IFSA University of Galway Partnership

Butler offers you two living options: Gort Na Coiribe and Corribe Village. I lived in Gort Na Coiribe with one American and 3 Irish girls. Having Irish flatmates really made my experience amazing. My friends on the program living in Corribe Village didn't have nearly the same kind of exposure to the Irish college kids (b/c they were living only with Americans and other international students) and they all regretted that living situation. Galway is a fantastic college town with tons to do, lots and lots of fun. All Irish students go home on the weekends, so you'll want to find a group of friends from your program to go traveling with. Getting to places in the continent can be more of a challenge because of Galway's more remote location, but we never really let that stop us.

So far this experience has been rewarding. For a history student studying medieval Irish history, there are classes that simply aren't available in America, and the only down side is that a lot of the classes on medieval archaeology and Celtic culture won't count towards my history degree at home. If you're studying something in this vein and you're devoted to academics, this is the program for you. Not only are the classes interesting, the lecturers are friendly, open, and helpful, and the courseload is relatively manageable whilst still allowing you to take a wide cariety of courses. The living situation at Menlo Park isn't ideal (the laundry machine often gives us difficulty and it's about 1/2 an hour from school by foot) but it's still a nicely furnished apartment much like what I live in at my home university. The school itself is right outside Galway, a short walk away, and Galway is a great city- really relaxed, really pleasant. The locals are wonderful, and the atmosphere is great. Definitely a semester worth the paperwork it took to get here! Social Life: The societies on campus are a great way to meet people and they have an incredibly wide variety to choose from. Sign up for as many as you wish and you're bound to meet people you like!

The program in Galway Ireland, through Butler University was excellent. I lived in the Menlo Park Apartments with apartment mates from Sweden, Ireland, Canada and the US. In terms of getting to other locations around Europe, Dublin is only a 2.5-3 hr bus ride from Galway, so it isn't unreasonable to take a bus to Dublin in order to catch a flight to the continent. The nightlife in Galway is excellent and most places have live music most nights.