London: Economy, International Trade, & Environment

Start your summer on this immersive three-week course in London exploring the city through the eyes of London's finest business, economics, and finance experts. Join the UofM Department of Economics in examining the city’s existing and evolving role in international finance and trade. You will explore topics like financial services, trade policies, and migration while visiting iconic locations such as Lloyd’s of London, the Houses of Parliament, and Canary Wharf, complemented by insights from guest lecturers from world-renowned universities. The program also highlights London's rich cultural and historical diversity through excursions to the Tower of London, Brick Lane, and the Migration Museum.

During your time in London, you will share a bedroom with one of your classmates. Accommodations include a furnished room with towels, a blanket, a pillow, and bed linens. Wireless internet is also included.

The program includes a welcome dinner, a farewell dinner, and an afternoon tea experience. Additional meals can be prepared in the housing or taken at local eateries.

March 1, 2025

May 19–June 9, 2025

This course explores London’s evolution as a global trade and financial hub, emphasizing the impacts of Brexit and globalization. You will examine London’s role in trade policy, financial services, and environmental stewardship, including its net-zero carbon goals through measures like efficiency standards and clean energy. Ethical and equitable trade policy, welfare impacts, and strategies for improving societal well-being are central to discussions. The course also delves into race relations, migration history, and cultural diversity, from Caribbean and South Asian communities to Jewish migration post-WWII. Modern challenges, including protests and inequities following George Floyd’s death, will be critically analyzed.

Dr. Adway De is a Lecturer at the Economics Department and a Energy Economist with the State of Minnesota. His research interests include environmental economics, decarbonization policies, and electricity market design. Dr. De is interested in the UK's energy markets and its recent push towards decarbonization.

Dr. Fahima Aziz is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include micro-finance, poverty and income inequality, gender issues in the labor market, and recently, the scholarship of teaching and learning. Dr. Aziz is deeply interested in examining how students learn and the importance of instilling metacognitive skills.

Excursions may include:

• Walking tour of London’s Famous square mile with professional guide
• Walking Guided tour of Canary Wharf
• Entry and guided tour of Westminster Abbey
• Entry and guided tour of Lloyd’s of London
• Entry and guided tour of UK Parliament
• Entry and onsite speaker at Migration Museum
• Entry and onsite speaker at The Economist
• Walking tour of Brick Lane tour with a professional guide
• Arrangements for Sustainable London Tour
• Arrangements for City Finance Tour
• Day trip to Cambridge
• Day trip to Oxford with a professional guide

For more information about this program, please contact Adway De at [email protected].

March 1, 2025

May 2025 Cost of Participation

Program fees can vary widely due to location, cost of living, airfare, and program inclusions. The program fee generally includes tuition, group flight airfare, airport transfers, in-country program related transportation, housing, some meals, entrances to course-related excursions and site visits, program administration, and international health insurance. You must also budget for passport and passport photos, some meals, textbooks, independent travel, and miscellaneous living expenses.

If you wish to cancel your participation in the program, you must email the instructor, Professor Fahima Aziz at [email protected] and submit a “Request for Cancellation of this Application” in your LAC application. Cancellation is effective from the date the request is submitted to the LAC application. You will likely continue to accrue non-recoverable costs until notification is sent.

The cancellation policy and relevant financial obligations also apply if you have been confirmed and your application is canceled by the instructors for failing to submit required materials by the deadline, and if you are dismissed from the program after it has already started.

You have the option to appeal the cancellation policy when canceling a program due to extenuating circumstances. Learn more about the LAC's cancellation policy and what constitutes as extenuating circumstances.

Financial Obligation

The application fee and confirmation deposit are non-refundable. The instructors reserve space in the program for you upon receipt of the Confirmation and Payment Agreement. At this point, the Program incurs certain non-recoverable costs.  Therefore, if you cancel at any time after the Confirmation and Payment Agreement has been received, you will be responsible for part or all of the program fee, as described in the sections below.

The application fee, deposit, and program fee, if applicable, will be fully refunded in the following cases:

• The instructors and/or the LAC cancel the Study Abroad London course before the official start date or,
• You are a waitlisted student and your application is canceled because no additional spots became available in the program.

Refund Schedule

• 75 days or more prior to the start date: Application fee + confirmation deposit + non-recoverable flight costs
• 74-60 days prior to the start date: Application fee + non-recoverable flight costs + 25% of remaining program costs
• 59-45 days prior to the start date: Application fee + non-recoverable flight costs + 50% of remaining program costs
• 44-31 days prior to the start date: Application fee + non-recoverable flight costs + 75% of remaining program costs
• 30 days or less prior to the start date: Application fee + non-recoverable flight costs + 100% of remaining program costs