British and Irish Programs

Please note: Study abroad programs sponsored by the undergraduate College of the University of Chicago are open to University of Chicago students only. Applications from outside the University are not accepted.

General Description:

The College of the University of Chicago has made agreements with seven British universities and one Irish university by means of which a select group of Chicago students can study for an academic year in Great Britain or the Republic of Ireland. The seven institutions are:

(Thumbnail sketches of these universities as well as links to their web sites are given below.) Chicago's agreements with these institutions specify that Chicago students study as visitors for a full academic year, attending regular university lectures and tutorials and pursuing a course of study as close as possible to that of a regular degree candidate. In keeping with this principle students will generally be expected to devote most of their time to a single subject. Students attending Trinity College, Cambridge will be expected to devote their time exclusively to a single subject.

Housing:

Most of the host universities guarantee housing in student residence halls to the visiting Chicago students (assuming a timely submission of the housing application). Two schools--The London School of Economics and Trinity College, Dublin--cannot make this absolute guarantee, though most students will be accommodated. Students planning to attend either of these institutions should be prepared for the possibility that they will need to seek non-university housing in the surrounding city.

Credits:

As a participant in one of these programs you receive a full year's credit for your work. This credit appears as course titles, units of credit, and grades on your Chicago transcript. Since the application of these credits toward specific requirements in a student's degree program is variable, you are expected to consult with your academic adviser and program chairman to determine the exact distribution of credits.

Registration and Tuition:

You remain registered full-time in the College and pay regular College tuition plus the study abroad administrative fee required of all participants in Chicago's programs abroad. (For precise figures go to Study Abroad Program Fees.) You pay accommodation costs “on the ground” in Great Britain or Ireland, either directly to your host university or, if you are not living in university housing, to a landlord.

Financial Aid:

You retain your financial aid eligibility. However, two expenses--the study abroad administrative fee and round-trip airfare--are not underwritten by College Financial Aid. On the other hand, since you cannot be expected to work part-time during your year in Great Britain or Ireland, the self-help component of your financial aid package does not include a term-time employment factor.

Eligibility:

These programs are designed for students who are beyond their second year in the College. Because admission to them can be competitive, you are asked to present a solid academic transcript as well as sound academic reasons for wishing to study in England, Scotland, or Ireland. You are expected not only to have addressed yourself conscientiously to general education requirements, but also to have gotten a proper start in your major subject by the end of your second year. (It is especially desirable that your transcript, which will show your work through autumn quarter of the year of application, presents at least one course in your major.)

Application:

Applications are available on the study abroad website. To apply to the British and Irish programs, a student submits a general study abroad application electronically, then downloads the supplementary application specific to the program and submits it on paper, normally in mid-winter quarter of the previous academic year.

In this “in-house” application you are asked to rank the seven universities, identifying one as your first choice, another as your second, and so forth. If this initial application is approved—there is the possibility that it would not be—you then complete forms specific to the university to which you are applying. The College forwards this second application to the host university, which reserves the right of final decision.

The application process includes a required conference with Mr. Fortner.  Appointments can be made with Mr. Fortner by contacting the Dean of Students in the College at 773-702-8615.

A student accepting an offer of admission is expected to secure his or her place with a $500 non-refundable study abroad administrative fee and a deposit in an amount specified by the BCSP. (To begin the application process, click on the Study Abroad General Application.)

Please note: There is a strict limit on the number of students who can participate in the British/Irish University program. Thus competition for this opportunity can be fierce.

Further Information:

If you would like to discuss the British and Irish program and the possibility of participating in it, please contact Lewis Fortner (Harper 213; 702-4858; fortner@uchicago.edu). For applicants to the British and Irish program an interview with Mr. Fortner is required.

Thumbnail Sketches Of The British Institutions With Which Chicago Has Agreements

Here follows brief descriptions of the seven institutions with which the University of Chicago has formed agreements. Together they represent a range of academic strengths. All of them, except for the London School of Economics and Political Science, are essentially "comprehensive" universities offering a variety of subjects, this even though four of them are designated as colleges. (The London School of Economics and Political Science, University College, and King’s College are all institutions within the federated University of London.) The sketches below are intended only as a cursory introduction to these institutions. You should continue your investigation by examining the on-line prospectus of each (click on the name of a university below to access that school's website). To get a relative assessment of departmental strengths at these universities (not including Trinity College, Dublin) you may also wish to investigate the British university "Research Assessment Exercise" (RAE) conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE).

The University of Bristol is the newest of the "old" civic universities. It was established as a university in 1909 through an amalgamation of older institutions including University College, Bristol (founded 1876) and Bristol Medical School (founded 1833). It has a student body of over 11,000 into which fewer than 200 American visitors are integrated. Bristol's academic strengths are spread out over a number of fields (sciences are a traditional strength), and the admission competition for regular British students is normally stiff. The city of Bristol, located on the Avon River near the west coast of England at approximately the same latitude as London, is of medieval origin (with Roman antecedents). Though it was a major port through most of its existence, the silting up of the tidal Avon now limits the access of larger vessels to its harbors.

The University of Edinburgh, the pre-eminent Scottish university, was founded in 1583. With a student body of 20,000 (approximately one-fifth are graduate students), Edinburgh is one of the largest universities in Great Britain. Predictably it offers a rich variety of subjects, and its strengths are broadly based. Among a number of esteemed departments at Edinburgh, philosophy and theology draw upon long and distinguished traditions and continue to earn high respect. The city of Edinburgh, with a population of about a half million, was established as the capital of Scotland in the eleventh century.

King's College (London), the second oldest of the institutions comprising the University of London, was founded in 1829 as an Anglican reaction to the secular University College, founded three years earlier. Like University College, King's is essentially a comprehensive university in its own right, teaching a variety of subjects to a student population of about 12,000. Its strengths lie mainly within the humanities, though there is also a proud tradition in the sciences. The main College precinct, the "Strand Campus," is in the heart of London near the theater district.

The London School of Economics and Political Science (London), founded in 1895, has long enjoyed a wide reputation in the social sciences. One measure of its international eminence is the high proportion of its student body hailing from outside the UK (nearly half of its 4,500 students). This makes LSE the most cosmopolitan institution within the University of London if also perhaps the least typically British institution on this list. The associated Library of Political and Economic Science, while serving the instructional needs of LSE, is also a pre-eminent center of social research. The London School of Economics is located, compactly, on Houghton Street just off the Strand at Aldwych Circle (near King's College).

Trinity College (Cambridge), with around 900 students, is the largest of the thirty-one colleges comprising Cambridge University (which enrolls over 12,000 students). Trinity was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 as an amalgamation of two pre-existing colleges, King's Hall and Michaelhouse, both among the oldest of the Cambridge colleges. With traditions of excellence in many fields, a long roster of celebrated alumni, and an architecturally distinguished physical setting, Trinity is among the most highly regarded of the Oxbridge colleges. Cambridge University is, of course, an international center of learning.

Trinity College (University of Dublin) is the late sixteenth-century creation of Queen Elizabeth I, who was perhaps inspired by the philanthropy of her father Henry VIII, the founder of Trinity College, Cambridge. Like the earlier college, Trinity College of Dublin grew well beyond the traditional size and scope of a typical Oxbridge college. Indeed it remains the single constituent college of the University of Dublin, and the two names are used interchangeably. Trinity is an important, indeed a pre-eminent university, comprehensive in the subjects taught and rich in tradition. Among its outstanding alumni are Oliver Goldsmith, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, George Berkeley, and Douglas Hyde. Some 10,000 students are enrolled. Dublin is the capital and chief city of the Republic of Ireland.

University College (London), founded in 1826 as a non-Anglican institution open to all regardless of race, creed, or sex, is the oldest college within the University of London as well as England's third oldest university after Oxford and Cambridge (the ancient Scottish universities are older). With over 16,000 students, it is also the largest and most comprehensive college in the University of London. In a wide variety of subjects, extending through the humanities, the natural sciences, and most of the social sciences (not including political science or sociology), University College enjoys an international reputation. It is located on Gower Street in the storied Bloomsbury section of London within easy walking distance of a number of institutes and facilities of the University of London, as well as the British Museum.

Statements contained on this site are subject to change without notice.