University of the Arts London Summer Program

Activities and excursions are an important piece of your IFSA experience, designed to pull you into the fabric of the communities you visit and encourage cultural connections of every kind. That said, at times, circumstances beyond our control — including local government regulations and health protocols — could impact our ability to hold these events as planned.

Know that we’ll make every effort to run the activities, trips, and excursions slated for your program. You’ll see detailed examples of previous outings offered during this program below. Keep in mind that the options could look different for your program, and that we cannot guarantee these activities, trips, and excursions.

Activities are optional, but they are included in your total program fee. They vary each term based on availability, but activities may include:

• London Pandemics–Past and Present: This event will engage you with both an historic overview and a contemporary look at concepts of community health and global health, with a particular focus on London and the pandemic. You will attend a guest lecture at the IFSA London Flagship, followed by the John Snow Cholera Tour. This tour will take you to the nearby streets of Soho to visit important sites in the story of Dr. Snow and the cholera outbreak in 1854.
• London Statue Walk: This walking tour includes stops at some of London’s most iconic statues as well as some of its most obscure, weaving in historical, cultural, literary, and political threads as it seeks to put the past into dialogue with the present.
• Community Environment Initiatives & Urban Farming in London: This guest lecture explores London’s creative solutions to sustainability, food security, and community building with visit opportunities to three distinct case studies:
  • Up Above: Visit to Sky Garden
  • On the Ground: Visit to Calthorpe Community Garden
  • Down Below: Visit to Growing Underground
• Homelessness in London–A Dialogue: This event will explore the realities of homelessness in London from three perspectives. First, you will participate in a dialogue with guest speakers Tamsen Courtenay, author of Four Feet Under: Untold Stories of Homelessness in London, and a case worker from the Centrepoint charity for youth homelessness. The discussion will be followed by a tour of Central London developed, curated, and delivered by vulnerably housed individuals through Unseen Tours.

IFSA excursions are included in your total program fee and though these are optional, most students choose to participate. They vary each term based on availability, but excursions may include:

• Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral Visits: A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Stonehenge is a celebrated and iconic prehistoric monument of standing stones and burial mounds in Wiltshire. Afterward, travel along to Salisbury Cathedral to view one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta.
• Seaside Brighton Trip: A site of significance to the 1960s rivalries between the mods and rockers, and widely recognized as the “gay capital” of the UK, Brighton features the Palace Pier, Brighton Royal Pavilion, historic streets, and bohemian shops. End the day with fish and chips by the seaside.
• Harry Potter Studio Tour: Explore The Making of Harry Potter permanent exhibit which offers an authentic behind-the-scenes look into the making of the films along with an enchanting guest lecture.