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Exploring Art in London: Winter Break

January 4-14, 2024 

London Winter Explore 2024

More details can be found at the Office of Global Opportunities website .

Region: London, Great Britain
Title: Exploring Art in London
Schedule: Winter Break
School: College of Fine Arts, School of Art + Design

Contact: Dr. Jody Lamb, Director
Phone: 740-707-1890
email: lambj@ohio.edu

Contact: Ed Pauley, Co-Director
Phone: 740-590-9893
email: pauleye@ohio.edu

Application Deadline

Deadline: Sunday, September 10, 2023
Note on Deadline: The program accepts students on a rolling basis until the program fills (a total of 14 students are accepted).

Application Form: Global Opportunities Application Form

Important note about program dates

This program officially begins on January 4. This means that you need to be in London on January 4. Most flights from the USA to London Heathrow are evening flights, meaning you need to depart from the USA on January 3 in order to arrive in London on January 4.

Students are free to depart for London earlier than January 3. In that case you should meet us at the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury at 1pm on January 4. It will be up to you to find London housing for dates before January 4.

If you plan to arrive at London Heathrow Airport on January 4 and would like to take a bus directly to your hotel, please read the section below under  AIR TRANSPORTATION

Scholarships Are Available

Applications are now open for the Merit, Need and Diversity Scholarships and the Grad/HCOM travel award. The merit and need are for undergrads only; diversity is open to both grads and undergrads. Deadline for these 4 awards is Monday, October 1 at 11:59 pm.

Students can find information and applications for these awards and others online by visiting our page dedicated to  financial aid for Global Opportunities .

Actor next to horse sculptures

Overview of this program

If you have limited time for an Education Abroad experience, this program may be perfect for you. You will be in historic London shortly after the Christmas Holiday season, when the city is blissfully free of tourists and consequently wonderfully accessible. If you have no background in the visual arts (none is required), you will learn a variety of new ways to consider and explore art and architecture. The program also provides you with diverse cultural and social experiences outside the visual arts.

You will stay in comfortable apartments ideally located in the center of London off Russell Square and very near the British Museum. From our hotel you are within easy walking of literally 100s of exciting activities & opportunities, and 2 minutes from the city’s Underground transport system.

Classes meet each morning. You will have afternoons free to explore London as you wish. Several evening events are planned, including two world class plays such as War Horse, and a very British late afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason’s famous restaurant.

Each class is taught on site, using some of the world's finest museums, galleries, railway stations, & historic houses as our classroom. Students state they learn much faster and retain knowledge much longer by studying art, architecture & public spaces first hand rather than from slides and books.

You will study work by some of the world's most famous artists, architects, photographers and designers, including French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists such as Monet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cassatt, Van Gogh and many other artists including Rodin, Leighton & Millais.

You will also discover some of the unique qualities of British art and architecture, such as the diverse art of the Pre-Raphaelites, the memorable landscapes of John Constable, JMW Turner, and James McNeill Whistler, and the unique home of Lord Leighton.

We will visit the private gallery of a well known London art dealer who regularly appears on the Antiques Road Show and CNN. He will speak with us about art dealing and collecting.

We may also attend special temporary, once in a lifetime, art exhibitions. Past shows have included Leonardo da Vinci, Art Deco, and Armani designs.

London Eye Winter 2024

A brief summary of our group activities outside class time

  • A half day guided bus tour of London the morning after our arrival.
  • A ride on the London Eye ferris wheel, which provides one of the finest views of the city.
  • We will attend 2 world-class West End plays, including a musical such as War Horse. We attend one play at the Wanamaker Theatre where we will experience a performance lit by candlelight. 
  • An elegant afternoon British tea at Fortnum and Mason’s famous restaurant.
  • A final dinner together at the trendy Brown’s restaurant.
UK Museum 2024

This Program Offers Bricks & Tier III Course Options

No prior knowledge of art or art history is required. Most students who attend this program are not fine arts students.

Choose one (1) art history course that best fits your degree requirements

Each of the following undergraduate courses is a 3 credit hour class. Choose and  sign up for one (1) course only.

  • ART 1100: Seeing and Knowing the Visual Arts (3 hours)
    Gen Ed OHIO BRICKS: Pillars: Humanities: Arts
  • T3 4603: Cultural Tradition and the Arts: 19th and 20th Centuries (3 hours)
    This course fulfills a Tier 3 requirement for students who started in 2019-20 or 2018-19
  • AH 4900: 19th Century Art in London (3 hours)
    This is an option for students looking for a 4000 level course. Not a Gen Ed option. Art history option for Art + Design students.

Graduate course

  • AH 5900: 19th Century Art in London (3 hours)
    Graduate level introduction to the art & architecture of the 19th century

Course & daily assignments

Each day all students are given discussion topics to explore in a small group, ending with a discussion of the entire group.

Completion of Your Written Course Assignments: You are required to write 3-4 essays for this course. You have until the end of Spring Semester to complete all these written assignments. Due to the limited amount of time we are in London, I recommend that you take great notes during or after class and then complete your papers by the end of the Winter Semester deadline. Completing your written assignments back in the States will give you more free time to explore London.

Your undergraduate and graduate program fee of $4,320 includes the following:

Your Housing

We will reside at the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury , a very nice 4-Star hotel very near the Russell Square Square Underground Station. Whether you decide to take the Underground train, a bus or walk, this is a perfect location in central London. Two students will share each room. A full English breakfast is included in the hotel cost. 

Facade of building light at night
Interior of hotel restaurant with tables and bar

2 West End Plays

You will see some of the world’s finest West End plays, usually including a musical. You will attend one play at Wanamaker Theatre, where we will experience a performance lit by candlelight.

Actors on a candle lit stage

London Eye Ferris Wheel Ride

We will take a London Eye ride on the world’s tallest ferris wheel. This is a great way to gain a sense of central London and beyond.

A Very Proper English Afternoon Tea

We will have a lavish English afternoon or cream tea at  Fortnum and Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon , world renowned for this very British activity. Students often like to dress up for this event, although it is up to you.

Museum & Gallery Entry Fees

While most museums do not charge to visit their permanent collections, they all charge a fee for special exhibitions. The program will pay for any of these we attend.

Our Final Evening Group Dinner in London

We will have a meal together during our final evening in London. We will go to the trendy and very lively Brown's Restaurant, located in Covent Garden. You will have a three-course meal chosen from  Brown's main menu .

A building at night illuminated

London Transport

You will be given a £50 pass that provides you with access to London's Underground and bus systems.  

Insurance Coverage While in London

As a participant of an Ohio University study abroad program, you are automatically enrolled in an international health insurance plan. More details can be found at the Office of Global Opportunities website .

Big Ben Bridge London 2024

Out of pocket expenses and additional program costs:

AIR TRANSPORTATION

Your Flight to London Heathrow: 

It is your responsibility to book your round trip ticket to & from London Heathrow Airport. If you wish to take advantage of the bus that meets us at the airport when we all arrive and then takes us directly to our hotel, you MUST book a flight that  arrives at London Heathrow on January 4, 2023 no later than 10:00am. 

Your two professors, Jody Lamb & Ed Pauley, will meet you at London Heathrow on the morning of January 4.

As noted above, students can choose to fly to London earlier than January 3. In that case you should meet us at the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury at 1pm on January 4. It will be up to you to find London housing for dates before January 4.

Return Flight from London Heathrow on January 14:  

If you want to take the bus directly from our hotel to London Heathrow, please book your return flight  no earlier than 12:30pm.

A NOTE OF CAUTION ABOUT PURCHASING YOUR AIRLINE TICKET:

Even if you are accepted into this program, the program may still be cancelled if the minimum requirement of 14 students are not enrolled. So in the unlikely event that the program is cancelled and you have already purchased a ticket, you might get only a partial refund from your airline or alternatively be forced to use it within a certain period to time. For some tickets it is possible you would lose the entire cost of the flight. So if you do buy this ticket before you receive notification that the program is officially a ‘go’, make certain that you can get a full refund or use it another time of your choosing!

We will let you know the moment we reach our 14 student requirement. On an optimistic note, we have not yet had to cancel a Winter Break program! 

people on a street at an art auction

Tuition and Fees

VERY IMPORTANT : The following explains how undergraduate and graduate students can avoid paying the cost of tuition for this program

For undergraduate Athens campus students the 3 credits for this program count can count towards your Spring Semester allotment of total credit hours. The maximum number of credit hours you are allowed to sign up for in a semester if you pay full tuition is 20 credit hours (18 credit hours for graduate). This means that if you sign up for no more than 17 hours of courses in Spring Semester, you will not incur any additional tuition cost for the 3 credit hour course taken for this Winter Break program. In other words, if your total credit hour enrollment during Winter Break and Spring Semester equals no more than 20 credit hours total, the tuition cost for this program is covered without an additional fee.

If any of you have to take 20 credit hours (18 credit hours for graduate) during Spring Semester, you would in that case have to pay the cost of tuition for this program.

For students registered at an OHIO regional campus, the 3 credits for this Winter Break program WILL be billed in addition to your regional campus tuition. The option listed above does NOT apply.

Total cost of this trip for undergraduate and graduate students

Worksheet estimate in [PDF]

  • Program Fee:$4,320
  • Out-of-Pocket Costs:estimated $2,885
  • Airfare: $1,600
  • Cell Phone: $100
  • Passport, Photos, Visa(s): $185
  • Incidentals/Personal expenses: $150
  • Meals (not included in program fees): $600 (Breakfast free at hotel)

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST = $7,205

Group of people at a table having tea

Applying to the program: 

Deadline:  Sunday, September 10, 2023

You must fill out the online Office of Education Abroad application form to apply for the program.  Global Opportunities Application Form . You need ONE letter of recommendation. I will let you know whether or not you are accepted within a few days after I review your application.

You will not be officially accepted into the program until:

  1. You have submitted the online program application form available at the Education Abroad website.
  2. You have received an official nomination email from Professor Lamb and you have followed the instructions in the nomination email to officially confirm your acceptance.
  3. You have paid your $500 deposit (see below). No one else will be accepted after 10 students make their deposit, but we will keep a waiting list in case someone drops out.

Deposit & balance due deadlines

A $500 nonrefundable deposit will be due at the time you accept your nomination to the program. You will be able to pay your deposit online following instructions in your nomination email.

The balance of the program cost will be applied to each student’s Ohio University account for your Spring Semester Bill.

Bird's Eye London 2024

Additional information regarding the program

Details about your passport (order this ASAP)

You should order your passport ASAP. The estimated time to receive a passport is currently 10 weeks. You can visit the  U.S. Passports and International Travel  website to download a copy of the DS-11 passport form.

The passport fee is $130, and there is ALSO a $35 processing fee, bringing the total cost to $135. There will also be a fee for the photos for your passport. When applying, you must bring a valid driver's license and an original birth certificate or a certified copy of it (this means with an official stamp which has left a raised seal imprint).  You must provide 2 official passport photographs (from places like the Post Office on Stimson Avenue, FedEx, CVS or elsewhere).  You cannot bring a snapshot because a passport photograph is a special heatproof photo.

For more information on accepted documentation, read  questions & answers when applying for a passport .

Locally, the best place to mail your completed passport materials is the US Post Office on Stimson Avenue. Two people at the post office are trained to process your paperwork.  You can also have your photos taken there.  You have to make an appointment in advance.  You must book this online at the US Post Office website. You must make the payment amount listed above there. The good thing about doing this is that someone has checked all your paperwork before the application is mailed in.

If you are applying late, you can receive your passport within 4-6 weeks if it is expedited. An additional fee applies. Please see the U.S. Passport site for details .

Health and safety

Ohio University Office of Global Opportunities suggests you follow the recommendations of the  Centers for Disease Control for healthy travel . Please familiarize yourself with these recommendations and requirements prior to applying to a program. Refer to the State Department site for  information related to safety and security .

Study Away and COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in study away and abroad involves real and potential personal, financial, and academic risk. The  CDC advises that you should delay travel until you are vaccinated . Note that entry to some countries and participation in local program and free-time activities, including in the U.S., may be severely restricted or potentially unavailable to unvaccinated individuals. Unvaccinated travelers should additionally expect to incur extra expenses and onsite logistical challenges due to onsite testing requirements. For further information, contact  ogoriskmanagement@ohio.edu

Requesting accommodation for disabilities

If you plan to participate in an Ohio University-sponsored study abroad program and wish to request accommodation, you should contact the Office of Accessibility Services to schedule an appointment to complete an Global Opportunity Disability Accommodation Request Form. We recommend you do this as early as possible to allow sufficient time to determine what accommodations may be made for this program.

Entry and exit requirements

U.S. citizens are required to have a valid U.S. passport when traveling outside of the United States. If you plan to study or travel abroad in the next year,  apply for your passport now . Some countries also require a visa to legally enter and reside in the country, check out the  entry and exit requirements  for this country.

US citizens won’t need a visa or other special documents to enter the UK for the length of this program. You may need to show sufficient funds to support yourself while in-country. Please also note that visa requirements may vary if you plan to stay in the country longer than the program dates or travel to other countries during or after the program. Please familiarize yourself with these recommendations and requirements prior to applying to a program.

For more specific visa related information please visit  OGO's Visa Information Page .

Find more information for  NON-US citizens .

London Museum Tour 2024

Contact Persons

If you have any questions, please contact Jody Lamb, Director of this program, work phone 740-707-1890, email address  lambj@ohio.edu .

Contact Dr. Jody Lamb, Director
phone: 740-707-1890
e-mail: lambj@ohio.edu

Contact: Ed Pauley, Co-Director
Phone: 740-590-9893
email: pauleye@ohio.edu

Office of Global Opportunities contact person:
Please contact global.opportunities@ohio.edu or attend drop-in advising at the Walter International Education Center, 15 Park Place (directly beside Baker Center). To learn more visit us online at  Office of Global Opportunities (OGO) .

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