University of Notre DameBuilt in 1963, Hesburgh Library was the largest college library in the world. Its mural, “the Word of Life,” depicts Jesus as teacher and is often referred as “Touchdown Jesus.”
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The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is a Gothic-inspired place of worship, nurturing ND’s Catholic identity with daily Masses. The windows are the world’s largest collection of 19th-century French stained glass.
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Washington Hall was built in 1881 and holds 564 people in modern auditorium-style seats. Student groups hold rehearsals and performances during the academic year.
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To Notre Dame students, alumni, family and friends, the Grotto is a special place to spend quiet moments. Built in 1896, The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is one-seventh the size of the famed French shrine.
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Coach Knute Rockne designed the 1930 stadium that was expanded in 1997 to hold 80,795 fans. No college football program has had more Heisman Trophy winners (7) or national championships (11).
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Sacred Heart, by artist Robert Cassiani, stands as one of Notre Dame’s most notable representations of Christ and contains the simple latin phrase "Venite Ad Me Omnes" ("Come Everyone to Me"). The statue was dedicated during the 1893 commencement.
The Main Building, with its Golden Dome, is a centerpiece of Notre Dame’s campus. Atop the Dome, a statue of Mary, the Mother of God also known as “Notre Dame” (“Our Lady”) stands 19 feet tall and weighs 4,000 pounds.
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Tradition: Love Thee, Notre Dame
The gilded Golden Dome and statue of Mary atop the Main Building proclaim the Notre Dame campus as a place where faith is treasured and diverse traditions shared and respected. Our students represent all 50 states and over 100 countries. Rigorous academics, NCAA Division I athletics, and numerous events and activities create an environment in which our students are ignited with a passion to learn and to live to their fullest capacity.
Notre Dame is one of the few universities to regularly rank in the top 25 in the U.S. News & World Report survey of America's best colleges and the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings of the best overall athletics programs.
“This college will be one of the most powerful means for doing good in this country.” Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., founder of the University of Notre Dame du Lac
Founded in 1842, Notre Dame stands on 1,250 acres considered by many to be among the most beautiful possessed by any university in the nation. From the collegiate Gothic architecture and park-like landscape to exquisite outdoor sculpture and breathtaking views, Notre Dame's campus is a visual splendor.
Notre Dame has a unique spirit. It is traditional, yet open to change. It is dedicated to religious belief no less than scientific knowledge. It has always stood for values in a world of facts. It has kept faith with Father Sorin's vision.
As a university community dedicated to excellence, we take seriously our commitment to cultivating a diverse intellectual community.
Notre Dame is a leading American research university that offers undergraduate, professional, and graduate students a unique academic environment. Enriched by Catholic intellectual and cultural traditions, it is a place that throughout its history has promoted excellent teaching.
At Notre Dame, you can join a community of students, teachers, scholars, and researchers committed to advancing its rich Catholic mission of “Learning to think rigorously, so as to act rightly and to serve humanity better.” (Pope John Paul II) At Notre Dame, you will find a diverse community of students, teachers, scholars, and researchers who, whatever their beliefs, are committed to that mission.
As an undergraduate at Notre Dame, you will transition into academic life by participating in the First Year of Studies. You can then discover the wealth of the University’s academic opportunities in the varied majors, minors, and programs offered by Arts & Letters, Business, Science, Engineering, and Architecture. You can learn in some of the most advanced academic facilities available anywhere such as the Jordan Hall of Science and the DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts.You can also begin to discover a larger world by participating in one of Notre Dame’s 44 international study programs, as well as one of many exciting and expanding undergraduate research opportunities.
As a professional degree candidate in Law, Business, or Architecture at Notre Dame, you will find academic rigor, liberating discoveries in classrooms and studios, skilled mentoring by accomplished practitioners, and the ethical responsibility that belongs to Catholic professional education.
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.
The University of Notre Dame excels at educating undergraduate students and is continually rated among the nation’s top 25 institutions of higher learning in surveys conducted by U.S. News and World Report, Princeton Review, Time, Kiplinger’s, and Kaplan/Newsweek and others. But what you probably didn’t know is that 99% of our graduates are traditionally placed in careers, graduate school or service opportunities within six months of graduation.
By training with our world-class faculty and engaging in meaningful research, Notre Dame graduate and professional students become the academic and business leaders of tomorrow. Both the Mendoza College of Business MBA Program and the Notre Dame Law School rank in the nation’s top 25 graduate school conducted by U.S. News and World Report.
Come to Notre Dame this summer to explore your intellectual capacity and discover your inner self. Learn more about your culture or cultivate a better understanding of others.
Notre Dame’s Pre-College Programs offer inspiring summer opportunities for exceptional students. We invite you to explore this website to learn about the enriching experiences that await you.
From its earliest days, Notre Dame’s distinctive mission has set it apart from other institutions of higher education. The difference lies not so much in terms of subject matter and academic disciplines as in the perception of how those disciplines ought to serve God and humanity. At the very heart of Notre Dame’s mission is its profound faith heritage and aspiration to be at the center of Catholic intellectual life—to be a bellwether institution in the pursuit of truth and knowledge, while remaining guided and elevated by the moral imperatives of the Catholic faith.
This dedication is seen in almost every aspect of the Notre Dame experience—from the residential nature of its campus, to the organizations and programs that support and enrich its faith tradition, through academic and community service programs, and through its founding order, the Congregation of Holy Cross, which still plays a vital role in the life of the University today.
A place of teaching and research, of scholarship and publication, of service and community, the University takes seriously our charge as a Catholic institution. Deeply committed to Father Sorin's vision that the University would be "one of the most powerful means of doing good in this country," a living Catholic mission continues to be the foundation of the University today. Report on Catholic Mission 2011
We invite you to explore the many ways in which Notre Dame fulfills its Catholic mission through faith and service:
“We have a much more challenging mission than most universities. Most universities strive simply to be excellent educational institutions by the accepted standards of the profession. We do this at Notre Dame, and we have had great success. But we also foster and celebrate a distinctive mission to be a Catholic university, inspired and guided by a great spiritual tradition.” Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., President
