CSU in Oxford

CSU offers two study abroad programs in Oxford, England: academic year and summer session. All program participants reside in Spencer House, a CSU-owned Edwardian home located near the center of the city. Oxford is a bustling university city with a rich history and culture. The city is only an hour from London and near Blenheim Palace, Windsor, the Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon and Bath.

About the location

The rooms in Spencer House are typically shared bedrooms with private baths. There are also laundry and kitchen facilities. Several grocery stores and excellent restaurants and pubs are located nearby in the Summertown area, a five-minute walk from the Spencer House. Here students will find many restaurants, shops and services.

Summer 2008

Spend almost three weeks in Oxford, staying at the Spencer House near Oxford's city center. Class field trips include visits to Oxford's wonderful museums, historic sites, and colleges, as well as to nearby cities such as London, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Bath and Stratford upon-Avon. Three-day weekends will be reserved for optional excursions and independent travel. Students may earn three semester hours of credit for each session at the undergraduate or graduate level.

Participating CSU faculty have had previous experience teaching in study abroad programs or have lived, studied or taught in Oxford before. Students are encouraged to contact the faculty members for the course they are interested in to learn more about the program. Students may enroll in either session or stay longer by enrolling in more than one session.

Cost: $2,865 including transatlantic airfare, round-trip transportation between London Gatwick Airport and Oxford, a four-day BritRail pass and Oxford city bus pass, insurance, and accommodations in CSU's Spencer House. Tuition is not included in the program cost, but financial aid (HOPE Scholarship, etc.) may be applied to the tuition cost.

Three sessions will be offered for the summer of 2008:

• Session One: From Page to Stage and Screen (ITDS 1145 or THEA 5575) from June 16-July 5, 2008, taught by Dr. Kate Musgrove.
• Session Two: The Religion, Architecture and Material Culture of the Middle Ages(ITDS 1155) from July 6-July 25, 2008, taught by Dr. Terry Irvin.
• Session Three: Faith, Fiction and Fantasy: Exploring the Work of C.S. Lewis (ENGL 3118/ENGL 5585/ENGL 4555) from July 26-Aug. 14, 2008, taught by Dr. Carmen Skaggs.

The visiting student (yearlong) program

Students in this program will spend a year at the University of Oxford enrolled at either Greyfriars or another Oxford college. Students will study with Oxford professors, join university clubs and societies and live in the Spencer House. At the colleges, visiting students will take courses from a wide range of humanities and social sciences.

Cost: CSU tuition, fees, room and board plus $450 application fee.
Requirements: Completion of at least 40 credit hours and a 3.4 GPA or higher.
Application deadline: Dec. 7, 2007

A student's perspective

"Overall, my experience of Oxford and its writers allowed me to view, in detail, the manner in which literature is created. In the past, when I have studied a novel, the greatest focus was on the aims of the novel in the context of the times and culture in which it was created, but never did I receive a whole picture of the work like I did with Carroll, Lewis and Tolkien. Now, I am sure I could know much more about their works, but never before was I made so acutely aware of the influence of personal history, living conditions and culture on an author's work. Just the fact that Oxford is such a traditional, prestigious school with more access to knowledge, especially through the Bodleian Library, allows a student to get a feel for how these authors' scholarly skills were developed and lives were shaped."

— Jake Williams, Oxford Writers in Oxford Program