Science and Engineering at University of Galway

The College of Science and Engineering is organised into five Schools, each covering a range of related Subject Areas. Some Human Biology subject areas also have affiliation with the College.

Studying in Science and Engineering

• Module selections must be approved by the College of Science and Engineering
  • Approval is based on academic background (pre-requisites) and module capacity limitations. Students can only be registered after approval.
  • Study Abroad students must apply via the Study Abroad coordinator.
  • Erasmus students must apply via the academic coordinator linked to the agreement with their home university
• Incoming Erasmus students can only take Science and Engineering modules if their exchange is an Erasmus agreement recognised by the College of Science and Engineering.
• Only modules in this Visiting Student Handbook can be selected. 
  • Modules which are not listed are not available to listing students for capacity or administrative reasons.
  • Visiting students are exempt from University of Galway module pre-requisites and co-requisites except in special cases. However, each requested module is individually validated to ensure it is suitable.
• Students are responsible for resolving timetable compatibility. See timetables below.
  • Mixing subject areas and year levels increases clashes.

Contacts

• Study Abroad coordinator: studyabroad@universityofgalway.ie
• Incoming Erasmus coordinator: incomingerasmus@universityofgalway.ie
• General enquiries

• • College of Science and Engineering: science-engineering@universityofgalway.ie
  • School of Biological and Chemical Sciences: sbcs@universityofgalway.ie
  • School of Computer Science: computerscience@universityofgalway.ie
  • School of Engineering: engineering@universityofgalway.ie
  • School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences: collette.mcloughlin@universityofgalway.ie
  • School of Natural Sciences: sns@universityofgalway.ie

Visiting students should always use the coordinator addresses in the first instance. Discussing with individual staff members such as module coordinators may lead to confusion unless directed by a visiting student coordinator. Only the coordinators can authorise student registrations.

Useful web pages

• College of Science and Engineering homepage
  • College of Science and Engineering incoming exchanges page
• International Office Study Abroad homepage
  • Visiting Student Handbooks for semesters 1 and 2
• Erasmus Office incoming students homepage
  • Erasmus Office information for traineeships and internships
• Index of all course module information pages

Timetable information

• School of Engineering (SE) timetables
• S‌‌chool of Computer Science (SCS) timetables
• Schools of Biological and Chemical (SBCS), Mathematical and Statistical (SMSS), and Natural Sciences (SNS), timetables

Additional timetable explanations

• Modules can run for the full semester (weeks 1-12), half semester (eg weeks 1-6 or 7-12) or more concentrated periods (eg weeks 1-4, 5-8 or 9-12).
• Related modules in a subject area at the same level often run consecutively (eg weeks 1-6 then 7-12). These are usually listed on the same row in the timetable.
• Attendance is required from week 1 of term to avoid missing laboratory-practical classes.
• It is strongly recommended to attend the first lecture of each module because an orientation to the content and arrangements is often provided by the lecturer.
• Visiting students are exempt from University of Galway the module pre-requisites and co-requisites shown on timetables except in some special cases. However, each requested module is individually validated to ensure it is suitable.

Module Levels and features

• The module code gives the subject area and indication of level
  • Subject areas of modules are indicated by a 2-3 letter code.
  • First digit indicates the degree year that Galway students typically study the module.
    • 100 level = foundation
    • 200 level = introductory specialisation
    • 300 level = advanced intermediate
    • 400, 500 level = advanced (final year or Masters)
  • The remaining 2-3 digits are arbitrary
• Most visiting students should select
  • 200 level modules if they have not completed a relevant module in the subject area at their home university
  • 300 level modules if they have completed at least one semester of relevant specialist modules in the same subject area at their home university
  • Students selecting 300 and higher level modules will be required to demonstrate specific relevant pre-requisite knowledge using their home university transcript.
  • Selecting modules at an inappropriate level will delay the module approval process
• Most modules are examined by a combination of continuous assessment and 2 hour final exam. See the linked module information page for details.
• Many modules have integrated laboratory practical components. Lab modules are mostly not supplementary.
  • There are often alternative lab sessions each week to enable timetable flexibility in timetables.
  • Students must attend the same lab session every week.

Available modules

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences (SBCS)

School of Computer Science (SCS)

School of Engineering (SEng)

School of Mathematical and Statisical Sciences (SMSS)

School of Natural Sciences (SNS)

Human Biology subject areas