Lafayette in London
After preregistering through the link above, you will also have to submit a paper application to Goldsmiths College, available from Maureen Banas in 200 Scott Hall. You will be notified about further details on the paper application once your eligibility has been verified.
The program is based at Goldsmiths College of the University of London, located in New Cross, South East London, in Zone 2 of the public transportation system, and five minutes’ walk from New Cross or New Cross Gate Stations.
All students on this program will take four classes, including a core course entitled Many Londons, Many Markets, Many Cultures, which will be taught by the program director, Professor Christopher Ruebeck of Lafayette’s Economics Department.
The other three courses may be chosen from among all of Goldsmiths’ offerings (taking into account that some have prerequisites that must be met). Goldsmiths College is particularly strong in the arts—including graphic, plastic, design, textiles, drama, music, and video—as well as English and comparative literature, computer science, public policy, and psychology (including cognitive science and neuroscience). All of your credits and all of your grades will transfer.
Explore the courses available to you at Goldsmiths
Please note that drama performance classes are kept quite small and fill up quickly, so students interested in these should apply as soon as possible.
Students who will be sophomores or juniors next fall may apply to this program; those who will be seniors next fall must submit a petition to the Academic Progress Committee for permission to apply. While Lafayette requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.80 for eligibility, Goldsmiths requests that applicants have a minimum GPA of 3.0; applicants with lower GPAs will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that students on Disciplinary Probation Level 1 or Level 2 may not study abroad.
Read the eligibility requirements
The first 25 eligible students who apply to the program will be admitted; subsequent applicants will be placed on a wait list.
Why should I choose this program?
Goldsmiths is an outstanding college with excellent facilities, located in Zone 2, with on-campus housing (in a single with private bathroom!)- You will take three of your four classes alongside U.K. students—you will not be limited to classes exclusively for study abroad students
- Your Lafayette tuition and room fee will cover your tuition, housing in a single with private bathroom, international airfare, local and regional excursions, and program-sponsored activities within London (such as tickets to performances)
- The core course taught by Professor Ruebeck will give you an in-depth knowledge of the city that few other programs could provide
- This program will fulfill your Foreign Culture Requirement
How much will it cost?
Students will be billed Lafayette College’s tuition and standard room fee; any financial aid that you receive while on campus—except for an on-campus, work-study job—will be applied automatically to this program as well. This will cover tuition, accommodation in a single room with a private bathroom in a Goldsmiths dormitory (on campus—no commute!), a number of excursions around the U.K. (possibilities include Bath and Stonehenge, Oxford, and Edinburgh), and program-sponsored activities in London. Your international airfare is also covered by your tuition—we will arrange a group flight from JFK or Newark to London, which is included in the cost of the program.
Core Course: Many Londons, many markets, many cultures
This course will explore and study diverse markets in and around London. During a semester-long stay, students will use the lenses of historical and modern-day cultures to observe Londoners’ connections to local, national, and international business. These explorations will range from local wholesale and retail clothing and food, to renowned insurer Lloyd’s and Christie’s auction house, to the vibrant London financial markets. While visiting those local markets and the historic exchanges, students will learn how the institutions grew as well as the history of the many countries represented among the multinationals that have done and currently do business in London.
We will study firms’ pricing and nonprice decision making, the strategic interactions among firms, and the regulatory policies adopted by governments that promote or hinder fairness across economic, racial, ethnic, and cultural boundaries. Students will read work by economists, historians, and fiction writers—drawing from great Britons’ rich history of economic thought, from histories and authors on the continent, and from the many connections between Britain and the developing world. Throughout our discussions, we will connect these ideas to London’s place at the center of world economics and finance, and to the active cultural milieus in Londoners’ neighborhoods and international identities.
For further information, contact Professor Ruebeck at ruebeckc@lafayette.edu.
