Study Abroad

Opportunities for Students

For more information about our Department's Study Abroad programs, or about the annual European Capitals Course, please contact Professor Porter Blakemore.

Also, please visit the International Academic Services Web page for more information about UMW Study Abroad programs around the globe.

Heidi Schenkel in Italy

When I look back on my time in Florence, it is hard to believe I was actually there. Each day was an adventure in a city filled with historical beauty. I attended classes at the Lorenzo de’Medici Institute in the heart of the city and was able to take a variety of history classes ranging from The History of Renaissance Prostitution in Venice and in Florence to The Evolution of the Catholic Church in Italy Through the Popes’ Lives. Both courses had weekend-long class trips that allowed us to experience history in its actual environment. In the Evolution of the Catholic Church, for example, we spent a weekend in Rome with a behind-the-scenes tour of the Vatican and a visit to the catacombs.

During my four months abroad I had the privilege of visiting other cities as well. My trips included a trip to Vienna, where I was able to see the Vienna boys choir perform; Munich, where I was left speechless after a visit to Dachau concentration camp; Paris, where I was moved by the Arch de Triumph; Capri, where I swam in the Blue Grotto; and Dublin, where I had some fun in the Temple Bar District. Needless to say it was a busy semester.

I would have to say that Florence was my favorite city. Every day I walked over the Ponte Vecchio to get to class. This famous bridge was built in 1345 and was spared by the retreating Germans in World War II because of its beauty. When I looked outside my classroom window I was facing the de’Medici chapels built from the first years of the fifteenth century until the early years of the seventeenth century. These tombs hold several de’Medici family members and house artwork by both Brunelleschi and Michelangelo. At night I would walk home to the sound of the bell chimes from Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral and look up at Brunelleschi's beautiful duomo. Everywhere I looked in Florence was a piece of history. My time abroad was a wonderful experience that I am very thankful to have had and will never forget.

JOE FRICK IN LONDON

London is by far one of the greatest cities in the world, if not the greatest. As a history major and a closet anglophile, I always wanted to spend an extended period of time here so that I could see the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's, and many more--as well as maybe get Nicole Kidman to fall in love with me. Besides the last part, I have not been disappointed....

I'm taking the Historical Development of London and British Politics and two upper-level history seminars on Churchill and Gandhi, which are awesome. British classes are much different than those at MWC or other schools in the States. All classes are once a week for about three hours. There are no set course readings, but instead you are given a topic on the syllabus each week and expected to read widely on it from an extensive list of books. Usually in class we give either group or individual presentations on a certain topic assigned to us the previous week, which is not that much different from MWC, I suppose.

What is very different is the overall structure of British education. In Great Britain, students study for something called the GSCEs that they take when they're about 16. After passing GSCEs in a numbers of subjects, students chose about three courses of study to take their A-levels in. They study these three areas exclusively until they are 18, when they take their A-level tests. For instance, a person could study history, political science, and English. After passing their final exams, they go to university and study one subject exclusively. This means that my fellow British students are well versed in a particular subject matter, but lag behind in others where American students would have been required to take courses to meet general education requirements. The British emphasis on the teaching of foreign languages is much worse than America's. This has angered many other nations of the European Union, who force students to start learning English at the age of ten, and then usually pick up a third when they're 16. All the while, Britain lazily expects everybody to speak English, much to the ire of countries like France and Germany. So, the system has pluses and minuses.

While I did technically come here to "study," living in central London is the real reason to come. London is electrifying and perplexing at the same time. The city has about 10 million people in it, which one would think would make it like New York City in that it "never sleeps." However, London is more like a New York City with a "Main Street mentality." Most stores close by 6 PM, and it is almost impossible to buy groceries on Sunday because all the supermarkets are closed. Coming from a place where there would be a riot if Taco Bell closed before 2 AM, I found this hard to deal with at first. The fabled pubs close at 11 PM every night, leaving anybody who wants to stay out later than that (which is everybody) to have to hit the clubs, which are expensive and crowded - but do stay open all night. The ambiguities are elsewhere too. London is filled with many beautiful, grand Victorian buildings that are very pleasing to the eye, but will sit a block away from some modern building that looks like it was designed in an ugly architecture contest.

Another peculiar thing about this city is its complete lack of water fountains. It's not unusual to see two women drinking pints of beer with their salad, but try to find a water fountain in any major building and you will be sadly disappointed. I swear, the British people are the only ones on earth that seem to have made it throughout the course of time without this pesky sustenance on water that the rest of us have.

Socially, things are much different over here. There are no massive college keggars over here. Instead, the British prefer to go out in a group of three or four to a local pub to have a few pints. After the pubs close, many students have the option of going to their student union bar (student union bars have permits to stay open till 3 AM) to enjoy dancing and much cheaper beer prices. These student bars are a lot of fun, because they're cheap and laid back, and give you the opportunity to chill with fellow students - hopefully British ones….

London is apparently the most multi-lingual and multi-cultural city on the world. I can walk down any random street and hear four different languages within a few blocks, which is great (although I've yet to run into anybody speaking Latin, the language I study).

Another great thing about London is that it is basically the gateway to the rest of Europe. There are two "budget airlines" that operate out of London called Easyjet and Ryanair. If you don't mind flying on an airline who's motto could be "Easyjet: BYOG (Bring Your Own Gas)" or "Ryanair: Where the Wings are the Luxury" then you're in luck. This last week I flew to Spain for only 40 Euros (about $60) roundtrip, which was totally amazing to me. I was expecting to fly on a crop-duster and land in a goat field, but flew on a real 737 and landed at Madrid's main airport. Even though to get the cheapest fares you have to fly out in the middle of the week and usually early in the morning, students in London are more than willing to make sacrifices. I'm going to Scotland next weekend for 30 Euros roundtrip, and Germany for the start of my Easter break for 15 Euros; so, while London is amazing, if you want to get away from the bad food and the worse weather, it's very easy.

My favorite thing about London has to be the press. I'm not even talking about the tabloids - which are actually read by more British people than normal, respectable newspapers - I'm talking about the "broadsheets," which are supposed to be the respectable newspapers. The British press loves to cover stories about America, especially if it reflects poorly on us. George Bush choking on a pretzel was front-page news, and the press was overjoyed when his recent gaffe in Japan caused a run on the Yen.

There is so much to say about London, and I could go on and on, but I'll stop. If you want to see an amazing city with double-decker buses, a subway system called "the Tube," eat fish and chips, drink beer with everything, and hear hilarious new ways to say words like "schedule" and "privacy," come study in London!