American Studies
Derby Exchange Program
The Derby Exchange program is offered through The American Studies Program and The Institute for American Thought. The program is sponsored jointely by Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and the University of Derby in Great Britain. Indiana University has a wide range of overseas study programs in place, and the Derby program (pronounced ‘Dar-bee’) has become one of the most popular semester-long exchanges on the IUPUI campus. Students with academic or personal interests in British culture and Britain’s constantly evolving role as a member of the European Community will find the Derby-IUPUI exchange opportunity worth exploring. Overseas study can enrich any student’s university experience, and program advisors try to identify students who can successfully balance the demands of the British higher education system, the opportunities of a new social environment, and the challenges of scheduling courses that will make progress toward graduation back home.
About the Program
General Scope of the Exchange
The overseas exchange program between IUPUI and the University of Derby is administratively centered on the American Studies programs of both universities. It provides an exchange opportunity for British students majoring in the BA (Hons) American Studies program at Derby, who are required to complete an exchange semester at one of five American colleges and universities that participate in the Derby exchange. The American Studies program at IUPUI hosts the British students during the spring semester of their second year (Derby’s American Studies program is a standard three-year British baccalaureate course of study).
The exchange agreement provides for IUPUI students, usually in their junior or senior year of study, to spend an exchange semester studying at the University of Derby. The exchange of IUPUI students was originally limited to the fall semester, but we now send students in both the fall and spring terms. Although the Derby students will always be American Studies majors, there are no major restrictions on IUPUI students selected for Derby exchange. A Liberal Arts major provides the best chance for course equivalency, but students in any major may be able to find equivalent courses if they have some general or school elective options open to schedule. Derby has a range of majors in the arts and sciences, design and technology, applied arts, and business that may allow for majors course equivalencies, but such options will have to be evaluated very carefully by the student, the academic advisor, and the director of American Studies during the course selection period prior to exchange.
Students must be able to bear the costs of the exchange, which are outlined in subsequent sections or links related to this pre-departure brochure. Tuition and fees are paid in the normal way to the student’s home university rather than the host university. This keeps the enrollment-related paperwork to a minimum and allows students from both schools to avoid the higher tuition fees usually associated with international student status. IUPUI and Derby exchangers are still classified as international students and must follow all of the university and federal requirements for exchange status; these requirements are discussed or linked in subsequent sections. Numbers of students on exchange will vary from semester to semester, but will generally remain on a level of parity between the two universities.
Developmental Background
Initial contact with faculty of the University of Derby’s American Studies program dates back to 1999. In the spring of 2000 Professor Jane Schultz of IUPUI was invited to present a paper on the Derby campus and arranged for a reciprocal presentation by Derby faculty on the IUPUI campus the following semester. Simon Philo, Lecturer in American Studies at Derby and coordinator of the overseas exchange program, visited IUPUI from 7 to 11 October 2000 and laid the groundwork for an exchange agreement. Professor Jon Eller, then chair of the American Studies executive committee, and program director Professor Marianne Wokeck together won approval of the program in 2003 and the first Derby students arrived for the spring 2004 semester. The first IUPUI exchangers went to Derby for the fall 2004 term, and in 2006 began to exchange during the spring term as well.
The University of Derby was established in the nineteenth century as an applied arts and teachers college and over time evolved into a “brick and mortar” polytechnical college typically found throughout Great Britain. Derby was a major industrial town that managed to remain smaller than the larger midlands cities as it developed a leading position in the railroad industry and lesser industrial prominence in ceramics. It is in many ways a gateway to the traditional Midlands and to the internationally known Peak District that comprises the major part of Derbyshire. The city is about 120 miles northwest of London, and remains a well-planned urban center with a population of about 350,000. The major cities of Manchester and Birmingham are each about an hour distant. Although Derby has a central location in the south Midlands, and has excellent rail and road connections with London and northern Great Britain, it remains a greenbelt-centered city with many attractions in the surrounding countryside. Nottingham is only twenty miles to the northeast, but once again the greenbelt provides an attractive buffer between Derby and this nearest neighboring city.
During the mid-twentieth century the polytech was expanded into a full range of disciplinary departments and schools and raised to university status, in much the same way that IUPUI has become a core campus of Indiana University. American Studies at the University of Derby includes a strong curriculum and faculty, steady enrollment, and an excellent history of continuing exchange programs with several U.S. universities. A 1997 assessment by the Higher Education Funding Council for England rated Derby’s American Studies department among the top ten in the nation. It is Derby’s highest-ranking departments for faculty research, and in recent years was ranked second in the U.K. for research among post-1992 departments in this field. Students who want to take American Studies courses at Derby will find a major focus on literature and history with strong offerings in film, politics and popular culture. The program offerings are impressively diverse, and reflect the department’s commitment to exploring American Culture in the broadest interdisciplinary contexts.
But IUPUI students who would like to take a wider range of courses will find that the broader curriculum at Derby offers the same interdisciplinary richness in science, technology, and the arts that our students enjoy at home. Derby’s applied and performing arts programs are nationally prominent in the U.K. and should attract exchange interest. More generally, a semester exchange at Derby would serve as a research “gateway” for students majoring in British literature, British history or politics, and related area specialist programs. Such a gateway provides a base of operations for access to major university and national research collections throughout the British Isles. These collections, as well as related cultural and historical performance events, are normally well beyond the means of our students to visit unless they participate in an overseas exchange such as the IUPUI-Derby program.
About the University of Derby
The University has a history that can be traced back over a hundred years, and has grown out of a merger of a number of smaller colleges; the earliest part of the University originated as a teacher training college in 1851. The institution obtained University status in 1992, and has grown rapidly to its present size of about 16,000 full and part-time students, and a total of around 25,000 students including overseas franchises. The University has an International Student Welcome book that can be found at this link: http://www.derby.ac.uk/international/Internat%20Welcome%20Guide.pdf.
