Student Life at Notre Dame

Notre Dame's campus community and the local community provide students abundant intellectual, cultural, social and recreational opportunities.

Campus Life

Notre Dame students can take advantage of a wide variety of academic, cultural and recreational activities, and can participate in any number of student clubs. More information about campus life at Notre Dame can be find at the student life services page.

Cultural Activities:

Music

The University's Department of Music sponsors concerts and recitals by its faculty and students and by invited artists and ensembles. In recent years, invited performers have included the London Baroque Ensemble, Pomerium, and the American String Quartet, among many others. The University's Department of Music Jazz Festival is the oldest competition of its kind, providing a showcase for young talent and bringing to campus dozens of respected jazz musicians.

In addition to the University of Notre Dame's Department of Music, the College of Saint Mary's Department of Music (new window), which is located within a mile of Notre Dame's campus offers a variety of concerts, recitals, invited artists, and ensembles. There are a few unique events including the Christmas Madrigal Dinners and Window on Music.

Theater

Under the auspices of the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, Notre Dame sustains a vigorous tradition of first-rate stage productions by both students and professional touring companies, including, Actors from the London Stage (new window) and Summer Shakespeare (new window) .

Art

Widely regarded as one of the finest university museums in the United States, Notre Dame's Snite Museum of Art has a collection numbering some 20,000 pieces, including objects from antiquity to the 20th century and featuring works by Ivan Mestrovich, Georgia O'Keefe, Francois Boucher, Victor Higgins, and Milton Avery.

Literature

Every February, the week-long Sophomore Literary Festival brings to Notre Dame some of contemporary literature's finest authors and poets. Recent participants include Robert Creeley, Amy Hempel, Campbell McGrath, George Elliot Clark, Harlan Ellison, Eavan Boland, Annie Finch, Alan Lightman, and Leonard Michaels.

Recreation:

The natural beauty of Notre Dame's 1,250-acre wooded campus with its twin lakes invites walkers and joggers. Extensive recreational facilities include an Olympic-sized swimming pool and two golf courses. The Office of Recreational Sports provides members of the Notre Dame community opportunities to participate in activities ranging from aerobics to soccer and scuba-diving. Notre Dame is renowned for the prowess of its varsity athletes in football, basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball, fencing, and tennis, among other sports.

Student Organizations:

Several student organizations and clubs contribute to making the campus a lively one.

Of special interest to all graduate students is the Graduate Student Union. The GSU sponsors many social, academic, and cultural projects and programs throughout the year.

A comprehensive listing of regional and international student clubs may be found at the International Student Services & Activities site.

Regional Life in South Bend, Indiana

Notre Dame is located on the northern boundary of South Bend, Indiana. A city of 110,000 people, South Bend lies about ninety miles (144 km) east of Chicago, Illinois, 140 miles (224 km) north of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 200 miles (320 km) west of Detroit, Michigan.

Life Around Town:

The presence of four college or university drama departments, a national theater league and several amateur theater groups, a symphony orchestra and other music groups, dance companies and art and history museums provides a vibrant cultural and intellectual life.

Opportunities for outdoor recreation are abundant too. South Bend's East Race is the only artificial white-water raceway in North America. Minor league baseball and soccer are played at the Coveleski Stadium downtown. Half an hour north are the orchards, vineyards, and ski slopes of southwestern Michigan, and Lake Michigan's beaches and sand dunes are only forty minutes away.

An annual Summer in the City Festival celebrates the diverse cultural heritage of the area's residents. Restaurants in and around South Bend serve up a variety of cuisines ranging from Indian to Dutch.

And finally, the myriad attractions of a larger city can easily be found in Chicago.

Weather and Clothing:

The passage of seasons is clearly marked in Northern Indiana. Fall is usually delightful: warm, dry, and sunny, with cooler, brisker days sprinkled in that hint at the winter ahead. Winter tends to be cold and snowy. Spring is rainy and on the cool side, punctuated with balmy days. Summer is sunny, hot, and humid.

Warm clothing, including coats, boots, and sweaters, is needed for the cooler months. South Bend has several shopping malls where clothing appropriate to the season may be purchased for reasonable prices. Chicago stores, too, are easily accessible.

Traveling to South Bend:

South Bend Regional Airport at the northwest city limits provides air, bus, and rail services from one location.

South Bend is connected by air to both O'Hare International Airport and Midway International in Chicago, with an average of 60 commercial flights per day. The South Shore Railroad, the last electric passenger train in the nation, offers daily round-trip service to downtown Chicago.

Amtrak passenger trains also serve South Bend.

Indiana Motorbus, Greyhound, and Trailways link South Bend by road with the major cities in the continental US. Coach USA operates a convenient bus service that connects the Chicago airports to the Notre Dame campus.

Find out more about directions to Notre Dame.

About The Region:

Economic Profile:
South Bend / Mishawaka / St. Joseph County economic community profile. (new window)

Regional Quick Facts:
Facts about St. Joseph County from the U.S. Census Bureau. (new window)