Study Abroad

ENGL369D/HONR349B: Australia: Literature and Culture - Join Jason Rudy for an immersion into Australian culture and history. This course explores the literature, theater and arts of Australia. It looks back to the colonial founding of Australia as a British outpost and considers how modern Australia has emerged from a mixing of Western and Indigenous cultures. This course has been approved for the General Education Humanities (DSHU) and Cultural Competence (DVCC) requirements. ​

ENGL369N/HONR349Z: New Zealand Literature and Culture-  Jason Rudy leads students on a journey through the landscape of Peter Jackson's “Lord of the Rings” films, immersing them in the culture, literature and history of New Zealand. This course will look back to the colonial founding of New Zealand as a British outpost and to the strong Maori culture the British encountered when they arrived. This course has been approved for the General Education Humanities(DSHU) and Cultural Competence (DVCC) requirements. ​

ENGL391: Italy: Food Writing- Study Abroad in Italy with Peter Grybauskas. Explore and write about food and food cultures in central Italy. Based in Rome with optional excursions elsewhere on the Italian peninsula. The course satisfies not only the University's Fundamental Studies requirement in Professional Writing but also the dream of visiting firsthand one of the world's most famous food destinations.

ENGL391: United Kingdom: Tolkien in Oxford- Peter Grybauskas and Christopher "Chip" Crane take students behind the scenes of Middle-earth to Oxford, England, where Tolkien lived, studied, taught and wrote. Students will get a chance to visit the halls of Merton and Exeter College in Oxford University, conduct research at the Bodleian Library where many of Tolkien’s manuscripts are housed and hold writing workshops over meals in the same cozy inns frequented by Tolkien and his colleagues. This course satisfies both the University's Fundamental Studies requirement in Professional Writing and the heart's desire to follow in the footsteps of one of the 20th century's most influential world-builders and myth-makers. By participating in this program, students will be able to:

1.  Recognize and analyze the ways in which Tolkien's scholarship and storytelling intersect.

2.  Draw on Tolkien's work as a model for audience accommodation and multimodality in crafting rhetorically effective and inventive texts.

3.  Accurately contextualize Tolkien's reception and reputation in the U.K. and the U.S. over the past 50+ years.

4.  Identify and explore key themes and controversies linked to Tolkien's work via a variety of professional writing genres.

ENGL409M: Study Abroad in London and East Anglia- This course with Michael Olmert is an intensive examination of British culture. Students in the program study the history, literature, drama, architecture, art and archeology of Britain by visiting London, Castle Acre (an East Anglian village in Norfolk) and a number of other historic and literary sites in England.

1. Research the various programs being offered and find out which ones interest you most (Education Abroad has a full list of programs on their website).
2. Talk to a Study Abroad advisor about the programs you’re interested in and confirm their suitability. To schedule an appointment, click here.
3. Meet with an English advisor to see how studying abroad works with your remaining major requirements.*
4. Meet with an ARHU advisor to see how studying abroad is possible with your general education requirements and graduation goals.*

*Steps 3 and 4, while a wonderful idea, are optional at this point in the process. Please know that the English department and ARHU Advising Office want you to study abroad and will work with you to make the experience fit into your four-year plan.

1. Research study abroad courses offered through your program and identify which ones you would like to take while abroad. Courses that have been pre-approved are listed on the EA website for Maryland-in programs or in UMD’s Transfer Credit Database (TCDB). If you have questions about whether or not a course is pre-approved, contact your Education Abroad advisor.

2. If you want to take a course that is not pre-approved, follow the Education Abroad Transfer Course Evaluation Request process. You must provide a syllabus for all courses needing review. If course syllabi are not available, it is your responsibility to contact the professor or department abroad for the class reading list and written assignment requirements (which includes the final exam). Contact your Education Abroad advisor for assistance. 

If you are looking for courses to apply to the English major, please remember that as a rule:

• For a course to be approved at the 300-level, it must require approximately 3,000 words of formal written work, with at least one assignment of 1,250 words or more. Students should also complete a final exam equivalent, some or all of which could count toward the word total, depending on format.
• For a course to be approved at the 400-level, it must require approximately 3,750 words of formal written work, with at least one assignment of 1,750 words or more. Students must also do research as part of the course and should complete a final exam equivalent, some or all of which could count toward the required word total, depending on format.
• Make an appointment with an English advisor explicitly for studying abroad in the next semester (this is different from your regular pre-registration advising). Be sure to bring your Study Abroad Course Approval (SACA) form. The more courses on your form that have been officially evaluated, the more productive this meeting will be.
• Make an appointment with an ARHU advisor after you meet with your English advisor. Call (301) 405-2108 to schedule an appointment with an ARHU advisor.