Culture Study Abroad Programs in Leeds, England

I studied in Leeds from 09/18/19 - 12/14/19 and it was an absolutely amazing experience. Studying in Leeds allows you to fully immerse and integrate yourself in the life of a UK University student. While in Leeds I took two sociology courses and one history course. I enjoyed the content of my lectures and found the professors to be very engaging. I had about 150-200 students in each of my lectures and about 10-15 students in my seminars for each of my classes. For a housing accommodation, API placed us in an off campus residence hall with four other flatmates. In our flat, there were five individual bedrooms, with a shared bathroom and kitchen. We frequently had flat dinners together, which was really nice and helped all of us bond. Three of my flatmates were from England and one was from France. I loved that I lived with English students because I was able to learn a lot about the English culture from them. I ended up becoming really close with one of my flatmates. I still FaceTime her regularly and she is planning on coming to the US to visit this summer. The residence hall is a beautiful and easy 30-40 minute walk to campus and about a 15 minute bus ride. The bus is very easy and convenient to use, especially when it is raining. The bus pass is pretty cheap to buy and is is easy to use from an app on your phone. The University of Leeds campus and the city center has so much to offer and is absolutely beautiful. I ended up exploring a different part of Leeds every day that I was there. Everyone in Yorkshire is incredibly friendly and I always felt welcomed no matter where I was. I think my favorite part of studying with API was all of the excursions we went on. If you are someone who wants to explore England but might not do so on your own, attending the excursions are a great way to see and learn more about the UK. Our program director gave us historical details about all of the places we traveled to, which made the excursions both fun and educational. I looked forward to each and every one of our excursions. Some of the places we went were Whitby, Lincoln, Hadrian's Wall, Durham, London, a trip to a theatre performance, and a local comedy show. My time abroad definitely impacted my life in a positive way. I made numerous friends that I am still in contact with, I gained a significant amount of independence and confidence from my experience in Leeds and I have also learned to be able to adapt to new situations. If I had had the opportunity, I would have studied there for an entire academic year, or maybe even longer. I will definitely be returning to Leeds sometime in the near future.

The five months I spent in Leeds during the Spring 2019 semester were easily the best of my academic career, and probably my life. API considers every detail to make an experience perfect: integrating you with British students in your protected housing; offering excursions within Leeds (a show at the Leeds Playhouse, an afternoon tea in the Grand Arcade) and around Great Britain (a weekend in Edinburgh, a trip to plague village Eyam) to give you a real feel of the United Kingdom. Having academics at the University of Leeds is a brilliant endeavor, as I was never the only International student, but still learning beside English scholars in my lectures and seminars. I was able to take more challenging courses that easily transferred onto my home university transcript, proving I learned between nights out in City Centre and cheeky trips to London and Paris. Headingley is far enough from the hustling city that you feel safe when you fall asleep at night but aren't isolated from pubs, charity shops, and sporting events. Everything is within walking distance, but the public transportation is reliable, with bus systems taking you from Headingley to the Docks and everywhere in between, as well as a renovated train station sending you to the coast or Cambridge, and a coach station carrying you to Liverpool. Leeds is everything you would love about London but more intimate with English arts and culture.

I went with IFSA and spent Fall 2019 at the University of Leeds in Northern England. I also got to be apart of their work-to-study program writing student blogs. IFSA will think of it all before you do. As a type-A planner, the minute I hit the ground in London (for orientation) someone was waiting at the airport, they have pre-planned excursions (included with the price), they are always just a phone call away but most times you won't even need to call because they prepared you so well. The best, most unexpected thing that they did for me was they took the train with us and dropped us off at our accommodations. They would also call every few weeks to check in on us. I studied abroad as a senior in college and was so used to doing things on my own but having them there felt like I didn't have to. I honestly can't recommend them enough.

Studying abroad at the University of Leeds was the best decision I made! The staff at API are very supportive, informative and enthusiastic about international education. What is unique about the program at Leeds is the fact that you are experiencing the English culture through the lens of an English university student. This program is one of the only programs in England where you have the opportunity to live in student halls with English students, attend lectures with local students, and fully immerse yourself within the student community. Leeds is also easily accessible, there is a bus system in the city, a train station downtown, and an airport outside the city. Leeds is located within the countryside, so there is easy access to hiking and exploring historic sites in England. API also includes cultural excursions into the program to further teach you about English culture, such as trips to London, Edinburgh, and historic sites in Yorkshire. Beyond the immersive aspects of the program, Leeds offers a wide range of courses to enroll in. By taking art history courses not offered at my home university, I enhanced my academic studies and strengthened my research skills within the field.

I studied abroad in the UK for an entire year, and while I had a bit of a difficult time getting used to my new life abroad, in the end, it was probably the most rewarding year of my life. I learned to become so much more independent and solve problems and handle myself so much better than I did before I went away. I also met so many great people and was able to travel and experience things that I know I would have never gotten the chance if I hadn't gone abroad. My experience has definitely shaped me to be the person I am today and I wouldn't change that for anything in the world. The IFSA staff were also really wonderful and helped me through every step of studying abroad; they helped me before I left with doing paperwork and visas, during my year out even calling to check on me when I was sick, and after when I came home by helping me reflect on my experience and share it with others. I would recommend this program to absolutely everyone.

With API, you're never alone; whenever you need help, just say the word and they give you whatever resource you need. I loved Leeds and would definitely go back if I could.

Very supportive and informative program director. Cell phone included with program. Several excursions including with program. Great nightlife, largely student based city.