Study & Research Abroad: Wexford, Ireland
Study, Research & Grow at Georgia Southern’s European Campus in Beautiful, Historic Wexford, Ireland!
Act Now to Take Advantage of a Support Gift!
| STUDENT SUCCESS: A generous support gift of at least $800 per student is available, making our Wexford Campus programs an exceptional value |
Georgia Southern Wexford: The Best Value Study Abroad Programs in the University System of Georgia
Study in Wexford, Ireland, in 2024
Georgia Southern is proud to deliver the educational and career advantages of international study. Welcome to the university’s European Campus in Wexford, Ireland! The campus’s core is a stunning building from 1812, and we are currently remodeling a second building (from 1886) as a student residence.
Over several exciting, fulfilling weeks, enjoy the Viking-era town of Wexford, plus its hinterland: County Wexford and the Southeast Ireland region. The region is fascinating and inspiring.
County Wexford honors the past, boasting (for example) earth’s oldest continuously operational lighthouse. It enjoys the present, glorying in some of Europe’s loveliest farmland and finest coastlines. And it leans into the future, housing facilities that combine cutting-edge research and advanced manufacturing. Wexford — the “Model County” — is a noted leader in state-of-the-art medical devices; agrifood and nutrition science; sustainable energy and construction solutions; and international financial services.
Furthermore, County Wexford boasts deep historical links to Savannah.
Discover and apply for our Spring and Summer 2024 programs and courses. Thanks to a gift in excess of $150,000, generous financial help is available to qualified applicants.
A Location That’s Hard to Beat!
Wexford is the name of a town in southeast Ireland founded in the year 800 by Viking invaders. Each day, you’ll walk along the original Viking city wall, large sections of which remain intact. Historical, attractive, lively, and safe, Wexford Town and the surrounding county of Wexford are about two hours by road or rail from Dublin, Ireland’s cosmopolitan capital city. From early morning to late at night, inexpensive, reliable bus connections between Wexford and Dublin run every half hour. Georgia Southern students love the heartfelt welcome they receive in Wexford Town and County Wexford.
From enjoying coffee and pastries in attractive cafés to reveling in traditional Irish music sessions in wood-paneled local pubs to exploring the past — such as the highly instagrammable Tintern Abbey — in person, County Wexford is hard to beat for a rich lived experience: vibrant culture, gorgeous landscapes, friendly people! And did we mention the beaches? One of Europe’s finest sandy strands, the seven-mile-long Carracloe Beach — ideal for swimming and sea kayaking — is just minutes away from our campus! A bonus here is the weather: Southeast Ireland has the nickname, “The Sunny Southeast”!
Re-Connecting Coastal Georgia to County Wexfrod
Almost 180 years ago, a direct trade route emerged between County Wexford and Savannah, Georgia. Sailing vessels from Wexford Town in the county’s east and New Ross in its west made the 40-day trip across the North Atlantic Ocean, seeking oak and pine that had been harvested along the Ogeechee River and brought to Savannah’s wharfs. Soon after, significant numbers of Wexfrodians took advantage of the connection and emigrated to Savannah, the Hostess City. Savannah is certainly the “most Wexford” city in the United States. This bond was one reason for Georgia Southern University’s choosing Wexford Town for its European Study Abroad and Research Campus.
Exceptional Campus Buildings
The first cohort of Georgia Southern students studied on the Wexford Campus in 2022, enjoying its well-equipped classrooms, which occupy an exceptionally lovely building from 1812. We call that venue the Learning Center. One student remarked, “The campus complex took my breath away: just beautiful!”
An ideal venue for photos commemorating your time in Ireland, an iconic castle-style gatehouse constitutes the entrance to the Learning Center. A stylized rendition of the gatehouse serves as the official symbol for Georgia Southern’s Wexford Campus.
The gatehouse leads to the main building, which locals often refer to as Old County Hall, for it was once Wexford County Council’s headquarters. Later, its principal room became a courtroom, which now serves as the “Courtroom Classroom,” a superior location for lectures, performances, and other gatherings. Beautiful stained-glass pieces and other antique elements make the entire building a special learning environment.
When in Wexford in 2024, you will receive an extensive, behind-the-scenes tour of the next ambitious, student-centered project to which Georgia Southern has committed as it develops its European Campus. To complement the Learning Center, the university is sensitively remodeling a remarkable edifice, a former convent, into a 50-bedroom Residential Center. Many Georgia Southern students — including building construction and interior design majors — are gaining valuable professional skills by contributing this exciting endeavor.
Experiential Learning with an International Edge
Of course, the Wexford Campus experience extends well beyond the classroom — to participating in educational field trips across sites in Ireland’s “Sunny Southeast,” as well as Dublin; to enjoying the café culture characteristic of Wexford’s medieval streets; to interacting with Irish people at music sessions, arts festivals, and sporting events; and to visiting Irish schools, universities, research centers, and workplaces.
Live in Historic Wexford Town
While studying, you’ll live in Wexford Town, a beautiful coastal settlement in southeastern Ireland originally founded by Vikings. Research the connections between Savannah and Ireland including the emigration of hundreds of Wexford natives to Savannah during the famine years of 1849-1856.
Explore the Coast of Ireland
You can enjoy the beautiful green landscapes of southeast Ireland, from stunning mountains to the Wexford seaport and some of Europe’s loveliest beaches. You’ll see what it is like to educate young Irish students, study health issues, examine Irish geography, how business is conducted in Europe and so much more.
European People and Culture
Additionally, you’ll experience what makes Irish culture unique. You’ll witness ancient team sports such as Gaelic football and hurling. You’ll enjoy community musical gatherings, often in famous Irish pubs. Perhaps the best experiences are interactions with Irish people, renowned as among earth’s friendliest.
See Irish History Come to Life
You’ll see history first-hand as you wear gloved hands to handle ancient European artifacts and thumb through newspapers of the 18th and 19th centuries in the Wexford County Archives and other historical collections. And you’ll explore historic monuments, buildings and towns through field trips.
Gain International Experience
You’ll open your eyes to the international experience that makes you more competitive in your career or future graduate study. Studies have shown that employers recognize the importance of cross-cultural understanding in an increasingly global economic environment.
Safety
As always, your health and wellbeing are prioritized. Did you know that Ireland ranks among the earth’s safest countries? Even Irish police officers usually don’t carry guns!
Register Today to experience an exciting summer of study abroad in beautiful Wexford, Ireland!
The Wexford, Ireland, courses and programs offer many exciting opportunities for study and research. Experience the history, scenery, and people of Ireland as you learn, enjoy, and gain new skills and competencies.
The Program Cost for your study abroad experience on our Wexford Campus is very competitively priced at $4,995 (including transatlantic air travel)
Current student accommodations are in the beautiful Talbot Suites at Stonebridge. Beginning January 2025, we will be providing student housing for 50 students in a beautifully modernized historic building.
“…this is like Hogwarts, it has sort of a Harry Potter feel.”
– Dr. Kyle Marrero, President of Georgia Southern University
Take a tour of the Georgia Southern Study Abroad Center and See the Town of Wexford, Ireland
