Princeton Program: Princeton in London
Program for Juniors Concentrating in English or Comparative Literature
Program Overview
Wilkins Building, UCL. Photo courtesy of Steve Cadman
"A great opportunity to experience a totally different educational system from the one we know at Princeton as well as a wonderful chance to do it in the middle of one of the greatest cities in the world." -- Laura DeSilva '08
Princeton students entering the Department of English or the Department of Comparative Literature have the opportunity to spend the fall of junior year at University College London (UCL), the oldest and largest of the constituent colleges of the University of London. This program is a result of the combined efforts of Princeton and UCL faculty members and offers a rigorous, exciting, and rewarding program of study at a top-ranked institution in one of the world’s great capital cities.
Princeton students live in UCL dormitories and choose three of their four courses from the regular offerings at UCL. The fourth course is the Junior Seminar in Critical Writing (ENG 300, a Princeton course taught by a Princeton professor exclusively for Princeton students). The seminar culminates in the writing of the Junior Paper.
The University
UCL, the third university to be founded in England (after Oxford and Cambridge) was the first to admit students regardless of class, religion, race, or gender. It is one of the largest and most diverse of all British universities. It is regularly listed among the top universities in the world in rankings of institutions of higher education.
UCL has a distinguished history and a strong academic tradition, housing 55 departments organized into eight faculties. It was the first university in England to offer English as a degree subject. Today, the Department of English Language and Literature is considered one of the best in the United Kingdom.
The Setting
Studying literature at UCL provides you with a truly inspiring setting. London is the center of British literary life and you will be surrounded by the greatest concentration of libraries, museums, galleries, archives, and professional bodies in Europe. Classical orchestras, rock, rap, jazz, or pop; Shakespeare, musicals, or fringe theater; opera, ballet, or contemporary dance; blockbuster movies or art-house cinema, you will be able to sample them all in London.
"The good news is that whatever you do and wherever you stay, you’ll not be bored for a second: London remains one of the world’s great cities and it’s high time you came to join the party." --The Lonely Planet (Read the rest of what The Lonely Planet has to say about London).