About
About 12 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles, one of the world’s truly global cities, Whittier College has one of the most diverse student body populations among small liberal arts colleges and our exchange students contribute to this diversity.
Once admitted to Whittier, exchange students are fully integrated into the academic and social life of the College, not separated in special classes or residence halls.
Location
Whitter College is in Southern California, a region of the Golden State that spans from the Tehachapi Mountains on the north to the international border on the south and offers an incomparable array of recreation, entertainment, educational, and professional opportunities. Whittier College exists right at the heart of it - between bustling Los Angeles and beautiful Orange County.
Southern California is a collage of counties and cities, each with its own personality and rich history, that are home to many of the nation’s and the world’s leading cultural and industry influencers. Hollywood’s production studios, Anaheim’s theme parks, and the South Bay’s aerospace industry are all a short drive from Whittier College.
Level of competitiveness
Competitive **
The level of competitiveness (Less competitive * / Competitive ** / Very competitive ***) refers to one's chances of being allocated an exchange space at this partner. This is an approximation determined by the number of applications received for this destination during the last academic year versus the total number of exchange spaces available to Queen Mary students.
Academic Calendar
Semester 1: August to December
Semester 2: January to May
For more information, please visit Whittier College's academic calendar.
Restrictions
This opportunity is only available to students from select academic schools within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS).
Courses
Please check the partner's online course catalogue.
No specific course restrictions are applied, but students are advised to check pre-requisite(s) of individual courses. Exchange students can select courses from different departments as long as the timetable allows.
Credits
Undergraduate modules have a normal value of 3 Whittier credits each. Queen Mary students are required to complete 12 credits minimum to 16 credits maximum per semester and therefore need to take four modules per semester.
Find out more about credit transfer and grade conversions.
Accommodation
Places in on-campus residence halls are reserved for exchange students. Students will be given information on how to submit housing selection preferences upon acceptance. Accommodations are based on double occupancy, as single rooms cannot be guaranteed.
Find out more about housing on Whittier College's Housing and Residential Life webpage
Cost of Living
Whittier College provides information about the cost of living here. You can find general, up-to-date information about the cost of living in California here.
Living expenses can vary depending on individual lifestyle, especially in California where renting private accommodation can be as (if not more) expensive than renting privately in London. Please consult the estimated minimum and maximum cost of living figures for this destination country available in our “Estimated Costs of Living” document available on our Finance page.
Important: Students considering to live and study in California must be realistic about financial matters, this being one of the most expensive cities in the world. In the decision-making process, Queen Mary students must calculate their forecasted budget with confirmed funding to which they will have access against the rising cost of living.
Support Services
For information on accessibility, visit Whittier College's Student Disabilities Services webpage.
