Notre Dame is well known for its outstanding sense of community and active student body. In order to have a positive transition to life in the US and an active intercultural engagement with the wider Notre Dame community while you are at Notre Dame, we encourage you to get involved!
Housing Meals Student Life Explore South Bend
Housing
Exchange and visiting international students live both on and off campus. Due to a shortage of on-campus accommodations at ND, exchange and visiting international students are not guaranteed on-campus housing. A lottery process is in place to determine on-campus assignments. However, some students will need to secure their own off-campus housing. During winter break, academic year students will have to move out of the dorms. For this reason, we highly encourage academic year students to search for off-campus housing, ensuring you still have accommodation during the break. Please see below for further information on housing options on and off campus.
On-Campus Housing |
Off-Campus Housing |
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Dorm Life |
Fischer Graduate Housing
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Meals
Notre Dame’s campus features two dining halls (North Dining Hall and South Dining Hall) as well as several eateries and fast food chains such as Starbucks, Smashburger, Subway, and Taco Bell. If you are living on campus, you are automatically enrolled in a meal plan. If you are living off campus, a meal plan is not required; however, if you wish to purchase a meal plan, please visit this website.
Student Life
As a Notre Dame student, you will have access to a variety of extracurricular activities, organizations, and clubs. Campus is known for fervent traditions, intramural dorm sports, and a variety of cultural, intellectual and social clubs. In the past, students have been involved in various choirs, faith based organizations, and a variety of sports clubs. Explore the University's Student Life website to discover all of the possible ways you can get involved. You can also find a full calendar of Notre Dame’s campus events here.
Student Clubs and Organizations
There are over 500+ student clubs and organizations on campus for our visiting international students to take advantage of. You can visit the full list here. We encourage students to find activities they are interested in, whether that is a language round table, cultural group, or something fun like the lego club or quidditch team!
Notre Dame International Sponsored Activities
Throughout the semester, you can participate in various events and activities organized by the Global Engagement Team and International Students & Scholar Affairs (ISSA). In the past, these have included:
- Welcome & Farewell Dinners
- International Student Coffee Hours
- Ice Skating at Compton Family Ice Arena
- Exchange Student Meet & Greet
- Chicago Trip
- Bowling
- Thanksgiving & Easter Events
- Subsidized Fall break and Spring Break trips (ei. Washington D.C.)
You can also check out ISSA’s events to see what opportunities are available to meet other international students, American students, and Notre Dame faculty and staff.
Explore South Bend
South Bend has a lot of activities, events, and sights to offer. To learn more about exploring South Bend, visit our Why ND page.