The Studies Abroad department seeks enthusiastic students for new international programs
Wednesday night, Espresso UP hosted its Studies Abroad open house in St. Mary’s Student Center, where students were able to learn more about studying overseas as well as get to know about the different programs UP offers. John Orr, associate professor of English (left) will teach in China in a summer program. (Hannah Gray -- The Beacon)
By Corey Fawcett Staff Writer fawcett13@up.edu
This year UP is offering new opportunities for all UP students interested in taking their studies to an international level.
The Studies Abroad department has its hands full with new programs in Freiburg, Germany, Galway, Ireland, Beijing, China, Rome, Italy, Santiago, Chile, Madrid, Spain and Cape Town, South Africa.
"We're trying to provide opportunities for the highly motivated," Fr. Art Wheeler, C.S.C., director of Studies Abroad, said.
One program is taking place right now in Freiburg, Germany.
The purpose of the program is to familiarize students with the countries, institutions and policies involved in the European Union.
Students take field study excursions to cities like Berlin, Prague, Brussels and Paris, then students choose the destination of their third and final field study based on their interests.
Junior Hannah Schultz, one of two of the first students to participate in the program, has decided to do her field study in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. For the time being, however, she's happy to be in Freiburg.
"Freiburg reminds (sic) of a lot of Portland," she said in an email. "It's a very laid-back, eco-friendly, university town. But it's also completely unique. I've loved every minute here so far.
Another new program is taking place for the first time this spring in Galway, Ireland.
The students will spend three days with a Gaelic-speaking host family before moving in with Irish flatmates near the National University of Ireland.
Courses and excursions to Northern Ireland, Dublin and the Aran Islands will educate students – who need at least a 3.5 GPA to apply – on subjects like Irish poetry, music, history and folk culture, according to Wheeler.
"It's for people who want to go to graduate school in things like English and history," he said.
Junior Ian Clark, whose love of James Joyce sparked his initial interest in the program, is looking forward to being in the first group to go in the spring.
"Other groups have set traditions," he said. "There's an adventurous spirit of going into something new like this."
Andrea Monto, a junior, was ready to participate in the Morelia program last summer, but it got canceled due to safety reasons five days before the start date.
Now she's applying to the new Santiago program. If accepted, means she will stay with a Spanish-speaking family and forgo English for six weeks this summer.
Students will take an upper division Spanish class and an "International Welfare: Social Service Systems" class taught by Anissa Rogers from the social work department. Excursions will focus on social service both locally and internationally.
Monto looks forward to improving her Spanish skills.
"The classroom can only take you so far," she said.
The spring semester program in Madrid is best for engineering majors, although anyone can apply, according to engineering professor Mark Kennedy.
Students will take Spanish, math, engineering and fine arts classes at the Universidad de Carlos III.
Engineering applicants must be prepared to take a summer course after the program to catch up, according to Kennedy.
"The student who does this has to be above average (academically)," he said.
However, according to Kennedy, it will be worth the work.
"Engineering careers are global in nature," he said. "And there's a big potential for engineering students to be working for companies in Latin America."
An opportunity for students with an interest in Catholicism has popped up in Italy and will take place for the first time this summer.
The new Catholic Studies and Social Justice summer program will take students to historical Italian towns relevant to the Catholic faith like Assisi, Siena and Subiaco. They will spend most of their time in Florence (one week) and Rome (four weeks) where they will live in apartments.
"The thing that delights me most is that we can focus on our Catholic heritage," said Fr. Jim Lies, C.S.C., who will be teaching a class there. "We are a Catholic university with a Catholic tradition and our focus will be unabashedly that."
Sophomore Jessica Kast says the program is ideal for theology majors like herself.
"I'm excited to be immersed in the history of the Catholic Church where it has its roots," she said.
The spring semester Beijing program will introduce students to Chinese culture, geography and language.
"Beijing, in a lot of ways, is the cultural center of China," John Orr of the English department said. He who will teach a Chinese literature class there for six weeks in the summer.
Students will trek to destinations like the Three Gorges region, the Tibetan plateau and the Great Wall.
The summer program in Cape Town, South Africa, is still being developed. Its focus will be on child development, and students will live in apartments near the University of Cape Town.
The first group will go in the summer of 2013.
"We want people to know it's coming," Wheeler said.
This influx of new programs at UP reflects a changing mindset on the national level, according to Kennedy.
"The U.S. has to think globally," he said.
Priority applications for all programs are due Oct. 5.
The Galway, Ireland program begins with a three-day homestay with a Gaelic-speaking family, after which the students move in with Irish housemates. (Hannah Gray -- The Beacon)
Students learn about new Studies Abroad programs at Espresso UP on Wednesday night. (Hannah Gray -- The Beacon)
