* Campus information
* South Bend information
* Local transportation
* Air travel
* Train
* Car
* Cultural activities
* Weather
* Time Zone

CAMPUS INFORMATION: The University of Notre Dame enrolls approximately 10,000 students from all parts of the United States and more than 70 foreign countries, about 25% of which are graduate students. International students make up 22% of graduate students and 1% of undergraduates.

Founded by Catholic priests in 1842, Notre Dame has an undergraduate population which is 85% Catholic. Notre Dame is located on a scenic campus with two lakes and beautifully landscaped grounds. The campus is highly residential (80% of undergraduates live on campus) and self-contained.

For further information on the university, see the university's web site, which includes pictures of the campus, can be accessed at http://www.nd.edu (To take a ‘virtual tour' of campus, click on Visitors, then Virtual Campus, then Virtual Tour. Click on ‘Dome Cam' to see live pictures from several sites on campus.) Pre-arrival information for international students is available from Notre Dame's Office of International Student Affairs at http://www.nd.edu/~issa

Further information on the policies and regulations of the university may be found at the following web sites:
Academic code of the university: http://www.nd.edu/~provost/handbook/pages/academic_code/
Graduate School: http://www.nd.edu/~gradsch and Du Lac: A Guide to Student Life (.pdf file): http://orlh.nd.edu/handbook/select.shtml

SOUTH BEND: The university is located adjacent to South Bend, Indiana, a city of 107,000. Information on the local community is available at the South Bend City web site: http://www.ci.south-bend.in.us/ , from the local chamber of commerce: http://www.livethelegends.org/ and at the "Michiana Free-Net" web site: http://www.michiana.org ("Michiana" is a term for the local area, since South Bend is located at the northern border of Indiana, adjacent to Michigan).

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION: Previous students have noted that one aspect of life in South Bend which causes difficulties for adjustment is that public transportation is extremely limited. If you are used to relying on public transportation, it may come as a shock to find that the few bus routes in the area are serviced only every 30-60 minutes, and that buses do not run on Sundays. Many students rely on bikes, and a car is quite useful for shopping, if available.

AIR TRAVEL: The nearest international airport is Chicago O'Hare, two and a half hours from Notre Dame. From either O'Hare International or Midway airports in Chicago, you can take the United Limo/Coach USA bus directly to the Notre Dame campus ($31 one way). This is the way most people come to Notre Dame from outside the US. A bus schedule can be found on line at: http://www.busville.com/schedule.cfm?ID=125.

Michiana Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana is only 15 minutes from campus and may be more convenient (and perhaps no more expensive) if you are flying from another airport within the U.S. and do not have to go through Chicago.

TRAIN: Train service is also available in South Bend, either on Amtrak, or on the local South Shore Line (less expensive and more frequent) which provides service between South Bend and Downtown Chicago. Unfortunately, the South Shore Line does not go to the Chicago airports.

CAR: A South Bend map and driving directions can be found on line at http://www.nd.edu/visitors/dir.shtml.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES: The Notre Dame campus, South Bend and Chicago all offer numerous lectures, concerts, theater performances, films and other events. Because downtown South Bend is a 30-40 minute walk from campus, most students find that the majority of their time is spent on campus. Chicago is two hours away by car or train, but students are often too busy to go to Chicago more than once or twice during the year.

WEATHER: Average and record local temperatures for each month of the year can be found at: http://www.weather.com/weather/climatology/46556 . Temperatures are listed in Fahrenheit, but can be converted to Celsius by typing them in a box a the bottom of the page. To see a graph showing average high and low temperatures for South Bend, go to the site http://www.wunderground.com/ , enter the zip code 46556 in the ‘Fast Forecast' box, and then click on the link for ‘Seasonal weather averages' part way down the page.

TIME ZONE: South Bend, Indiana, is in the Eastern Time Zone -- the same as New York.

 

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