St Andrews, Scotland
Location and Facilities:
Exchanges and Study Abroad
University of St Andrews
St Katherine's West
16 The Scores
St. Andrews
Fife, KY16 9AX
Scotland, UK
The City:
The small city of St Andrews, Scotland, is set in a bay on the Fife coast, 45 miles north of Edinburgh and just 13 miles south of Dundee. The city was founded in the 6th century, was the focus of the national St Andrews cult in medieval times, and the seat of a great cathedral (a casualty of Reformation destruction). The town is rich in picturesque seventeenth-century houses and public buildings (many of their stones obviously quarried from the cathedral ruins), thriving with a large variety of specialty shops, restaurants and pubs catering to the international tastes of its visitors who come to the University of St Andrew's in winter and to its renowned golf courses in spring and summer. The beautiful university city has a lively cultural life, is blessed with lovely beaches, and the Angus hills.
Academic Program:
The Scottish University system differs significantly from that in the rest of the United Kingdom in that; 1) it is a four year program (three in the U.K), 2) admission is by Faculty (Arts, Science, Divinity) rather than by departments, 3) and it encourages a greater degree of flexibility in pursuing different subject areas (its educational philosophy lies mid-way between the American idea of general education, and the English focus on specialization). Courses are generally taught in small seminars or tutorials. On arrival, students are assigned to a supervisor in their main subject department who will help them choose appropriate courses and who will be concerned with their academic progress and personal welfare throughout the stay.
Course Load:
60 credits per term for a total of 120 credits for the full year is the equivalent of an academic year at Holy Cross.
Courses taken at St Andrews for Holy Cross credit (PDF)
Incoming Study Abroad Course Information
Independent Cultural Immersion Project (ICIP):
Successful completion of the ICIP, in addition to the required course load, is necessary.
Living Arrangements:
Students live in one of eleven halls of residence which fully integrates them into the St Andrews community. The halls not only provide room and board but are the locus of extensive social activities and life of the University in conjunction with the Students' Union, and the Athletic Union.
Blog from St Andrews 2013-2014 Returnee
Study Abroad Contact Person:
Angie Woodmansee - Assistant Director
Email: awoodman@holycross.edu
Phone: 508-793-3053
Office: Smith 218