Contemporary India: Development, Environment, Public Health

  India

Pune

Term: Fall, Spring, Summer 

Description: The Contemporary India program is designed for students from a wide variety of majors and academic interests, with a curriculum that spans development studies, business, economics, public health, environmental studies, international affairs, political science, film and media studies, anthropology, history, and women's studies.

By providing a core academic base and allowing progressing specialization though electives, culminating in an internship or directed research project of the student's own choosing, the Alliance's Contemporary India program takes an interdisciplinary yet focused approach to these timely and provocative issues, both as they apply to India and in their global context.

Pune (pronounced Poona), a vibrant, dynamic center of both traditional and modern India with a wide and varied array of academic, cultural, professional offerings, has been chosen as our location for this program. Our students will have access to the best of Pune's academic institutions and research facilities, its rich cultural life, its thriving student scene, and its leading NGOs and multi-nationals. Our Pune staff, who have extensive professional experience in study abroad in India and a well-connected local network, will work to maximize students' learning both inside and outside the classroom, while maintaining the highest standards in health, safety, and professional program management.

In all, through this lens of Contemporary India, the Alliance seeks to turn highly-motivated, adventurous U.S. undergraduates into sensitive and sophisticated global citizens, with a nuanced understanding of complex international, regional, and local issues.

Pre-Requisites:
A 3.0 minimum GPA.
Enrollment in an undergraduate degree program at an accredited U.S. institution.
Permission from the home institution to study abroad.
No prior knowledge of Hindi is required.

Highlights:
* Internships Available! The Alliance arranges student placements within Pune's most forward-thinking and well-respected NGOs, as well as multi-national businesses, IT companies, research institutes and think tanks.
* Directed Research! Students are paired with a faculty member or other expert in the area of their interest: students in the arts are paired with accomplished performers and artists, and students with interests in photojournalism or documentary film-making are be placed with faculty at the Film and Television Institute of India or the National Film Archives of India.
* Small, intellectually rigorous classes taught exclusively by Indian university professors and experts in the field.
* Faculty drawn from across Pune's prominent academic insitutions, think tanks, research institutes, and NGOs. Alliance faculty are among the best in the their field, have experience working with foreign or U.S. students, and are committed to the high standards of academic excellence for which our programs are known.
* On-site Resident Directors
* Field Study Trip to Mumbai and a 4-day stay in a rural village
* Numerous local activities
* A range of housing options: from apartments shared with Indian roomates, to semi-independent living arrangements with Indian families.

Experience Required: no

Participants Travel to India Independently or in Groups

Scholarships are Available. The Alliance offers scholarships ranging from USD 500 - USD 6,000, awarded according to need. Students from non-traditional majors or minority backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Please contact visit the Alliance website for more information.

Alliance for Global Education 's Mission Statement: The Alliance for Global Education, LLC is a not-for-profit partnership of the College of Global Studies at Arcadia University and the Institute for Study Abroad, Butler University. Both institutions are pioneers in the field of study abroad and have shown strong commitment to providing academically rigorous and culturally enriching study abroad programs for over 40 years. At the core of the Alliance's mission is to provide stimulating, interdisciplinary study abroad programs in the non-Western world. We seek to introduce undergraduate students to vibrant, dynamic countries and cultures that are of ever-increasing scholarly, political, and economic interest. We also strive to develop students' foreign language proficiency and inter-cultural competence. High academic standards and strong student services lay the foundation for all of our programs. The Alliance programs began in China in 2007 and are launching in India in Spring 2009.

Year Founded: 2007