Since 1977, when BYU converted two stately Victorian row-houses on Hyde Park’s northern edge into its new overseas campus, the London Centre has served as the university’s premier study abroad location in Europe. Four decades of BYU students have now called the London Centre home. When not studying, eating, or sleeping in these historic West End mansions, students have used the Centre as a base for their explorations of the city, the British countryside, and beyond. Spending a term at the London Centre remains one of the great bargains at BYU. The program cost listed below covers not only more travel and better accommodations than most study abroad programs but also meals morning and night six days a week.
Each London Centre program is unique, based on the specialties of the faculty directors. This summer 2019 program brings together literature, history, and politics taught by Aaron Eastley and Quinn Mecham. Both are experienced international travelers and researchers, eager to share in the unique experiential learning opportunities of study abroad in the United Kingdom. Their courses will bring to life the multifaceted history of the British Empire, with a close focus on the magnificent but enigmatic statesman Winston Churchill, as well as the beautiful and profound literature of the British Isles.
Participants in this program will earn 7 credit hours toward graduation, develop close relationships with faculty mentors and their families, and tour some of the world’s greatest museums, churches, and cultural heritage sites. Within London, students will encounter people and cultures from across the world and visit such iconic sites as the British Museum, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Imperial War Museum, the London Eye, and (naturally) Warner Bros. Making of Harry Potter. We will also attend a cricket match and Parliament. Beyond London itself, the program will feature a two-day trip to Wales, a four-day trip to France, and a five-day trip to the Lake District and Scotland. These and several other single-day coach trips out of the city will include stops at Stonehenge, Bath, Portsmouth, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, and York, allowing us to study Churchill at his homes and schools, Shakespeare along the banks of the Avon, Leslie Norris in the Brecon Beacons mountains of Wales, early Mormon converts in Preston and Worcestershire, James Herriot in the Yorkshire Dales, and the literary homes of Jane Austen, Rudyard Kipling, and Virginia Woolf. There will also be ample opportunity for students to explore London and attend West End plays and musicals.
DATES
25 June–12 August 2019
HOUSING AND FOOD
Students reside and take classes in the recently refurbished London Centre in the vibrant, conveniently located West End neighborhood of Bayswater. The centre is a short Tube ride from most central London attractions and just minutes by foot from Kensington Gardens, Notting Hill, and hundreds of shops and restaurants. Program costs include self-serve breakfasts and chef-prepared dinners all days except Saturday, and students who wish to can generally lunch on sandwiches or the previous night’s leftovers. The centre offers free laundry facilities, a library, a lounge, and wi-fi access.
MEALS AT THE LONDON CENTRE
All dinners and breakfasts at the London Centre are prepared and served communally. Student participants are required to help in food preparation and clean-up. Because of the communal nature of the meals, the BYU London Centre cannot meet all special dietary needs nor can it ensure a safe environment for those with food allergies. Please also note that other than a communal microwave, students do not have accommodations in the Centre, and may not bring their own accommodations to the Centre, to prepare food for themselves individually. If you have dietary or allergy concerns we recommend that you speak with the International Study Programs office before you apply.
COURSES
Students will receive 7 credit hours, which can fulfill various GE and major/minor requirements or count as general hours toward graduation. Courses are taught in a classroom in the centre itself—the ultimate in convenience. All students will take the same three courses:
IAS 201R London Walks (1 credit hour): Professors Eastley, Kirkham, and Mecham
ENGL 300R British Literature in a Cultural Setting (3 credit hours): Professor Aaron Eastley; may fulfill GE Letters requirement or count toward major or minor in English, Humanities, or European Studies.
EUROP 336R British History and Politics (3 credit hours): Professor Quinn Mecham; may fulfill GE Global and Cultural Awareness requirement or count toward major or minor in European Studies.
Participants may not take any other courses on this program, including BYU Online courses, without approval by the program director and ISP.
All accepted students living within ninety minutes of Provo must also register for IAS 201R (1 credit hour), a required pre-departure preparation course to be taught by Professors Eastley and Mecham during the second block of winter semester 2019.
COST
$5,300–5,800 (final amount will depend in part on US/UK exchange rates for 2019)
Program cost estimate includes full-time LDS undergraduate tuition (costs higher for graduate and non-LDS students); housing at the centre; breakfast and dinner all days except Saturday; admission to program-related plays, museums, and historical sites; transportation within London; travel, lodging, and meals on program excursions within the UK and to Paris; and international health insurance coverage.
Part-time BYU and non-BYU students must pay an additional $250 for the winter 2019 preparation course.
Not included: airfare to/from London, meals on Saturdays, passport fees, and personal expenses.
FUNDING SOURCES
BYU tuition scholarships, Pell Grants, and Federal Insured Student Loans may be applied to study abroad programs.
BYU students are strongly encouraged to request experiential education funding through their home department and/or college and the ORCA program.
Those who complete the financial aid section of the ISP application and file a current FAFSA form at BYU’s Financial Aid Office (A-41 ASB) will also be considered for a need-based study abroad scholarship.
Students may also pursue private grants and scholarships, including those listed online at kennedy.byu.edu/scholarships.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Priority deadline: 9 November 2018
Student applicants who meet the priority deadline will be interviewed in November.
While London Centre programs primarily serve undergraduates from BYU, students from other universities who are committed to a rigorous academic experience and to BYU’s Honor Code are also invited to apply. Interested students may contact the faculty directors at any point.
Applications are available online at kennedy.byu.edu/apply.
Final deadline: 11 January 2019. Applicants will be considered up until this point as long as space is available. Those submitting polished, academically focused applications by the priority deadline will improve their chances of being admitted to what will likely prove a highly selective program.
FACULTY DIRECTORS
Aaron Eastley, an associate professor of English, specializes in later British literature. Eastley’s teaching and research focus on English language literatures of Africa, India, and the Caribbean. He regularly teaches courses that include such famous British authors as Jane Austen, William Wordsworth, Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, and Virginia Woolf. He was one of the faculty directors for the fall 2013 London Study Abroad program.
Quinn Mecham, an associate professor of political science, specializes in international and comparative politics. Mecham’s teaching and research focus on the politics of the Islamic world, social movements, civil conflict, state development, and democracy. He has worked or traveled in every country in Europe and has taught courses focusing on the world of Winston Churchill. He has previously served as a faculty director for BYU programs at the Washington Seminar and at the Jerusalem Center.
David Kirkham, resident academic director of the London Centre, is a professor of political science and a senior fellow in the law school at BYU. Since 2015, Kirkham and his wife, Judy, have lived full-time at the centre, coordinating BYU’s outreach efforts in the UK and playing central roles in students’ academic, social, and religious experiences in London.
INTERESTED STUDENTS SHOULD CONTACT
International Study Programs
(801) 422-8607
isp@byu.edu
kennedy.byu.edu/isp
Aaron Eastley
(801) 422-1695
aaron_eastley@byu.edu
Quinn Mecham
(801) 422-5317
qmecham@byu.edu
PROGRAM ADJUSTMENTS
ISP reserves the right to cancel this program, revise its offerings, or make any adjustments to the preliminary cost estimates due to conditions beyond its control.
