|
|
|
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Miami University Honors Program will select up to eight Selwyn College
Scholars to spend spring semester 2004 studying at Selwyn College, Cambridge,
in England. Selwyn Scholars receive 18 credit hours of rigorous, one-on-one,
tutorial instruction by Cambridge University faculty. Unlike many exchange
students at British Universities, Miami's Selwyn students have the opportunity
to interact closely with Cambridge faculty and students. Miami provides
a substantial part of the total cost of attending Selwyn so that Selwyn
Scholars can study at Cambridge for not much more than the cost of studying
at Miami.
Founded in 1882, Selwyn College is one of the 31 colleges in the Cambridge University system, which dates from the thirteenth century and is among the most celebrated universities in the world. Located on the western side of the city, Selwyn is within easy walking distance of Cambridge Centre, which lies just across the River Cam. The college is medium-sized, with about 330 undergraduate students and sixty fellows (or "dons"). Its Victorian courts contain a library, a chapel, dining hall, computer rooms, sports facilities and student and faculty quarters. The college has a particularly active Music Society, among other undergraduate clubs.
Cambridge is a bustling city widely regarded as among Britain's most desirable places to live. It is a leading site of both education and modern science, which has spilled over from the famous university laboratories into various "science parks" on the outskirts of the city. The city center is compact, full not only of ancient university buildings but a vibrant mix of bookshops, coffee houses, music stores, pubs, museums, discos, theatres, and concert halls. Public transportation is by bus, though most residents ride bicycles or walk due to the frequently congested traffic. Taxis are also readily available. Many of Miami's Selwyn Scholars rent or buy bicycles to get around more efficiently. For weekend excursions, London is within easy distance-only an inexpensive, forty-five minute train ride away.
Under special arrangements, Miami
students will be able to study during the spring semester in England at
Selwyn College, Cambridge. This annual program will be held each Spring
semester, with competitive selection of students taking place during the spring
semester of the prior academic year.
THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM
The academic experience consists of several components.
During their time at Cambridge, students enroll for two, eight-hour
tutorial courses and a two-hour honors seminar.
The tutorial courses are highly-individualized programs of study designed
by the student as part of the application for admission to the program
(see below). These courses are then pursued through the rigorous Oxbridge
tutorial method, in which students meet with professors for intensive,
individual study throughout the term. These tutorials or "supervisions"
as they are called at Cambridge are taught by Cambridge faculty but
are graded and awarded academic credit towards a Miami degree. Subject
matter need not be confined to topics close to British culture, as Cambridge
has experts on a large variety of subjects.
Students in the Selwyn Program are accompanied by a Miami University
faculty member who becomes a Visiting Bye-Fellow of Selwyn College.
The Bye-Fellow acts as the Miami students' academic advisor and also
meets them weekly for a two-hour honors seminar. This seminar (Honors
320) reflects the Visiting Bye-Fellow's academic specialty, but also
aims to enrich students' experience in Britain and Cambridge.
During the semester prior to their participation in the Selwyn Program,
all students take a one-hour honors sprint seminar on Cambridge and
its traditions. The seminar provides a brief introduction to Cambridge
and gives students a vital, preliminary experience of the Cambridge
tutorial system.
SELWYN PROGRAM DATES
The program occurs during Miami's spring semester,
but consists more precisely of the Cambridge Lent and Easter Terms.
The Lent Term begins in the first week of January and ends in mid-March;
the Easter Term begins in mid-April and ends in mid-June. During each
ten-week term, the college is open and meals are provided. A smaller
period called "Full Term" begins a week later than Term and ends a week
before Term. Full Term is the eight-week period when students are required
to be in residence and classes take place. During the Easter vacation,
which runs from mid-March to mid-April, the college closes down and
students must find meals on their own. Most Selwyn students use this
time to travel around Britain or Europe. Students should plan to arrive
a few days before each Full Term and, if traveling between terms during
the Easter vacation, may not leave until Full Term has ended.
Note that the Selwyn Program is only available in the spring semester
and that both eight-week Cambridge terms must be completed. Students
who return before the end of the program, in mid-June, cannot be guaranteed
receipt of credit.
SELWYN TEACHING SYSTEM
The characteristic form of teaching at Selwyn College is the supervision
(elsewhere called a tutorial). Students in the program undertake one
course of supervisions during each term. Traditionally, students receive
eight supervisions per term. Supervisions are weekly formal meetings
for which the student writes an essay based upon a bibliography and
question provided by the supervisor. A supervision in English history,
for example, might begin with a bibliography of five or six books, plus
a number of articles. The student would be expected to find and read
these items in his/her college library, or other libraries. The student
would then compose an essay in response to a question provided by the
supervisor. The question might be broad ("How did the Tudors create
political stability?") or specific ("In the Second Treatise, how does
Locke define the state of nature?"). Some supervisors allow students
to suggest their own essay topics. The resulting essays vary in length
depending on the abilities of the student and the preferences of the
supervisor, but are typically at least 1500 words. Over the term, questions
and topics are arranged so that the student obtains a reasonably broad
grasp of a subject while still having the freedom to pursue independent
lines of inquiry.
Each week during the term, the student submits his or her essay to the
supervisor for review. It was once customary for the essay to be read
aloud at the beginning of the supervision, but most supervisors now
ask to have the essay handed in beforehand. There then ensues an hour
of discussion, the goal of which is a Socratic dialogue. At the end
of the supervision, a bibliography and question are provided for the
next essay, and the cycle begins again.
Since Miami Selwyn Scholars are not matriculated members of Cambridge
University and will not be taking Cambridge examinations, they have
greater freedom in selecting subject matter for their supervisions.
Miami students could elect a term of supervisions that follows the pattern
for a Selwyn College undergraduate, such as selecting one of the Cambridge
examination subjects in a specific discipline. Or they could design
a more idiosyncratic course of study such as the anthropology of Africa,
the plays of Ibsen, the English Civil War, gender and Roman Catholic
theology, immunology and AIDS, or logical positivism.
Variance from the traditional pattern of supervisions may occur. For
example, the student and supervisor might design a different pattern
of writing (perhaps fewer, but longer essays) with biweekly supervisions,
or might attend supervisions with one or two other students. To earn
Miami credit, a single letter grade will be assigned by the supervisors
at the end of the terms.
Other sites on Cambridge:
|
