A Day in the Life at Reading

Blogging From Britain Seventeen students from Randolph and two from other colleges are spending this academic year at the University of Reading with the World in Britain program. Four of them—Elysia Lopez ’10, Kelly Dickinson ’10, Marissa Wolff ’10, and Robin Rinker ’10—are blogging about their experience. Follow along at...  britain.randolphblogs.net

You rise early in the morning and make your way down to the River Thames for crew practice. You never rowed crew in your life before this year, but by now you and your friends on the novice team are getting to be pretty good at it. There's a slight drizzle this morning (after all, this is England!), but it doesn't dampen the team's spirits, and the practice is a good one.

Following practice and breakfast, it's time for a lecture in The World in Britain seminar. Mr. Christopher Hardman, a member of the English Department, is talking about Shakespeare's Richard III, a play you will see tomorrow on a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon with your classmates. You will also visit Warwick Castle and Shakespeare's birthplace on the same trip.

After a break, you have a tutorial in art history. The tutorial method of teaching, fashioned after the style of pedagogy practiced at Cambridge and Oxford, puts you and two or three other students together with a tutor (professor) who doesn't lecture but, rather, facilitates and guides the discussion.

The topic for the day is Gothic church architecture—fan vaulting, perpendicular style—and flying buttresses. During an upcoming weekend field trip, you will get to see such superb examples as Worcester and Wells Cathedrals.

After lunch in Bridges Hall with some of your British friends, you board the fast train to London. Twenty minutes later, you're at Paddington Station. Catching the tube to Covent Garden, you purchase tickets for next month's performance of Swan Lake by The Royal Ballet, then head for the theatre district for a performance of Wicked. It's a wonderful evening! Humming "Defying Gravity," you head back to Paddington to catch the last train home.

Sound like an interesting way to spend a day? How about a semester or a whole academic year? This is what Randolph College Abroad: The World in Britain, affiliated with the University of Reading, is all about.

About the Program

Since 1968, Randolph College has provided a program of study at the University of Reading, England. 35 students from Randolph College and a variety of other American colleges and universities can participate at any one time.

Students have often told us the Reading Program has been a life-changing experience.

You will earn a minimum of 15 academic credits per semester in a broad range of courses.

Think an experience like this is beyond your reach? We can help you arrange for it. Tuition and room and board costs are the same as for a semester or year on our Lynchburg campus, and a generous percentage of your Randolph College financial aid applies to this program as well. Students attending other colleges and universities who wish to apply to the program have access to both merit and other need-based scholarships and grants.

Admission is competitive but within your grasp if you are a dedicated student. So start planning for your year abroad as soon as possible. Students from many other U.S. institutions have joined our program in recent years.

For applications and additional details, please contact Paul Irwin, coordinator.