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Student Involvement

Offices & Departments

Student Governance

Other Opportunities for Student Involvement

In addition to the offices and student groups listed above, students may also find other involvement opportunities through the following areas:

Student Activities

The Student Activities Office enhances the educational experience of students and the campus community through development of, exposure to, participation in, and assistance with intellectual, spiritual, cultural, recreational, social, leadership, and employment opportunities. The office also fosters an environment which values differences, the freedom of expression and the holistic development of students. All students, particularly leaders of student groups, are encouraged to become familiar with Student Activities Policies found on this website.

NDCentral: Notre Dame students can browse the list of active student clubs and organizations and request to join groups as a new member. Student officers of clubs and organizations can accept membership requests and send membership invitations out to prospective student members. Membership is the key to the student involvement features of NDCentral, facilitating communication between group members and providing access to activity request tools in the application.

Gender Relations Center

Housed in the Sister Thea Bowman Center, the Gender Relations Center (GRC) designs and implements educational and social programs that explore gender, intersectional identities, and healthy relationships. Guided by radical hospitality and belonging, the GRC creates beloved spaces where authentic connections flourish.

All students on campus are invited to engage at various levels, including attending events, joining our peer education Firestarter program, and connecting with staff members for resources and pastoral conversation.

Multicultural Student Programs and Services

Multicultural Student Programs and Services (MSPS) nurtures a sense of belonging, student success, and servant leadership for Notre Dame students through growing relations rooted in Catholic Social Teaching. MSPS is located in the Sister Thea Bowman Center on the second floor of the LaFortune Student Center.

RecSports

RecSports is proud to offer a wide range of facilities and programs that are available to enrolled students, spouses, faculty, staff, and retirees in the Notre Dame Community. The Smith Center for Recreational Sports (Floors 3 & 4 of the Duncan Student Center), the Rockne Memorial Building (South Quad), the North Dome at the Joyce Center, and more are ready for you! Each location offers a unique opportunity to be active and enjoy free time on campus.

From intramural sports to fitness classes, RecSports offers hundreds of programs each semester. Intramural and club sports are great ways to get involved, enjoy sports, and build friendships, while fitness classes challenge your strength, cardio, and flexibility through a variety of formats. Step outside your comfort zone, try something new, and discover what brings you joy with RecSports!

RecSports is also one of the largest student employers on campus – facilities, programs, and classes are all led and operated by skillful and talented student employees just like you! Positions range from working the front desk in a facility to officiating an intramural sport. Working with RecSports is a great way to gain professional-level experience, develop leadership and intrapersonal skills, and stay actively engaged with Notre Dame campus life.

Need more information or have questions? Check out the RecSports website or connect with a member of our professional staff.

Student Government

The Preamble of the Undergraduate Student Union Constitution states:

"We, the undergraduate students of the University of Notre Dame du Lac, recognize the common value of the vision of Our Lady’s University and our essential role in its ongoing realizations. In order to achieve the greatest possible contribution to our community, we endeavor to make efficient and effective use of the resources available, to communicate student convictions clearly and willfully to faculty, administrators, and trustees, and to achieve consensus within the University community on the formulation and execution of policy. We labor with the entire Notre Dame family to ensure that each student reaches his or her full academic, social, and spiritual potential and resolve to sustain the evolving spirit of Notre Dame by entrusting its care to the student. Therefore, we do hereby ordain and establish this Constitution of the Undergraduate Student Body of the University of Notre Dame and form the Notre Dame Student Union. Student Government is divided into two branches, policy and programming. At the head of these two branches is the Student Body President. Elected each Spring semester on a ticket with a vice presidential running mate, the Student Body President is responsible for advocating on behalf of the interests of the Student Body in the authentic realization of the mission of the University. It is the duty of this person to serve as an active student voice to the University administration, the greater South Bend community, and to represent the interests of Notre Dame students nationally. The Student Body President, Vice President, and their Chief of Staff are the top three officials within the Student Union. Along with the Directors of the Student Senate Departments and other Student Union leaders, they address all aspects of student life at Notre Dame, including academics, athletics, residential life, social concerns, student security and safety, community relations, and University affairs."

Campus Life Council

The Campus Life Council serves as a forum where students, faculty, rectors, and administrators discuss matters affecting student life on campus. It makes policy recommendations directly to the Vice President for Student Affairs. The Student Body President serves as Campus Life Council Chairperson, ensuring its efficient and effective operation. Initiatives of the Campus Life Council are delegated to several task forces who report progress back to the greater council every meeting. Meetings are open to the public and held every Monday during the regular academic year.

Club Coordination Council

The Club Coordination Council is responsible for all organizations operating as recognized clubs on campus. The Club Coordination Council works to promote the interests of each organization and handles budget and office space requests. Additionally, the Club Coordination Council facilitates cooperation between clubs and other branches of the Student Union. The Club Coordination Council is charged with cultivating and supporting Notre Dame's active club environment. The four primary goals of the Club Coordination Council are education, collaboration, representation, and allocation. 

Financial Management Board 

The Financial Management Board, also known as FMB, is composed of the Student Union Treasurer, the Executive Controller, the Student Union Board Director of Finance, the Hall Presidents’ Council Finance Chair, the Club Coordination Council Controller, the Judicial Council President, , all of the Class Council Treasurers, and the Off-Campus Council President It is the responsibility of the Financial Management Board to uphold the fiscal policy outlined in the Constitution of the Undergraduate Student Union. The Financial Management Board monitors the financial activity of organizations for misuse of undergraduate student organization funds and violations of written allocations.

Hall President's Council 

The Hall President’s Council of the University of Notre Dame is the arm of the Student Union representing campus residential life. The Council is made up of past and present Hall Presidents and Vice Presidents of the thirty-three undergraduate residential communities . The Hall Presidents Council is the body responsible for planning, funding, and executing residence hall events. Through weekly meetings, current student leaders identify and promote best practices in planning events for the residential community of Notre Dame.

Judicial Council

Judicial Council is the branch of the Student Union tasked by the Student Union Constitution with overseeing the ethical behavior of Student Union leaders, the oversight and administration of Student Government elections, and providing support through Peer Advocates to students navigating the Office of Community Standards' hearings and conferences.

Student Union Senate

The Student Union Senate consists of one elected representative per undergraduate residence hall, three elected off-campus undergraduate representative, class council presidents, and other Student Union positions. The Student Body Vice President serves as Chair ensuring its efficient and effective operation. The Student Union Senate formulates and advances the position of the undergraduate Student Body on all issues concerning campus life. The weekly meetings serve as an opportunity for student representatives to address or debate relevant and timely student issues, accommodate speakers who wish to reach students through Senate and hold votes on particular matters in order to advance resolutions issued by the committees.

  • Website: studentgovernment.nd.edu/senate

Student Union Board (SUB)

The Student Union Board enhances undergraduate student life by providing undergraduate student services and social, intellectual, and cultural opportunities that respond to the needs and wants of the undergraduate student body in the most efficient manner possible.

Graduate Student Government (GSG)

Founded in 1970, the Graduate Student Government (GSG) is a student organization which represents all graduate students of the four divisions of the Graduate School (Engineering, Humanities, Sciences, and Social Sciences) and Architecture. It promotes excellence in graduate education and strives to meet the needs of graduate students in all aspects of student life. GSG maintains an office on the second floor in the Duncan Student Center.

Master of Business Administration Association

The MBA Association is responsible for acting as a liaison to, and a representative of, all Notre Dame MBA students and alumni, the University of Notre Dame community, and the greater global MBA community at large. The MBAA is responsible for activities, programs, and initiatives for the Notre Dame MBA community, including students, students’ families, faculty, and administrators. All activities of the MBAA are conducted to serve and better promote the Notre Dame MBA Program and its constituencies.

Student Bar Association

The Student Bar Association (SBA) is the student government at the Law School; all students are considered members. The association performs various tasks related to student life, both social and academic, such as orientation, appointment of students to various committees, fundraising, intramural athletics and several social functions throughout the year. More generally, the officers attempt to represent student interests in any matter of sufficient importance. At the national level, the association is a member of the Law Student Division of the American Bar Association.