About CASA Trinity Academics

The  standard semester academic load at Trinity College Dublin is 30 ECTS credits, with most courses counting for either 5 or 10 ECTS credits. 

The Award-Winning Idea Translation Lab
(optional, recommended course for 5 ECTS credits)

CASA-Trinity students have the opportunity to explore the modern-day intersection of science and art, and develop solutions to real-life problems through the Ideas Translation Lab (ITL), a customized, cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary undergraduate course stimulating the development of entrepreneurial, creative and critical thinking skills through collaborative group projects. Initiated at Trinity’s Science Gallery in collaboration with Harvard in 2011, the ITL course offers students opportunities to generate, develop, and realize breakthrough ideas for social, cultural, educational, and economic impact.  The course aims to equip students with skills beyond their disciplinary boundaries and to develop creative project ideas, applying both design and entrepreneurial skills to produce projects with real world outcomes. These projects may have impact along different axes: social, scientific, cultural and commercial.

Students hone their ideas from inception to realization, and conduct a final presentation during the last week of the course. This class encourages students to critically reflect on the broader perspectives surrounding the cultural, ethical, and economic role of science in society, including science policy and the commercialization of new ideas.

Courses and Credit Approval

• To find information on specific courses, go to Trinity's undergraduate Module Directory.  Applicants will need to indicate on their Trinity College Dublin application what subject areas they want to pursue, in order to get approval from the relevant departments at Trinity to take those courses.
• To discuss program fit, such as program type, expectations, level of structure/independence, or to compare options, get advice from Global Learning advisors and returned students. 
• For assistance in selecting courses, see your faculty or college advisor. (Note: You may earn elective, distributional, minor or major credit depending on your major and college.)
• Complete the Proposed Course of Study form that is part of the Global Learning application for a record of how your courses will count for credit at Cornell.

Academic Policies

• Study the language of the host country (or take a course in that language) when studying in a non-English speaking country for a semester or year
• Take the equivalent of 15 Cornell credits (= 30 ECTS) for a full semester, even if it is possible to take fewer and still graduate on time
• Complete all the academic work and stay until the end of the program, defined as the last officially-sanctioned exam for any course you take abroad

Registration and Grades

• You will be registered at Cornell and will earn credit for approved coursework for your semester/year study abroad
• Decisions on the final allocation of credit are made upon successful completion of the course (must earn grade equivalent of a “C” or higher—all courses must be taken for a letter grade)
• Grades will appear on the Cornell transcript in the same format as they are recorded on the original transcript generated by the study abroad program or university. Grades are not factored into the Cornell GPA