January 1-11, 2025

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
Ohio University Phone: 740-593-1809
Cell Phone: 740-707-1890
email: lambj@ohio.edu

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

Application Deadline

Priority Deadline: Friday, August 30, 2024
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 1. This means that you need to be in London on January 1. Most flights from the USA to London Heathrow are evening flights, meaning you need to depart from the USA on December 31 in order to arrive in London on January 1.

Students are free to depart for London earlier than December 31. In that case you should meet us at the President Hotel at 1pm on January 1. It will be up to you to find London housing for dates before January 1.

If you plan to arrive at London Heathrow Airport on January 1 and would like to take a bus directly to your hotel, please read the section below under AIR TRANSPORTATION.

Please fly into London Heathrow. If you fly into London Gatwick you are 28 miles from central London. The free OU transfer bus to your hotel will only be available at London Heathrow.

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 awards is early October.

Students can find information and applications for these awards and others online by visiting our page dedicated to financial aid for Global Opportunities. Please check with contact global.opportunities@ohio.edu for the exact deadline date.

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 relatively free of tourists and consequently unusually accessible.

If you have no background in the visual arts don’t worry, as many participating students are from colleges outside the fine arts. This is your opportunity to learn a variety of new ways to consider and explore the visual arts and architecture. The program also provides you with diverse cultural and social experiences outside the visual arts. OU students say that interacting with students outside their major is one of the highlights of this trip.

You will stay in a comfortable hotel 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 or Tube 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 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 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 Michelangelo, Leonardo and van Eyck.

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, the unique home of Lord Leighton, and the Houses of Parliament.

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.

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. We also usually 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.

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 from the two listed below 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)
General Education OHIO BRICKS: Pillars: Humanities: Art
AH 4900: 19th Century Art in London (3 hours)
This is an option for students looking for a 4000 level course. Not a General Education option. Art history option for Art + Design students.

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 2-3 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, we recommend that you take great notes during class that you can refer to several weeks later. We hope that allowing you to complete your written assignments back in the States will give you more free time to explore London.

Your Undergraduate Program Fee of $3,861 covers the following:

Your Transportation to/from Heathrow Airport

A shuttle/transfer bus will take us to and from our hotel and Heathrow Airport.

Your Housing & Breakfasts

We will reside at the President Hotel a comfortable 3-Star hotel very near the Russell 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.

2 West End Plays

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

London Eye Ferris Wheel Ride

We will take a London Eye ride on one of the world’s tallest ferris wheels. 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 three course meal together during our final evening in London. We will go to the trendy and very lively Brown's Restaurant, located in Covent Garden. Brown's main menu.

London Transport

You will be given a £90 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.

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 you 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 1, 2025 no later than 10:00am.

Your two professors and a representative from WorldStrides will meet you at London Heathrow on the morning of January 1.

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

Return Flight from London Heathrow on January 11:

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 have to 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 purchase a full refund ticket or one you can use it later 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! uirement. On an optimistic note, we have not yet had to cancel a Winter Break program!

How to Save Money on Your Tuition and Related Fees!

VERY IMPORTANT: The following explains how undergraduate students can avoid paying the cost of tuition for this program, a considerable saving!

For undergraduate Athens campus students the 3 credits for this program 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. 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.

Summary of the total cost of this trip for undergraduate students

Please Download this Worksheet Estimate, which is also explained below:
Worksheet estimate in [PDF]

EXPENSES BILLED TO STUDENT ACCOUNT - A

Program Fee: $3,711
Study Abroad Administrative Fee: $150

Total A (Expenses Billed to to OU Student Account) = $3,861

OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS (Not Billed to Student Account - B)

Passport and photos: $185
Estimated Airfare- consult faculty director before booking flight: $1,600
Estimated Meals (not included in program): $600
ETIAS Processing Fee: $10
Cell Phone (required): $100
Estimated incidentals/Personal Expenses: $150

Total B (out-of-pocket estimated additional expenses) = $2,645

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST OF THIS PROGRAM = $6,506

Applying to the program

Deadline: Priority Deadline: Friday, August 30, 2024

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. We will let you know whether or not you are accepted within a few days after I review your application.

As part of the application, interested individuals will need to submit:

1 Personal Statement: A 1 - 2 page typed essay describing your interest in this program, why you want to participate, and any other overseas experiences.
1 Reference Letter
1 DARs (or in the event of a Non-Ohio student, an unofficial transcript)

You will not be officially accepted into the program until:

You have submitted the online program application form available at the Education Abroad website.
You have received an official nomination email from OGO and you have followed the instructions in the nomination email to officially confirm your acceptance.
You have paid your $500 deposit (see below). No one else will be accepted after 14 students make their deposit, but we will keep a waiting list in case someone decides not to attend.

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.

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.

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.

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 (Interim Dean, College of Fine Arts)

Work phone: 740-593-1808
Cell phone: 740-707-1890
e-mail: lambj@ohio.edu