It would seem that there is nothing complicated here: attach an international student to a British group - and that's that. The problem, however, is that most programmes offered by university centres last the whole year, classes take place once or twice a week in the evenings - and therefore it is impossible to join studies in the middle of the year. Even summer schools organised by British universities are intended primarily for local students.
However, we did manage to find something interesting on the eve of the summer holidays.
Last summer, the school of Scotland's University of Strathclyde managed to gather 650 students of different ages in Glasgow, so this year the university decided to organise summer classes for the second time - albeit somewhat modified and expanded. The summer school of the Centre for Continuing Education at the University of Strathclyde operates in the following areas: art, art history, creative writing, music and dance, fitness, languages, information technology. The school starts on 29 June. Classes are held once or twice a week, and their cost varies from 25 to 60 pounds for four to six weeks of study. Accommodation in a student residence will cost an additional 80 pounds per week.
Kingston University, after some deliberation on the question, concluded that the most realistic and therefore optimal option for international students is to join a summer programme dedicated to the museums and exhibitions of the UK capital. It sent a detailed description of the course (incidentally, students receive three credits for it, which they can add to their basic university credits). Without a doubt, this programme will be very useful for students of art and design and art history faculties. For those who are simply interested in art, this course offers a rare chance to become acquainted with collections of world masterpieces under the guidance of a professional art historian. Tuition begins on 5 July and runs twice a week until 30 August. The cost, including accommodation on the university campus, is 1.6 thousand pounds sterling.
Among the summer courses at the University of Bristol, the programme on garden landscape architecture deserves special attention. The city's unique location on the west coast of the United Kingdom, at the mouth of the River Avon, determined the features of the local landscape, dominated by water and vast open space. This combination has made it possible to create in this part of the United Kingdom a territory of striking beauty and elegance in landscape architecture. The university course has a telling name - 'Garden Plants from the Wild to Paradise'. It reflects the origin of plants, the principles of their coexistence in the wild, and their subsequent evolutionary path. The programme includes visits to botanical gardens and exhibitions that show how English landscape designers are able to introduce wild plants into the landscape of modern cultivated gardens. Since the demand for landscape architecture is currently high, and there are not many specialised courses, this topic will be useful for both students and professionals. The University of Bristol school runs from 26 June to 2 July. Classes, meals and accommodation in the university residence cost 560 pounds.
The summer school at the University of Edinburgh, one of the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, starts quite late - in mid-July. But that is not so bad, given that in August the famous Edinburgh Festival takes place in the Scottish capital. The festival is a blend of several cultural events taking place at the same time: theatre performances, a book fair, film screenings and, of course, military parades, which tourists from all over the world come to see.
Depending on the duration and complexity of the programme, tuition costs from 60 to 195 pounds sterling per week of daily classes. Most of them are related to Scottish culture, history, philosophy, and painting - for example, medieval archaeology of southern Scotland, Scottish art and visual culture, contemporary art of Scotland, 'Scotland: Landscape, Myth and Legend'. At the same time, there are quite a few topics of interest not only to fans of the Land of the Thistle. These include courses in web design, digital photography, jazz, writing scripts for film and television, an introduction to cinema, and even a special course on conflict management.
Middlesex University, located like Kingston in London, is bringing students together for the ninth time this summer - from 1 July to 12 August. The previous success of the summer school has determined its current popularity: last year over 1.5 thousand students took part. Middlesex University's courses are divided into the following areas: art, design and stage performance, business, human resource management, marketing, computer disciplines and information technology, education, environment, film and mass media, health and biology, history and politics, foreign languages, law, literature and creative writing, psychology and social sciences. Since medicine is a numerus clausus subject with limited access for international students, future domestic doctors can choose one of the courses in health care, for example alternative medicine or neuro-linguistic programming. Courses are held two or three times a week. The cost of one such course is 940 pounds sterling.
Andrei Shuysky.
Based on materials from TsMK 'PARTA'.