Students eligible for financial aid during the academic year should be eligible for some forms of summer aid to participate in the seminar. While grants may be limited, student loans are usually available.
To receive financial assistance during the summer, some colleges and universities require applicants to register for a minimum of six credits. Check with your college or university for more details.
The Program Fee for the Oxford Summer Seminar 2009 is $6,500 (formerly $6,700) and it covers the following items:
Tuition
The Program Fee includes tuition for the required four-credit, six-week Major Course (Category A), an optional three-credit, four-week Optional Course (Category B), and the one-credit, pass/fail Seminar Colloquium. Room All accommodations are in Trinity College, Oxford University, and these may be either modern single rooms or traditional shared suites. While student preferences will be consulted when assigning rooms, the Seminar cannot guarantee that it can provide an applicant's first choice in rooms..
Board
The meal plan includes breakfast seven days a week and dinner on Sunday through Thursday evenings. On Fridays and Saturdays, breakfast is the only meal included. Morning coffee and afternoon tea are also served each weekday in college. For those who remain in college on weekends, Oxford offers a wide variety of inexpensive pubs and restaurants in which to eat and many shops where prepared food can be obtained at reasonable cost. The board plan usually includes two banquets, one at the beginning and one towards the end of the Seminar, and four formal dinners. The closing banquet is usually preceded by a garden reception and followed by entertainment and dancing in the Beer Cellar. Lectures The Seminar sponsors a series of Tuesday evening lectures in which literary critics, historians, and artists are featured. The lectures are preceded by a reception and followed by a formal dinner. Other less formal talks, readings, a film series, and discussions may also be scheduled during the Seminar.
Other Expenses
No travel expenses are included in the Program Fee, although some day trips may be organized and offered to Seminar students for a modest fee. Evening meals on Friday and Saturday and all lunches are also not included in the Program Fee. During summer 2007, students were asked how much they spent in pocket money during the Seminar. The average response was about $250 per week. Financial Aid Students eligible for financial aid during the academic year may be eligible for some forms of summer aid to participate in the Seminar. While grants are often limited, student loans are usually available. To receive financial assistance during the summer, some colleges and universities require applicants to register for a minimum of six credits. All applications for financial aid should be made to the student's home institution. Only University of Massachusetts Amherst students can be assisted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Financial Aid Office.
At present, some Seminar scholarship assistance is available, principally to University of Massachusetts Amherst students. For the Summer Seminar 2007, more than $20,000 was available, and the maximum award was $2,000.
Most scholarships are awarded to students enrolled in specific departments or colleges at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and these are awarded on a merit basis to the applicants from the departments or colleges that sponsor the scholarships; they are awarded to those students who present the strongest academic profiles (transcripts, letters of recommendation, personal statements). Students who wish to be considered for scholarship assistance should submit a brief statement (1 page) with their application in which they describe their academic careers to date and some statement about how the Oxford Summer Seminar will assist them in achieving their academic goals. Students enrolled in Commonwealth College are required to apply for that College's scholarship program separately; information about that application process may be obtained by contacting Commonwealth College.
