University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ; ND), is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campus covers 1,261 acres (510 ha) in a suburban setting and contains landmarks such as the Golden Dome, the Word of Life mural, Notre Dame Stadium, and the Basilica. Originally for men, the university started accepting undergraduate women in 1972. Notre Dame is one of the top universities in the United States. The university is organized into seven schools and colleges. Notre Dame's graduate program includes more than 50 master, doctoral and professional degrees offered by the six schools, including the Notre Dame Law School and an MD–PhD program offered in combination with the Indiana University School of Medicine. The School of Architecture is known for teaching New Classical Architecture and for awarding the annual Driehaus Architecture Prize. The university offers more than 50 semester and year-long study programs abroad and over 15 summer programs. Notre Dame maintains a system of libraries, cultural venues, artistic and scientific museums, including the Hesburgh Library and the Snite Museum of Art. Most of the university's 8,000 undergraduates live on campus in one of 33 residence halls. Notre Dame's network of alumni consist of 151,000 members. The university's athletic teams are members of the NCAA Division I and are known collectively as the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is noted for its football team, which contributed to its rise to prominence on the national stage in the early 20th century; the team, an Independent with no conference affiliation, has accumulated 11 consensus national championships, seven Heisman Trophy winners, 62 members of the College Football Hall of Fame, and 13 of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Notre Dame teams in other sports, chiefly in the Atlantic Coast Conference, have accumulated 17 national championships.