About Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame, founded in 1842, is a private co-educational independent school with more than 11,000 students; approximately 2,500 are graduate students. The undergraduate student population includes students from all 50 states and some 70 different countries. The total student body, including graduate students, is drawn from all 50 states and 104 countries. While approximately 84 percent of the undergraduate population is Catholic, the graduate student body reflects a broad spectrum of educational, religious, and geographical backgrounds. And while Notre Dame is professedly a Catholic place, it is also a place where all are welcome.

Both undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to participate in all University activities, which include a variety of lectures, cultural activities, concerts, and theatrical productions. The Snite Museum of Art contains five galleries in which the University art collection and special exhibits are displayed. Additional cultural attractions are offered at Saint Mary's College, located just across the street from the Notre Dame campus, and the South Bend campus of Indiana University. The Marie P. DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts is a new, state of the art 123,000-square-foot facility with a cinema, 2 theatres and 2 concert halls.

The campus is located just north of South Bend in north central Indiana (about 5 miles from the Michigan border), and includes 1,250 acres, with two lakes, extensive wooded areas and tree-lined quadrangles. A collegiate gothic style of architecture is found on campus, including as prime examples, the ornate Main Building (with the well-known Golden Dome) and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Important for the future of the College of Scence is Jordan Hall, a 202,000 square-foot addition to the campus costing $70 million that is scheduled to be complete by Fall of 2006. The University provides superb facilities for both participatory and spectator sports. Graduate and undergraduate students both are welcome to use all facilities, including a 78,000-square-foot Rolfs Sports Recreation Center, an indoor ice-skating rink, two swimming pools, indoor and outdoor tennis courts and racquetball, handball, and squash courts. Many students participate in intramural programs such as basketball, softball, and volleyball. Two excellent golf courses, the 9-hole Notre Dame Golf Course and the 18-hole Warren Golf Course, are available close to campus. Both undergraduate and graduate students may obtain tickets to all home football, basketball, baseball and hockey games at a reduced price.

More than 80 percent of undergraduate students live on campus in one of Notre Dame’s 27 undergraduate residence halls. Each residence hall is unique, having an atmosphere and character of its own. The halls are staffed by rectors, assistant rectors, and resident assistants who support the students living in the halls. There are no sororities or fraternities at Notre Dame. Approximately a quarter of the graduate students live in campus housing that includes apartments and townhouses for married students and townhouses for single graduate students. Dormitory space on campus is also available for single students. Off campus, a large number of apartments and houses for rent are located within easy walking distance. Campus parking is available.