NUI GALWAY is to change its name to 'Ollscoil na Gaillimhe - University of Galway' this summer in an effort to strengthen its identity and place emphasis on its status as a university internationally.
The university's governing authority approved the name change on Wednesday.
The university has previously been known as Queen's College Galway and University College Galway, with the newest name change aiming to end confusion over how it is often incorrectly referred to as 'NUIG'.
In a statement, the President of the university Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh the new name "gives a clearer sense of who we are as an institution and of being of our place."
"Galway is a place of industry and creativity, of citizenship and debate. An in-between place, at the centre of a network of campuses stretching from Shannon to Donegal, including in our Galetacht regions, on the edge of and between continents, we here see the horizon everyday.
"Like all good explorers, all good adventurers, all good researchers, we know we serve our students and our society best by always wondering what's beyond the horizon."
In an email to alumni, the president also said the decision was something that has been given a lot of thought, and one which follows a detailed assessment of the issues and comprehensive consultation and internal discussion."
"The university is proud of the role it has played in Galway's journey to become a global city. City and university have grown together and our new name encapsulates that history and is a promise for the future."
The 177-year-old university was founded as Queen’s College Galway before changing to University College Galway (UCG) in 1908.
This followed the establishment of the NUI (National University of Ireland) as a federal university with three constituent colleges in Cork, Dublin and Galway.
In the late 1990s, UCG – along with UCC, UCD and Maynooth – were recognised as full universities with looser ties to the NUI under the Universities Act (1997).
