Carolyn Hong arrived back in the United States last August after studying the works of Romantic writers in England. Now she prepares to return to England, this time to study at Shakespeare’s birthplace.
The third-year English student said the experience of studying in a different setting, among people from another culture, made her experience unforgettable, prompting her to go again.
“Once you catch the study abroad bug you can’t ever get your mind off of it,” she said.
A few weeks into winter quarter, students, like Hong, are making summer programs that will break routines and augment resumes. One option students have is to receive UC units for completing two- to six-week-long travel study programs offered through various departments. These short-term programs allow students to complete course requirements while also experiencing different cultures and networking with other universities and professional firms.
Summer travel study programs are open to all students, though some programs have requisites or require instructor consent. Students are given spots on a first-come, first-served basis.
Though registration for all programs started in November, most programs are still open and those that are closed have waitlists. Costs for the programs vary but generally cost around $3,000.
Last summer, Hong completed a two-week program in Grasmere, a village in the north of England, studying the works of William Wordsworth and other Romantic writers.
This summer, Hong will focus on Shakespeare’s plays in a four-week program at Stratford-upon-Avon, the author’s birthplace in England.
While each program entails a class component, they are also organized to introduce students to the culture and environment in each country. Field trips and seminars are often incorporated into the program.
In Grasmere, students study in a rural, camp-like setting, which also serves as a research site for English literature scholars. After listening to a morning lecture, students take a four-hour walk through the hills and around the lake in the village that inspired Wordsworth to write some of his works.
This program is offered through the English department in conjunction with Oxford University and the Wordsworth Trust, a foundation established by Jonathan Wordsworth, a descendent of the writer. Tutors from Oxford University give lectures on the Romantic writers.
The interaction this program offers with Oxford and Cambridge universities makes it a unique experience for students to cite on resumes, said Frederick Burwick, an English professor who directs the trip to Grasmere.
Other programs also offer opportunities to work on career training and resume building.
The Chinese Language and Culture for Business study program focuses on teaching students the language skills and the elements of the Chinese culture necessary for conducting business in or with China.
Yihua Wang, this program coordinator for the Anderson School of Management, takes students to Shanghai, China, each summer to introduce them first-hand to the Chinese economy. Many students who participate in the program network with businesses and find internships or future jobs, Yihua said.
Jimmy Wang, a third-year management science student, interned at Roche Pharmaceuticals while in China. Wang, who is interested in business opportunities in Asia, said the cultural and language lessons he learned made the experience worthwhile for him.
“You are exposed to different things that you are not exposed to when you are at UCLA. It is first-hand experience,” he said.
This year, new summer programs will be offered. Roger Savage, an ethnomusicology professor, will take students on a four-week excursion to Venice, Vienna, Salzburg and Paris to study music representative of these locations. Students will visit the homes of Beethoven and Mozart and attend concert performances.
Excursions to centers where composers lived will help students experience the music as opposed to just hearing it talked about, Savage said.
For students not wanting to venture too far, an Asian American studies program will take place in Los Angeles and Vancouver in conjunction with the University of British Columbia. Students will spend three weeks in Los Angeles and three weeks in Vancouver analyzing shifts in Chinese migration in each of the cities.
One project students will complete is researching a Chinese restaurant and the region surrounding it in each of the cities. Students will speak with Chinese restaurant owners, customers and chefs among others to learn about migration patterns.
“(A restaurant) is a much richer site than, say, a home. It’s almost like a community center,” said Henry Yu, a history professor who will be directing the program.
In addition, trying the local food is part of a travel study experience, Yu said.