First-Year Students to Study Abroad in London through new Oxford Program
In Fall 2025, 50 incoming Oxford students will journey across the Atlantic Ocean to live and study in the historic home city of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Notting Hill, and Tower Bridge.
Oxford Launch: London is a transformative opportunity for first term students to live, learn, and explore in the bustling capital city known for its rich history, culture, fashion, and art.
The inaugural program will be led by Oxford faculty members Associate Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies Pablo Palomino and Assistant Professor of English Sarah Higinbotham, who will accompany the students to London and teach two of their courses. In addition to delving into the rich history and vibrant culture of this renowned British city, Palomino and Higinbotham will also provide mentorship, support, and college advising for students throughout their time abroad and when they return to Oxford to finish their first and second years.
"Global education is critically important as we prepare students to live, work, and thrive in an increasingly interconnected and complex world,” says Oxford Dean Badia Ahad. “The Oxford Launch: London program will provide students with a unique opportunity to experience an Oxford education—one that values experiential, practice-based, and purpose-driven learning—in the heart of London. With historic London as their classroom, students will not only engage with its rich cultural and academic landscape but also develop essential life skills—resilience, adaptability, and an expanded worldview."
Oxford Launch: London is a signature program of Global Oxford within the Oxford Center for Pathways and Purpose, and has partnered with IES Abroad, a premier leader in study abroad and experiential learning programs.
Students to Experience Bards and Barristers, Culinary History and Global Commerce
During their semester abroad, students will attend classes at IES London Center close to The British Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Smithfield Markets, and Covent Garden. While participating, they will live in a residence hall in the Camden/Kentish Town neighborhood in northwest London with nearby Underground transit stations, restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, and coffee shops.
“I am excited to feel Shakespeare’s art come to life in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, where we will immerse ourselves in the English Renaissance. We’ll study Shakespeare’s plays in the classroom, then head to the West End and the Globe to see the plays performed by world-class actors,” Higinbotham shares. Students also will have an opportunity to study archival materials housed in the Bodleian Library and Hereford Cathedral Library. “We’ll go to the British Library’s Rare Manuscript Room and turn the pages of 400-year-old books. Students will never forget the experience of investigating archival materials for their own work.”
Higinbotham is fascinated by the interconnection of London’s influence as a metaphor in the work of literary greats such as William Shakespeare, William Blake, Charles Dickens, and George Eliot. In her Discovery Seminar, a course that every Oxford first-year student takes as the first step in the College’s signature general education curriculum, students will explore how “metaphors change the way we think about complex ideas like war, time, economy, love, illness, drugs, gender, justice, and race,” she notes. “Using field research and psychological studies, we will discover and experience how the dynamic city of London has functioned as a metaphor through the centuries.”
Meet The Faculty Co-Leaders
Pablo Palomino
A multilingual scholar and traveler, Associate Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies Pablo Palomino recently spent three days at the Emory TangoFest, sharing his passion for the culture of modern Latin America.
Full Bio
Sarah Higinbotham
With respect for the world’s great English writers and a passion for human rights, Assistant Professor of English Sarah Higinbotham approaches teaching with an eye on experiential learning.
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Palomino, a cultural historian of music and food, also recognizes the strength of the city’s global culture, particularly in the realm of food and music. In his Discovery Seminar, he will take students on a culinary journey into the past. “Students may not know that the British Empire and London were essential in the making of the modern global food system, and we will examine the economic, environmental, social, and cultural dimensions of culinary commerce,” he says. “I want students to experience globalization of people and cultures through food.”
“I love the city, its history, architecture, historical archives, and music, and the ability one has as a visitor to discover all of that through very long walks,” Palomino says, adding that they will tour on foot and savor the famous food markets of London. Palomino’s passion for music will also guide coursework. “We’ll answer questions like ‘What is urban music?’ and ‘What is a soundscape?’ How do the city, the sounds, and specific music platforms connect to create a genre? How did Caribbean music become British, and vice-versa? We could even visit the mythical Abbey Road recording studios with the goal of tracing global interactions in the Beatles’ catalog and museum.”
Students will supplement the courses taught by Higinbotham and Palomino with additional classes, preparing them for continued academic success when they return to Oxford and reunite with classmates they met before traveling abroad.
“Before heading to London, these first-year students will engage in Oxford's comprehensive orientation program and take part in time-honored traditions like the iconic ‘Coke Toast’ and the Oxford Olympics,” says Dean Ahad. “These experiences will allow for meaningful connections to their classmates and a warm welcome into the Oxford College community.”
Students who wish to be considered for Oxford Launch: London should apply to Oxford College by submitting the Common Application no later than January 1.