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UCD’s Lifelong Learning programme offers all adult learners the opportunity to explore history courses of their choice, without the pressure of an examination.

Open and Lifelong Learning at UCD School of History

UCD offers a variety of study options and entry pathways, ranging from full-time degrees to short-term courses for pure interest.

Lifelong Learning offers all adult learners the opportunity to explore history, and many other subjects of their choice, without the pressure of an examination.

Open Learning means you can fit university around your life. Whether you’re looking to progress your career, or you’ve just finished school and wondering if university is for you, Open Learning fits around your schedule and gives you all the benefits of being a full-time student, without the full-time commitment.

For 2026 UCD School of History has a range of course options available as part of the Open Learning and Lifelong Learning programmes.

Lifelong Learning

UCD’s Lifelong Learning Programme is a series of specific interest courses that are participative, engaging, and facilitated by experts in their field.

The courses are short in duration, generally running over 4 or 8 sessions, and are open to all adult learners. They provide a unique opportunity to explore a subject without examinations.

All courses are developed in collaboration with experienced tutors, UCD Schools, and the wider community. UCD is an Age-Friendly University. You will have the opportunity to take classes both online and in person. 

The Lifelong Learning options from UCD School of History for Autumn 2025 are:

The Lifelong Learning options from UCD School of History for spring 2026 are:

Open and Lifelong Learning

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The Lifelong Learning options from UCD School of History for spring 2026 are now available to book. More information on the courses is available below. 

For registration and fee details go to the UCD ALL website, call 01 7167123 or email: all@ucd.i

The (Dis)United States of America Difference Disparity and Division in Modern America

America is a vibrant nation drawing together peoples from diverse cultural, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. Together they are the United States of America, however within these United States there is also difference and disparity which has often led to division, division that, it could be argued, though present since the foundation of the nation has deepened and widened as America has moved into the twenty-first century.

As America prepares to celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, bringing together the 13 colonies to form the United States of America, this course will explore issues which have been divisive in America since its establishment including race, immigration, and political, social and economic inequality. 

Differing political views, social and economic inequality, issues such as civil rights, race, and immigration have all highlighted differences and disparities that exist in America. Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries many of these issues have become more critical with people from differing sides trying to push their views to the fore. This has at times led to the widening of the gap between the various perspectives on important issues and the deepening of divisions in American society.

In this course we will examine the differing views and opinions that have played a role in shaping modern American. We will analyse how issues such as immigration, economic inequality, religion, race, and civil rights  have been addressed by different groups in American society throughout the period. We will critically assess how, in trying to address the differences and disparities that exist, political and social leaders have brought about the changes that have shaped America over the last 100 years.  

The course does not presuppose an in-depth knowledge of American history or politics.

Tutor: Dr Sarah Feehan

Location: Online

Start date: 26 January 2026

Fee: €160.

Book here.

Assassinations That Changed Modern Irish History

America is a vibrant nation drawing together peoples from diverse cultural, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. Together they are the United States of America, however within these United States there is also difference and disparity which has often led to division, division that, it could be argued, though present since the foundation of the nation has deepened and widened as America has moved into the twenty-first century.

As America prepares to celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, bringing together the 13 colonies to form the United States of America, this course will explore issues which have been divisive in America since its establishment including race, immigration, and political, social and economic inequality. 

Differing political views, social and economic inequality, issues such as civil rights, race, and immigration have all highlighted differences and disparities that exist in America. Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries many of these issues have become more critical with people from differing sides trying to push their views to the fore. This has at times led to the widening of the gap between the various perspectives on important issues and the deepening of divisions in American society.

In this course we will examine the differing views and opinions that have played a role in shaping modern American. We will analyse how issues such as immigration, economic inequality, religion, race, and civil rights  have been addressed by different groups in American society throughout the period. We will critically assess how, in trying to address the differences and disparities that exist, political and social leaders have brought about the changes that have shaped America over the last 100 years.  

The course does not presuppose an in-depth knowledge of American history or politics.

Tutor: Dr Edward Burke

Location: Online

Start date: 26 January 2026

Fee: €160.

Book here.

Vikings in the Celtic World

This course will consider the Viking experience of the Celtic-speaking lands and how the Vikings, through both confrontation and collaboration, had a transformative impact on that world between c. 780 – 1020. The Vikings were largely a silent people and it is largely through the eyes of those they encountered – peoples who were already literate – that we first get to know them. Many of our enduring images of the Vikings are based on sources from the Celtic world, and some of the earliest and most complete accounts of the initial Viking raids are found in the Irish annals.

As the Vikings become a permanent presence in these lands, the Celtic and Norse views of the spiritual, heroic and economic world intersected and, at times, collided. We will trace the survival of rituals and beliefs brought from Scandinavia as exemplified by the decorated slabs and burials on the Isle of Man, where legends from Norse mythology feature on Christian crosses and a warrior was buried with a sacrificed slave.

There were personalities, both Norse and Celtic, who straddled both worlds, and many of these men and women were nurtured in both traditions and reflect the enduring and transforming contacts made through intermarriage, fosterage and political alliances. Towns develop in the west and the north as a result of the Vikings’ new raiding/trading activities, and the connections between the contemporary developments of Dublin, Waterford and Limerick in Ireland and Kaupang, Birka and Hedeby in Scandinavia will be surveyed.

Tutor: Dr Linda Doran

Location: Belfield

Start date: 29 January 2026

Fee: €195.

Book here.

Open and Lifelong Learning

Open Learning at UCD

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Open Learning

Open Learning means you can fit university around your life. Whether you’re looking to progress your career, or you’ve just finished school and wondering if university is for you, Open Learning fits around your schedule and gives you all the benefits of being a full-time student, without the full-time commitment.

Open Learning allows you to select the modules you wish to study, set the pace of your study, and whether you undertake the module assessment.

The School of History at UCD is the perfect environment for anyone who has a love of history.

The modules – all taught by experts in their field who bring their new research to the classroom – create for everyone the opportunity to explore the past. Sometimes this can mean looking afresh at what might appear to be familiar subjects and on other occasions it means investigating entirely new areas of study. It is this willingness to embrace new ideas and new approaches that defines the School of History.

The details of the Open Learning modules at UCD School of History for 2025 / 2026 are now available at https://www.ucd.ie/all/entrypathways/part-timepathways/openlearning/

Autumn Trimester (September to December 2024)

Spring Trimester (January to May 2025)

Open Learning module offerings are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Details on how to register are here. You can also contact the UCD Access team for more information: all@ucd.ie

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