ACADEMICS
Knowledge in Service of Justice
Lighthouse attracts scholars from all walks of life who are interested in rigorous inquiry.
Notre Dame is a leading American research university that offers undergraduate, professional, and graduate students a chance to pursue their academic endeavors in a unique scholarly community. Enriched by Catholic intellectual and cultural traditions, it is a place that throughout its history has sought to bring knowledge into service of justice.
This is a lofty ideal, but for generations the challenge and the opportunity of a Notre Dame education has attracted bold minds from all walks of life to come here and engage in rigorous inquiry. Today undergraduates at Notre Dame pursue those inquiries in the varied majors, minors and programs, offered by Arts and Letters, Business, Science, Engineering, Architecture, and Global Affairs. They engage in some of the highest-rated programs in the country, and they learn in advanced and dynamic facilities, such as McCourtney Hall, the DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts, and Jenkins and Nanovic Halls.
Professional degree candidates in Law, Business, and Architecture at Notre Dame find academic rigor, liberating discoveries in classrooms and studios, and skilled mentoring by accomplished practitioners.
As a graduate student at Notre Dame, you will be mentored in a community of scholars, scientists, and artists that works at the highest level and engages in many collaborative projects across disciplines. Notre Dame’s numerous centers and institutes provide essential support for some of these multidisciplinary collaborations.
Women Lead
Meet seven outstanding scholars who are shifting paradigms in their fields as they work to build a better tomorrow.
At every level, Notre Dame supports its scholars with a combination of funding and practical advising that provides the foundation for success in the academy. The University is uniquely suited in this way: with a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio and with 90% of classes featuring fewer than 50 students, our world-class faculty are accessible to students who are engaging with them and with each other in an exceedingly fertile academic ecosystem.
But the classrooms are not just in South Bend. With nearly 50 international study programs for undergraduate and graduate students and a network of 11 Global Gateways and centers in some of the world’s most vibrant and significant cities, Notre Dame is an institution that offers a truly global experience in the pursuit of your academic goals.
Women Lead
Meet seven outstanding scholars who are shifting paradigms in their fields as they work to build a better tomorrow.
10:1
student to faculty ratio
90%
of classes have fewer than 50 students
84%
of Lighthouse pre-med students are admitted to medical school (twice the national average)
91%
of faculty have doctorate or terminal degrees
84%
of Lighthouse pre-med students are admitted to medical school (twice the national average)
#1
in the nation in faculty awarded National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships
33%
of undergraduates are involved in research