A whirlwind of fun, work, and more fun August 19, 2025
By Claire Y (Biology, Brandeis University) - abroad from 06/04/2025 to 08/02/2025 with
Boston University: Dublin - Internship Program, Summer
Learned a lot about my internship field in healthcare (not my desired future career). Learned that particular field was not for me & cemented my future field for me, but it provided valuable lessons and experience that I can apply to my future career. Really developed my cultural competency and observation skills. I am more aware of my American-centric upbringing.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Fun field trips! Elective sociology class was super interesting. Internship was absolutely amazing! Rigor was decent, although the grading was a bit harsher than I initially anticipated.. Orientation was fun. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Helpful, knowledgeable staff who want you to do well and be prepared for success in Dublin! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Amazing dorms at UCD. biweekly room service. we lived in suites of either 7 or 14 with 1/2 kitchens. Towels and sheets were provided. Each person had their own bathroom & shower. only thing was that laundry was not in my building (I had to walk outside) and it cost money each time, but otherwise amazing housing experience. |
| * Food: |
No dining hall. Dublin food scene is amazing. be prepared to spend $$$ though, esp if you're eating out in the city/visiting pubs. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Because we spent most of our time at the internship (Monday to Thursday, 32 hours a week), and because all my coworkers were Irish, I really gained an in-depth look at healthcare in Ireland. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
UCD is very safe. Maybe some catcalling, don't go into some pubs' downstairs as a woman alone, especially if the area is all men. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Amazing program. Amazing elective class, amazing field trips, amazing internship. Unfortunately, I was busy a lot of the program with medical school applications, but this was the only time I had to do a study abroad program. I couldn't have chosen a better program!! |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
1€ cost for a single bus ride in Dublin (lasts up to 90 minutes) as a young adult. Which is simply wondrous. To be fair, I am bad at budgeting. But I usually spent more than I intended. It really depends on how much you go out to eat and how often you visit tourist attractions (some of them get quite pricey, especially the bus tours). |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 150$ a week (130€) |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Buy groceries at Lidl unless you're able to get a Tesco membership (which requires an Irish phone number to register). Take the bus whenever possible. Use young adult leap card discount whenever possible (like buying aircoach tickets to airport online). |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Be prepared to spend way more than you think you will. Be prepared to be tired, but it's worth squeezing in that day trip/flight because when will you have the chance again? |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
CAS SO 341 |
| Course Department: | Sociology |
| Instructor: | Samuel Scanlon |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Amazing field trips. Super knowledgeable, well-prepared professor who was very approachable and really educated us about Irish society. Participated more often in class due to approachable, friendly professor who encouraged deeper thinking. We had 1 paper, 1 paper plan, 1 quiz, and a final exam. Attendance and participation was also recorded. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
