Instructor urges students to sign up by January 25 to reduce program fee
By Dylan Hackett, News Editor
Prospective students of the 2013 Wales field school are encouraged to apply for the Wales Field School by this Friday in order to shave off $100 from their program fee—a figure ranging from $4,025-$4,600 depending on enrollment levels. The Wales field school, which runs out of the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David in Carmarthen, is usually the most popular of the offerings from the international office and is running for the fifth year. The final deadline for application is March 1.
“Students should sign up for the 2013 Wales Field School because they can get nine to 12 credits in nine weeks in Europe. It’s awesome. The teachers are amazing, the location spectacular, and they are going to make friends that last their whole lives,” said field school instructor Elizabeth Bachinsky.
The field school runs through the summer semester at intersession length. The first three weeks are spent at the New Westminster campus studying themes in literature with Brenna Gray, introduction to writing poetry with Elizabeth Bachinsky, and philosophy of art with Darcy Cutler. Students also have the option of taking a Welsh social history class with Trinity Saint David instructor Conway Davies, worth three credits at no extra charge.
“We try to frontload the courses here at Douglas College so we get most of the classroom work done here in BC. When we go to Wales we do a lot of excursions. We will do a lot of our teaching in art galleries, in stately homes, and places we visit,” explained Bachinsky.
With airfare and tuition, the program is expected to cost over $6,500, a steep price for many students but one that can be lessened by applying for a student loan extension or applying for a number of international studies scholarships, awards, and bursaries available. The 2013 International Studies Award worth $500 has the same March 1 deadline application as the field school application.
After coursework is finished, students in the field school are taken on a visit to London, where they fly home or carry on their travels across Europe.
“We spend three days at the end of the program in London. We go to Buckingham Palace, we go to the Globe Theatre to see a Shakespeare play, we go to the West End and see a show, and all kinds of walking tours all included,” said Bachinsky.
“Everyone is really welcoming and friendly and they expressed a lot of hospitality, especially when you first arrive. We had a great time hanging out with the students that were there even though there weren’t as many Welsh students but there were definitely a lot of friendships made,” said Kiera Floor, 2012 field school alumni.
