European College of Liberal Arts - Academy Year

  Germany

• Berlin: 
Berlin

Term: Academic Year 
Dates: October through June

Description: The European College of Liberal Arts offers a year long interdisciplinary programme in the humanities. A core curriculum in philosophy, history, literature, political theory and visual art is team-taught by faculty with background in these disciplines.

Students divide their time equally between core courses and electives, and may study languages for extra credit if time permits. In 2009-10 the core courses will be dedicated to Education and Justice in Plato's Republic, Forms of Love: Eros, Agape, Philia, and Values of the Florentine Renaissance. Most AY students have already studied for 1-3 years elsewhere and typically come to ECLA to engage, or reengage, their disciplinary training with a broader context of moral, political, epistemological and aesthetic concerns. Some students enroll in the AY Programme immediately after high school, often inspired by a serious interest in politics, ethics, literature or art - and a wish to find an alternative to what they consider premature specialization.

A one-week study trip to Italy complements the Spring term's emphasis on the Renaissance. Students prepare presentations and lead some of the excursions in a practical exercise of the kind of learning in which they engage in the classroom.

The Seeing Berlin component of the programme gives students and faculty the opportunity to explore together Berlin's artistic and architectural treasures. The programme includes visits to the city's museums, private collections and galleries. In addition, faculty members organize visits to concerts, plays, films and lectures.

Highlights:
* Interdisciplinary core curriculum
* Team-teaching by faculty from different disciplines
* Guest lectures
* Small seminars and one-on-one tutorials
* Writing- and reading-intensive courses
* Study trip to Italy
* Berlin programme (using the city as a classroom)
* State of the World Week (focus on global affairs)
* Residential campus
* International community

Minimum Education: High School

Cost in US$: Approx. 19,000 USD (15.000 Euros)

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Germany Independently

Scholarships are Available. ECLA has a need-based financial aid policy and is committed to giving all applicants who qualify for admission a chance to enroll, regardless of their financial means. Financial aid packages vary in amount and are based on applicants' demonstrated need.

Application Process Involves:

• Essay
• Letters of Reference
• Other
• Phone Interview
• Transcript
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

ECLA European College of Liberal Arts's Mission Statement: ECLA is a private, non-profit institution of higher education. Philantropic grants allow the college to have a need-blind admissions policy and no qualified student is turned away for lack of funding. Each year 40-50 students who are serious about their education live and study together in Berlin. They are taught in small seminars and one-to-one tutorials by a select, young faculty who believe that education can be more than the preparation for a job. ECLA believes that certain problems concerning politics, morality, art and knowledge have a claim on everyone's attention, and that rigorous and genuine dialogue concerning them is a real achievement. We pursue these dialogues in the classroom - through the close study of texts and works of art that have shaped or seek to shape the values we live by - and beyond the classroom.

Year Founded: 2000