About Us & Activities

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The San Francisco Branch scholarship covers tuition, room and board and airfare for a local high school teacher.  The BUSS Scholar can choose to study Teaching Shakespeare through Performance, and even perform on the Globe stage! or to study at the University of Oxford which offers courses in English­­­­ Literature and in Creative Writing, History, and Politics. The Scottish Universities International Summer School, based at the University of Edinburgh, offers Creative Writing, Contemporary British and Irish Literature, and Theatre. 

Course Offerings:

Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance

This program includes lectures by members of the Globe's artistic staff, master teachers, scholars and theater practitioners from Britain and the U.S.A., as well as guest workshop leaders in theater and education from other English-speaking countries. The emphasis of the course will be on the experiential and transformational nature of the work done at and on the Globe stage and its impact upon teaching and presenting Shakespeare.

English Literature

This program of study provides access to a variety of significant literary figures and movements. Ranging from the splendors of Medieval and Renaissance literature to the exciting diversity of contemporary British fiction, it offers insights into six productive centuries of English literature.

History, Politics, and Society

This program offers a range of courses in History, Politics, and Sociology of Britain and Europe, from the making of modern British politics to the dramatic changes in post-Soviet Russia and the evolution of the European Union.

Text and Context: British and Irish Literature from 1900 to the Present

This course presents an overview of twentieth century literature which seeks to understand British and Scottish culture against a background of social and political change.

If you are interested in becoming a BUSS Scholar for 2017 summer, please complete the following steps:

1. Contact Eileen Macmillan, Branch BUSS Chair, at eileenmacmillan@comcast.net

2. Start your application HERE to be considered for the San Francisco BUSS Scholarship!

3. Go to esu-buss.org for more information on 2017 courses and dates.

4. We want each applicant to fully understand the requirements of accepting a summer-study scholarship; therefore, below is additional information for the applicant's consideration.

• The Scholarship is offered only to educators in the greater San Francisco metro area, which includes: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.
• Applicants must have completed at least four years of full-time teaching in one of the areas in which the scholarships are offered.
• The scholar's role, in addition to being a student, is to be an ambassador for both the English-Speaking Union and the teaching profession.
• The successful applicant will sign a contract with the ESU, San Francisco Branch wherein she/he agrees to repay the entire scholarship amount if for any reason she/he fails to fulfill the entire course of study.
• The successful applicant is expected to attend an San Francisco Branch ESU meeting and offer a short presentation highlighting her or his summer experience.   
• Each successful applicant is expected to become an active member in the English-Speaking Union, San Francisco Branch.