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International Education

O'Dowd Hall, Room 328
586 Pioneer Drive
Rochester, MI 48309-4482
(location map)
(248) 370-2889
ie@oakland.edu

Office hours
Mon - Fri: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Alex Zimmerman, Director
(248) 370-2843
azimmerman@oakland.edu

International Education

O'Dowd Hall, Room 328
586 Pioneer Drive
Rochester, MI 48309-4482
(location map)
(248) 370-2889
ie@oakland.edu

Office hours
Mon - Fri: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Alex Zimmerman, Director
(248) 370-2843
azimmerman@oakland.edu

Houses of Parliament buildings and the Big Ben clock tower in London.

Cross and Crown in London, England

Oakland University's two-week faculty-led program in London. Cross and Crown will be offered as a Summer II course with the first four weeks on campus followed by two weeks in England. The course explores the establishment of the Church of England: why did the Tudors establish their own Church for England, and how does it compare to other branches of Christianity? Visit the most important centers of Anglican Christianity and the British dynasty from Windsor Castle to St. Paul's Cathedral.

Course: REL 3735: Cross and Crown (4 credits)

Program Dates: August 5 - 15, 2024 (The travel component of this course runs concurrently with Tudors of England).

Application Deadline: March 1 (Apply by February 1 for best consideration for scholarships)

For more information contact:

Randall D. Engle, Director of Christianity Studies
engle@oakland.edu

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Transcript

Hi, I’m professor Engle. I really hope you’ll consider coming with us to London this summer. I think one of the distinctives of this study abroad opportunity is that we are only gone from 12 to 14 days so you can keep your summer job. We stay in apartments in London. We see all the major sites so you don’t have to pack a suitcase and get in a bus every day. It’s also a foreign travel experience but with no language barrier. So, I think that is what makes this distinctive and I hope to see you.

You can potentially get a lot of scholarship money for your trip if you apply on the Oakland University website. Typically, the due date is March 1 before you go on your trip and there’s a couple questions about yourself and a couple essay questions. I recommend applying for as many scholarships as you can on the Oakland website. An if you’re an Oakland University Honors College student, you can get additional money through the Oakland University Honors College They have a separate scholarship application on their website but definitely apply for as many as you can and good luck in getting scholarships towards your trip.

We saw a lot of old cathedrals and palaces and archives and museums. I got to see the Church of War rooms on my free day. We got to see the Lambeth archives. We got to see a lot of just old Bibles, old artifacts. I saw an original Benjamin Franklin signature. So yeah, if you’re thinking about going to London with Dr. Engle, he is a really cool guy. I think you’ll really like the trip. I highly suggest it.

So, Dr. Engle as a guide is quite frankly the most fun tour guide that I’ve ever had. Like my mom’s best friend was a huge history person, Dr. Engle takes the cake. You go through all of these London sites and he just knows like the most tiny little kind of like Easter egg details and you stay back for what he calls his colorful commentary, and it’s just hilarious and it’s so fun and you learn so much more hearing it from him as opposed to hearing it from some guy stationed in a room.

Preparation was pretty easy. We met like once or twice a week for a couple of weeks. Then we headed out to London.

Hi everyone. My name is Jacob and last summer I had the chance to go with Professor Engle to London, England, for his Cross and Crown trip and I have to say it was not only one of the highlights of my year but also it was one of the highlights of my academic experiences in general. As an English enthusiast and major, being able to go to places like Westminster Abbey and to see burial or memorial sites for some of my favorite authors and poets and writers was a super cool experience that I really enjoyed doing and I can’t recommend traveling anywhere with Professor Engle enough.

So, it’s super simple. You just go. It doesn’t have to be complicated. And study abroad can be easy.

Program Overview

Students will fly as a group to London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, and transfer by bus to Kensington, a bustling area and one of London’s most exclusive neighborhoods. The travel experience will immerse students in English culture and encourage analysis of England’s ecclesiastical development after completion of the classroom experience on OU’s campus. 

Students spend ten days based near the Imperial College, a public research university in London. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cultural area that included the Royal Albert Hall, Victoria & Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, and several royal colleges. The Imperial College is within walking distance from tube stations and in close proximity to all things Tudor: St. James Palace, Lambeth Palace, Westminster and Whitehall. Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle are a short train ride away.

Travel begins with a day trip to Leicester and a visit to Bosworth Field and Museum, site of Henry VII and Richard III’s battle. Journey to Hampton Court, inspiration for Meadowbrook Hall, southwest of London. Return to London and visit Lambeth Palace, the private chapel of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

A guided tour takes students behind the scenes of Parliament. Attend a Choral Eucharist at St. Paul’s Cathedral and enjoy High tea at the Georgian. By train to Cambridge and a walking guided tour of city sights influenced by the Tudors and the Church of England topped off with the Choral evensong in King’s College. 

Highlights include a Tower of London tour with treasure hunt on Tower Hill followed by an evening lecture and performance at the Globe Theatre. Watch the changing of the guards at Windsor Castle, and a military concert at St. George’s Chapel. Visit the grave of Henry VIII and Queen Jane Seymour, and tour of Westminster Abbey.

Following the program, students return to Michigan from London. Some students choose to stay on in Europe to travel on their own.

Academics

Requirements: A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required. Students who don’t meet the GPA requirement may still be eligible and should speak with OU’s International Education Office prior to applying.

Course: REL 3735: Cross and Crown (4 credits). This course fulfills OU’s General Education Requirement in Global Perspective or Western Civilization, but not both.

The course is taught by OU faculty and consists of lectures with course-related excursions.

Cross and Crown course is offered Summer II, as a special offering of Religious Studies. The first half of the course, on campus lectures and readings, provide historical background of the Tudor monarchy that enables the students to understand and analyze the religious and cultural development of England.  The second portion of this course provides a vivid travel experience in English culture and analysis of England’s and ecclesiastical development.  

Journaling and daily meetings will guide this understanding and analysis.

The course may benefit History, English, Political Science, Music and Religion majors.

This course will survey the events that brought the Tudors to the throne, and England out of the medieval period and into the early modern world. Particular focus will be given to the Tudor establishment of the Church of England, along with the English Reformation, the development of the nation state, the monarchy, and the blossoming of English literature and music.

Housing and Food

In London, the students will be housed double occupancy in a hotel near Imperial College in Kensington. 

Full English breakfasts daily are included. Students will be responsible for other meals and can purchase lunches and dinners independently at any of the many restaurants, eateries, cafes and pubs in the area. Some of the most famous local dishes include Yorkshire pudding, fish and chips, bangers and mash, beef wellington and sticky toffee pudding.

Cost

Tuition: 4 Credits

You will be charged for these credits on your eBill at your normal rate of tuition.

Program Fee: $2,500

To be paid to OU on our MarketPlace payment system and includes: housing and most meals, ground transportation and all excursions while in England, and health insurance.

Additional Costs: $1,675

You will need additional funds for these expenses not covered by program fee. Amounts are estimated.

Airfare: $1,200
Meals: $100
Incidental personal expenses: $200
Passport (if you don't have one): $175


Scholarships and Financial Aid: You are able to use financial aid to cover your full cost of attendance to this program (tuition, program fee and additional costs). Scholarships are also available through your study abroad application.