Author: Carson Duca | Major: Sociology & Criminology | Semester: Fall 2023

My time studying abroad at the University of Sussex was truly transformative as I had the opportunity to make new connections, travel independently, and learn from different teaching styles. With this being an exchange program, I was almost completely independent in my study abroad experience. This came with its own difficulties in getting comfortable so far away from home, but it also created much flexibility in making this experience my own! Fortunately, my parents were able to fly out with me before my semester at Sussex began, so I was able to explore various cities in England before starting my exchange program. This personally made me more comfortable before I had to move into my dorm on-campus, and since my classes did not start until early October, this trip helped bridge the gap between my summer and my semester abroad. Even though this was technically not a part of my program, I would recommend getting to your destination a bit before your classes start if possible to get yourself familiar with the area. I chose to study abroad at the University of Sussex because the areas of study that they offered were more in line with my majors and minors out of the exchange options that the University of Arkansas has with two universities in the United Kingdom. In the UK, the general length of time to get a general degree is three years, so it was important to go through the course catalog thoroughly in order to pick out the proper classes for myself. Therefore, I chose to enroll in two sociology courses meant for second-year students and two law courses meant for first-year students. These courses served as upper-level elective hours for my sociology major and elective hours for my legal studies minor. Another difference with the education model at Sussex is that I only had ten weeks of classes, but the Winter Break came before the deadlines for most final assignments. Additionally, I had fewer assignments in my classes during the semester, as we were primarily working towards building the skills that would be necessary to complete our final assignments. This provided more flexibility for my experience because I was able to take advantage of traveling during many weekends as long as I stayed diligent with my weekly readings. All of these weekend trips were planned by myself, so I would recommend an exchange program for anyone who wanted to be more independent with their study abroad experience. I was able to visit ten countries in my time abroad!

For anyone who is a fan of the Premier League, the campus of the University of Sussex is walking distance from the stadium of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club. I was able to attend seven Brighton matches, and my tickets were all relatively cheap! Moreover, Brighton was only approximately one hour south of London, making day trips to London a very practical option! I also really enjoyed the public transit infrastructure of Europe in general, which made getting around any city very efficient and fairly cost effective. Overall, this study abroad exchange program gave me the opportunity to further my studies by taking courses on topics that might not be offered at the University of Arkansas while also being able to have fun by traveling and making many new friends!