Take your studies to London

Every fall Lafayette partners with Goldsmiths University of London to offer one of our signature programs, open to all Lafayette students.  Students typically participate in this program during the fall semester of either their sophomore year or junior year. The program is led by a rotating Lafayette faculty resident director and students have the opportunity to take the course taught by the resident director in addition to courses offered at Goldsmiths.

 
To apply to this program, please see the “How to Apply” section below.
 
Fall 2022 Faculty Leader: Professor Nandini Sikand
Faculty Course: The Empire Strikes Back

Finances

Students pay Lafayette tuition and room fee and continue to receive financial aid (with the exception of RA benefits and work-study hours). Included in this cost is:

• Round-trip group flight from local area airport (typically Newark Airport)
• Tuition
• Housing
• Program-related excursions and cultural activities
• Credit toward an Oyster Card (transportation pass)
• Emergency medical and safety insurance through On Call International

Typical expenses not included in program costs include but are not limited to: transportation between home and airport for group flights, additional baggage fees for flights, passport and visa/residency permit fees, meals, books and supplies, additional course fees (i.e. course-related trips, lab fees, museum fees), overload courses, and personal expenses.
  

About the Location

Goldsmiths University of London
Goldsmiths University of London is a public research university established in 1904. It is a constituent college of the University of London system. With world-leading research and high-quality teaching, Goldsmiths offers undergraduate programs in the arts, humanities, social sciences, business, and computing on their South East London campus. The campus is located in Zone 2 of London’s public transportation system and is a five-minute walk from both New Cross and New Cross Gate stations.
 

Academics

All students considering this program should consult with their Lafayette academic adviser and/or academic major department to confirm that this program is a good academic fit.
 
All students participating in this program enroll in the course taught by the Lafayette faculty resident director of the program. This course option will change each year and will depend on the faculty member’s area of expertise.
 
Beyond the resident director course, students may choose three other courses from Goldsmiths’ offerings. Courses available to study abroad students can be found here.
 
Credit Transfer
Students typically take four courses while studying on the Lafayette in London program. The course taught by the resident director counts as 1 Lafayette credit. Most courses at Goldsmiths also count for 1 Lafayette credit, but students should confirm transfer of credit with the appropriate Department Head/Registrar.
 
The course taught by the resident director has been pre-approved to transfer back to Lafayette. All other courses must be approved to transfer back to Lafayette via the Course Approval process. You can learn more about Course Approval here.

Grades
Each module is marked by instructors using the British system where the grade derived represents
the quality of work produced in relation to British degree classifications (first, upper second, lower
second, third, fail) usually with an indication whether the performance is high, middling, or low
within that classification. A mark of ABS means the student was absent for the assessment.
The grade distribution is shown below.

Goldsmiths Degree Class UK          Percentage Marks         US Equivalent Grade
First                                                    80-100                               A+
                                                          70-79                                 A
Upper Second                                      65-69                                 A-
                                                          60-64                                 B+
Lower Second                                      55-59                                 B
                                                          50-54                                 B-
Third                                                   46-49                                 C+
                                                          43-45                                 C
                                                          40-42                                 C-
Fail                                                       0-39                                 F

In the case of students who have not attended a substantial proportion of the course, no credits
or grade will be given for that course. Where students fail to hand in required work for
assessment by the submission date, no grade will be given.

Accommodations

Students are housed in a residence hall on the campus of Goldsmiths. Rooms are typically single rooms with private bath, with one common area and kitchenette per flat (seven-eight rooms).
 

As there is no required meal plan at Goldsmiths, students do not pay the meal plan fee for the semester. Students may purchase food and cook in their flat, eat at the pay-as-you-go cafeteria on-campus, or eat out in the several area restaurants.
 

Excursions / Activities

Students have the opportunity to participate in several local and regional excursions throughout their time with the Lafayette in London program. Excursions and cultural activities vary by year and will depend on the area of expertise of the resident director.
 
Goldsmiths also offers several fee-based excursion opportunities through their affiliated travel agency, Proscenium. You can find more information about these offerings on the Goldsmiths website.
 

Visas

At this time students traveling on a US passport do not need to obtain a student visa prior to entering the UK when studying at a local university for one semester. Students will receive a "border visa" from UK Border Control in the London airport.

At this time students traveling on a non-US passport may need a visa to enter the UK. Please reach out to studyabroad@lafayette.edu for further instructions and advice. While the Office of International & Off-Campus Education works to support students through the visa process, the office staff are not visa experts and it is the responsibility of the student to obtain the appropriate visa and documentation. Fees for visas are the responsibility of the student.
 

How to Apply

Students who participate in the Lafayette in London program typically do so in the fall semester of either their sophomore year or junior year. It is important that all students carefully consider this program option and speak with their academic adviser before applying.
 
The application deadline for this program is March 1. Students who would like to apply to this program should email studyabroad@lafayette.edu to open an application and receive further instructions.
 
Please note all students are subject to the eligibility requirements the College sets forth for students wishing to study abroad/off-campus for a semester. You can find information about eligibility here.
 
Once a student is offered placement on a program they will be required to confirm their commitment to the program within two weeks by submitting a $500 NON-REFUNDABLE deposit. Payment instructions can be found in the student's study abroad application portal.

The preceding is tentative and subject to change.  Updated 03/10/2022