Advanced Studies in England - ASE

ASE recently celebrated its 35th anniversary with a special alumni reunion in Bath. Lunch was enjoyed in style at the Bathwick Boatman followed by a silent disco and fancy dress party! Rob Jones, ASE’s Alumni Coordinator, shares his thoughts on the unique task of deciding the lunch seating arrangements for sixty-six people, with varying connections and relationships. What everyone had in common was the shared experience of ASE.

Read the full piece on our blog. Link in bio.

Summer School is flying by. Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it!☀️ Last weekend the Theatre Summer School journeyed to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, and saw ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ at the Royal Shakespeare Company. 🎭 After an evening spent at the Dirty Duck post show, they got to join a talk back session that involved two of the actors and a live rehearsal of one of the scenes. An acting workshop, Shakespeare’s Birthplace, New Place, and Anne Hathaway’s Cottage were all on the itinerary as well. One of our Theatre Summer School students Evelyn is currently sharing what a week as a ‘TSS’ student looks like in our stories. Tune in or check her highlight on our profile! Stay tuned for what the rest of the programme did.

Tyra Smith, a Franklin and Marshall student who studied with us this last semester, reflects on how our Bridgetower Fund gave her the opportunity to go even further afield in her study abroad experience.

Read the full piece on our blog. Link in bio.

Only One More Day Until Summer School 🌞🥳
Tomorrow, our Summer School students will arrive, making the elegant city of Bath their home for the next five weeks!

Take a look at these stunning shots captured by past students, showcasing the mesmerizing sunsets and sunny cityscapes that await you. Don't forget to prepare for a little rain too! 🌧

We can’t wait to welcome you to Bath and help you make unforgettable memories.

This week is mid semester break and while our students are making the most of being based in Europe, taking trips to various cities and sites, the sun is shining here in beautiful Bath. When they return they will find the city warmer than when they left and spring around every corner.

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Still thinking about signing up for our summer school? We'd recommend doing so soon as spaces are filling up and you wouldn't want to miss out on the fantastic courses we are offering, such as this one from Mary Kovaleski Byrnes.

London Calling/Londyn Dzwoni: Transnational Narratives of Migration and Belonging is a course that she describes as being 'a study of contemporary transnational British writers working today in various genres to redefine and reimagine what British literature can be'.

Swipe through to see what else she had to say about her course, or click the link in our bio to read all about this course, and the others that we are offering in Summer 2024!

It's 'All Things ASE' time again, this month Dan Rosenberg (Wells College) discusses his summer 2023 course 'Ecstatic Ekphrastics: Poems Alongside Visual Art' and how his students reacted to it.

Read the whole article online now (link in bio)

Beautiful Bath views that will be very familiar to our alums and soon to our Spring students

While living in the city of Bath is definitely something to be excited about, our residential in Stratford upon Avon is another highlight of studying with us for a semester. We spend three fun-packed days in the city, seeing plays by the Royal Shakespeare Company and exploring the historical sites the town has to offer - most of them linked to Shakespeare as it is his hometown.

Here are some wintery shots that our Autumn 2023 cohort were treated to.
NB. our spring students will hopefully see Stratford in the sun (and definitely minus the christmas decorations!)

Thinking of studying abroad this summer? Here is one of the fantastic courses that we have on offer. ☀️

Anne Valente will be teaching 'Writing Places: Bath and Beyond', which she describes (in three words) as place-inspired, generative, creative. She says that 'students can look forward to a rigorous yet adventurous delving into multiple genres of creative writing - fiction, non-fiction and poetry - that explore Bath in person in order to examine the importance of place in writing.’ So if that sounds like the sort of thing you are looking for, visit our website and sign up now!

Link in bio

Happy New Year!

We hope that you all enjoyed some time off over the festive period just as we did. We are now heading back to work to start planning and prepping for a very exciting 2024 🎉

The latest Alumni News is out!

PRESENTING OUR ANNUAL NEWSLETTER, WITH ITS USUAL MIX OF UPDATES AND REFLECTIONS, AND ARTICLES BY ALUMS, FACULTY AND STAFF.
This edition includes:
News of our 35th anniversary events in July!
An advert for our first Alumni Study Trip
Images of the newly refurbished face of Nelson House
Updates on our scholarships, and giving campaigns
Read it at

Ms. Nora Stocovaz’s Society Pages

Here at ASE students are in the thick of their first round of papers. While this doesn’t leave much room for gallivanting around Bath, I spent my day Friday doing just that with my Myths and Legends class. We visiting Cadbury Castle, to discover it is only a hill, and practices our battle faces. Then we went into Glastonbury to explore the Abbey and hiked our way up to the Tor. While the walk was trying the view was well worth it.
After a weekend of working on papers I got to see Emily Wilson speak at Toppings about her brand new translation of The Iliad! It was truly an excellent evening.
Our core lecture this week took us into the stunning Bath Abbey where we learned all about its history and the new programs to make the Abbey a sustainable building.

Best of luck to all my fellow students working through their many assignments!

CALLING ALL THEATRE FOLK!

We have just built our third alumni community (and the second on Facebook).

If you are and ASE alum, or friend of the programme, connected with the world of theatre or film, either professionally or otherwise, head on over to ASE Theatricals - ASE Theatricals - and sign up.

Our two other communities are 'ASE Educators', a LinkedIn-based group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12810205/ and 'ASE Writers' - https://www.facebook.com/groups/asebathwriters .

ASE in USA:
Round-up from The Road
by
The Men in Vests (AKA waistcoats)

While our uber-intrepid Road Warrior Karyn Jones has yet more Fairs and campus visits to do this Fall, with Rob already safely back in the UK and Jonathan heading home tomorrow, this seems a good time for a hearty THANK YOU to all you alums, study abroad folk and faculty friends who showed up and helped us out over the past few weeks!

We’ve been, frankly, DELIGHTED (and at times a trifle overwhelmed) by the extraordinary enthusiasm shown for the Programme, both by those who know us well, and by the many hundreds of potential new recruits to the ASE Family we’ve encountered in our travels - and at our tables.

The upshot? Record enrolments for Spring, and an unusually early surge in applications for Summer 2024… not to mention LOTS of interest in our July 3, 2024 35th Anniversary celebrations!

One way or another, we hope to see you ALL in Bath very soon!

Hi everyone, my name is Sydney Dyer, and I’ll be taking over the Instagram stories for this week! I’m from Maine and I’m studying at Gettysburg College as a double major in English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. I came to ASE out of a desire for unique, enriching English courses as well as lots of potential to travel, both of which I’ve gotten through this program (I took this picture on my trip to Bristol a few weeks ago!). Paper due dates are coming up, so join me for my busy week of studying!

Ms. Nora Stocovaz’s Society Pages

I have enjoyed a relaxing weekend back in Bath after our adventures in Oxford! We ended Oxford Week with an exceptional formal meal in their dining hall and evening at the college bar.
This week some students ventured to the open day at Bath Spa University where we can join clubs.
Students also had the opportunity to visit the Roman Baths on Tuesday or Thursday. It was truly magical to wander through the expansive bathing complex. I finished off the week with an afternoon of cards and snacks in the Nelson House lounge.

A calm week was much needed after the hustle and bustle of Oxford, and with paper due dates approaching!

Hi everyone! My name is Eliz, and I’m from Moscow, Russia. I’m a freshman at Franklin and Marshall College. As a part of the iF&M program, I came to Advanced Studies in England, and I’m so excited to start my education here! Over the past few weeks, I have been exploring the city and learning many interesting facts about British literature and history. And I’m looking forward to new adventures!

I am excited to announce that I will be taking over the stories this week, so stay tuned for updates!

Ms. Nora Stocovaz’s Society Pages

What a busy week! Oxford week has been just packed and flying by.
My travels started on Friday with a trip to Great Witcombe and Cirencester with the incredible Tim Moller and Roman’s class. We got to handle artifacts and even clean an original Roman mosaic!!
We departed on Saturday for Oxford, making a stop at Churchill’s ancestral home and gardens. Our first night at University college the college bar opened to house an ASE disco night. While we have been very busy with classes and class trips that hasn’t stopped students from doing their own exploring.
I spent a lovely morning at the Ashmolean and went on the Uncomfortable Oxford tour provided by ASE. Students have visited the Bodlien Library, the Natural History museum and some are trying to find every Oxford College.
And, of course, the program went punting in the rain, for a true British experience. It may have been wet, but as a passenger it was rather beautiful.
Tonight we will be treated to a formal dinner in the Univ dining hall as our final meal before departing.

I can’t wait to see everyone in their finest!

Hi everyone! My name is Deepika, and I'm from India. I'm a senior at Mount Holyoke College, majoring in Physics with a Nexus (which is like a minor) in Education Policy and Practice. Through Advanced Studies in England, I'm doing an education placement at a local school and taking politics and a children's literature class!

I'm taking over this week. Follow along to see and hear my experience at University College, Oxford! 🤯

Ms. Nora Stocovaz’s Society Pages

Classes have truly taken off this week but that did not stop the ASE students from indulging during the hot weekend. I ventured to Warliegh Weir to swim in the River Avon, an experience I would highly recommend to anyone. On Saturday, most of The Ralph took a hike to Prior Park to make the most of the Heritage Open Days in Bath. We did make the mistake of walking the mile up-hill but it was surely worth it for the free admission to an incredible park. After a long sit in the shade with a cold drink we explored the beautiful grounds and architecture. Many of my companions at ASE took the weekend to venture to Durdle Door, a truly stunning beach on the Jurassic coast.

ASE is in the full swings of Green Week! We kicked off the week with a rousing lecture from our own De. Lucy Martin about the Viking perception of nature, followed by sustainable travel drop in, a visit to the Bath Organic Garden, and a skyline walk. It has been an excellent week to get in touch with the rolling hills surrounding Bath.

But what is really on everyone’s mind is Oxford Week! On Saturday we depart for six days in University College, and the ASE students eagerly aware the adventure to begin!
I imagine next week will certainly be an exciting one!

Hi everyone! My name is Erin and I’ll be taking over the stories this week🙌 I’m from New Jersey and I go to Kenyon College where I study English and History, and play rugby! I’m excited to study at ASE this semester because of the variety of English classes and opportunity to go on study trips for my courses.

Ms. Nora Stocovaz’s Society Pages

Hi Everyone! I am Nora and I will be the Social and Cultural assistant, as well as the Marketing and Publicity assistant for this semester. I am a junior at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania but grew up in Philadelphia. I am majoring in Classical Studies and Anthropology, I am here to continue my pursuits of Classical Studies and indulge in the many museums. Each week you will be hearing all about what social and cultural programming and events ASE students have been getting up to! While I am not writing about scandals, such as Ms.Whistledown, I hope it will be equally as interesting.

These first two weeks have been quite busy! I’m our first week here the students went mini golfing, or adventure golfing as the English say, and enjoyed a beautiful reception in the Victoria Art Gallery. On the Sunday before classes the whole program toured Lacock, visited Stonehenge, AND the Salisbury Cathedral, finishing the day off with a pub meal, I had sticky toffee pudding. Just yesterday we were treated to a passionate tour of Bath by Andrew Butterworth. In our little free time my housemates in The Ralph have been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather at the Royal Crescent and exploring the many pubs and coffee shops.

I hope all are enjoying their first week of classes and I can’t wait for more exploring!

Hi everyone! I’m Cyd, and I’m from New Jersey, studying English and Music at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. I’m very excited to be doing the first instagram takeover for the ASE Autumn 2023 semester! I chose ASE because I was interested in the creative writing tutorial as well as literature and creative writing courses that were being offered. I’m loving being in Bath, and I’m very excited to explore the city some more and to jump right into my first week of classes!

I’ll be taking over the instagram stories, so feel free to follow along for the week!!

Please join us in welcoming our Autumn 2023 semester students to ASE, all 50 of them from 20 different colleges 🥳☀️! Enjoy some highlights from our orientation week that went by in a flash. There was mini-golfing, a fabulous welcome reception at the Victoria Art Gallery , a day trip to Lacock, Stonehenge and Salisbury and sunshine all around. Today, we are straight into classes for Teaching Week 1. Stay tuned for student takeovers starting soon and many more ASE updates.

Hi all, after a lovely summer break, we’re back and excited for Autumn 2023! Much has been going on that we’d love to share with you…

Our first day back at the office saw ASE staff receiving a training session from the wonderful (have a slide through the photos to read what they’re all about).

We then viewed ASE’s newest student house, followed by a ‘meeting’ with the landlord in the afternoon sun. We hope future students will love the house as much as we all do! 🥳🥂

Today, Micki (Au22, F&M) visited Nelson House. They spent the summer studying acting in London, and are currently visiting UK schools with a view to grad studies over here. (Don’t be fooled by the photos of Micki with Lucy and Annie: work on Nelson House may look like it’s completed, but we still have a few days to go before the grand reveal!)

Finally, our IG page has gone through some renovation of its own. We’ve streamlined the types of accounts and businesses we follow, focusing on study abroad offices, local community groups, businesses and partners in Bath and beyond. We hope this’ll make it easier for you to engage with Bath-based organisations while you’re an ASE student, or when you return for a visit.

Please continue to tag us and keep in touch via the ASE ALUMS FB group and our contact email!

ASE is on summer mode. Things are moving a little slower around here while Nelson House is getting a long awaited serious spruce to the front of the building 🎉 supported immensely by many generous alumni donations. We can’t wait to see what the Nelson House facade looks like when we return in August. In the meantime, we wish everyone a great summer.

We miss you already Summer School 2023. We had a fabulous Final Tea last Friday and are hoping that everyone got home safely or on to their next adventure. Swipe for some key Summer 2023 moments. Be sure to stay in touch and visit us around 11 for coffee/tea (or your choice of hot beverage) at Nelson House.