London Program

The Danenberg Oberlin-in-London Program offers students the opportunity for intensive disciplinary and interdisciplinary study with Oberlin College faculty in London. The program was instituted as a memorial to the late Emil Danenberg, eleventh president of Oberlin and a great friend to international education.
Each fall, one member of the faculty and twenty students join the program, which operates in collaboration with Grinnell-in-London. Oberlin students can take courses from Grinnell faculty and vice versa, and students from the two colleges can live together. In addition, in the fall students have the opportunity to take internships in a range of London institutions. A two-credit course on London history is required. Each spring, twenty-five Oberlin students study with two Oberlin faculty members. Each student takes one six-credit disciplinary course with one of the faculty members, a six-credit interdisciplinary course taught jointly by both faculty members, and a two-credit course on London history. Curriculum both semesters is tailored to take advantage of all that the great and diverse city of London has to offer.
The faculty directors are: fall 2007: Professor T. Scott McMillin (English); spring 2008: Professors Stephan Mayer (Psychology) and David Orr (Environmental Studies and Politics); fall 2008: Professor Steven Crowley (Politics); spring 2009: Professors Anuradha Needham (English) and Steven Volk (History).
Admission to the program is by application only. Applications are due in September for the spring semester and February for the fall semester. Students are notified early each semester when the applications are available and due. Applications are reviewed by the faculty directors of the program and by the chair of the London Program Committee.
The program is open to any Oberlin student who will be at least a second-semester sophomore at the time the student participates in the program. The faculty and committee will be especially interested in students who show a serious interest in taking advantage of the resources of the program. The faculty and committee hope for applications from a wide range of Oberlin students.
The program maintains classrooms and an office (as does Grinnell-in-London each fall) within the Florida State University Centre in Bloomsbury, which also contains a library, lounge and internet facilities. Students live in small groups away from the Centre; they can choose between renting small apartments (“flats”) with kitchen facilities or living in international dormitory-like housing. Since students on the Program are registered as Enrolled-Not-In-Residence at Oberlin, and since financial aid applies as well, the tuition costs are identical to those on campus. There is no need to transfer credits, since all offerings are Oberlin courses. Students are responsible for their own housing and food costs, which are higher than in Oberlin, and the London Program Committee works with the Financial Aid Office to adjust aid packages to meet London costs.
Further information about the program may be found on the web at www.oberlin.edu/london. Information about the Grinnell program and offerings may be found at www.grinnell.edu