Author: Wyatt Rice | Major: Political Science, Economics | Semester: Summer 2025
Enjoying some sightseeing during my early days in London.
As I return from my summer study abroad to start my third year at the University of Arkansas, I am grateful for the opportunity and experiences I was able to have. Study abroad was never something on my radar before coming to college, and because of my relatively compact degree plan I assumed I would be unable to fit a study abroad in during the school year. Choosing a summer program has allowed me to get a full experience abroad while staying on track for graduation. My program was at the London School of Economics, completing two three-week summer school sessions, with one course each. The LSE has always interested me and is an institution I’ve considered pursing graduate school at after leaving Fayetteville. It is also houses some of the most prestigious economics and political science faculty in the world, so the opportunity to learn from them was too good to pass up.
Over the two sessions I completed two courses, each between three and four US credit hours. The first course, International Political Economy, was taught by Jeffrey Chwieroth, the head of the IR department at the LSE. The course built on some of my baseline knowledge of macroeconomics and IR theory, blending the two and examining their interactions. I felt the class did a lot in the way of grounding both of those concepts; with economics and political theory I find myself getting lost in the high-minded hypotheticals, and combining the two made them feel more tangible. My second three-week course was “Power Shift: The West, the BRICS, and the Crisis of the Liberal International Order?” Other than a mouthful of a name, the course was a primer on different IR theories of hegemony, power, and transitionary moments, as well as an overview of trends in different parts of the world that could shape global politics in this decade and beyond. I enjoyed the courses for different reasons, but both really challenged me on an intellectual level that I haven’t experienced before. This was true in the lecture content, the seminars, and in conversations with my peers outside of class. The biggest impact on me was an environment of genuine, palpable curiosity. My time in London was also filled with amazing experiences outside of class.
My experience organizing the study abroad through API paired me with three random flat mates, who I became very close with over the course of the session. Whether we were taking a train to the coast on the weekend, or just shooting darts at the pub until close, the forced proximity was a blessing. One of my flat mates was also a Chelsea football fan, who happened to be playing in (and eventually winning) the club World Cup while we were in London. While the games ironically all took place in the US, heading to the pub where Chelsea was first founded to watch the games was the most English, I felt during my entire time abroad. The abundant public transportation in Europe also meant that down time from class could become hiking trips at the cliffs of Dover or long weekends in Paris for surprisingly cheap. These mostly came later in the second half of my time abroad, especially as the initial “touristy” feeling began to wear off and I felt more comfortable navigating and experiencing the country on my own. In the last week I had in London I didn’t feel ready to leave. despite some of the challenges, I had become fond of living in the city and studying at LSE. While the first weeks felt long and difficult, the final few flew by. I hope that despite leaving, I can bring some of the habits and enthusiasm that helped me through my two summer courses back to Fayetteville as I begin my Junior year.