If your major is English Literature or History, chances are you’ll already know a good deal about England, but nothing beats a first-hand acquaintance. And England’s appeal goes far beyond any single discipline. Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Virginia Woolf may have been English—you can still visit the places where they lived and worked—but so too were Newton, Darwin, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The country abounds in sites of historical interest, from stone circles and iron-age forts to medieval castles and Gothic cathedrals.

But England is not all about its history and heritage; the 21st-century nation remains on the cutting edge of business, science, and the arts. It’s part of the European Union and will host the Olympic Games in 2012. Despite its diversity, however, England is small by American standards. Extensive rail and coach systems make it easy to visit other cities as well as the English countryside—the Lake District, Peak District, and Yorkshire Dales—wherever you’re based. What’s more, affordable flights to Europe make for some great weekend vacations

London is quite simply one of the most exciting cities on earth. It is the center of everything British—culture, politics, finance, history, and royalty—but also a world capital with a huge multinational population.  “When a man [or woman] is tired of London, he is tired of life,” said 18th-century author Samuel Johnson, and the quote is no less true today. Cultural highlights range from St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London to the new British Library and Tate Modern art gallery. 

Once you’ve mastered the London Underground (also known as The Tube) and bus system, you’ll be ready to check out Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and everything else London has to offer in terms of shopping, nightlife, parks, and recreation. And of course 2012 is a special time to be in the city—the London Olympics run from late July to mid-August.

Program Description

Founded in 1826, University College London (UCL) is the oldest and largest college of the University of London.  UCL is a highly regarded university—there are 21 Nobel prizewinners amongst its alumni and former staff—with outstanding programs in Art and Design, Life Sciences, Psychology, English Literature, pre-Law, and Electrical Engineering. It is also considered one of the top universities in the nation for quality of teaching. Students applying to the UCL Study Abroad Program can choose courses from any department at UCL.  The campus is centrally located in the Bloomsbury neighborhood, where you’ll also find the British Museum, Dickens House Museum, and the British Library..

Information at a Glance

• Academics

• Academic Calendar

• Accommodations and Meals

• Optional Excursions
  

• Program Costs

• Scholarships

• Travel Brochure
  

For more information about this program, please visit the University College London website.