Course at a Glance
Course: HUMN 398C (3 Credits)
Location: Cambridge, England
When: To be announced
Register By: To be announced
Highlights:
King's College Chapel
Great St. Mary's Church
Queens' College grounds
The Fitzwilliam Museum
The Backs
Punting on the River Cam
Explore the beautiful buildings of Cambridge during a field study program at UMGC Europe.
Discover one of the oldest and most famous university cities in the world. Human settlements existed on the present site of the City of Cambridge well before the Romans built a fortified camp on the current Castle Hill, and the city has housed a university since the early 13th century. Starting from a handful of scholars fleeing judicial persecution in Oxford, the university has since grown to dominate the town and establish itself as one of the leading centers of teaching and learning in the world. This course takes a look at both the physical university - the beautiful buildings and grounds of its colleges - and also at the university as an intellectual institution, as a place in which philosophical, political, economic and scientific ideas that have revolutionized our world were born.
Topics include:
- History of Cambridge and Cambridge University
- Structure and functioning of the university
- Architecture of the colleges, university, and city churches
- Cambridge scientists: Newton, Darwin, Turing and more
- Cambridge philosophers: Russell, Moore, Wittgenstein and more
- Cambridge poets: Milton, Wordsworth, Hughes and more
This course is dedicated to the memory of Jim Council (1929-2010), Life Fellow of Clare Hall, Senior Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge University, and UMGC Collegiate Associate Professor, who created the course and taught it for eight years.
Course Details
Day 1 (Saturday)
- 1500-1700 - Orientation meeting at hotel; introduction to Cambridge and the university
Day 2 (Sunday)
- 0930-1200 - Lectures and discussions: The town before the university; Cambridge from the beginnings to the Civil War
- 1400-1500 - Walking tour: Great St. Mary's Church
- 1500-1700 - Walking tour: Senate House, St. Bene't's Church, the Round Church
Day 3 (Monday)
- 0930-1200 - Lectures and discussions: Cambridge from 1700 to the present
- 1400-1500 - Walking tour: Castle Mount, St. Peter's Church
- 1500-1700 - Wakling tour: Magdalene and St. John's Colleges
Day 4 (Tuesday)
- 1000-1230 - Walking tour: Jesus and Sidney Sussex Colleges
- 1400-1700 - Walking tour: Queens' and King's Colleges
- 1730-1830 - Optional: Evensong in King's College Chapel
Day 5 (Wednesday)
- 0930-1200 - Lectures and discussions: Cambridge poets; the nature and purpose of university education
- 1400-1700 - Walking tour: Downing and Pembroke Colleges
Day 6 (Thursday)
- 1000-1200 - Walking tour: Sidgwick Site and Selwyn College
- 1400-1700 - Walking tour: The Fitzwilliam Museum; Corpus Christi and Emmanuel Colleges
Day 7 (Friday)
- 0930-1200 - Lectures and discussions: Cambridge philosophers
- 1400-1700 - Research for class presentations
Day 8 (Saturday)
- 0930-1200 - Class presentations Afternoon Punting from Trinity College
Accommodation and Transportation
For your convenience, UMGC coordinates the hotel and excursion arrangements for a flat fee of $650 per student per field study course. This fee will be charged to your student account and covers seven nights of lodging (double occupancy room), as well as local transportation costs and entry to all excursions. Single rooms are available upon request for an additional fee of $200.
The $650 fee does not include travel to and from the city where the course is held. Students must make their own travel arrangements to the course.
Textbooks and Course Materials
Textbooks can be ordered through webText Europe - a secure, online textbook service designed to make your textbook ordering quick and simple. You can also receive on-site assistance from your local program coordinator. For a detailed listing of required textbooks and early reading assignments, please see the current course syllabus found in the schedule.
Registration Details
You may register for the 3 credit field study course with your local program coordinator or online at MyUMGC. Tuition assistance or financial aid can be applied toward tuition costs. For more information, contact the UMGC Field Study Office at CIV +49-(0)631-534-800, or e-mail fieldstudies-europe@umgc.edu.
Before completing your travel plans, please verify with your local program coordinator or the Field Study Office at UMGC Europe Headquarters that the course will be held as scheduled. If you drop/withdraw from a field study course after the registration deadline, you will be charged a fee of $100.
How is a field study course different from a regular course?
A field study course packs all of the 48 contact-hours of other courses into adventure-filled days on location, so you can earn one to three credits at an accelerated pace. In addition, rather than taking place in an education center, a field study course takes place in a historical European city where the subject being studied has its roots. You will visit historical sites and museums as well as participate in lectures that bring it all together for a one-of-a-kind learning experience.
For more information, please visit the Field Study Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page.
Helpful Hints
Before you leave:
- Contact your travel agency concerning insurance coverage for cancellations.
- Contact your health insurance company for information concerning coverage at your destination.
- Familiarize yourself with local laws and customs of your destination country.
- Check the weather forecast for your destination.
- Obtain city maps for your destination.
- Leave contact information with people at home who may need to reach you during the course.
- Make sure your legal affairs are in order and leave a short-term power of attorney with someone you trust.
- Make two photocopies of your passport and the contents of your wallet--leave one copy at home and bring the other with you.
For more information, please visit the Field Study Resources page.