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Study Abroad | London
Summer 2024: Academics

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Select Your Program Option:

  • Summer 2024

AcadEmics Overview

AIFS Abroad offers a unique global educational experience for students on this program, with the following academic options available:

Program Options

Program Name Early Start Available Credits Notes
Full Curriculum – Session 1
Early Start Available: No Credits: Up to 8

Enroll in either of the two 3-week sessions (Session 1 or 2) or two consecutive sessions (Session 1 and Session 2). Students take one 4-credit course per session for a maximum of 8 credits over 6 weeks. Lectures and seminars will be held in the mornings, with group work and field trips taking place in the afternoons. Students should expect to be in class during the day Monday through Friday and have assessment on the final Friday of each session.

Assessment and grading The course work required varies with the nature of the material covered. Instructors are likely to use some combination of quizzes, papers, presentations, projects, and final exams. Students should expect to be in class during the day Monday through Friday and have assessment on the final Friday of each session.
No AIFS participant is permitted to take a course without receiving a grade. Pass/Fail grade options are not available.

Attendance is required to receive full credit. Unexcused absences are not permitted.

Course selection Normal load is one 4-credit course per session. Courses taken for transfer credit should be approved by your advisor or appropriate person at your home school prior to registration.
Before securing approval of courses from your advisor, note prerequisites and be sure to have completed them. Failure to do so may result in your registration being refused by the Academic Director.
Consult your advisor about suitable alternatives in case your first choices are not possible because of insufficient enrollment causing class cancellation.

Registration Since courses are selected on the application, the earlier you apply, the better the chances of getting the courses you want. If your first choices are not available or already full, you are automatically registered for your second choices. A printout confirming courses is given at orientation.
Courses run providing there is sufficient enrollment (a minimum of 8 students is required). Provisional confirmation of courses to be taught can be obtained in April from the AIFS Stamford office. Limited changes may be necessary before a session starts.

Transcripts are issued by UCL. An official transcript will be sent directly to the student’s home university on completion of the program.

Business

Computer Science

Criminal Justice

Cultural Studies

Economics

Education

English

Film Studies

Finance

Gender Studies

Geography

Health Sciences

International Relations

Law

Literature

Medical Science

Political Science

Psychology

Science

Sustainability

Technology

Academic Credit & Transcripts

Credit Transfer

As a part of the AIFS application for semester programs, you will complete a Course Approval Form, which will be signed off by your study abroad office staff and/or faculty at your university.

For J Term/Summer programs, no such approval form is needed; however, students are still responsible for ensuring credit can be brought back from their overseas program.
In any case, we recommend getting additional courses approved in case you need to change courses while abroad.

Overseas universities do not use the credit system employed by American institutions. AIFS students must make special arrangements to transfer credits, but since AIFS courses are given at recognized universities or the AIFS Centers (which are transcripted by Fairfield University), there usually is no difficulty in arranging transfer credit toward U.S. degrees provided the proper procedure is followed.

European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)

Many of the European institutions that AIFS works with award credits under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). ECTS enables cooperating institutions to measure and compare a student’s performance and facilitates the transfer of credits from the European institution to the U.S institution.

Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)

Language levels are defined according to the CEFR and will be listed on your transcript on completion of the program. CEFR organizes language proficiency into six levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) which can be regrouped into three broad levels according to the needs of the local institution: Beginner: A1, A2/U.S. Level 100; Intermediate: B1, B2/U.S. Level 200-300; Advanced: C1, C2/U.S. Level 400

Transcripts

When you complete your program, an official transcript is sent to your home institution directly from AIFS Abroad or the host university. Another official transcript may be retained by AIFS Abroad in Stamford, but this is not the case for all programs. Please contact transcripts@aifs.com to find out how to request additional transcripts. 
 
Generally, your school should receive your transcript 60 days after completion of the program. (Cannes Semester programs, Perth, Sydney, Dublin, Limerick, and Wellington Programs exception: Transcripts issued and retained by the host universities. Transcripts for the Cannes Semester programs are issued by Chapman University.)
 
Transcripts may come without an English-language translation, so participants will need to organize translations with their home university.

Academic Records

Credit assessment methods in overseas universities may not be comparable to those in U.S. universities. Grading may involve exams, papers, individual projects, class discussion or some combination of these. Although academic institutions abroad may grade on a variety of scales, admissions counselors and registrars at U.S. institutions are familiar with international grading systems and can convert grades.

Course Selection

AIFS Program Advisors are available to assist you in the process. The following procedure is recommended:

Read course descriptions for the selected program and select courses. Obtain approval from your academic or study abroad advisor for the preliminary courses selected. Final approval of credit transfer for completed courses is at the discretion of the Registrar or appropriate official at the home institution. Students must ascertain that courses taken meet their individual academic program requirements. Recommended credits in this catalog are based on 15 classroom hours per semester credit.

I would absolutely recommend this program. The trip has been such a positive experience. Wonderful program!

AIFS has a lot to offer. The more I talked to American students from other programs, the more I realized that AIFS was clearly the best choice

This program opened my eyes to a culture and society I knew very little about. I made great friends and had a fabulous time during the process. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

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