University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, next to South Bend. It was founded in 1842 by Rev. Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross. The campus is a single residential precinct of more than 1,200 acres around the Main Building and Basilica. Holy Cross still shapes governance, and undergraduate halls structure campus life, while graduate and professional students sit in separate schools.

Work is organized through the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Science, the College of Engineering, the Mendoza College of Business, the School of Architecture, the Law School, and the Keough School of Global Affairs, plus a graduate school. Research nodes include the Radiation Laboratory, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and the Harper Cancer Research Institute. Graduate strength is marked in engineering, chemistry, theology, business, law, and global affairs.

Enrollment is about 13,000, of whom roughly 4,000 are graduate or professional students, with international students a visible minority. Alumni include Nobel laureate Eric Wieschaus, writer Nicholas Sparks, and former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who earned a master's there.

Doctoral study is research-led after coursework and examinations; Mendoza, Law, and Keough offer professional master's degrees and the J.D. The academic year is two semesters. Ph.D. funding commonly includes stipends and tuition remission; professional programs rely more on scholarships and loans. Graduate life is campus-centered in a small Indiana city, with Chicago reachable by highway or air.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, University of Notre Dame lists 86 graduate programs across 37 subjects: 36 master's programs and 39 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in business & management, history and area studies. University of Notre Dame holds rank 77 in the GSN Overall University Ranking.