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Academics | Housing & Student Services | Internships | IT

Academics

Q: How do I choose my courses?
A: You select your courses on your Personal Page.
You are automatically registered for a Core course, as it matches the internship track you are pursuing. You are free to choose your Elective A and Elective B courses, but it is up to you to ensure that you receive credit for them at your home university. If you have any problems
accessing your personal page, please contact the Student Affairs Office.

Q: May I take an examination at times other than those that are posted?
A: No. Students are required to sit their examinations on the dates, at the times, and in the same classroom as the other students in their class.

Q. If I have to miss an examination, what do I do?
A: Prior approval to miss an examination is granted only upon the recommendation of a faculty member and with the approval of the Director. You must provide appropriate documentation of illness or other extenuating circumstances that warrant your absence from a scheduled examination. If a student is unavoidably absent from a final examination (due to a medical emergency, for example) the faculty member may schedule a makeup examination or assign other work in lieu of an examination.

Q: How do I arrange a make-up examination?
A: If given permission to take a make-up exam, arrangements must be made with the principle instructor of the class in regard to time and place.

Q: May I submit coursework late without penalty?
A: Late submission of papers, particularly those that may delay the processing of final grades for a course, is strongly discouraged. An extension may be graded only by permission of the faculty member. Any delay may warrant a reduction in the final grade. If the extension will delay the posting of a final grade, the instructor should award a grade of 'I' (Incomplete) with a specific due date. Please note that all coursework must be completed by the end of the semester - 'I' (Incomplete) grades cannot be transferred back to Boston University's main campus.

Q: When will I receive the grades from my courses and get my papers and examinations back?
A: We expect faculty to turn in their grades within ten working days after the final examinations or end of course. Please bear in mind that our faculty are part-time, with many other academic commitments to fulfil. Realistically, you should expect grades to be posted on the London Preferences web site within two weeks. Papers and examinations should be returned to you at that same time, and can be collected from the Student Affairs Office. At the end of the semester, if you wish your coursework to be sent to you, please leave a self-addressed envelope with the Student Affairs Office and we will forward the materials on to you.

Q: May I audit a course?
A: In a case where a student has attempted to receive credit through his/her home institution, but credit has been denied, a student may petition to drop the credit for the course. This is applicable for Elective B classes only - it is not possible to audit the Core, internship, or Elective A courses. Please contact the Director of Studies for more details.

If you have any questions about courses that were not answered here, please contact the Director of Studies.

Housing And Student Services

Q: How do I access my London Personal Page?
A: You must submit a current email address (which you can access from the web) as well as a picture to the Student Affairs Office. You must send in a scanned photo to studentlife@bu-london.co.uk. The photo must be a clear shot of your face and neck, and must correspond to the recognized passport format. Photos must be 1.5x1.75 inches.

BU students: You can download your photo off the Student Link. Once there, click on the purple Personal tab, then select Personal Profile from the submenu.

Your photo will display - if you are using a PC, right click on your photo, and select 'Save image' from the pop-up menu, and email us this
file. If you are using a Macintosh, simply click on your photo and drag it to your desktop. Again, email us this file.

Please name your file in this format only: <Your last name>,<Your first name>,<Your Study Abroad Semester>

Alternatively- you can scan and email your photo free of charge from the office of Information Technology at 111 Cummington Street. Email images should be scanned at 200 dpi and should be saved as a tiff file for Mac. Please name the file as above.

Be sure to read the instructions to the pre-departure process that were sent to you by the Student Life Office: once you have confirmed your email account and submitted a photo by email that exactly matches the requirements for the student database records you will be issued with a password to access the London Preferences Page.

Q: When do I find out my housing assignment?
A: Provided that all of your information has been properly filled out on your London Personal Page, you will be emailed approximately 3-5 days before the programme starts with your housing assignment.

Q: When I land in England, where do I go?
A: Please proceed directly to your housing assignment. You will be emailed arrival details along with your housing assignment a few days prior to arrival.

If you have any questions about housing and student services that were not answered here, please contact the Student Affairs Office.

Information Technology (IT)

Q: Should I bring a laptop?
A: Though we have extensive IT facilities (30 PC workstations with Broadband connections) we DO encourage students to bring a laptop. Students find the convenience of portable computing far outweighs the hassle of transporting it. If you are doing this, please remember that you will need a plug adapter and a lock. While both of these can be obtained in the UK, you will probably find it cheaper to buy them in the States.

Q: Are there printer facilities?
A: The computer labs are equipped with printer facilities. At the start of the term each student is issued 500 printer credits. Additional credits can be purchased for 5 pence per
credit. You can top up your printer credits here: http://www.bu-london.co.uk/?q=itsupport/topup

Q: What are the hours of the computer labs?
A: The computer labs, including the printer facilities, are open Monday to Thursday from 9am to 8pm, Friday from 9am to 5pm, and many Sundays from 12pm to 6pm.

Q: Are the residences equipped with Internet access?
A: All of our residences are equipped with Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Our main office building also has Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections for students to use.

Q: Do I have to pay for wireless access?
A: Students do not need to pay for wireless access though they are required to establish a free account. Students will be issued with a username and password upon arriving London.

Q: Can I use web-cams or Peer-2-Peer Networks in the residences?
A: Our network has been established to assist students with their academic needs. Our bandwidth is perfectly suitable for browsing the Internet, conducting research, checking email, and even using Instant Messenger. However, to maintain our bandwidth we do restrict certain usage. Web-cams and Peer-to-Peer file sharing networks (e.g., Kazaa) are among the items restricted on our network as it would greatly reduce the bandwidth available to the student body. If you plan to use a web-cam to communicate with your family and friends, then the IT staff can recommend several Internet cafes in South Kensington that will be able to accommodate you.

Q: Can I install hardware or software on the computers in the labs?
A:
Students will not be able to install any hardware or software in the computer labs, this includes any software needed to upload photos from a digital camera. Students must use their own laptops or visit one of the Internet cafes in the neighbourhood.

Q: Is there an I. T. Staff to assist me with computing problems?
A:
The I. T. Staff are available to assist you with the computer labs, printer credits, and connecting your laptop to either the Ethernet or wireless networks. Beyond that it is the responsibility of each student to know how to operate his or her laptop. It is highly recommended you ensure that there are no problems with your laptop before leaving the US as it will be easier and most likely cheaper to fix your computer at home than in the UK. That being said, if a technical emergency does arise with your computer once in London, the IT staff can assist with
trouble-shooting. If you have any questions that were not answered here, please contact our IT staff.

Internship (Work Placement)

Q: Who will place me in my internship?
A: The
Placement Team will be responsible for placing you in your internship and monitoring your progress throughout the semester. Tony Johnson was a founder member of the London Internship Programme in 1984 and has been successfully placing students in placements throughout London since then.

Q: Will I be assigned my placement before I go to London?
A: Yes. You can expect an informal interview with a member of the placement team - either on campus or via telephone. We'll speak to you about your goals and expectations for your placement, and then take that information back to London to find the most suitable placement for you. Prior to this meeting you will also be given generic examples of typical internships to give you an idea of what previous students have done in the past and help you decide on your priorities for your internships.

Q: I am considering various career paths and am not sure where I want to focus my internship. Is this a problem?
A: As previously stated, you will be given generic examples to look at. These are separated into various internship fields and are evaluations of placements completed by past interns. If, for example, you are on the Communications Track and are unsure whether you want to be placed in Advertising, Public Relations or Marketing you will be given generic examples of all three of these areas. This should then help you narrow down your preferences. The placement team will also be able to give you guidance on what you will be able to achieve in an internship given your academic background and experience. For example, a religion major who wishes to work on a magazine would not be given the same responsibilities as a journalism major.

Q: I have very specific requirements for my internship. Will you be able to accommodate these?
A: Generally we will try to find you a placement that matches your requirements. However, you will have to remain flexible and realistic. For example if you want to work in-house PR with a fashion connection, you may have to settle for agency PR with a fashion connection or in-house PR with no fashion connection. If your main focus is to gain some PR experience, you will achieve this.
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Q: Will I interview at several companies and choose my placement?
A: No. We organise our placement procedure so that students interview at companies and either accept or decline the internship one at a time. The main reason for this is a time factor. There is not the time for students to interview at several internships and busy supervisors cannot interview several prospective candidates. It is the job of the placement team to match the requirements of the students and the internship placements. Before making a decision to go on an internship interview you will have enough information to decide whether the internship being offered is likely to be what you want.

Q: What if I am unhappy after my interview?
A: You are perfectly entitled to turn down an internship after interview and we then will move on to another prospective placement. 90% of students are successfully placed after one interview.

Q: Am I in competition with other students?
A: When you are offered a prospective internship, you will be the only student offered that particular placement until you decide to accept or decline the interview. If you accept the interview and are happy after the interview, then that placement will be your work placement.

Q: Could I be turned down at interview?
A: Just as you are able to turn down a prospective internship, it is also possible for a placement to turn down the students. If this does happen you should look upon it as part of the learning process and we will simply move on to another option.

Q: Will I be the only intern at my placement?
A: Generally the answer to this question is yes, although larger companies do have the capacity to take on more than one candidate and if we feel there is room for more than one intern we will use these placements.

Q: I want to gain contacts for future employment from my internship. Is this possible?
A: Your internship should not be looked on as a means of gaining future employment but rather as a means of gaining valuable work experience within a specific industry and in a different cultural context. This in turn will make you a more valuable prospect to possible future employers.

Q: Will my internship with a 'Name' Company?
A: You should not be fixated on working simply for a big name company. The 'name' may not necessarily give you the type of experience you are looking for, which should be the main focus of your internship. You should also remember that you are working in Europe and not the USA. Therefore what may be a name here is not necessarily instantly recognisable to you. The very fact that you are working in London means you are gaining experience within an international setting.

Q: My Dad's friend's neighbour's cousin works in London and may be able to help me get an internship, what do I do?
A: We are happy for students to pursue personal contacts, although we do ask that you consult with a member of the placement team first and provide them with all relevant contact details. They can then contact the placement on your behalf to explain both your and the programme requirements. You should remember that your legal status in the UK is dependent upon your work placement being approved by the Placement Office.

Q: Will I be paid for working in London?
A: Your internship is unpaid. The internship is a four credit course and a requirement of the academic component of the programme. You cannot legally work and be paid in the UK.

Q: How can I prepare myself for my internship in London?
A: Anything you can do to help acclimatise yourself to the country you will be living and working in will help.Research the industry you hope to be working in (especially if you have an unusual request). Try to find out what the trade publications are in London for your specific industry. You can gain a European prospective on your field through reading these publications. Talk to returning students to find out about their experience in London and try to pick up any useful tips about making the most of your time here.

Q: I still have a few more questions concerning the internships. Who can I contact?
A:You can e-mail the placement team directly.