Study Abroad

Since August 2000, Ithaca College students, most of them heading to London for the fall semester, have made a short trip to Edinburgh, Scotland.

August is festival season in Edinburgh. The highly acclaimed Edinburgh International Festival brings world-class theatre, opera, dance, and music to Edinburgh. During the first year of the festival in 1947, eight groups of performers showed up uninvited and performed anyway. These unsolicited performances continued until 1958 when the festival fringe society was created. The Fringe Festival Edinburgh is now considered the largest arts festival in the world.

The Edinburgh Book Festival, which began in 1983, is now a key event during festival time in Edinburgh. An important feature of the Edinburgh Book Festival’s program is its high-profile debates and discussion series. Each year writers from all over the world gather to become part of this unique forum in which audience and author meet to exchange thoughts and opinions on some of the world’s most pressing issues.

Founded in 2004, the Edinburgh Art Festival is Scotland’s largest annual celebration of visual art. The art festival offers a distinctive opportunity to experience the best of contemporary Scottish artists in the context of exhibitions of the most important international artists and movements of the 20th century and other historical periods.

While we have group outings every day, there is plenty of time for students to explore on their own taking advantage of the plethora of theatre, dance, music, opera & comedy offerings as well as the museums and such. 

Itinerary: