The oldest part of the university, the Quadrangle with its Aula Maxima, was designed by John Benjamin Keane in a Tudor Gothic architectural style and was constructed from local limestone; it is a replica of Christ Church, one of the colleges at the University of Oxford.

[10] Members of the Franciscan Order from St. Anthony's College would have studied for degrees in UCG,[11] similarly members of the Society of African Missions at their House of Philosophy, at Cloughballymore, Kilcolgan, Co Galway, studied for degrees in UCG.

[17][18] 21st-century developments include a state-of-the-art University Sports Centre (Ionad Spóirt), Áras Moyola, J.E.

[22] In 2017 Dr Elizabeth Tilley was deemed to have exceeded qualifications for senior lectureship following a Labour Court hearing and promoted.

[24] In 2018 the university achieved bronze status[25] in the Athena SWAN[26] recognises a commitment to advancing gender equality in higher education and research careers.

Also in 2020, the university was awarded €4 million from the EU's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme to support its Solar2chem project.

[37] Examples of mould-breaking research include sugar coating devices[38] and how spider bites can lead to hospitalisation.

[48] Official Sinn Féin were also influential in campus politics in the 1970s, and Students Union Presidents Eamon Gilmore and Johnny Curran were party members.

[51][52][53] Most of Ireland's main political parties have active societies at the university including Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green, Labour, People Before Profit, Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats.

[56] The incident was provoked by the auditor of the Christian Society, running for the position of Equality Officer in that year's student union election.

[57] Earlier, in the late part of 2013, the university suspended the Legion of Mary Society after it failed to satisfactorily explain its connection to posters containing information on a Christian support group for homosexual persons.

[60] NUI Galway RFC compete in the Connacht Senior Cup, and are the competition's most successful side with 34 wins.

Facilities include Dangan Sportsground, where the university's GAA teams compete, and the Kingfisher, where Moycullen Basketball Club play their games.

[61] Within a few years of the start of the university's sponsorship of the Connacht Rugby Academy, the team had won, what was then the 2015–16 Pro12 title, for the first time by defeating Leinster in the 2016 Pro12 Grand Final.

[63] The Students' Union's primary role is to provide a recognised representative channel between undergraduates and the university and college authorities.

The President of the Students' Union expressed the belief that the decision was unjustified, citing the more than €20,000 raised for charities that year.

[64] RAG Week continued unofficially until 2024, when the fundraising event returned with support from the Students' Union.

Breandán Ó hEithir's novel Lig Sinn i gCathú, set in a thinly disguised Galway and telling the story of student life over four days in April 1949, has featured on the secondary school Leaving Certificate syllabus.

Tom Curtin's novel Melting Pot: An Irish Odyssey tells the story of three lads from University College Galway who leave Ireland for New York in 1969.