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.

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

A student accepting an offer of admission is expected to secure his or her place with a non-refundable study abroad administrative fee.
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.

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, 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, 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.