While others spend their summer swimming and sleeping, 18 students will be given the chance to participate in Missouri Southern’s oldest international exchange program.

Southern’s summer trip to England’s Oxford and Cambridge Universities offers a three week immersion into another country and another culture.

“While England is very similar to the United States, students will notice many different things about the two cultures,” said Dr. Chad Stebbins, director of the Institute of International Studies.

Ten students will attend Cambridge University and eight will attend Oxford.

The semester at Oxford begins on July 7 and goes through July 26. Students attending Cambridge will leave for England at different times during July, depending on their classes, and will stay two to three weeks.

Lisa Palmer’s semester at Cambridge begins on July 14. The senior biology major chose Cambridge over Oxford because of its emphasis on the sciences. While attending, Palmer will take courses on forensics, paleo-ecology and autism as a genetic deficiency.

“I’m just excited about applying what I’ve learned in college,” she said.

All of the students will be staying in the campus residence halls and eating in the cafeteria — a formal dining room where students are required to dress up for meals.

Lacey McMunn, sophomore elementary education major, will attend Oxford University and take courses in Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.

She also traveled to Australia and New Zealand with Southern’s teacher education program for 17 days last summer.

“I just like to see the different cultures everywhere I go,” she said. “I want to take it all in and see as many things as I can.”

McMunn said she was excited about sightseeing in London and especially wanted to visit Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.

One of the major differences between the two universities and Southern are the teaching styles. While Cambridge’s style is much like that of the United States, Oxford has a tutorial teaching system. In this style, a tutor teaches a very small group of students in the tutor’s residence hall room.

“It’s very hands-on and very interactive,” Stebbins said. “Everyone is required to participate in the course, and you get to know your classmates well.”

Anyone who is interested in applying for the 2004 program can contact Stebbins or Dr. Patricia Kluthe, honors program director, for information.

“It’s just a chance to broaden your horizons,” Stebbins said.