Spring: Oxford, England

Program Dates

• February 20 - March 8: Program starts at PCC
• March 10: Group flight departs U.S. for England
• March 11: Arrive in London, transfer to Oxford
• March 12: Orientation & sightseeing tour
• March 13: Classes resume in Oxford
• April 12 - 21: Spring Break
• May 26: End of program. Group flight departs London for the U.S.

Program Fees

$11,320 (airfare included) 

Excludes airline taxes & PCC tuition. Based on a minimum enrollment of 20 students.

Program Fee Includes:

• Roundtrip airfare (LAX – London HR – LAX) & transfers
• Accommodation in twin room homestays
• 2 meals per day (breakfast & dinner)
• Traditional English Tea & Farewell Dinner
• Oxford Key bus pass with unlimited travel within the city center and homestay areas
• Guided walking tour of Oxford followed by afternoon tea
• Full-day excursion to London
• Full-day excursion to Bath & Stonehenge
• Full-day excursion to Canterbury & Dover
• On-site faculty, student support staff member, and 24-hour emergency contact service
• Medical insurance policy
• Liability insurance

Program fee does not include:

• Mandatory U.S. government and airline-imposed departure taxes, fees and fuel surcharges of $722 (subject to change)
• Meals other than those listed
• Optional medical insurance upgrade 
• Optional trip interruption or cancellation insurance
• Passport and visa fees, if applicable
• PCC course registration fees
• Textbooks
• Personal expenses

Item:	Fee:	Deadline:
Enrollment Deposit	$450.00	Due immediately upon acceptance into program
Balance of Fees	$10,870.00	January 12, 2024
Airline Taxes (estimate)	$722.00	January 12, 2024
Total	$12,042.00
Optional Components:	Fee:	Deadline:
Medical Insurance Upgrade	$65.00	January 12, 2024
Trip Interruption or Cancellation Insurance	varies	Within 21 days after deposit is paid

All students must submit a $450 deposit upon acceptance into the program and when completing the online enrollment form.

Program fee payments, including the deposit, will be made directly to our partner American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS). Program fees will not be collected by the Pasadena City College Study Abroad Office or by program faculty.

Payments may be made by check or credit card. Checks should be made payable to “AIFS.” American Express, MasterCard and Visa are accepted.

Please note: A $35 returned check fee will be charged on all checks returned by the bank for insufficient funds.

AIFS Transportation Package 

Tickets arranged by AIFS are exclusively on scheduled airlines (not charters). They are not endorsable to another carrier. Flights are not necessarily direct or non-stop, they cannot be rerouted, and frequent flyer miles are not applicable. The AIFS Transportation Package includes round-trip ground transportation from the airport overseas to your accommodations on the regularly scheduled program dates. AIFS will book flights only on the dates indicated for this program. 

Participants wishing to purchase the Transportation Package should select this option on the online enrollment form, or if you wish to add the flight after you complete the form you must notify AIFS in writing by Friday, December 1, 2023. Participants who wish to cancel the flight must notify AIFS in writing by Friday, January 12, 2024. Cancellation penalties will apply. Tickets are non-refundable after this date.    

AIFS Airfare Regulations

Return must be to original U.S. departure city. Tickets are subject to airline availability. No refunds are available for any unused portion of the ticket. Stopovers are not permitted. Once overseas, participants may be able to change their return date, only the ticketing agent can provide this information. Participants are subject to agency and airline-imposed change fees and space availability. 

AIFS will not make flight arrangements for you unless you clearly indicate your travel preferences on your online enrollment form.

A minimum of 10 participants must take the flight for it to be offered.

AIFS Refund Policy

If a participant withdraws on or before Friday, December 15, 2023, they will receive a refund for all fees paid less a $150 processing fee.  

If a participant withdraws after Friday, December 15, 2023, but on or before Friday, January 12, 2024, they will receive a refund for all fees paid less the $450 deposit and any non-refundable deposits paid by the participant or by AIFS on the participant's behalf.

If a participant withdraws after Friday, January 12, 2024, they will receive no refund and the total program fee is due.

After the final payment deadline the full program fee is due to AIFS even if you have not yet paid and no longer plan to participate in the program.

Non-refundable financial commitments have been made to secure your spot. If a participants withdrawals once the program has begun, there is no refund.

This refund policy applies whether a participant  pays AIFS Abroad directly for all, part, or no program fees. 

Courses

Participants must enroll in a minimum of 12 units from the following program courses:

Course No.	Course Name	Units
ENGL 009	Creative Non-Fiction	3
ENGL 025I	Post-Colonial Literatures	3
ENGL 061	Introduction to the Novel	3
SPCH 006	Argumentation & Debate	3
SPCH 010	Interpersonal Communication	3
SPCH 013	Intro to Speech Communication	3

* All courses are CSU/UC transferable.* Honors Program credit for those who qualify

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English 009: Creative Non-Fiction

Transfer Credit: CSU; UC

ENGL 009 will focus on the intersection of worlds, and the resulting tensions, that characterize life in the Cotswolds, and Oxford in particular, from past to present. The three units will cover the “L’s”: Learning—academic life in local context; Labor and Leisure—how livings are made and how life is rendered meaningful when not working; and Land—how the physical and natural space of the region is configured and how it has changed over time. These topics will provide context for student writing in the creative nonfiction genre, aided by local field trips and based on observation and interviews of people from the Oxford area.

English 025I: Post-Colonial Literatures

Transfer Credit: CSU; UC 

ENGL 025I will study the construction of Britishness (and thus who is “othered,” and how) from the time Empire started to wane in the mid-20th century until the present. The lens for these explorations will be contemporary fiction written in India, England, and elsewhere, literature which dramatizes the lives and struggles of contemporary British post-colonial subjects in England and South Asia. Theory articles as well as non-fiction work about identity, hybridity, and nation will help provide context for the novels studied. London-area field trips will be used to further these explorations.

English 061: Introduction to the Novel

Transfer Credit: CSU; UC 

ENGL 061 will focus on novel-length fiction which dramatizes the conflicts that have featured themselves in Britain over the years. Examples include the way that class constructs the world of 19th-century England; how barriers obstruct the progress of a working-class person in Oxford; and the interpersonal dynamic of a group of friends from a pub in as they seek to figure out an appropriate mourning ritual for a mate who has died. One sub-theme explored throughout the course includes mourning rituals and their connection to culture, something the class project will dramatize and interrogate on our trip to Dover. Local sites including Oxford’s country houses, cemeteries, colleges, and pubs will be observed as part of the “outside the classroom” aspect of this course.

Speech 006: Argumentation & Debate 

Transfer Credit: CSU; UC  

One of the focal points of SPCH 006 will be the assessment and critique of rhetorical appeals, reasoning, evidence, and styles present in the arguments and debates that have defined the British 20th- and early-21st century (The Norway Debates, Churchill during the war; JB Priestly during the war; Ghandi, Nehru, and Nkrumah on the British Empire; Powell’s “Black Britain” speech of 1968; Margaret Thatcher’s “Sermon on the Mount”; Colonel Tim Collins’ address to British troops on the eve of the invasion of Iraq; Theresa May’s and Boris Johnson’s near-recent arguments on the European refugee crisis and Brexit; Rishi Sunak’s, the first U.K. Prime Minister of Indian descent, maiden speech to Parliament; and King Charles III’s coronation speech). 

Speech 010: Interpersonal Communication

Transfer Credit: CSU; UC 

SPCH 010 will incorporate interpersonal concepts and theories to examine the complex interaction of social and psychological forces involved in interpersonal communication.  More specifically, the course will take advantage of the defamiliarization students will experience while living with a host family and studying in Oxford to explore the influences of cultural difference, geographical distance, mediums of communication, and conceptions of self/other on interpersonal communication.   

Speech 013: Introduction to Speech Communication

Transfer Credit: CSU; UC 

Given the resplendent environs, cultural artifacts, architectural marvels, industries, and communication organizations that Oxford harbors, SPCH 013 is poised to embark on a transformative journey to explore the fundamental underpinnings of human communication and the diverse specializations that constitute this dynamic field. Notably, students will delve into mass communication, benefiting from the enriched instruction at esteemed establishments such as BBC Radio Oxford and Oxford University Press. They will also bear witness to public communication at locations such as the historic Oxford Union, which dates back to 1823, proudly bearing the distinction of Britain's third-oldest union. Moreover, the course will unravel various locations in Oxford, where they will serve as potent metaphors for communication theories. These locales will symbolize communication as ritual, collective memory, social identity, storytelling, social influence, and much more. Among these locales are the Wolvercote and Headington cemeteries, the Pitt River Museum, Christchurch College, and The Sheldonian Theatre. 

Program Faculty

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Meals & Accommodations

Accommodations in furnished, twin room, homestays. You will live with a local family in central Oxford. Daily continental breakfast and dinner will be provided in addition to weekly laundry service. Linens will also be provided, although you should bring your own towels. All homestay families are carefully screened and selected by AIFS personnel overseas. The AIFS Local Organizer will use the information you provide on your housing form to place you with a local family.

Excursions & Activities

Orientation Tour
Orientation program upon arrival followed by a walking tour of Oxford, entrance to an Oxford University College, and afternoon tea.

London
Enjoy a full-day excursion to London - a diverse and exciting city with some of the world's best sights, attractions and activities. Your time in London will include a guided sightseeing tour, entrance into the Tower of London, a boat trip along the River Thames, and an evening of theatre in the West End.

Dover
Visit the dynamic seaside port town of Dover and its medieval castle. Explore the historic hill-top castle and its secretive war tunnels. View the iconic White Cliffs of Dover, a spectacular geological feature and notable symbol of England's wartime strength and resilience.

Bath & Stonehenge
A full-day excursion to explore the mysterious ancient creations of Stonehenge and the world-class attractions of Bath. Tour the ancient henge site and its awe-inspiring stone circle. Explore the atmospheric pools at one of Northern Europe's most significant ancient Roman bath sites. Visit the medieval Bath Abbey and view the city's grand Georgian-period architecture. 

Independent Travel
Use your free weekends and Spring Break to travel to Europe’s great cities. Local staff will assist you in choosing destinations and transportation. Student favorites include Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin and Berlin.

Activities
Additional activities will be available in or around Oxford, either at no additional cost or for a subsidized fee. Activities may include visits to local libraries and museums, Blenheim Palace, Harry Potter Studios, and more!

Financial Aid may be available to those who qualify. Grants, loans, and scholarships may be used to pay program fees.

Apply immediately. You should allow up to eight weeks for your financial aid request to be processed.

More About Financial Aid options at PCC