Programme Overview

Summer 2010 Dates: 18 May to 7 August

General programme information may be found at Boston University International Programs. 

The Core Phase

In this phase we offer a series of required Core Courses and related Free Electives. These courses are intensive learning experiences. You will attend class for eight hours each week in each of the two courses. The Core Phase of the programme is roughly equivalent in intensity to a standard six-week summer school semester. During this time you prepare for the placement phase that will begin in the second part of the programme. You will have meetings with the London Placement team, attend interviews, and ultimately be placed with a host organisation.

Core Courses

The Core Courses serve as gateways in preparation for your placements. During the Core Phase you concentrate on the academic area in which you will do your placement. For this reason, the prescribed core course for each academic area is mandatory. An exception to the rule is granted only upon written petition and only if there is clear evidence that the Core Course from which exemption is sought overlaps significantly with a course you have already taken. If exempted from taking a Core Course in your academic area you must petition the Director of Studies for permission to take another Core Course in its place.

The Core Course provides a common base of knowledge in your chosen discipline. Since we serve some 30 colleges and universities and have students enrolled with varying levels of training and experience, it is important that all of you studying in a particular academic area share
a common block of instruction. The Core Courses place these areas into a British and/or European context. In this way we provide you with the operating vocabulary, current trends, and local peculiarities of your field that will be important in your work placement. Core Courses provide general information about a field of study in which you are expected to be conversant.

Free Electives in the Core Phase

During the first six-week period you will be enrolled in a Free Elective course to give you the opportunity to try out a new subject or take something with a specific British focus - e.g., literature or art. Currently we offer 13 Free elective courses which may or may not be related to your chosen academic area. Students often enjoy this opportunity to study within a subject not related to their internship or major, which may offer them a different perspective on the host culture.

For detailed information, please see the LIP Summer Courses page.

The Placement Phase

The last six weeks of the semester are devoted to a five-day-per-week unpaid placement. Students gain practical experience in the British workplace, and are assigned to organisations that suit their chosen field of study and interests. More information on placements may be found on the Summer Internships page.