Students register directly with Reading University and can move into their rooms between Thursday, 16 September  through Sunday, 19 September. Students must be registered by Sept 19, as orientation week begins early Monday morning 20 September-Sunday,26 September.. Classes begin Monday, 27 September. Almost all flights from the States to England are overnight flights, so remember when booking your ticket that you’ll be departing from the States the day prior to your arrival in England. Almost all flights from the U.S. now land at London’s Heathrow airport, where there is an hourly direct bus to Reading. Students arriving at London’s Gatwick airport can take the hourly direct bus between Gatwick and Heathrow and then catch a bus from Heathrow to Reading. Note these dates may change.

During Reading’s weeklong orientation, students will finalize their course schedules; meet others in their residence halls; take part in social events, excursions, and student fairs; and get information about student clubs and travel opportunities in the UK. 

The semester ends Friday, 10 December.

The same as studying in Danville, plus a $375 deposit (surcharge/emergency fund/carbon offset) plus a $25 Travel Medicine Fee for a total of $400 is due 28 March 2022. Flights to the abroad site are also the responsibility of the student. Pre-departure meetings, which include the travel medicine and Title IV and all information vital to your study abroad are held each semester, these are mandatory and you will have a choice of two dates to choose from. If you have significant financial need, you may also qualify for additional funding from the Center for Global Citizenship.

You will live in single or double rooms, each with its own washbasin, telephone, and computer port. There is a small kitchen for every eight rooms, and students are not segregated by gender or year. You will take your meals, compete on intramural teams, and have social events with the 250-300 other students in your residence hall. So that visiting students make friends with British and other international students, Reading typically does not house all students from an American institution on the same hall but, rather, spreads them out.

Students select three or four courses totaling 25 ETCS hours (translating into either 12 or 13 Centre hours) from those available across many departments. Students should be flexible in selecting courses and should not assume that a particular class will be offered, or offered at a time that works with the student’s other selected courses, during the time they are in Reading. Students will work closely with our registrar and Karen Ryan to have their courses approved. 

The Reading term is 11 weeks long; typically, a course may have two lectures a week, occasional individual meetings with the professor, two papers, and some kind of final examination—although this regime will vary widely depending on the course and department. Students may not use a Reading English course as their required English junior seminar. Official course registration takes place after students arrive in Reading. 

• You must have a 3.0 GPA (requirement of University of Reading) to apply.
• Applications are due no later than noon, February 14, 2022.
• Apply online at Centrenet
•Selected students should pay their non-refundable study abroad surcharge payment and Travel Medicine fee for a total of $400 at the Cashier’s office in Horky Hall by March 28 to reserve their spot.

The same as studying in Danville, plus a $375 deposit (surcharge/emergency fund/carbon offset) due 28 March 2022, and a $25 travel medicine fee for a total of $400. Flights to the abroad site are also the responsibility of the student. The pre-departure meeting, includes the travel medicine meeting and the Title IV session will be held each semester, these are mandatory. If you have significant financial need, you may also qualify for additional funding from the Center for Global Citizenship.

Centre pays for a few group meals and the required class excursions on some Wednesdays and weekends. On arrival, students will be given pounds sterling to buy their initial groceries and will be given an initial Oyster card for use on the bus/tube/light rail lines in zones 1 and 2. They are then provided with food stipends for the remainder of their time in London.

Students will live in town houses for international students in a secure facility off Farringdon Road in Central London. The flats, which feature fully equipped kitchens and WiFi, are located in the Clerkenwell district, a 20-minute walk down Theobalds Road to the Centre classroom near the British Museum. They are within an easy walk of the major London sites in “The City,” the Chancery Lane tube station (Central line), and the Farringdon tube station (Circle, Metropolitan, and Hammersmith and City lines). At regular intervals, students are given food money sufficient for shopping for and preparing wholesome meals—though not sufficient for eating out in restaurants, or even fast-food places, in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Students will take four of the following six courses:

A: DLM XXX/MAT 261 Problem Solving through Mathematical Modeling

Build your curiosity as you explore London; satisfy your curiosity through mathematical modeling. Together, we will dive in to the world of publicly available data and resurface with a mathematical model that helps describe and make sense of what were initially meaningless numbers.  While we will substantially build our mathematical and computational skills, we will also hone our analysis skills by interpreting our results in order to advance our understanding of challenging real-world concerns. Our experts (classmates) from different fields will provide valuable insight to background knowledge which will be essential in formulating and interpreting the model. As a team, we will use our newly developed modeling techniques to gain insight to these challenging problems. The topics we focus on will be student-led but could include public health, the physical environment, renewable energy, transportation, or societal issues. Any of these topics would specifically be explored through the British lens.

Prereq: MAT 130 or MAT 165 (or placement above) or CSC 160 or CSC 220

Taught by Dr. Ellen Swanson

B.MAT 111- Mazes, Castles, and Codes

Mathematics is engrained in the world around us, including the landscape, architecture and history. England is known for its beautiful landscape and historic castles, often surrounded by intricate mazes. We will explore these mazes and develop techniques for most efficiently moving through them. An original motivation for the creation of mazes was for safety. Castles were also designed in order to promote safety; we will examine the mathematics that explains those structural decisions. A more recent defense strategy is in the use of codes in keeping messages from the enemy. We will study the techniques of creating codes and the historical implications that occurred in England during World War II.

Taught by Dr. Ellen Swanson

C. POL 431: British Politics

An introduction to the structures, processes, and issues of the modern British political system using London as a primary resource. The class will discuss current British political issues such as political parties, electoral reform, the European Union and Brexit, devolution, and civil rights. No prerequisites. Taught by Adjunct Prof. Julianna Fuzesi.

D. DRA 341: Contemporary London Theatre

Students will study the range of contemporary London Theatre, from fringe to the major subsidized repertory companies, through a series of visits to performances and theatre sites and through lectures, readings, and discussion. Emphasis is on texts and their performances. Students who sign up for this course will be charged $195 on their spring bills to cover part of the cost of the play tickets; Centre subsidizes the other part. No prerequisites. Taught by Adjunct Prof. Steven Dykes

E. ENS 240: Alternative Energy Technology 

An overview of conventional and alternative sources of energy for production of electricity and transportation fuels. This course focuses on understanding the technical principles of energy generation from fossil fuels as well as biomass, hydroelectric, nuclear, solar, and wind power technologies. Each fossil-fuel alternative will be evaluated on efficiency, scalability, and life-cycle costs while considering the environmental, economic, and societal consequences. In this London edition of ENS 240, we will emphasize the UK energy sector while making comparisons to the US and EU. We will also make a few field trips to observe energy conversion in action. This course satisfies a Science and Mathematics Exploration requirement with a Sustainability tag for the general education curriculum. Open to all students with MAT 110 or higher.

 Taught by Dr. Karin Young.

F. NSC 2XX : Science and the Museum 

In this course, we will explore the representation of science and technology in the museums of London and the surrounding areas. We will overview how the purpose of science museums has evolved from private collections of “curiosities” through research destinations for experts to contemporary centers for public entertainment and education. During field trips to the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and a potpourri of smaller museums, we will analyze the ways in which science and technology are defined and described for the public: Who is the audience? What is considered important? How are items organized, researched, and displayed? Who and what are left out? We will also compare and contrast the museum representations with how scientific researchers might define and describe the process of science. No prior knowledge of any science is expected or required.

 Taught by Dr. Karin Young.

 Deadlines & Requirements

The application process is currently open. Submit your completed application no later than noon on February 14, 2022. Apply online at Centre OnLine Forms. Students who are selected must pay the non-refundable $375 deposit/surcharge and $25 Medical Clinic Fee for a total of $400 to the Cashier’s Office in Horky House by March 28 to hold their spot.

The same as studying in Danville, plus a $375 deposit (surcharge/emergency fund/carbon offset) due 28 March 2022, and a $25 travel medicine fee. Flights to the abroad site are also the responsibility of the student. The pre-departure meetings, including the travel medicine session and the Title IV session will be held each semester, these  are mandatory. If you have significant financial need, you may also qualify for additional funding from the Center for Global Citizenship.

Centre students will continue to pay their Centre tuition for their term abroad but will not be charged for room-and-board for that term; they will use their room-and-board money to help cover the cost of their airfare and the rental of an apartment. 

The Rose Bruford College will assist in finding appropriate accommodation for our students, although the college does not, at the moment, have any residential facilities of its own. Past experience has shown that our students have been housed in apartments within easy walking distance of the college.

The English education system is structured quite differently from the American one. In England our students will take a series of overlapping modules that will add up to the equivalent of 15 credits at Centre. These modules will change from year to year, but one of them will be based on seeing plays currently playing in London. Our students will mostly join the American Theatre Arts course at Bruford, but there is the possibility of our students joining one of the other programs at Bruford. See their website for more information on the possibilities: www.bruford.as.uk.

This exchange program is managed by the Dramatic Arts Program, although all required pre-departure meetings are administered by the Centre for Global Citizenship. Applications must be made via a “letter of intent” delivered to Professor Matthew Hallock by Feb. 14. This letter should include details of the student’s academic history at Centre, their theatrical experience at Centre and beyond, and the student’s intention to explore a life in the theatre beyond Centre. Selection will be made on academic standing, theatrical experience and career planning. It will be expected, but not required, that successful candidates will have completed the first year/sophomore sequence of drama classes and have been active in the drama program at Centre.