2013 Galápagos Expedition with Professor William Durham
Being part of the Stanford MLA program also means exciting opportunities for intellectual engagement around the globe, through our travel and study abroad programs.
Faculty members lead international trips for the MLA community, and MLA students and alumni also have the opportunity to apply to and study at Oxford University.
Travel with MLA
The MLA Program offers travel/study trips that provide an opportunity for the MLA community to travel with a Stanford faculty member to locations across the globe. These trips are not credit-bearing, but are a way to see a country with an expert in the local area and in the company of fellow members of the MLA community.
Recent MLA journeys include a 2022 trip to Turkey with Dr. Edward Steidle, South Africa in 2019 with Professor Jim Campbell, Croatia in 2017 with Professor Ivan Lupić, and expeditions to Costa Rica in 2015 and the Galápagos in 2013, both with Professor William Durham.
MLA students and alumni in Croatia on a journey led by Professor Ivan Lupić
“Traveling with fellow MLA alums, accompanied by expert Stanford faculty, has made for unforgettably rewarding, educational experiences. Just one more opportunity to engage with the MLA program and fellow alums!”
—Richard Royse, MLA graduate, traveler on the MLA Costa Rica, Galápagos, and Croatia trips.
Exploring Costa Rica with Professor William Durham
Study Abroad with MLA
The Stanford MLA program has offered special seminars that take place abroad and across the country. These seminars usually count as regular coursework towards the MLA degree, but are generally one to two weeks of intense study in settings that enhance the academic experience. While infrequent, these courses are well-loved by our students.
Past study trips include:
- The Bloomsbury Group, a course that took place at Cambridge University with emeritus Stanford Professor Peter Stansky
- Three 20th-Century Minds: Eliot, Pound, and Yeats was held in England at Burnt Norton (the site made famous by Eliot’s 1935 poem of the same name), and was taught by Stanford Professor William Chace
Cambridge
Study at Oxford
Study with Oxford dons in historic libraries, wander through fourteenth-century quadrangles, or go punting on the Cherwell. Oxford's Department of Continuing Education offers three-week sessions in English Literature and in History, Politics, and Society each summer. Students may choose to live on campus in historic Exeter College (founded in 1314), or may find their own lodging in Oxford. MLA students who are accepted into and successfully complete Oxford's program may receive up to four units on their Stanford transcript. (The Oxford units do not replace any of the courses or seminars required for the MLA degree, and fees are paid by the student directly to Oxford University. For more information, visit Oxford Summer Programmes.
