summer study program / Oxford University
 

I wonder if anyone has taken part in an adult study/vacation
program at Oxford. I've found one through New York
University. It's for one or two weeks staying at Christ
Chuch College. Sounds intriguing, but.......I've no idea how
good these programs are. If anyone has taken part &
can give more information that would be great. Thanks

I did an adult study program at Oxford in the summer of '99 that was administered by two professors from colleges in Michigan. They rent out one of the Oxford schools , and borrow a couple of Oxford professors for the summer. I did a three week course. I enjoyed our professor very much, a Brit who gave us a crash course in British history and poltics from 1945. I had a private room, with my own bathroom, in one of the dorms. We did a few field trips, such as Bath, and a visit to London for theatre.

I loved being in Oxford, just being surrounded by the academic atmosphere. I respected my professor, and liked my class. I did not like the meals. We were a small group, and had a set menu. It's hard to put down two courses and a dessert in 30 minutes, and that was expected of us. (Sometimes I slip away to the local Pizza Hut for a break, although we only had meals in the commons during the week, not the weekends.)

I found myself quite at odds with the other students. There was a handful of older students ten or fifteen years older than me (I was 44 at the time.) I didn't really mesh with the older students. I thought the younger (traditional age) students would be fun and invigorating. I found them pretty immature (ah, 20 is younger than I remember), and not very focused on education. They were more interested in drinking and staying up late and exploiting their freedom.

So, I had a pretty lonely time of it. I thought I'd have "Educating Rita", but it didn't come out quite that way. I never did a junior year abroad when I was a college student, and I thought this would make up for that. But I realized that missing a junior year abroad wasn't really missing anything. If I had encountered any of those problems when I was 20, I wouldn't be able to handle it. This time around, I did come down with a horrid cold that expressed my misery, but I did manage to retreat to my room and enoy what I could of the Oxford college experience.

It depends on how mature your fellow students are, and what you expect to gain from the experience. I paid over $3,000 for a three-week course, and that was just to audit the class. I don't suppose I'll ever do something similar until I reach my "senior" years, and I can do an Elderhostel-type thing.

The important point is how good are the courses run by the New York college. The setting is not really relevant to that.

I'm sorry I can't give you a specific answer to your question, but I can can give you some general information.

During the summer a number of American(USA) schools provide study programs at Oxford. They are given use of Oxford facilities and usually bring their own professors. This is not the same as taking courses at Oxford. I imagine some of the programs are good while others are not worth the money invested.They have long been known as an excellent way of increasing revenues for both Oxford & American schools.

My advice would be to check out the qualifications and credentials of the professors who will be teaching the classes.Consider also the amount of time actually spent in the classroom. Some of these programs are nothing more than mini lectures with a great deal of free time. A really worthwhile program will mean you spend most of your time in class or in the library. You will no doubt have a chance to travel locally. But this can be done without having to also pay for what can be an expensive study course.

Short answer: Some of these programs are worthwhile;others are not.You'll need to research this a bit more to get an answer. Perhaps other Fodorites will have personal experience with N.Y.U.

As an NYU alumni, and a current student, I can only vouch for the quality of the classes I've taken personally, all of which have been so far full-semester courses.

I believe the course you are considering is through SCPS, in collaboration with Oxford (w/Oxford faculty), but is only 1 or 2 weeks. I would give the program you're considering a call for information and questions you may have.

Good luck! And if you go, come back and let us know how it is! :)

There used to be a "Summer Academy" run by a consortium of 13 UK universities. I attended Oxford for a week's course "Exploring Oxford's History and Treasures" in 1999. Most of the attendees were British, along with Americans mainly 60+. There were a few younger people. It was a great time, some lectures, some field trips, cultural opportunities, and free time to partake of what interested us. It was fun having meals in the commons. The food was okay, but we loved seating ourselves at the headmaster's table. We brought our own wine we had purchased at Odd Bins in town. A few summers later, we traveled to Scotland and took a week's course in Stirling, "Exploring Scottish Towns". Again,we visited Edinborough, St. Andrews, and many other small towns. The food this time was not very good.
So after all this, even though Summer Academy doesn't exist as a clearing house for summer programs, many of the universities still run courses for the adult learner. There are different topics offered,but I was interested in more of the historical ones of the areas we were visiting. These are not summer schools run by American groups. The prices were not over $1000 per week, including room and board. Try searching for summer programs for adult learners at Oxford University. Tbese are not demanding academic courses, but give a nice glimpse into campus life.

I had a wonderful two weeks in a Smithsonian program at Oxford and would highly recommend it.

Oxford University offers an enormous range of adult study. Out of term time, many courses, organised by other institutions, including foreign universities, hire some of its facilities - some, as seems to be the case with ac1's question, involving staying in a college (the term "dorm" is meaningless in Oxford).

Since living in a college is an essential part of an Oxford undergraduate course, it's important for anyone wanting a sample of this experience to ensure it is college based. Many aren't - though courses that don't include college stays may well have the right academic content.

There's no one unified list of externally-organised courses, though some colleges do put lists of courses they're hosting on their website - eg at www.chch.ox.ac.uk.

The major organiser of adult education at the university is, of course the university itself (www.conted.ox.ac.uk). My experience of the courses it operates is excellent, with classes generally prepared and delivered more professionally than the university manages for classes given to its undergraduates. Though I've no direct experience of its summer schools, I frequently attend its evening courses and seminars.

The university's own summer schools are at www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/oussa.

Externally-organised courses will obviously vary widely in quality: they're actually a common source of additional income for many of my Cotswold neighbours, since Oxford's native academic community mostly has better things to do with their summers than give classes to bunches of tourists.

Merseyheart's insights into dining at Christ Church (NEVER: "Christ Church College") are accurate. Its food can be awful, though its wine cellars are excellent. And most Oxford colleges' catering can be underwhelming from a gastronomic point of view. However MH misses out the drama of dining in Hall: Ch Ch Hall in particular has an especially fine painting collection (best viewed, BTW, from its High Table. Since it's difficult for most eaters to get to High Table while it's being used by the nobs, it's well worth ensuring you get a proper look at some other time). MH is right that most dinners are rushed affairs - but since it doesn't get dark till tennish, that gives you the rest ofthe evening to find a garden and sip winie while you argue or study.

Ch Ch accommodation - as at all colleges - can be a tad basic, and Ch Ch is a relative johnny-come-lately by Oxford standards, having been founded as late as 1524, with all its rooms Tudor or later.

But all Ch Ch accommodation is within the confines of the Tudor college - a community that now includes its own cathedral, a seriously serious art gallery, a Saxon saint's tomb of major historical importance (Oxford was an important pilgrimage centre centuries before the university sprang up) and some quite sumptuous accommodation, with stunning views, if you draw your cards luckily. Few other collerges are as richly endowed (or spacious), but all conform to the general principle.

If the course's academic content is what matters, check it thoroughly, remembering that there are dozens of other providers. If you want a slice of the Brideshead Revisited experience, you also need to check what you're being offered thoroughly. But part of MH's critique is bang on: Oxford is swarming over the summer with thousands of transient foreigners, all with widely varying attitudes, motivations and interest in learning.

Being semi-perpetually pissed out of your mind is, of course, an essential component of Brideshead Revisited. Having lots of drunks around has never stopped students at England's ancient universities from learning. Which is just as well: central Oxford during summer evenings would be a pretty sight only if all those people were swept away.

Nothing worse than getting a professor
whom you know has "better things to do" is there, Flanner?

what do you want to get out of this programme (in order of priority)?

for example:

-subject matter driven?
-driven by a desire to "be at oxford"?
-cultural exchange?
-others?

an oxford based programme may or may not be the answer.

Thanks, flanneruk, for your comments on my post. As it happens, I didn't attend a summer school session at Christ Church, it was at Corpus Christi (the same American college has moved to another school since then, a Google search has revealed). Maybe all British university food is institutional, and rushed, but I was glad to give myself a break at the local Pizza Hut. I liked having my own private room, and the hall I was in had just renovated some of the rooms to have modern, private bathrooms, and that was a godsend.

As for the actual class, I quite enjoyed the professor, and the material (an Oxford prof who taught us political history from 1945 to present). But there wasn't much homework. We had no textbook, did a few researched presentations to each other, and had one test (which I managed to get a B plus on--he may have been an easy grader for the visitors). So, I had a taste of British academia. I spent my free time visiting the other colleges, seeing the sights of Oxford, and went out to Blenheim one day.

I shouldn't have been surprised that so many of the students were the party-hearty type, but spending all night out in the garden, or running around the halls at 1 AM is pushing it. Nona1 says the setting shouldn't matter. It does if you can't sleep!

Once again, it depends on what you're looking for, and how much you're willing to spend. I wish you better luck than I had! :)

Thanks to everyone for guiding me in the right direction. In particular,
I checked out the links in "Flanneruk's" post and ended up with some
really good information on Oxford's summer program that sounds
much better than going through a US university. If anyone is interested go to:
http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/i...experience.asp
Thanks again.