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From a Senior Oxford Academic
A very experienced Oxford historian recently sent the following letter (excerpted) to several US professors and study abroad advisers.
"I have taught history and politics in Oxford University over the past 44 years...(I would like to call your attention to) an excellent organisation for which I have taught over the last decade or so...This educational foundation - the Washington International Studies Council - is, in my experience, second to none in the benefits it provides to students...
Students I have met under its auspices were in most cases outstandingly able, devoted to work and a great pleasure to teach...WISC is immensely good at what it does and commands great respect in Oxford. It is surely desirable for American colleges to take advantage of an opportunity to apply for one of the scarce Visiting Student places available at Oxford University. No fewer than ten of its 40 odd colleges now accept highly qualified WISC candidates...
I have known the president of WISC, Robert Schuettinger (who has taught at Yale and Oxford) for many years. While leaving the more technical points to him, I would stress that he has succeeded since 1985 in building up openings in laboratory sciences as well as arts (something not managed by most other overseas programs in Oxford...)
WISC Visiting Students also obtain good housing, good overall advice and frequent help from the WISC office in the center of Oxford..."
Yours sincerely,
Michael Hurst
MA, DLitt, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Fellow Emeritus of St. John's College, Oxford
From a Graduate Student from Duke
A recent Duke University graduate wrote the folowing letter (excerpted) to his Academic Dean on his return from Oxford.
"I was very fortunate to participate in what, I believe, is one of the best study-abroad programs currently offered... During my [term as an Associate Student] at Oxford, the Washington International Studies Council (WISC) placed me in two extremely intellectually stimulating tutorials with some of Oxford's best instructors (including Sir David Yardley, DPhil, an eminent scholar of law). WISC also provided me with housing, academic advice and a helpful support staff who aided students in their acclimatization to Oxford and the UK, as well as providing them with excursions throughout England. Bob Schuettinger, the head of WISC, is a fascinating gentleman who has devoted himself to giving young students the opportunity to experience Oxford. It is with his vision and guidance, and the devotion of his highly-skilled staff, that WISC has become a success... I now consider the time that I spent at Oxford as one of the best experiences of my life, academically as well as socially"
Harry Hutchinson, BA
Duke University
(New College, Oxford, Hilary, 1999)
From a Major Study Abroad Program
Syracuse University conducts one of the largest overseas programs for Americans studying in many countries around the world. WISC has had an agreement with Syracuse University to place some of their qualified students in Oxford since 1994. The following is an excerpt (quoted with permission) from a recent letter.
"Since 1994, the highly motivated Syracuse University undergraduate and graduate students who have attended various Oxford colleges, including St. Antony's, through WISC have had an excellent academic experience"
Sue Shane
Assistant to the Director, Division of International Programs
Syracuse University
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