UCL Scholars Study Abroad Program
Turn all materials including transcript & references in to:
Lauren Stolper, Director of Study Abroad
Room 319 in the Center for Student Services on Holliston, Mail Code 319-87
The UCL Scholars Program is a study abroad program in which Caltech students study at University College London, England during their junior or senior year. Students can study during the Fall Term only. The tentative dates for 2008 are Monday, September 22 through Friday, December 12. Participants are required to participate in the fall orientation that will run from September 17 to 19 (Wednesday evening to Friday before classes start). The orientation program will provide information on the academic system and the health and welfare (counseling) services to incoming exchange students. There are usually social events and tours of London in addition to the typical workshops on registration, life at UCL, etc.
Note that participants must remain at UCL for the entire UCL fall term. Students may travel in Britain or Europe before the program starts or after it ends. It is possible to make weekend trips to nearby European destinations such as Paris or Amsterdam and to travel in the UK. However, students are required to attend all classes, labs and lectures and weekend trips must not interfere with lecture, lab or seminar attendance.
Reading Week: At the mid-point of the term (1st week in November), all humanities and social science subjects and some science fields, e.g., computer science, do not hold classes. This week is for catching up on the large amount of independent reading students are assigned or working on essays, projects, or problem sets. The purpose of this week is academic. Students may not cut classes that are still being held in order to travel. However, students who are caught up on their work may be able to use some of this time for travel. Students wishing to do this should notify the Study Abroad Director at least two weeks prior to reading week and will need to offer an explanation of how the travel will fit into their coursework requirements. A good compromise is taking a long weekend or one four-day trip and devoting the remainder of the time to academic work. Note carefully that Reading Week is not a vacation period.
UCL Location, History and Study Body
University College London (UCL) is one of the top universities in Britain. UCL was founded in 1826 and was the first university established in London. It was the first university to admit students from any religious or social background and to admit women on equal terms with men. UCL was also the first university in Britain to offer degrees in fields such as literature, modern languages, law, medicine, and engineering.
UCL is located in a wonderful part of central London, Bloomsbury. The UCL campus is just north of Oxford Street and the British Museum. There is very convenient access to the London Underground and train stations. About 11,000 undergraduates attend UCL. Slightly over half of all undergraduates are women.
Caltech students will live in UCL dormitories within a short walk to campus. Students live in Ramsay Hall, which is a five-minute walk to the academic buildings. Students at Ramsay are on a twenty meal a week required board plan (breakfast and dinner weekdays). For a virtual tour of Ramsay Hall and other locations on the UCL campus go to: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/study-abroad-guide/.
Note that there may be an option for students to live in a new complex adjacent to oRamsay Hall that will be completed this summer, Ian Baker House. This part of the Ramsay complex will not be on the meal plan. Kitchens will be available and students will have to provide their own cookware and dishes/utensils. As in Ramsay rooms are singles and Ian Baker students will of use of the Ramsay Hall commons room and laundry.
Due to the length of the UCL semester, there is a housing/board supplement charged to cover the additional weeks of room and board. This supplement depends on UCL charges and the exchange rate. In 2007 the combined supplement for room and board was $800 per semester. Note that this covers 2.5 weeks of room and board over Caltech’s 10 weeks, i.e., the UCL semester is 12. 5 weeks long. Students on financial aid may be eligible for additional funding to cover these and other room/board costs and may include these costs plus the cost of additional weekday lunches and weekend meals in their financial aid budget request. However, students should note that each student’s individual need level will dictate whether or not additional funds are awarded to cover such expenses. Also note that you have use of your room to the end of December at no additional cost. However, no food is served in the dining hall after the last day of the academic term.
Note the UCL is composed of 43 departments that are divided into the faculties of:
Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences, Faculty of Laws, Faculty of the Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, and School of Slavonic and East European Studies. Caltech students must choose an admitting department from either the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, or the Faculty of Life Sciences.
Premed students, please note that students cannot take courses in the Faculty of Medicine, but can take courses in the Department of Pharmacology, the Department of Physiology, and the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology.
Students are admitted to one department in the sciences or engineering related to their Caltech option. Students will be required to take at least two courses in that department.
Students may take all four or five courses total for a maximum of 2.5 UCL credits in the sciences or engineering or may take up one to three courses in the humanities or social sciences at UCL with the exception of the English Literature department which does not provide instruction to exchange students except those admitted to English literature. Literature courses are also taught in departments such as European and Cultural Studies.
Affiliate Tutor: In the online information for each department, a faculty member will be designated as the Affiliate Tutor. This is the faculty advisor for study abroad students admitted to or taking courses in that department. This faculty member is available to answer questions via email. Usually their email is listed, but if not it is easy to find the email using the UCL directory.
Note that students can take a maximum of 2.5 UCl credits and must take a minimum of 2 UCL credits. Most science, social science and engineering courses at UCL are .5 UCL units. Engineering courses are usually .25 UCL units. Both .5 courses in all subjects and .25 in engineering are worth 9 Caltech units. Students who are need to fulfill a 12 unit department requirement will be given 12 units for the course in question.
Note that courses will be designated Fall Term (FT), Spring Term (ST) or Year in the UCL course listing.
Courses in the humanities, social sciences, or in a foreign language can be taken to fulfill humanities and social sciences requirements provided that you obtain Caltech’s HSS departmental permission, which is usually readily available through the Executive Officers in HSS. Students can take courses such as an Art in London course taught in a different art gallery each week where an art specialist discussed that gallery’s art or a course on the Architecture of London.
Note that courses in the Language Center are only available to students visiting UCL for a full year and are not, therefore, available to Caltech students.
Economics Students: Any student may take courses in economics, but cannot be admitted to this department. Students in the Economics or BEM option should seek admission to the Statistical Sciences Department. Students would take two statistical science courses and two to three courses in Economics. Economics students admitted to Statistical Sciences can take the remaining two courses in areas other than Economics as the two Statistical Sciences courses fulfills the Admitting Department requirement.
Each UCL course will have a seminar, lab, or tutorial session attached to it. While lectures can have several hundred students, the related seminars, labs and tutorials are much smaller.
In order to help Americans understand their system, a .5 credit class is also noted as 4-credit class in the UCL Study Abroad Guide. A 1 credit course (also noted as 8 credits) class is either a full year class or an intensive class (see paragraph below). It is sometimes possible to take the fall semester of a full year class, which would receive .5 course credits for one semester’s work. But, you must seek permission from the instructor or Affiliate Tutor and provide a copy of the email or note with your application for study abroad.
Students taking four science or engineering courses will spend about 20 hours a week total in lectures, labs, or tutorials. Students in the humanities and social sciences taking four courses in these fields spend about 16 hours a week in lectures, seminars or tutorials. Therefore, a student taking a mix of engineering/science courses with humanities/social sciences will spend about 18 hours in lectures, labs, seminars or tutorials. Clearly the amount can vary somewhat and does not include time spend on essays, reading, problems sets, or projects.
Students will not take final exams given at the end of the academic year, but WILL BE (AND USUALLY ARE) required to take any semester final exams if such are given and do all required work. Caltech students will be evaluated by Caltech and UCL faculty on a special evaluation form. Students will take all UCL courses for a grade, but will not transfer grades from UCL. Only credit/no credit will appear on the Caltech transcript. Students can receive option or general units and with permission use UCL courses to fulfill general or option requirements.
As previously mentioned, a few subjects may offer intensive courses, which run for a 6-week block meeting for double the amount of hours and typically carry .5 credits. In such a situation, a student would take a combination of regular and intensive courses that would add up to the 2 UCL credit minimum requirement up to the 2.5 credit maximum. For students taking all of their courses in fields with 6-week courses, two courses would be taken for the first six weeks and two for the second.
Please note that all students in engineering and other students taking the fall part of a full year course should write to the Appropriate UCL Tutor for Affiliate Students listed in the UCL Study Abroad Guide http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/study-abroad-guide/ to learn what aspects of such courses are covered in the fall since some material will be taught in the spring. This is similar to what is found in the course descriptions in Caltech’s catalog where in abc sequence courses the entire year’s work is described versus a term-by-term delineation of subject material.
Again, please note that students are admitted to one department and must take at least two courses from that department’s offerings. The two remaining courses can be taken from any department with the exception of English Literature, as long as the student has background in the subject necessary to take the course. Remember that UCL students study in only one department and UCL students are, therefore, majoring in that subject. So, it is best to stick to 1st or 2nd year courses in humanities or social sciences subjects unless you have a 2nd option in that subject.
DO NOT HESITATE TO COME BY OUR OFFICE (FELLOWSHIPS & STUDY ABROAD in the Center for Student Services, Room 319) if you have questions. It is helpful if you call first, ext 2150, and schedule a meeting time. The director will handle walk-in questions as time allows.
Note that Caltech will have its own selection process. So if you come across any directions on the UCL web pages about how to apply for affiliated student status, please ignore this information.
Note that when you copy course descriptions from web pages, please adjust the spacing so that the descriptions are single-spaced.
You can reach the main UCL web page at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/
This link page lists the faculties and individual departmental homepages. On each department’s home page, you can click on the undergraduate degree program: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/departments/academic-departments/.
Additional information for student studying abroad can be found at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/international-students/. Click on Study Abroad and then on the Study Abroad Guide. Click on Subjects and Departments and then on the individual subject.
If you need more information about a course, go to the Study Abroad Guide link above and look for the name of the Affiliate Student Tutor and write to that person for a course description or syllabus. These are listed by subject.