Wales welcomes US students

Eight talented students visit Wales to study the nation's culture, history, politics and landscape

Visiting from universities across the US, the undergraduates will explore the geography, culture, heritage and history of Wales, exploring museums, galleries and tourism landmarks to gain insight into economic and social change.

They will meet UK, Welsh and international students from a wide range of backgrounds, and experience the distinctive regions of Wales and its people.

Hosted by Cardiff, Bangor and Aberystwyth Universities, the fifth Wales Fulbright Summer Institute carries credits towards the students' final degree.

Course Director for the Cardiff University section, Professor Bill Jones of the University's School of History, Archaeology and Religion, said: "This is the fifth year of the Wales Fulbright Summer Institute and this year again it is a great pleasure to work with 8 talented American students who are so enthusiastic about learning more about Wales and its people. The fact that this programme succeeds in attracting some of America's best students shows how highly regarded it is in the USA."

The six-week course will involve the internationally-recognised research and teaching specialisms of all three Universities. In the initial two weeks at Cardiff, students will study economic and industrial change in South Wales over the past three centuries. Highlights include a tour of the Big Pit at Blaenavon and a trip to the Cardiff coast on the University survey vessel, Guiding Light. At Bangor, the students will explore how a small nation upholds its identity, traditions, culture and language in a rapidly globalising world. Whilst at Aberystwyth University, the undergraduates will look at the changing economic and social issues of central Wales.

The Fulbright Commission has been promoting peace and cultural understanding through educational scholarships for more than 60 years. The Summer Institutes are designed to introduce students to the UK while developing their academic and leadership skills.

Cardiff hosts the participants for the first two weeks of a six week stay, which incorporates a fortnight's study at both Bangor and Aberystwyth Universities.

This year the students are:

Mackenzee (Maxx) Borges, Whitman College
Richard Canton, Pomona College
Callahan Corcoran, Northwestern University
Andrew Henderson, Western Kentuky University
Marley Kropp, Grove City College
Anna Madsen, University of South Dakota
Gwennan Plouzek, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Matthew Preszler, The University of South Dakota

Some of the students have set up blogs to share their experiences of the Fulbright Summer Institute:

Marley Kropp