Is Notre Dame or the University of Richmond better for undergraduate teaching?

The biggest practical tradeoff is scale versus intimacy: Notre Dame offers a larger university experience with more departments, broader course options, and a strong undergraduate focus, while the University of Richmond tends to deliver a more consistently small, personal classroom environment. If your definition of great teaching is close professor access, discussion-heavy classes, and a lot of individual attention, Richmond has a real edge. If you want excellent teaching within a somewhat bigger and more traditional university setting, Notre Dame is still very strong.

Notre Dame is unusually undergraduate-centered for a national research university. Professors are expected to teach undergraduates seriously, many students report strong faculty mentoring, and the residential system helps create support outside class too. But because it is larger, you are more likely to encounter a mix of class formats, including some bigger introductory lectures before classes get smaller in advanced coursework.

Richmond is built more around the small liberal arts college feel, even though it is technically a university. That usually means smaller classes from the start, easier access to professors, and a campus culture where teaching and advising are highly visible parts of faculty life. For a student who cares most about whether classes feel personal rather than lecture-based, Richmond is often the more natural fit.

On pure undergraduate teaching, I would give Richmond the slight advantage because the day-to-day classroom experience is more consistently intimate and student-centered. Notre Dame is excellent and may offer more breadth, but Richmond is more likely to feel personal across your entire four years, not just in upper-level classes.