England: Humanities

In cooperation with Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), Lewis & Clark offers this humanities program based in London, England. The program begins with a 10-day excursion, giving students the chance to start the semester exploring some of the rich history and breathtaking natural landscapes that the UK has to offer. Once the group returns to London, there will be an orientation covering detailed information regarding academics, housing, public transportation, health & safety, and other important topics. Students will also have access to a full week of Welcome events, organized by the Queen Mary Student Union (QMUS). Following orientation, students take one course taught by the Lewis & Clark faculty leader, plus courses at QMUL, where they study with local students. The program also includes local outings associated with the Lewis & Clark course, as well as excursions to sites of interest around England. A contemporary global city, London is home to almost 9 million people from all over the world. The city holds many cultural treasures, including three UNESCO World Heritage sites, world-famous museums and galleries, such as the National Gallery, and iconic emblems of London, like Big Ben, Parliament, and Buckingham Palace. London is at the cutting edge of the arts scene and provides access to music, fashion, museums, comedy, and theater. With a large business and financial industry, and rapidly growing technology sector, some say London’s tech community is growing faster than Silicon Valley! Students on this program have no shortage of opportunities to explore this unique and historic city.

Onsite Staff:  The Director of Global Operations at QMUL is Ceri Bevan - “I’m Head of Global Opportunities, this is the team who manage programmes which allow QMUL students and staff to study, work and travel overseas. These programmes include Study Abroad, Exchange and Erasmus+. Our team also manage overseas associate students who come to study at QMUL as part of these programmes and our reciprocal arrangements with partners.” Learn more about Ceri here. 

About the Program Leader: Rishona Zimring joined Lewis & Clark’s English Department in 1995. She is the author of Social Dance and the Modernist Imagination in Interwar Britain (Ashgate Press, 2013), as well as wide-ranging essays about modern literature, dance, visual culture, and cultural history. The recipient of a 2015 Lorry Lokey Faculty Excellence Award for distinguished teaching, scholarship, and leadership, Professor Zimring has also received fellowships and awards from the Whiting Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Newberry Library. Recent publications include “Dance” in Vaughan Williams in Context, “Katherine Mansfield and Reading,” and “Katherine Dunham’s Chicago Stage: Crossing to Caribbean Négritude.” She is currently researching a book-length project titled Olive and Al: A Story of Partnership in Life, Law and Letters, with fellowship support from the American Philosophical Society, the New York Public Library, and the De Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her interest in creative partnerships has led to the recent publication of “Found in Translation: The Epistolary Friendship of Rosika Schwimmer and Ignazio Silone,” conference presentations on ekphrasis in the writing of Ezra Pound, Eric Auerbach, and Rachel Cusk, and a paper on the Alpine expedition and friendship of Leslie Stephen and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Requirements Fulfilled:

General Education -This program fulfills the Global Perspectives general education requirement for students who successfully complete 8 or more semester credits.

Credits: Credit earned varies based on courses completed. Students may earn up to 19 credits. Overloads are not permitted. 

Curriculum:

IS 256: Modernism and the Arts: London and Beyond (4 Credits) - Taught by Rishona Zimring

This course offers both a broad survey and opportunities for research, making use of London’s many resources for the study of literary, visual, and performing arts. The first several weeks will orient students with an introduction to British and European modernism, with a focus on the first several decades of the 20th century and innovations and experiments in literature, painting, photography, sculpture, architecture and design, music, dance, theater, and literature. We will focus on several of these areas and the role of artistic collaborations, for example, Bloomsbury and the Omega Workshops experiments in craft and design. We will study early 20th century artistic responses to war, revolution and the machine age through individual works and case studies. In London, holdings of the National Gallery, Tate Britain, and Tate Modern will figure into our study; outside London, we will follow the Bloomsbury Group and others to Sussex and Cornwall. Students will have opportunities to study specific works and artists in depth and to develop focused research projects. We will also take advantage of London’s buildings, transportation, stages, and book communities, to consider how modernism lives on into the 21st century in architecture, music, dance, theater, and literature. 

Queen Mary Courses

Students will enroll in a humanities course taught by the faculty program leader. In addition, students will typically take three courses at QMUL. One of the QMUL courses must be in the humanities. Humanities courses can only be taken from these three sub-departments: (1) English & Drama, (2) History and (3) Languages, Linguistics and Film. 

Credit per course may vary – the program leader will assist with planning a full schedule. Click here to browse QMUL course offerings. 

Excursions: The academic program includes excursions within London and around England to supplement in-class learning. 

Housing: While attending Queen Mary, students stay in the modern, award-winning Queen Mary Student Village. Each student shares a secure, self-contained coed flat with five other students (international and British students). Students have their own furnished single rooms and en-suite bathrooms. The kitchen and dining areas are shared among the six students. Students have the option to prepare their meals or dine out. Students are responsible for purchasing and preparing their own meals, but the Overseas Office will give them a stipend to cover the cost of their food.

Volunteering: Getting involved in the local community enriches students’ learning experiences and creates excellent opportunities for cultural integration, especially when volunteering with Provide, the volunteering community at QMUL. Students can give as much time as they like working with charities or volunteer groups all over London.

Student Union: The QMUL Student Union (QMSU) hosts more than 200 clubs and societies, ranging from the Harry Potter Appreciation Society to the Baking Society, and sponsors a wide range of social and sporting activities. The facilities include gathering spaces (eating areas, several pubs, and a nightclub), fitness resources (a gym, saunas, and squash courts), a convenience store, and computing, binding, and photocopying services. Click here to learn more.

“DO make a plan for things you’d like to do before you go, but DON’T go in with any expectations. Studying abroad is difficult physically, mentally, and emotionally – you don’t need the weight of expectation on top of it all!”

“Take the interesting class. You’re only here for a semester and there are many more offerings than LC. Take the cool class.”

“I would highly recommend waiting until the Reuse Fair (QMUL event) to buy kitchen supplies as the kitchen supplies the school sells are a tad expensive and you’ll find loads of those same things at the Reuse Fair.”

“You should definitely seek out new and exciting things to do while abroad (i.e. travel, landmarks, nights out, etc), but don’t overwork yourself trying to do everything you possibly can! It’s just as important to take time for yourself to recharge - don’t stress yourself out trying to do everything.”

“I took a class called “London: Walking the City.” Seminars were conducted in different places in the city, which was nice because afterwards I would wander around the neighborhood on an excursion. Having a responsibility that pulls you off campus was good for me, because I’m not sure I would have directed myself on my own. I recommend doing something similar so you take advantage of the trip.”

“Start working on your final papers earlier than you think you need to, since they can be a way bigger portion of your grade in the UK than in the US”

“You won’t have time to do everything so make a plan of priority so you don’t feel as crunched in the end. Most museums are free, shows are cheaper than in the States, stuff likes to close early.”

2026-2027 Fee Breakdown*

Total Fee (includes Tuition, Program Fee, and Health & Wellness Fee): $44,791

Tuition: $35,329

Program Fee: $9,425

Health & Wellness Fee: $37**

Included in the program fee are room/housing, board/meals, and administrative fees. Not included are airfare, passport and visa expenses, primary insurance coverage, photographs, books, immunizations, and incidentals. 

*Fees are updated every February for the following academic year.

**The Health & Wellness Fee supports the operations of Wellness Services staff in delivering pre-program orientation services, as well as in providing health-related consultation regarding participant health needs. All students in the College of Arts and Sciences pay a mandatory fee of $37 per semester.

Stipend: Students will receive a stipend to cover the cost of meals and transportation costs not covered by the program fee.  

Estimated Airfare (Round Trip PDX to LHR): $800 - $1,500

Estimated Travel Document Fees: Varies

Estimated Health Insurance Fee: $1,906

All students participating in overseas programs are automatically enrolled in iNext, a supplemental travel insurance program. The fee for iNext is covered in the program cost. However, students are also required to have comprehensive health insurance during their time abroad. All students participating in overseas programs, both abroad and domestic, are automatically enrolled in the College’s student health insurance program. Similar to a regular semester on-campus, students participating in overseas programs may waive enrollment in the student health insurance program if they have other comprehensive health insurance (e.g., through a parent, guardian or employer) that 1) provides coverage for them in the geographic region in which they will be studying and 2) includes mental health benefits. Find more information regarding health insurance & overseas programs.

Physical Requirements:

Before applying to this program, you should assess and determine if you are physically and/or emotionally able to participate in the following physical demands required by some of this program’s activities:

• Walking or hiking up to 5 miles in a day, sometimes for two or more days in a row, sometimes on hilly, uneven, or cobbled terrain
• Climbing and descending stairs
• Using public transportation, including sometimes crowded buses or trains
• Standing for long periods during tours and site visits
• Entering into older buildings with narrow and sometimes steep staircases, at times with limited or no access to elevators
• The possibility of warm/hot temperatures while residing in locations without air conditioning, and/or cold temperatures while residing in locations with a comfort for lower indoor temperatures
• The possibility of long, busy days with little downtime and infrequent days off from program activities

If you have questions or are concerned about these or any other program activities, please contact the Lewis & Clark College Overseas & Off-Campus Programs office (overseas@lclark.edu).

Application Process: This program has a dual application process. Students must first submit a Lewis & Clark Application one year before the start of the program. Once admitted by Lewis & Clark, the students will receive instructions for submitting their secondary application to Queen Mary College and will receive a separate notification letter of admission. Please keep a digital copy of your essays and other application materials as you will need to submit these similar materials to QMUL. Please note that this secondary application process can be as late as the semester preceding your scheduled participation.

The semester before the program, students who have been accepted will meet regularly for orientation. This orientation is meant to prepare the students for life in London by exploring literature and culture, and provides an opportunity for students to learn more about the logistical details of the program.

Learn more about our application process.

Travel: Students usually fly into the London Heathrow airport (LHR). From there, they will meet with the group and prepare for their 10-day excursion in Scotland. 

Visa: Students holding a US passport will not be required to apply for a visa prior to arriving in the UK, but may be required to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization. International students may be required to apply for a visa for this program. More information will be provided upon admission to the program. 

Country-Specific Health Information: View specific health information for people traveling to the United Kingdom.

State Department Country Information: Visit the State Department’s United Kingdom page.