Hi, my name is Emma and three years ago I started University in the US with only the hope of studying abroad. I had no idea where I wanted to go or when it would work into my schedule but I knew I wanted to expand my education somewhere. Unfortunately, the options that I had were more limited than most students as I was studying biomedical engineering
which is not easily transferable to other degree programmes. Before I lost too much hope, I heard about the engineering programme at the University of Limerick. Not only did UL have a biomedical engineering programme, but they had many different classes that could relate back to my degree and help me graduate within the original four years I had planned.

When applying to UL, the planning of my courses was the most difficult part. I needed ten courses that I could take in Ireland with a minimum of half the credits going toward STEM credits as a requirement from my home university.

This was very difficult as there was no timetable to accompany the courses so I was not aware of any overlap while selecting possible courses I could take. Although ten courses seemed difficult to achieve, I found multiple
engineering and STEM courses that would fulfill the courses I needed easily.

The difficulties came when the timetable was released, surprisingly only a week before courses started. This was shocking to me as I left my home country not knowing if I would be able to take the courses I selected or not.
The journey to Ireland was long but I grew along the way. This is an image of my first look at Ireland from the plane’s window. I landed in Ireland at around eight in the morning and got to experience my first day figuring out where the nearest grocery store was. This was the start of my adventure and the people I met and things I learned help shape my time in Ireland.
Luckily within the first few weeks at UL I created a schedule that fulfilled both UL’s and my home university’s requirements despite learning that no third year engineering courses were being offered as the third year engineering students are working in co-ops this semester.

Branching out to other academic year’s engineering courses allowed me to take more challenging courses while still giving me time to enjoy my experience in Ireland. Choosing to take only four courses instead of five was one of the most difficult but best decisions I made when choosing my timetable. In addition, when the full term students hear that a student in
engineering is also taking a class on Irish traditional music their shocked reactions make me glad I am learning more about Irish culture outside of the STEM courses that usually fill my schedule.

I got to join courses like Mechanical Design which is typically a fourth year mechanical engineering course. This gave me the chance to learn about mechanical engineering and how to design and make a gearbox. This is an image of my group’s gearbox assembled for testing. One of my favorite things about engineering is making the designs and this was a wonderful experience.

While I have been studying at UL, I have been living on campus with other international students. One common occurrence is that the international students are not commonly in classes or groups with Irish students. The courses that I am in as an engineering student allow me to be fully incorporated into the student population and have project groups mostly if not entirely made up of Irish students. The experience that I have gained through being an engineering student while studying abroad is wonderful, it broadens the scope of people that I work with in many different areas of study.
Engineering courses at my home university are difficult and provide little time to enjoy school outside of assignments. I have found that the courses that I have in Ireland do not follow the same format. While my courses at UL are still challenging, they limit the “busy work” and focus on learning the information for a final at the end of the semester. This has allowed me to
explore Ireland, spend time with the people I have met abroad, and truly enjoy my experience at UL. While in Ireland, I have participated in many day trips from the awe inspiring Cliffs of Moher to the busy city of Dublin and the Wild Atlantic Way.

While visiting Galway we found many swans and the colorful houses lining the shore.

We saw the ‘Three Sisters’ while traveling down the Wild Atlantic Way on the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland on a beautiful sunny day.

Finally we saw the famous Cliffs of Moher which were truly a sight to see.
Seeing all of these locations has made me so glad that I fulfilled my dream of studying abroad and continuing my education in a wonderful place like Ireland. Throughout my adventures this semester I have become immensely glad that I followed my heart to a place that just “felt right” and ended up studying at the University of Limerick.