University of Delaware Institute for Global Studies
Winter 2024: London COMM

Program Dates January 05, 2024 - January 31, 2024 (dates are tentative)
Applications will be accepted beginning Tuesday, September 19 2023.

Program Overview Note: Please check program pages regularly or follow @UDGlobal on Instagram or Twitter for updated information on applying for a 24W study abroad program.

Please review the CGPS COVID-19 Updates page before applying to a study abroad program for information about COVID-19 related travel requirements and policies for UD study abroad.

All applicants must have a valid passport by the program’s application deadline. Your passport’s expiration date must be more than six months after the program ends. If you do not have a current passport, apply through the U.S. State Department. It takes an average of 10 -13 weeks (3-4 months) to process a passport.

Traveling and studying abroad during a global pandemic poses new challenges and requires accepting a higher level of uncertainty than in the past. Students who choose to study abroad at this time must be prepared to adapt to the evolving situation and must take responsibility to act in accordance with the rules, regulations, and recommendations of UD, their program leadership, and legal authorities of their home and host country. Due to the rapidly changing and unpredictable global and local response to COVID-19, these rules, regulations and recommendations are subject to change at any time.

The University will continue to monitor the ongoing situation with COVID-19 (coronavirus) as we approach the departure date for this program. Please reach out to your program coordinator or faculty director with questions and continue to monitor the UD coronavirus webpage for updates. If UD decides to cancel a study abroad program, we will communicate directly with affected students.


London, one the most exciting places in the world, is possibly the top city to study the communication industry anywhere outside the United States.

This program offers the chance of a lifetime to learn about yourself and the larger world by living for five weeks in central London, one of the most cosmopolitan, exciting, and communication-oriented cities anywhere, while studying global public relations and the advertising industry.

London, a city long considered one of the top three centers for global public relations and advertising, will be a “living laboratory” immersing you in cutting-edge strategic communication. You will meet agency professionals, visit some of the best and most exciting art/history/fashion/cultural museums in the world and visit several UNESCO world heritage sites such as Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London fortress and the City of Bath, considered to be the most beautiful town in the UK. These will expand your perspective which helps you to grow personally and academically.

London is the actual center of many key cultural, political and economic components of today’s complex world.

• It’s a global financial center so many international businesses have a large public relations and advertising staff headquartered there. It’s Europe’s largest city so you can meet people from every corner of the world there.
• It’s also the most visited city in the world so it’s a welcoming place with fascinating options for people with every type of interest.
• It’s been one of the world’s major cultural and business hubs for centuries, and it is still a clear leader in the global economy so it gives you a first-hand understanding of the realities of today’s global marketplace.

During free time you can choose among the extensive list of opportunities to dip into your academic or personal interests, including: West End live theater (England’s version of Broadway), renowned museums like the British Museum, the Tate museum of modern art, the Winston Churchill War Rooms, the Fashion and Textile Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, Harry Potter film studios, or Harrod’s department store.

The program typically includes MANY excursions round London which include:

1) an ancient Roman wall and the Tower of London castle-fortress-dungeon combination where the "crown jewels"
2) St. Paul’s Cathedral re-designed after the plague swept through London and the Great Fire of London destroyed 70% of the city in 1666. (perhaps you'll climb the 528 steps to the tippy top for stunning views of the whole city)
3) Kensington Palace
4) Hampton Court Palace
5) Westminster Abbey
6) advertising and public relations agencies
7) an ancient Roman bath house

You'll visit even castles or palaces where both historic and current members of the British Royal Family live and work, ancient and modern monuments, walk by the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace, and perhaps you'll opt to visit contemporary architectural icons like the London Eye Ferris wheel or the Sky Garden high atop the controversial “Walkie-talkie” skyscraper which both offer 360 degree views of London.

Beauty, activity, mass media, public relations, advertising agencies, cuisine, global neighbors ... they all await you . . . and it’s an English-speaking country so no foreign language skills needed!

Plus, rookie travelers can easily navigate around London safely thanks to the fantastic public transportation ‘triple crown’ of the Underground (aka Tube subway system), iconic red double-decker buses and the famous black cabs. Everywhere we go as part of the program (except for two full-day excusions) is remarkably close together, all within a two-mile radius. London is a very walkable city!

This program is extremely popular so please apply early to it. Not all interested students can be accepted due to the high volume of applications.

Students will share a room with one other student in a four-star hotel in the middle of the most central part of London. We're close to the key cultural district of Bloomsbury, which houses the famous British Museum. Our location provides extremely easy access to the heart of the city. We will have our own classroom in a American study abroad facility that's also very close to our hotel.

The program includes a full English breakfast in your hotel's upscale restaurant each and every morning, an "Oyster" (subway and bus) pass for central London (Zones 1 and 2), all transportation to and from every class excursion (which also includes trips outside of London via bus or train), and a few group meals together, including a "Bye Bye Banquet" on our last night in London.


The Program Fee includes housing in double rooms, group excursions, cultural events, a tube pass for zones 1-2, international medical insurance and a farewell meal.

The Program Fee does NOT include airfare to/from London, nor airport transfers within the U.S.
Students will need to budget for laundry, most meals, and cellphone.

The program officially begins when students arrive in London. Students will receive detailed travel instructions after acceptance, explaining how and where to purchase their plane ticket. See the Cost section below for estimate airfare.

ACCESSIBILITY: Students with disabilities are welcomed and encouraged to study abroad, but should be aware that accessibility and accommodation in some program locations may differ from the United States. Transit systems and legacy building construction practices may not meet U.S. accessibility standards, and alternative access to public transportation, buildings, or public sites cannot be guaranteed. Review these questions with the Office of Disability Support Services to determine whether this program can meet your accommodation needs.

Courses: Students must enroll in all credit-bearing courses for a grade. Only the UNIV (zero credit) course may be taken pass/fail. Audit registration is not permitted on UD Travel Study. Please refer to the University Catalog to verify requirements and prerequisites. All students must enroll in at least 6 credits, as well as the 0-credit UNIV course.

Program Costs:

How much does it cost?.

	Delaware Resident	Non-Delaware Resident
Estimated Tuition based on current year	$2,507.00	$6,728.00
Estimated Program Fee	TBA	TBA
UD Registration & Activities Fee	$30.00	$30.00
Total to be charged to UD account (estimated)	TBA	TBA
Plus Airfare Estimate (purchased separately)	$1,300.00	$1,300.00

The rates above may not apply to you if you are a UD graduate student during the time you are studying abroad. Please refer to http://www1.udel.edu/finaid/rates.html for the appropriate rates.


When and how do I pay?
If you are offered acceptance to the program, you will have 3 days to withdraw without financial penalty. After the 3 days have passed, you will be officially accepted to the program, and IGS will post the full Program Fee and Tuition/Fees to your UD student account.

• An initial payment of $1000.00 will be due in mid-October.
• The balance of the Program Fee and Tuition/Fees will be due in early January.
• Payments are submitted through My Finances in UDSIS.
• All charges, once posted to your account, are considered non-refundable.

*All students will receive an email when they are accepted to a program and will have 10 days from that notification to make their $1,000.00 Initial Payment.


Contact Information:


Deadlines:
Submit Program Application by 5pm on September 20, 2023
Recommendation also due by 5pm on September 20, 2023
Acceptance and Scholarship Announced: September 29, 2023



Interest Meetings:
04/07/2023, 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM, https://udel.zoom.us/j/98788625357
04/10/2023, 4:00 PM - 4:45 PM, https://udel.zoom.us/j/98788625357
04/13/2023, 7:00 PM - 7:45 PM, https://udel.zoom.us/j/98788625357


Program information is subject to change at any time. Please check this web site periodically for updates.