Though Glasgow is not the capital
city of Scotland, it is, nonetheless, its largest-and arguably its
most important. Home to 600,000 residents (they're known as Glaswegians),
it is the commercial center of Scotland, and the second largest retail
center in the United Kingdom, after London, of course. Its central location
in the country makes it easily accessible, a bonus for anyone planning
on visiting or studying there.
Every year, more than 3 million
tourists visit Glasgow, and the variety of activities they engage in
is truly astounding. From wandering the streets and admiring the Victorian-era
architecture to spending the day in some of the city's excellent museums
and galleries, including "[t]he magnificent Glasgow Art Gallery and
Museum in Kelvingrove, which houses the city's principal collection
of paintings, and is Scotland's most frequently visited free attraction;
[t]he Transport Museum, with its ever popular collection of Glasgow
Trams, locomotives, [and] an exact reconstruction of a 1930's Glasgow
street...St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life and Art, the UK's only
museum celebrating the world's many religions; [and the] Glasgow Gallery
of Modern Art, a brand new gallery set in the refurbished Stirling's
Library, and housing the city's principal modern art collection,"
among many others (www.glasgow.gov.uk). Glasgow is, indeed, a world-class
city when it comes to its respect for and history in the arts.
Study Abroad Programs in Glasgow
It's history "stretches
back almost two thousand years and has been rich and varied.
Originally a small salmon-fishing
village at a crossing point on the River Clyde, Glasgow has been shaped
by battles, world wide trade and heavy industry to become a truly international
city" (www.clyde-valley.com). Like many cities in the U.K. and continental
Europe, it was founded by a missionary, but over the years, through
battles and vast changes in the nature of its character, Glasgow has
become a classic example of secular success. Both its religious origins
and its eventual secular nature ultimately led to its becoming a world-renowned
university city in 1451, when "Glasgow University
was originally built in the High Street area of the city, but was moved
to its present site in Glasgow's West end in 1870" (www.clyde-valley.com).
Today, however, it is the beneficiary
of one of the most extraordinary urban renaissances in modern history.
In the 1980's and 1990's, Glasgow underwent a change of nearly epic
proportions that brought it out of its industrial slump and into the
bright light of its exciting present. Glasgow is now one of the best
cities in the entire U.K. for young people to live, study, and work.
Its combination of nightlife, cultural institutions, and wonderful restaurants
and pubs has made it quite more than attractive to people from all over
the world.
Studying in Glasgow becomes
just as much an international experience as it is a Scottish one. The
city's prevalence of institutions of higher education, including the
University of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde, the Glasgow School
of Art, and Glasgow Caledonian University, are just some of the schools
that attract students from all over Scotland, the United Kingdom, and
the world.
At its heart, though, spending
a semester or a year in Glasgow is bound to be transformative in the
way that only studying in the United Kingdom can be. From its rich history,
the vast influence it has had on the world (the economist Adam Smith
was born there, for example), and its exciting present, living and studying
in Glasgow is sure to be one of the best things you will ever do as
a student-and beyond.
