Check out that forum thread on a UK based site, it should have lots of info about the school and program. I don't know about the year vs semester thing, that's a question for the school, but I know others who have gone just for a year.

Im not sure if the 'quality of the education per semester' is the angle you should take about studying abroad.

Sure you'll get credit and learn something, but the 'abroad' aspect, is where the education is, in my opinion. Studying abroad is for getting out of your comfort zone, observing a different way of living, traveling, observing, feeling....

Point should be that you go. Regardless of where.

Thanks for the responses thus far. awkeytect I totally agree. I didn't phrase my inquiries about the pros and cons/quality of entering the actual classes in the spring semester well. It is just when I looked into the various modules that are offered at Sheffield in the higher levels (where I would be placed I assume?), most discuss that the projects to be worked on are a continuation from the prior (fall) semester. I don't know how that would work for a new international student entering. I am sending an email off to them to ask. Points all well taken. I am going to do all I can to go somewhere....it is just a matter of what I can afford. I will be funding most of it on my own. Thanks again.

If I were you, I'd look at options outside of the UK. Since you, yourself agree that cultural exchange, traveling, observing a different way of living, etc. is of importance then I'd imagine there could be more fulfilling options out there.

After-all, outside of perhaps Canada and Australia, you'd be hard pressed to find a country more similar to the USA than Great Britain.

I agree about going elsewhere. I have not checked the exchange rate, but I remember when I did my Paris semester and went to London for a weekend money seemed to fly out of my pocket just standing still. Being in a city more central to travel destinations will be much more beneficial if a class schedule limits when you can get out of town. For my semester we only had class Tue., Wed. & Thur. So Thur I would go to studio with a back-pack packed for a weekend catch an over-night train (Get your euro-rail pass before leaving your country!) and wake- up the next morning pulling into a new city. I would then leave said city Monday night and arrive back in Paris Tues. morning, usually, in time for studio.

Now the program I was in was an extension of the School in the US so we had our own studio space and a professor from the school came with us for the semester (5 students, 1 professor) so it was very loose and worked out great.

There is a landscape program in Paris and I know a few LA students from the US that have gone and I think the classes were in English.

Germany might be a great place to check out also. EVERYONE speaks English which would make it easier finding a place to stay, etc.

All good suggestions, but the restriction is going to be the cost factor. Most of the semester programs that are organized by other schools (not exchange programs with my school) are very expensive- anywhere from 13-20K. While I get that the cost of living expenses in the UK are higher as compared to other countries, the benefit is that I would pay tuition directly to my school and pay room/board through the school abroa. From what I can tell so far, it looks as if it is the most affordable, but I am still researching. I also need to figure in airfare costs- England has to be less $ for a flight than Australia (I'd probably fly out of DC). This would be my first abroad experience, so even though England is a lot like the US, it would all be new to me. PencilPusher, was your program through UF? The Paris program there looks great but it is in the fall and I need to go in the spring.

I will check out the exchange we have with the University of Hamburg though. There is also one run through NC State in Prague that looks interesting and is under 10K. Thanks again for all of the great feedback.