I Australia and New Zealand
II.United Kingdom
III.Republic of Ireland
III.Oxford University
IV.Recommended programs in England, Scotland, and Ireland
Australia and New Zealand
Swarthmore has direct entry arrangements for its students at the following universities:
AUSTRALIA
Australian National University, Canberra
James Cook University, Townsville and Caines
University of Adelaide, Adelaide
Macquarie University, Syndey
University of Melbourne, Melbourne
University of New South Wales, Sydney
University of Queensland, Brisbane
University of Sydney, Sydney
University of Western Australia, Perth
NEW ZEALAND
University of Auckland, Auckland
University of Canterbury, Christ Church, South Island
University of Otago, Dunedin, North Island
Victoria University, Wellington
Students wishing to apply to one of these universities must do so through the Foreign study Office (see Rosa Bernard). For other universities in these countries, please work through the Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA), at Butler University. The School for Field Studies offers a program in Tropical Rainforest Management Studies in Northeatern Queensland, Australia.
Universities in Australia and New Zealand have semesterized academic calendars. But since they are on the other side of the equator, they do things in reverse order: Their summer vacation, which is long, comes in December and January and February; and their winter vacation, which is short, comes in the middle of our summer. Our Spring semester at a ‘down under’ university will require you to get there in the later part of February, and stay through early July. Our Fall semester ‘down under’ will begin in the latter part of July, and end in the latter part of November.
In Australia and New Zealand, the following Universities are especially recommended:
AUSTRALIA
Australian National University, Canberra
James Cook University, Townsville & Caines, Queensland
Macquarie University, Sydney
University of Adelaide, Adelaide
University of Melbourne, Melbourne
University of New South Wales, Sydney
University of Sydney, Sydney
University of Tasmania, Hobart & Launceston
University of Western Australia, Perth
NEW ZEALAND
University of Auckland, Auckland, North Island
University of Canterbury, Christ Church, South Island
University of Otago, Dunedin, North Island
Victoria University, Wellington
United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
Swarthmore has direct entry arrangements for students with the following schools:
ENGLAND
England (Cambridge)
Pembroke College, (Cambridge)
England (Oxford)
Greyfriars Hall, (Oxford)
Mansfield College, (Oxford)
Saint Edmund Hall, (Oxford)
Saint Hilda's College, (Oxford)
England (London)
London School of Economics
Queen Mary
School of Oriental and African Studies
University College London
University of Westminster
England (Elsewhere)
Royal Holloway, (Surrey)
University of Bristol, (Bristol)
University of Lancaster, (Lancaster)
University of York, (York)
SCOTLAND
University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews
University of Stirling, Stirling
WALES
University of Wales, Bangor
NORTHERN IRELAND
Queens University, Belfast
University of Ulster, (Coleraine, Londonderry, Newtownabbey, Belfast)
Swarthmore College Northern Ireland Program, Londonderry
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
National University of Ireland, Galway
Trinity College, Dublin
University College, Cork
Students wishing to apply to one of these universities must do so through the Foreign Study Office. Otherwise, normally you will work through either the Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA) at Butler University, or the Center for Education Abroad (CEA) at Arcadia University (previously Beaver College). HECUA (Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs offers a program in Northern Ireland: Democracy and Social Change. In addition, the International Partnership for Service Learning offers programs in England and Scotland.
For study at Oxford University, please see, “Oxford University’, below.
Please also attend to the academic calendars of the universities in which you may be interested. Many universities in the British Isles are semesterized, and their calendars match up well with Swarthmore's calendar. For these, you can normally go either or both semesters. The traditional British system, however, involves a three term calendar - one term before Christmas, two following. For these, you may go for a full academic year, or for our Spring semester (in which case, at no extra cost to you, you will get about two thirds of an academic year at your host university). You may not, however, go for our Fall semester, which would provide you with only one third of an academic year at your host university (but please N.B., a few of these three term universities now have an extended fall term for visiting students, making it the equivalent of a semester; and you may attend one of these in the Fall).
FURTHER ABOUT ESW UNIVERSITIES:
(1) For most of them (including just about all in Australia and New Zealand), a 'B' average or even a little lower
will give you an excellent chance of being accepted, just about a sure thing. A number of them are more flexible,
re GPA requirements for acceptance. For a few, you will need a higher GPA to be competitive: Oxford: 3.5; Cambridge: 3.8;
London School of Economics: 3.3; St. Andrews: 3.5; Trinity College, Dublin: 3.3.
2) The number of good universities in the ESW to which you may apply is large. Narrowing your range of search,
therefore, is likely to be an issue for you. A good early step is to call, toll free, the information services
at IFSA and CEA. The two home offices are staffed with people who know a lot about all of the universities they
deal with, the locales of the universities, etc., and who will be glad to talk with you about this. This service is free
of charge and no obligation to you. Don't hesitate to use it, frequently if you wish; and feel free to use it even if you
don't intend to go with either IFSA or CEA (e.g., you may be going to one of our direct entry universities). If IFSA and
CEA didn't do this, and do it as well as they do it, we wouldn't like them as much as we do. But to use it
effectively you have to give the CEA or IFSA folks a couple of variables to key on(no point in calling and saying, e.g., 'Hi! What
have you got in the British Isles?'). Very often, the first variable or two will be subject matter: say, work in your major, or
maybe a specific course(e.g., advanced organic chemistry)or type of course(e.g., electrical engineering, or 18th century
English novel, or Australian Aborigine studies). You can also usefully identify a country or a city (e.g., Scotland,
or 'down under,' or London. When you give the IFSA or CEA folks two or three variables, of this order,
they will quickly help you narrow your range of search to the point at which you can begin useful comparative shopping.
(3) Useful Comparative Shopping:
Here's how to find out about the small number of ESW universities that interest you. A) Look at what the
IFSA and CEA books have on your universities (these books available in the foreign study office). B) For
some of these universities, we have extensive files in the foreign study office. (A) and (B) are to the
left of the resource room door, as you enter. C) Talks with students who have been there. A directory of
all Swarthmore students who have studied abroad for several years is in the resource room. If, for one
or some of your universities no Swarthmore student is handy, call IFSA or CEA, they will give you names
and contact info for students who have studies
at the universities. D) Virtually all of these universities are well set up to deal with visiting students, e.g., you.
The universities have their own web sites. Visit the universities' web sites. When you do so, make it a point to stop
off at, especially, the home page of the international students office and the home pages of the departments in which
you expect to do academic work. Usually, from the latter, you can get specific information - e.g., syllabi - on
courses that interest you, as well as pre-requisite information.
Oxford and Cambridge Universities
A number of our students study at Oxford and Cambridge, and a larger number express
interest in doing so. If you think you may be interested in studying at
Oxford and Cambridge, please attend closely to the following information:
1) The only instructional format is the tutorial. Learn about tutorials and how they work. If you don't think that this is your cup of tea, then Oxford and Cambridge is not for you.
2) The best way to go to Oxford and Cambridge is for the full junior year. If you plan to go this way, you are more likely to be admitted, and your experience with Oxford or Cambridge- academics and the rest of it - is likely to be much better.
3) Swarthmore will not approve applications for the full sophomore year. Nor will we approve applications just for our Fall semester, because Oxford and Cambridge are three term universities and this would give you only one third of an academic year.
4) Oxford and Cambridge colleges have stricter admissions standards for visiting students than almost any other university in the British Isles. A GPA of 3.4 - 3.5 will make you competitive, and higher than this for Cambridge but will by no means make admissions a sure thing. Don't expect special allowances to be made, regarding GPA, for Swarthmore students.
5) Normally, you may do academic work at Oxford and Cambridge only in subjects in which you have already completed courses.
6) As regards prospects for admission: best if you plan to go for the full junior year; next best if you plan to go Spring semester of junior year; poorest if you plan to go Spring of your sophomore year (and poorest is very poor). We discourage, but do not disallow, attending Oxford and Cambridge in Spring of sophomore year. If you are thinking about Spring sophomore year, you must have a very strong GPA and you must plan to do work at Oxford and Cambridge only in subjects in which you will have completed two or three courses at Swarthmore.
7) Please have an advising session with Prof. Hans Oberdiek of the Philosophy Department. And please be sure to talk with students who have studied at Oxford and Cambridge.
8) Oxford and Cambridge Universities are actually federations of several colleges. At Oxford, you will be a member of one of these colleges.
9) There are five recommended ways for Swarthmore students to study at Oxford: 1) The Sarah Lawrence Program at Wadham College , just for the full junior year; 2) Mansfield College is a direct enrollment; 3) Greyfriars Hall which is a direct enrollment; 4) St. Edmund Hall which is a direct enrollment and, 5) The Institute for Study Abroad, Butler University Program which has places at a number of Oxford Colleges, all of which except St. Catherine’s College are OK for Swarthmore students. For Cambridge, Pembroke College which is a direct entry.
10) If you may be interested in applying to an Oxford and Cambridge programs, please see the Foreign Study Coordinator regarding program deadlines and application procedures. For Spring semester Junior Year, application time will often be winter break sophomore year. For full junior year it varies.
Recommended programs in the England, Scotland, and Ireland
Of the about fifty universities that you might look at in the British Isles, we recommend that you not go beyond the list below. For specialized interest s(e.g., Art, Music, Theater, Internships, Peace Studies) please see Steve Piker.
England (Cambridge)
Pembroke College, (Cambridge)
England (Oxford)
Greyfriars Hall, (Oxford)
Mansfield College, (Oxford)
Saint Edmund Hall, (Oxford)
England (London)
INSTEP (Institute of Economic and Political Studies)
Kings College
Laban Center for Dance
London School of Economics
Royal Holloway
Sarah Lawrence Theater Program
Queen Mary
School of Oriental and African Studies
Unversity College, London
University of Westminister
England (Elsewhere)
University of Bristol, Bristol
University of East Anglia, Norwich
University of Lancaster, Lancaster
University of Manchester, Manchester
Royal Holloway College, Surrey
University of Sussex, Brighton
University of York, York
Scotland
University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
University of Glasgow, Glasglow
University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews
University of Stirling, Stirling
Wales
University of Wales, Bangor
Northern Ireland
Queens University, Belfast
Swarthmore College Northern Ireland Program, Londonderry
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
National University of Ireland, Galway
Trinity College, Dublin
University College, Cork
University of Limerick, Limerick
For interests in countries not mentioned above, please see the Foreign Study Advisor.
In Closing
There is a handful of foreign study programs which are, a) well known
by this office, b) typically neglected by Swarthmore students who contemplate
study abroad, and, c) of outstanding quality, truly distinctive, offering
superb opportunities to Swarthmore students.
This group includes:
Bard College Program at Central European University in Budapest
CET Vietnam Immersion Program
International Honors Programs
Internships in Francophone Europe, (Paris)
Queens University of Belfast
The University of Bristol, (England)