Lifelong Learning 

Our Lifelong Learning Programme is a series of courses that are participative, engaging, and facilitated by experts in their field. Lifelong Learning courses cover a broad range of topics including Languages, Art Appreciation, Irish Studies, History, Literature, Philosophy, and Writing. They are open to all adult learners regardless of previous educational experience and provide a unique opportunity to explore a subject without examinations.

The programme caters to an ever-growing community of around 1,400 Lifelong Learners and we encourage you to join us! All courses are developed in collaboration with experienced tutors, UCD Schools, and the wider community. 

In 2024-25, students will have the opportunity to take classes both online and in person. Whether a class is available online or in person, will be clearly indicated.

Bookings for Autumn and Spring 2024/2025 are now open, we hope you can join our courses.

Our selection of FREE Taster lectures are now bookable through the Taster Week tab.

In the meantime, you can watch this video on how you can book your course through our website.

If you prefer to book by phone, you can contact us on 01 716 7123 

You can find further details by clicking on the button marked ‘View Course List’ or you can download our online brochure.

Access & Lifelong Learning Team 

Why is lifelong learning important?

 UCD Lifelong Learning tutor, Áinnle O'Neill, gives us his take

Below are two sample Taster Lectures for your enjoyment.

If you missed the talks, or would like to watch them again, you can access them below. 

The videos are subtitled, and a transcript is available.

Please email (opens in a new window)all@ucd.ie, if you would like a transcript.

• Arthur Miller’s American Century

Arthur Miller's playwriting career was unique in American history for many reasons. With his Broadway debut coming in the midst of the Second World War, and his final play first performed the year after the invasion of Iraq, an examination of his plays provides unparalleled scope for what newspaper magnate Henry Luce hoped would turn into "the American Century". This taster lecture will give a rough outline of Miller's life, career, and important works from the well-known Death of a Salesman and The Crucible to the later plays.

• Americans on the Move: Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wall-paper”

This lecture offers an introduction to the “Americans at Home” course, via an exploration of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s famous 1892 short story “The Yellow Wall-paper.” Examining the ways in which it exemplifies but also complicates notions of home and domesticity in the American 1890s, the lecture will situate Gilman’s story within a longer tradition of American fiction in which houses not only feature prominently but are effectively central and active characters within the plots they frame.