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🇺🇸 University of Notre Dame · Programs

University of Notre Dame Best Programs & Majors for International Students 2026

University of Notre Dame's strongest programs and what each is genuinely known for — beyond marketing copy. With BrightKey's view on which serves international students best.

University of Notre Dame's strongest programs include Mendoza College of Business (BBA), School of Architecture (B.Arch), Theology and Philosophy Core.

Notable programs

Mendoza College of Business (BBA)

Consistently ranked number one for undergraduate business by Bloomberg Businessweek in multiple years. Heavy Big Four consulting, Chicago banking, and corporate finance recruiting. The 'Ask More of Business' tagline reflects the integrated ethics-and-business curriculum drawing on Catholic social teaching.

School of Architecture (B.Arch)

One of the few US universities offering a five-year accredited B.Arch at the undergraduate level. Distinctive classical and traditional-design emphasis with deep ties to Andres Duany, Robert A.M. Stern, and the New Urbanism movement. Required Rome year studies the canon directly.

Theology and Philosophy Core

Required two-course theology and two-course philosophy sequence for every undergraduate regardless of major. The PhD program in philosophy ranks in the global top ten; theology routinely sits at number one in the US. The Department of Theology is the largest of any US Catholic university.

Computer Science and Engineering

Solid undergraduate CS program receiving substantial new investment via the 2024 USD 350 million College of Engineering expansion announcement. Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society and Notre Dame Lucy Family AI initiatives are growing rapidly. Smaller and less deep than CMU, MIT, or Stanford CS but rising.

Pre-Med Track and Glynn Family Honors Program

Pre-med advising produces medical-school acceptance rates well above the national average, with strong placement into top-twenty medical schools. The Glynn Family Honors Program is an interdisciplinary great-books-style honors track for academically ambitious students across majors.

Kellogg Institute for International Studies and Keough School of Global Affairs

Notre Dame's flagship international studies infrastructure, with the Keough School (founded 2014) being the first new school at the university in nearly a century. Heavy emphasis on integral human development, peace studies, and Latin America given Holy Cross missionary history.

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