Pitt in London Semester

 

Study in one of the most vibrant, exciting and culturally rich cities in the world. Pitt in London offers a variety of courses across different disciplines and an optional part-time internship. Your lecturers will be faculty from universities throughout the city along with Pitt faculty based at the CEA CAPA London Center. Whether you study English Literature, Political Science, History, or Business London will be your classroom and textbook. You have the option to pursue an international work experience for credit through an internship and advance your intercultural communication skills. 
 
The University of Pittsburgh partners with CEA CAPA Education Abroad for this program. The CEA CAPA London Center will host your classes and CEA CAPA staff will be there for you to answer any questions and provide guidance. This immersive study abroad program will give you an incredible opportunity to live like a Londoner and challenge you to grow academically, personally, and professionally. 
 
And if you still have any doubts, learn about the program from the students who have done it. Read students' blog here.
 

What You'll Accomplish: 

As an engaged and active participant in this program, you will have the opportunity:

  • to learn how to navigate living in a big city: from using one of the world's busiest metro systems to managing time and resources
  • to explore rich and diverse culture and history of London and the UK, and analyze current political, economic and social challenges the country is facing
  • to advance your intercultural communication skills and develop deeper understanding of opportunities and challenges the globalization brings to the academic and professional environments 

 

If your first thoughts of London are the Royal Family and Downton Abbey, prepare to be blown away. English history and culture are juxtaposed against streets lined with Indian restaurants and Chinese New Year celebrations. The birthplace of the English language is now home to speakers of more than 30 other languages – and that is not counting the variety of English accents you will hear. Skyscrapers tower over 17th-century buildings while Big Ben overlooks the River Thames. Study abroad in London and you find yourself constantly surprised by what you discover in one of the world’s most diverse and global cities.
 
 

Where You'll Live: 

Part of the experience is to live like a Londoner. The overwhelming majority of students choose to live in shared apartments – the English call them flats – spread across the city. While apartments are as varied as the city itself and no two flats are alike, all of them are located in safe neighborhoods and secure buildings. Regardless of where you live, you can expect a 45- to 60-minute commute to the CEA CAPA Center.  
You can expect the following:

  • Shared bedrooms (2 or 3 students/bedroom, single bed or bunk bed)
  • Bedding, but need to bring your own towels
  • Shared bathroom
  • Shared kitchen 
  • Internet access (for general browsing, but not meant for heavy downloading or streaming)
  • Coin operated laundry 
  • It is not typical for UK residences to have air conditioning or dryers

Please note that meals and transportation card are not included in the program fee.
You will receive your address, roommate information, and neighborhood description about 2 weeks before your departure for London.
We do our best to provide the most accurate information about housing and amenities but due to the nature of the locations in which we offer programs and limited availability, these items are subject to change.  Contact your global experience advisor with any questions.
If apartment living does not appeal to you, homestays are also an option.  Email your global experience advisor for more information. 

What You'll Study: 

You should have no trouble finding Pitt in London courses that meet your requirements – just a take a look for yourself below.  Each course is worth three credits; you can take from 12 to 18 credits during the term. Thinking about an internship?  Remember that counts as one class (3 credits).

If you are wondering whether a course counts as a Gen Ed, please take a look at the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences Gen Ed List (or consult your school academic advisor).

A&S students who take:

ENGLIT 0580 - Introduction to Shakespeare can fulfill a Gen Ed for Literature

ENGLIT 0625 - Detective Fiction can fulfill a Gen Ed for Literature

PS 1675 - Global Perspectives on Human Rights in Action can fulfill a Gen Ed for Global Issues or Social Sciences

HIST 1181 - Understanding Modern Britain can fulfill a Gen Ed for Historical Analysis or Specific Geographic Region

 

Learning through Internships (ARTSC1903)

The Learning through Internships program is a unique and innovative opportunity for students to combine their internship placement (and living abroad) experience with a weekly in-class educational and mentoring experience (session), which aims to develop students' personal and professional skills while earning academic credit. The Focus Seminars and Regional Identities lectures and activities which make up an important part of the program are designed to provide theory and practice around societal themes which inform and enrich the internship experience. Students enrolling in ARTSC 1903 will earn 3 semester credits and intern 15-20 hours per week.

Ethics in the Media (COMMRC1156)

This course addresses the principal ethical issues facing print and broadcast journalism that arise almost daily in media coverage of matters of public controversy, such as crime, war, and privacy. Problems of regulation and codes of practice are also examined alongside London's global importance as a media hub and the distinctive media culture of the UK.

Contemporary British Film (ENGFLM1190)

The 1990s and 2000s saw the British film industry undergo a number of dramatic changes. From an all-time low at the end of 1980s, during the early 1990s British cinema entered a period of confidence and success that was mirrored by a major structural and financial reorganization. The course will chart the development of British film during the period 1994-2010 through the critical study of key films, and will examine the way that these films both emerge from and transform the earlier British cinema tradition. Readings will focus on the critical reception of the films and the manner in which they have been absorbed into the canon. There will also be particular focus on the political and social context of the films.

Introduction to Shakespeare (ENGLIT0580)

For a portrayal of the variety and depth of human emotions, Shakespeare has never been equaled. In this course, a selection of plays will be studied in depth, with equal focus on the genres of comedy, history and tragedy. Through visits to Shakespearean plays in performance, to the Globe theatre workshop, and through guest speakers, the plays will be examined not only textually but also as living plays that tell us as much about modern identity as the development of the early modern identity. Students will examine the notion of Shakespeare as 'timeless' to understand how vitally he moves from the concerns of his day to ours. This course requires an addition $70 fee to cover the cost of theatre tickets while in London.  You will pay this via credit card upon arrival.

Detective Fiction (ENGLIT0625)

This course addresses the development of the modern detective novel, British and American, from the late 19th century into the 21st.  Detective and crime fiction is one of the most popular forms of narrative, appealing to writers and readers with widely diverse interests and ideologies.  It can offer intense action, intellectual challenge, access to criminal underworlds, political and social critique, and exploration of the psyche.  The focus in this version of the course will be on cities (London and Los Angeles) as sites of criminal imagination, and on detectives as explorers of the city’s hidden connections.  Whether or not they bring about “justice” will be an open question.  Our approach will be broadly historical, from the British amateur sleuths of Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, through the American “hard-boiled” private eye, to the contemporary “police procedural” in television and film as well as fiction. 

Post-war Pop Culture in Britain (ENGLIT1760)

This course will look at some key theories of popular culture, and include case studies of selected examples from the British Isles since 1945. Popular culture versus subcultures will be examined. The main aim will be to enable students to think independently about this topic. The course will include study visits to galleries, museums and other sites as an important learning experience. This course aims to draw in the students' previous educational and life experiences of culture and history, including oral cultures, popular and ethnic cultures and social and religious movements. It will compare British and American experiences of popular culture, the differences, similarities and cross-influences.

Writing the City - London (ENGWRT1200)

This course will introduce creative writing in relation to the city and the particular challenges of writing about place. Students will examine how various subjects such as the river, urban spaces, solitude, ethnicity, particular boroughs, and characters (both fictional and real) function in London narratives; develop an understanding of the role of memory and experience in literary psycho-geographical accounts of the metropolis; utilize their observations of London to practice creative writing; and investigate the potential of place within the narrative of various genres.

Feminist London (GSWS1140)

This course will enable students to engage directly with London as a specific landscape in which feminism is embedded, examining the historical and ongoing legacy of feminism in the city: how feminists have shaped and continue to influence the fabric of London, not only its physical infrastructure, but also its identity, reputation, and character. Topics include women’s writing, sexuality, consumerism, class dynamics, campaigns for political rights and representation, fashion and style, imperialism and its legacies, feminism and popular culture, Black & Asian feminisms, and the impact of social media upon feminist activism and discourse. This course taps into the zeitgeist surrounding women’s activism and utilizes the London cityscape enabling students to apply classroom learning to their field studies and their own experiences.

Creative Industries in a Digital World (HAA0870)

This course will focus on the ways in which the Creative industries are structured, and how arts administrators successfully share creativity with the public and leverage the commercial opportunities of creative production. Key topics to be explored will include the arts as a business; managing financial imperatives and the artistic process; promoting and presenting cultural products. Case studies will be drawn from a variety of fields such as film, digital media, gaming, theatre, museums, and publishing, and students will have the opportunity to engage directly with practitioners successfully working in various fields of arts and culture and those managing the interface between creativity and business in London.

Introduction to Modern Art (HAA0030)

This course examines modern works of art from the late nineteenth century through to the present. The course begins by analyzing the ways in which the seeds of Modern Art were sown at the end of the nineteenth century, before moving on to work made during the twentieth century - particularly art produced in response to the First and Second World Wars; and culminates with reference to contemporary practice.

Modern Britain (HIST1181)

This course surveys how Britain has responded to political, social, and cultural forces during the twentieth century. Topics include: changing perceptions about the role of the state; the decline of empire; the effect of two world wars; economic strategies; the development of multiculturalism; and the role of women with an emphasis on how the lives of ordinary British people have changed during the last century.

West European Government and Politics (PS1311)

Where and what is Europe? Who are the Europeans? What is Europe's future? "Europe" has been a cultural idea that European elites have struggled to impose on the chaotic diversity of their continent. How has the concept "European" been defined historically, and in relation to whom? This interdisciplinary course addresses these fundamental questions of politics, geography and identity by tracing the history of "Europe" as a political concept and the cultural, political and economic factors that have shaped modern European countries. Such issues have been brought into close focus by the implications of European integration, destabilising assumptions about the territorial extent of Europe and the scales at which government, sovereignty and citizenship should operate. This course outlines the contemporary structures of the European Union and also investigates the various processes that have made Europe such a distinctive, dynamic and highly varied region. It also examines the historical roots of current tensions between - and within - the nation-states of Europe, such as ethnic nationalism, the legacy of imperialism and the politics of remembrance, and demonstrates how they continue to shape European politics today.

Global Perspectives on Human Rights in Action (PS1675)
Child Development in a British Context (PSY1050)

This course investigates the aims and principles of developmental psychology as a scientific discipline, and describes the methods used to obtain knowledge about children and their development. Issues such as children's early attachments, the development of the self, the emergence of consciousness, and the role of play are examined, with an emphasis on the role of education and child care practices and policies in the UK in shaping children's development.

Islam and Britain (SOC1504)

This course examines how multiethnic diversity shapes and defines our understanding of modern Britain, through a specific focus on Muslim communities in London and the nature of their interactions with wider society. Students analyze the ways in which imperialism and its legacy, as well as Britain's global relationships, have influenced political policies and social attitudes toward multiculturalism and Muslim groups in particular.

Analyzing and Exploring the Global City -London (URBNST0410)

This interdisciplinary course focuses on the modern development of one of the world's most significant global cities in comparative context. It examines London's changing identity as a world city, with a particular emphasis on comparing the city's imperial, postcolonial, and transatlantic connections and the ways in which past and present, local and global intertwine in the capital.

Experiential Learning Description: 

More than 75 percent of Pitt in London students complete an internship, and with good reason. Whether your post-graduation plans include entering the workforce, going to graduate school, or pursuing a different path, professional work experience always stands out on a resume.

 

Internships in London are 20 hours per week, excluding commuting time. In addition to workplace experience, you will also meet with peers and faculty for internship seminars to help you get the most out of the experience. Internships are always unpaid, always for three credits, and always pass/fail.

 

You can sign up for an internship regardless of your major as a part of the application process.  Keep in mind that you will not know what your internship placement is until 14 days before departure.  While this may seem like a long time to wait, remember that our partners are searching for an internship just for you. Your past experiences, coursework, and desired placements areas are all taken into account.  This kind of personalized service takes time but is well worth the wait.

 

Get in touch with your Pitt in London program manager, to learn more about internships. Please note that internships are availble for students in their second semester of sophomore year or higher. 

Pitt runs this program in partnership with CEA CAPA Education Abroad. CEA CAPA Education Abroad works with institutions of higher education to build programs that meet students goals for learning abroad. 
 
The CEA CAPA London Center is housed in 2 connected Victorian townhouses in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and their staff will be there to assist with any questions or challenges through out the program. 
 
 

Your Pitt Study Abroad Contacts: 

Kelsey Sobecki

Hello! I’m Kelsey, Program Manager for Arts & Sciences students. I am a native Pittsburgher and studied abroad in Rome, Italy as an undergraduate at Duquesne University, and received my Master’s degree at University College Dublin in Ireland. I have been in the field of International Education for 10 years, which includes time spent living and working on-site with study abroad students in both Rome and Dublin. I am so excited to support Pitt students in their study abroad journey! Please feel free to reach out to me at kls299@pitt.edu or make an appointment to start planning your global experience!

 

Schedule an appointment

Schedule an appointment with me using Pathways!
Having trouble or don't see a time that works for you? Just email me at kls299@pitt.edu!

Items Billed by Pitt

SPRING 2024 ONLY In-State Out-of-State
Tuition $10,077 $19,260
Program Fee $9,622 $9,622
Study Abroad Fee $400 $400
Total Billed by Pitt $20,099 $29,282

Estimated Additional Out-of-Pocket Costs

Airfare $1,300 - $1,500
Personal Expenses and Meals $3,000 - $5000
Local Cell phone $100
Visa (interns and non-US citizens) $500
   

Remember that your lifestyle and spending choices can greatly affect the amount of money you'll need while abroad.  Visit our Budgeting page for more information.

 

What's Included: 

As a part of your Pitt in London fee, the following are included in the program:

  • Tuition for 12-18 credits
  • Housing
  • Orientation in London
  • Cultural Events and Activities
  • Excursions and some day trips
  • Health Insurance
  • Membership to Student Central facilities