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London Program
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British Mass Media - Summer seminar in London
Earn six semester hours of undergraduate credits. Enjoy the field trips, plus the freedom to follow your own interests. This is a unique media seminar course taught by British professionals.
Who is the 2008 program director?
Application Fees and Deadlines
Printable Application (pdf file 3Kb)
Can you imagine living and studying in a city founded in 43 AD - a city that at one time was the capital of one-quarter of the world's population, and is now one of great multi-cultural world cities? Can you picture yourself visiting places you have long heard of, such as Westminster Abbey, Saint Paul's Cathedral, and Big Ben? Now you can - and earn six undergraduate credits in communications. In five weeks, you will:
- Attend morning classes conducted by top British professionals in the field of newspapers, magazines, television, radio, advertising, public relations, film, music and theater;
- Spend two or three afternoons a week on field trips to media companies, institutes, museums, and seats of government;
- Have free time to discover London and other European cities such as Dublin, Cardiff, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Paris.
Temple University has offered a summer London program for more than 30 years and maintains excellent contacts with professionals and experts in British media. Under the guidance of a Temple faculty member, these professionals and experts lead seminars that examine the history, practice, and culture of contemporary British Mass Media.
By studying current and historical practice, you will gain a vivid sense of British media as well as the unique perspective that is a benefit of your own personal and professional engagement with a foreign culture. Seminar topics range from the post-war history of British media to the current tension between public interest and ratings, from the challenges of broadcasting in newly deregulated media industries to the development of the Internet in a class-based society, from London's theatrical rehearsal practices to the distinguished history and practice of British documentary film.
Rich in culture and intellectual life, London is an inspiration for mass media and theater students. Consider these credentials:
- London is the liveliest performance center of the world, with more than 50 professional theaters in constant production - commercial theater, public theater, and experimental theater set the stage. The National Theater of Great Britain and the Royal Shakespeare Company are world famous for their staging of the classics. Contemporary London Theater shares the spotlight.
- London is the center of all British broadcasting. It is the hub of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Independent Television Commission and the Radio Authority. The BBC (perhaps the finest public broadcasting system in the world) has two national television and radio networks and many local broadcasting outlets. The IBA, ITV-Channel 3, Channel 4 and Channel 5 provide commercial alternatives to the BBC.
London is the home of the British Film Institute, which houses excellent film archives, a library, and a research department. It is the site of the National Film Theater, the Royal Photographic Society and Pinewood Studios, the only large commercial feature film operation in the United Kingdom.
The London press is diverse, dynamic, and controversial. The city has numerous daily newspapers, including the Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Mail, Mirror, Express, Independent, and Evening Standard. Numerous periodicals, including the prestigious Economist and New Statesman, are also based in London.- London is all this, and its' people, too. It is the premier city of playwrights, actors, directors, critics, designers, journalists, broadcasters and filmmakers. It is the ideal place to study media and theater and to meet people who define those industries. This is why Temple University's School of Communications and Theater has had a program there for more than three decades.
Who is the 2007 program director?
LeAnn Erickson is Associate Professor of film and video production at Temple University in the Department of Film and Media Arts and has been an independent video/filmmaker for over 20 years. Her work has appeared on public television, in galleries, and has won national and international recognition in video/film festivals. Titles include: experimental video- “hours, minutes, seconds, frame”, animation- “Fun Days with Jake” and documentary- “Folk Songs”. Festival screenings include: Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival (Toronto CN), Oberhausen International Short Film Festival (Germany), Feminale International Women’s Film Festival (Cologne, Germany), Women in the Director’s Chair (Chicago) and L’immagine Leggera: International Competition of Videoart and Experimental Film (Palermo, Italy). She is a recipient of regional and national production grants for her work and, most recently, was awarded the 2006 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship for media arts.
Undergraduate students from colleges and universities throughout the world can qualify for Temple University's Summer Seminar in London.
Since some classes are taught at the intermediate-to-advanced level, background in mass media is highly recommended. Applicants should have completed a basic "mass media and society" or "introduction to mass media" course as minimum preparation. Seminar participants are expected to attend all lectures and field trips and to complete written reports assigned.
Students will receive six semester hours of undergraduate credit at Temple University. Credits may be earned in one of three departments: Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media (BTMM), Journalism, Film and Media Arts (FMA) or Theater, and in the Communications Major. Generally, these credits can be transferred to other universities to fulfill degree requirements. Non-Temple students should discuss this in advance with their faculty advisers.
Seminar enrollment is limited to 30 students. Admission to the Mass Media Seminar is based on evidence that the applicant has the seriousness, maturity, interest, and intellectual capacity to benefit from the opportunities offered in London. Beginning this January, applications will be processed as they are received, and a rolling acceptance procedure will be used to notify potential enrollees as quickly as possible. The application deadline is April 1, 2008.
However, applicants received after that date will be reviewed if there is still room in the program to accommodate additional students. If the seminar is filled, accepted students will be placed on a waiting list. In the event of cancellations, students from the waiting list will be invited to participate.
Application Fees and Deadlines
January 2008: Application screening begins. Acceptances will be issued on a rolling basis. A $250 deposit is due with the application.
April 21, 2008: A second payment of $300 is due.
June 17 , 2008: Balance of tuition and Program Fees are due.
NOTE: While the program has operated successfully each year for 30 years, Temple University reserves the right to cancel the seminar by May 12, 2008 if enrollments do not reach a viable level. If this occurs, all program and housing fees paid to Temple will be refunded.
We have reserved furnished housing for seminar registrants. The cost will be $3,685 per student for five weeks. (does not include tuition)
Generally, classes will meet from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. each weekday. Guest lecturers will be featured most class days, but some time will be spent during each class meeting in roundtable discussions. Field trips are taken during the afternoons, though some afternoons will be free time for students to do their own research or exploration of London. Most Fridays are free so that students wishing to travel outside of London may do so.
One of the advantages about a summer program in London is the variety of wonderful sights available within a few minutes' walk or ride in a London taxi or on the Tube, London's excellent subway system. Such attractions include Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Covent Gardens, St. Paul's Cathedral, the national Gallery of Art, the Tate Museum, the Royal Albert Hall, Hyde Park, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. There is also affordable and frequent bus and rail service to many destinations that lie within an hour of the city, including:
Hampton Court, residence of many of England's monarchs, beginning with Henry VIII (some of England's best architecture can be seen in this collection of buildings);
Windsor Castle, more ancient than Hampton Court, but still used as a royal residence, and;
Kew Gardens, home of the Royal Botanical Gardens, 288 acres containing more then 25,000 plant varieties.
In recent years, in-class guest speakers have included representatives of British newspapers and magazines, the BBC, the music industry, the public relations and advertising industries, the film industry and the theater. Afternoon field trips have included: a boat tour to Greenwich, home of the Royal Naval College and the new Millennium dome; the British Broadcasting Corporation headquarters; the House of Parliament; Westminster Abbey; the British Museum; the Museum of the Moving Image; the London bureau of CBS; the National Theater; and a newspaper printing plant. Some groups have taken half-day or daylong field trips to Stratford-on-Avon, Bath, Stonehenge, and Brighton
TUITION: $2,382* FOOD: $1,800 AIRFARE: $900** TRAVEL: $900*** ROOM & PROGRAM FEES: $3,685 MISCELLANEOUS: $900*** CELL PHONE RENTAL: $80 TOTAL BASIC COSTS: $10,647 * Undergraduate PA resident
** Students are responsible for bookings, consult a travel agent
*** Travel and Miscellaneous out-of-pocket expenses (vary according to the activities of each student)
Tuition Cost Per Credit Hour Per 6 Hours Undergraduate,
PA Resident
$397 $2,382 Undergraduate,
Out-of-State
$668 $4,008 Note: A Small tuition increase may be necessary because the University’s fiscal year begins at the same time as the summer program.
Erin Palmer
Assistant Director, Study Away Programs
School of Communications and TheaterTemple University
Annenberg Hall, Room 13E2020 N. 13th St., Philadelphia PA 19122
215-204-6535
erinj@temple.edu
