Choosing an Off-Campus Study Program

Off-Campus Study programs exist in most regions of the world. You will find information on a very wide range of programs at www.grinnell.edu/offices/ocs.

Featured Programs

The programs featured on the Off-Campus Study website have been carefully selected and are believed to represent some of the best opportunities available today in off-campus study. From among the broad academic and geographical diversity of options, most students should be able to identify a program well suited to their academic goals.

Types of Programs

Most programs offer you the opportunity to enhance your major, concentration, or other area of academic interest while broadening your liberal arts education by learning about another area of the world. In some programs, the courses offered are linked by a common theme, such as women’s studies, environmental studies, or global development studies. In others, coursework may be closely connected to a particular major such as biology or economics. Programs may be organized and operated by American educational institutions, universities abroad, or a combination of both in a cooperative arrangement. Formats vary from traditional classroom-based instruction to fieldwork, independent study, and internship.

Program Competitiveness

It is important to note that off-campus study programs vary considerably in competitiveness. While some programs are highly competitive, accepting only students with higher G.P.A.s and specific course preparation, others may have more relaxed criteria for admission. Specific prerequisites and G.P.A. requirements are normally set out in the program information materials. Campus Program Advisers are also able to advise you regarding your eligibility for a particular program. Normally, Grinnell students apply to only one off-campus study program. Denial of admission to Grinnell students is rare because of the screening that takes place during the on-campus approval process.

Yearlong Programs

Approval to attend yearlong programs is limited and is granted by the Off-Campus Study Board on a competitive basis to students demonstrating exceptional academic achievement, strong written rationale, and support for their plans from their major department. The Off-Campus Study Board gives preference to well-focused proposals designed to deepen the student’s knowledge of a single culture within the context of a single integrated program. Successful applications for yearlong approval normally involve a request to study in one program in one country.

Assessing the Importance of Off-Campus Study

You may already have a good idea about where and what you would like to study off campus. However, if you are just beginning to explore the possibilities, you should reflect seriously on what you are planning to do. Personally, at this point in your life and education, you are likely to be at the optimal point in your capacity to learn by living and studying in a new and challenging environment. Since an optimal point occurs by definition only once in a lifetime, and off-campus study may hold valuable personal, academic, and professional benefits, the careful choice of an appropriate program may well be one of the most important decisions you make during your college career.

Core Rationale for Off-Campus Study

Grinnell requires that you select a program compatible with your academic goals, which you will clearly set out in a four-year course-plan and written rationale for off-campus study. It is up to you to define your goals in consultation with your academic adviser. Since your choice of program must be linked to your academic objectives, you should begin by thinking about why you want to study off campus, i.e., your core rationale. Most students choose to link their off-campus study to their major or concentration while others may wish to use the experience to enhance their understanding of other subjects studied on campus.

Additional Objectives for Off-Campus Study

In addition to the core rationale described above, your choice of program may be partly determined by additional academic objectives you want to achieve. For example, you may wish to broaden your liberal arts education by studying a language or taking courses not offered at Grinnell. You may also have broader educational goals connected to the experience of living in another culture. The possibility of community service, fieldwork, or an internship might be an important consideration. Additional objectives such as these are important to consider along with your core rationale and will help in selecting a program that is right for you.

Campus Program Advisers

A Program Adviser is assigned to every off-campus study program featured by Grinnell College. These advisers are very familiar with the programs they represent and can provide you with detailed program information as well as answering any questions you may have.

Peer Advisers

Every semester, large numbers of Grinnell students return from studying off campus. Talking with other students who have already studied on a program of interest to you is essential to making an intelligent decision about off-campus study.

International Students

Grinnell College is fortunate to have a diverse student body from many parts of the world. International students may be able to provide you with valuable insights and information to help you in making a decision about where to study off campus. The International Students Office will provide names of students from specified countries or regions.

Grinnell-in-London

^{Donna Vinter, English, Resident Director; Jonathan Brown, Biology; Sheila Fox, Theatre; Julianna Fuzesi, Political Science; George W. Jones, Political Science; Katy Layton-Jones, History; Paula Nuttall, Art History; Eric Simpson, English}

Grinnell-in-London takes place each fall semester. The program’s course offerings include topics that change from year to year, reflecting the interests and expertise of Grinnell faculty members who teach on the program. Other courses—in art, English, history, political science, and theatre —are offered regularly by our London-based faculty members.

Students may choose between traditional classes or classes plus an internship. Internship placements take into account the interests of each student. Several parliamentary internships are available.

The program has two phases. In the nine-week Phase I, students earn 8 to 12 credits in three or more courses. In the six-week Phase II, students take one 4 credit course or participate in an internship and required internship seminar for a total of 6 credits. Students live in flats, homes, or residence halls in London, attend classes at the Grinnell-in-London site, and take multiple field trips in London, the English countryside, other parts of Great Britain, and other European destinations.

Phase I Courses

The Florentine renaissance is widely regarded as an artistic watershed, when artists formulated new ways of representing reality based on direct observation, scientific principles, and classical precedent, with profound implications for the course of European art. Equally important were contemporary developments in Flanders, where artists were likewise engaged in new ways of seeing, and where the oil technique offered unprecedented potential for depicting light and texture. This course will provide the opportunity to study the art of both Flanders and Florence, introducing students to the major artists (Masaccio, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Jan van Eyck, and Rogier van der Weyden), and to broader art historical themes such as patronage, iconography, and technique. Students will acquire an understanding of what constitutes the Florentine renaissance, but by also studying Flanders, will be encouraged to question the standard view of Florence’s central position in the art of the 15th century. Approximately 50 percent of classes will take place in London’s galleries, taking advantage of the unparalleled collections of the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. An additional three-day visit to Bruges and Ghent, located in Belgium, will offer the opportunity to study Flemish painting in situ. Prerequisite: none. NUTTALL.

The science of ecology explores general mechanisms that influence the structure and dynamics of biological communities; however, it does so by carrying out studies in particular places, each one of which has a unique biological and human cultural history. This course will examine the nature of this dilemma through three habitats that have been important in the history of British ecology: the lakes, the woodlands, and the countryside. For each location, we’ll (1) consider its history of ecological study and the relationship to general theories of ecology, (2) consider its cultural history and natural history together with the Literature of Place in Great Britain class, and (3) conduct a one-day “field problem” at the location. The course will emphasize the importance of the development of ecological methods by British ecologists to conservation. Prerequisite: Biology 150 or permission of instructor. BROWN.

This course will study representative plays from each period of Shakespeare’s career, including histories, tragedies, and comedies. Through close analysis of these plays, both on the page and on the stage, the course will aim to develop an appreciation of the richness of Shakespeare’s theatrical art in its powerful marriage of words and images. Attendance at productions of Shakespeare both in Stratford and in London, including at the recently built replica of the Globe in Southwark, will be central to our study. Prerequisite: none. VINTER.

This course will draw on the emerging field of ecological criticism to engage a selection of literary readings ranging from 18th-century country-house poems to Ian McEwan’s Atonement, from nature poems to current scholarship on English social history. The course’s units will address three intersections between literary and ecological interests, and each of these units will involve opportunities to visit relevant sites in London and England. The three units will include the Romantic sublime and Lake District environmentalism; tourism, photography, and the moors; and finally, country houses and hedgerows: the changing ideologies of ecology. Course readings will include Romantic poetry, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Atonement, and critical and theoretical readings. The course will include field trips to London museums, the Lake District, and sites in the countryside surrounding London. Prerequisite: none. SIMPSON

This course explores the history of London from its Roman origins to the present day and examines how royalty, trade, religion, and transport have shaped the city’s pattern of growth over 2,000 years. Coursework consists of weekly lectures, guided walks, and discussions of readings from contemporary sources. Students are given an opportunity to investigate an aspect of London history of particular interest to them. Prerequisite: none. LAYTON-JONES.

This course aims to familiarize students with the devices used for the regulation of national and ethnic conflicts. It seeks to provide students with an understanding of the tools available to states and policymakers to manage conflict. The course will include a close examination of cases of divided societies such as India, South Africa, Lebanon, and Yugoslavia. Once students have a grasp on the concept of ethnicity, the course will divide conflict management into four main themes: 1) territorial devices; 2) repressive and accommodation incorporation; 3) violence; and 4) solutions within democracies. Instruction and discussion will occur in the classroom as well as out in London at various museums, communities, and sites. Prerequisite: none. FUSEZI.

Class discussions and assignments focus on understanding and interpreting internship experiences with an academic perspective. Prerequisite: acceptance as a Parliamentary intern. JONES.

This course explores the inner workings of the elements that comprise the professional theatre in Britain through a careful examination of contemporary and classic plays in actual performance. Prerequisite: none. FOX.

Phase II Courses (6 weeks)

This course will study modern Irish literature written between about 1890 and the present, including fiction, poetry, and drama by such authors as W.B. Yeats, J.M. Synge, James Joyce, Sean O’Casey, Elizabeth Bowen, Samuel Beckett, and Seamus Heaney. It will introduce the student to the turbulent history of modern Ireland, while considering how these writers foster, invent, reinvent, and critique ideas of Irish national, cultural, and religious identity. It will also look at how the authors engage with themes that speak to the wider modern human experience. We will take advantage of opportunities to see Irish plays and hear Irish music in London, and there will be a field trip to the Republic of Ireland. Prerequisite: English 120. VINTER.

Class discussions and assignments focus on understanding and interpreting internship experiences with an academic perspective. Please note that class meetings may begin in Phase I. Prerequisite: undertaking a Parliamentary internship. Enrollment limited to three Parliamentary interns. JONES.

Class discussions and assignments focus on understanding and interpreting students’ internship experiences and those of their co-workers within the U.K. work environment. Topics include the meaning of work and changing definitions of work, the emergence of the culture of overwork and pressures that interfere with a viable work-life balance, the growth of the service economy and consequent increased importance of “emotional labor” (work requiring one’s emotional skills), the social costs of low pay, and the impact of European Union legislation on the world of work in the United Kingdom. Prerequisite: Acceptance into regular internship. VINTER.

Students work 32 hours a week for six weeks at internship sites in London. Applications for internships are made as part of the application for the Grinnell-in-London semester program prior to coming to London. Learning contracts must be approved by the instructor, the internship coordinator, and the work-site supervisor. Prerequisite: none. STAFF.

Grinnell-in-Washington, D.C.

^{William Ferguson, Economics, Faculty Director}

The Grinnell-in-Washington, D.C., program is offered in the first semester of each academic year. Part of the curriculum changes from year to year, reflecting the interests and expertise of the Grinnell faculty member leading the program that fall. Other courses—policymaking, internships, and the internship seminar—are offered every year.

Students are placed in internships that match their individual interests and experience. The internship is 12 weeks in length, Monday–Thursday, approximately 32 hours each week. During the internship, classes are on Fridays and on one weekday evening.

Students are housed in apartments in D.C., attend class just off Dupont Circle, and take multiple field trips in Washington, D.C.

Prerequisite: second-year status and good academic standing.

This course will examine economic policymaking as a potential response to collective-action problems that frequently emerge from the public or common dimensions of economic activity. The course will open with theoretical background on collective action and problems of the commons, such as nonsustainable use of resources like fisheries. A few local examples will be investigated, before turning to the main area of application: climate-change policy. The course will investigate, with much student input, federal, international, NGO, and industry approaches to climate policy. Students will visit and/or hear speakers from relevant locally-based agencies and organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department of State, Congress, foreign embassies, Washington-based environmental organizations, and Washington-based industry associations or affiliates. Prerequisite: none; ECN 111 recommended. FERGUSON.

This course will introduce the political and organizational nature of policy-making using an applied interdisciplinary approach, taking advantage of the resources available in Washington, D.C. Various approaches to public policy-making will be discussed and analyzed using current policy issues of interest to the students on the program. The course will provide students with analytic tools to use in their internship and to use as a foundation for understanding the politics of policymaking. Prerequisite: none. STAFF.

This course includes readings and discussions on how organizations operate and how decisions are made in Washington, D.C., as well as reflections on students’ experiences as interns in Washington-based organizations. Students will analyze readings, share questions and insights from internship journals, develop portfolios of internship projects, and write a reflective paper (at the end of the semester) on their internship host organizations using informal ethnographic case study techniques. Prerequisite: none. ROPER.

Each student will intern four days a week (approximately 32 hours per week) for 10 weeks. Beginning in the spring prior to going off campus, students will work with an internship coordinator to secure an internship which matches their interests and skills. Prerequisite: none. ROPER.

The ACM

Grinnell cooperates with 13 other independent liberal arts institutions in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM). The other members of the ACM are Coe and Cornell in Iowa; Carleton, Macalester, and St. Olaf in Minnesota; University of Chicago, Knox, Lake Forest, and Monmouth in Illinois; Beloit, Lawrence, and Ripon in Wisconsin; and Colorado College. The ACM provides off-campus study programs for students of member institutions and promotes opportunities for faculty research and development.

Featured Programs

Africa: Sub-Saharan
Botswana, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania

Program Adviser: Prof. Grey, x3147, Carnegie 309

Program Advisers: Professor Prevost, x4958, Mears 306 (spring only); Professor Roper, x3017, Goodnow 204; OCS Directors Richard Bright, x4850, Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 108 and 107

Program Adviser: Professor Ireland, x4295, ARH 330D

Program Advisers: Professor Prevost, x4958, Mears 306 (spring only); OCS Director Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Advisers: Professor K. Jacobson, x4359, Science 1205 (fall); Professor J. Brown (biology), x3096, Science 1204 (spring)

Program Adviser: Professor Bentley-Condit, x4305, Goodnow 301

Australia

Program Advisers: Professor K. Jacobson, x4359, Science 1205 (fall); Professor J. Brown (biology), x3096, Science 1204 (spring)

Program Advisers: Professor Fennell, x3164, Steiner 207 (philosophy); Professor Sharpe, x3008, Science 2035 (sciences); OCS Directors Richard Bright, x4850, and Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 108 and 107 (other majors)
 

East Asia
China, Japan, Korea

Program Advisers: Chinese Department faculty

Program Advisers: Chinese Department faculty

Program Advisers: Chinese Department faculty

Program Adviser: Professor Lindgren, x3041, Science 2010

Program Advisers: Chinese Department faculty

Program Advisers: Chinese Department faculty

Program Advisers: Chinese Department faculty

Program Advisers: Chinese Department faculty

Program Adviser: Professor Schimmel, x4498, Carnegie 406

Program Adviser: Professor Schimmel, x4498, Carnegie 406

Program Adviser: Professor Schimmel, x4498, Carnegie 406

Program Adviser: Professor Schimmel, x4498, Carnegie 406

Program Advisers: Chinese and Japanese Department faculty; OCS Director Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108; CIS Director David Harrison, x4716, Macy 109

South Asia
India and Sri Lanka

Program Advisers: Professor Prevost (History), Mears 306, x4958 (spring only); Professor Dobe (religious studies), x3228, Steiner 310; Professor Kapila (English), x3655, Macy 210; OCS Assistant Director Neela Nandyal, 4640, Macy 107

Program Advisers: Professor Dobe, Steiner 310, x3228; OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Advisers: Professor Dobe, Steiner 310, x3228; OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Advisers: Professor Dobe, Steiner 310, x3228; OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

 

Europe and Russia
Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany and Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden

Various Countries

Program Adviser: Professor Henry, x4494, Mears 301

Program Advisers: Professor Byrd, x3238, ARH 231A; OCS Director Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Belgium

Program Advisers: Professor Schrift (philosophy), x3161, Steiner 311; director of off-campus study, x4850, Macy 108

Czech Republic

Program Advisers: Professor Armstrong, x4896, ARH 232D; Professor Vishevsky, x4287, ARH 232B

Denmark

Program Advisers: Professor Seawell, x3175, Science 1607 (spring); Professor Levandoski, x4544, Science 2009; OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

England

Program Advisers: Professor Prevost (history), Mears 306, x4958; Professor Delmenico (theatre), x4546, Bucksbaum 268; OCS Assistant Director Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107

Arts In Context (ACM) (spring)
Program Adviser: Professor Chasson, x3079, Bucksbaum 246

Program Adviser: Professor Munyon, x3106, Carnegie 206

Program Advisers: Professor Levandoski (biology), x4544, Science 2009; OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108; CIS Director David Harrison, x4716, Macy 109

France

Program Advisers: French Department faculty

Program Advisers: French Department faculty

Program Advisers: French Department faculty

Program Advisers: French Department faculty

Germany and Austria

Program Advisers: Professor Byrd (German), x3238, ARH 231A; Professor McIntyre (music), x4916, Bucksbaum 256

Program Adviser: Professor Byrd, x3238, ARH 231A

Program Adviser: Professor Byrd, x3238, ARH 231A

Program Advisers: Professor Byrd, x3238, ARH 231A; OCS Director Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Adviser: Professor Byrd, x3238, ARH 231A

Greece

Program Adviser: Professor Hughes, x3056, ARH 311B

Hungary

Program Adviser: Professor Wolf, x4209, Science 2521

Program Adviser: Professor Davis, x4306, Science 3809

Italy

Program Adviser: Professor Chasson, x3079, Bucksbaum 246

Program Adviser: Professor Chasson, x3079, Bucksbaum 246

Program Adviser: Professor McIntyre (music), x4916, Bucks 256

Program Advisers: Professor Byrd, x3238, ARH 231A; OCS Director Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Adviser: OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Netherlands

Program Adviser: Professor Henry, x4494, Mears 301

Poland

Program Adviser: Professor Armstrong, x4896, ARH 232D

Russia

Program Adviser: Professor Armstrong, x4896, ARH 232D

Spain

Program Adviser: Professor Valentín, x3112, ARH 220A

Program Adviser: Professor Pérez, x4290, ARH 217B

Program Adviser: Professor Pérez, x4290, ARH 217B

Program Adviser: Professor Patrick, x4651, ARH 220A

Sweden

Program Adviser: OCS Director Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, British West Indies

Argentina

Program Adviser: Professor Benoist, x3057, ARH 220D

British West Indies

Program Advisers: Professor K. Jacobson, x4359, Science 1205 (fall); Professor J. Brown (biology), x3096, Science 1204 (spring)

Chile

Program Adviser: Professor Nasser, x4664, ARH 217D

Institute for the International Education Of Students (IES)
Program Adviser: Professor Aparicio, x4548, ARH 220C (spring)

Costa Rica

Program Adviser: Professor Roper, x3017, Goodnow 204

Program Advisers: Professor K. Jacobson, x4359, Science 1205 (fall); Professor J. Brown (biology), x3096, Science 1204 (spring)

Program Adviser: Professor Willis (political science), x4875, Carnegie 103.

Program Advisers: Professor Willis (political science), x4875, Carnegie 103; Professor K. Jacobson, x4359, Science 1205 (fall); Professor J. Brown (biology), x3096, Science 1204 (spring)

Ecuador

Program Adviser: Professor Roper, x3017, Goodnow 204

Institute for the International Education Of Students (IES)
Program Adviser: Professor Aparicio, x4548, ARH 220C (spring)

Mexico

IFSA- Butler University
Program Adviser: Professor Benoist, x3057, ARH 220D

Middle East and North Africa
Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco and Turkey

Program Advisers: Professor Prevost (history), x4958, Mears 306 (spring) ; Professor Youssef (Arabic), x4625, ARH 217C; OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Advisers: Professor Prevost (history), x4958, Mears 306 (spring) ; Professor Youssef (Arabic), x4625, ARH 217C; OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Adviser: Professor Rietz, x4558, Steiner 103

Program Advisers: Professor Prevost (history), x4958, Mears 306 (spring) ; Professor Youssef (Arabic), x4625, ARH 217C; OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Advisers: Professor Prevost (history), x4958, Mears 306 (spring) ; Professor Youssef (Arabic), x4625, ARH 217C; OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Advisers: Professor Ireland (French), x4295, ARH 330D; Professor Youssef (Arabic), x4625, ARH 217C; OCS Director Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Advisers: Professor Ireland (French), x4295, ARH 330D; Professor Youssef (Arabic), x4625, ARH 217C; OCS Director Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Advisers: Professors Roberts (religious studies), x4472, Steiner 203; Professor Womack (theatre), x3286, Bucksbaum 294; Professor Sala (political science), x4880, Carnegie 312; OCS Assistant Director Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107

North America
United States

United States

Program Advisers: OCS Directors Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107, Richard Bright, x4850, Macy 108

Program Adviser: Professor Thomas, x3126, Bucksbaum 267A`

Program Adviser: Professor Brouhle, x4843, Carnegie 304

Program Adviser: Professor Purcell, x3091, Macy 201

Program Adviser: Professor Carter, x4366, Goodnow 104

Program Adviser: Professor Robertson, x3039, Science 1204

Program Advisers: Professor Hunter, x3135, Carnegie 114; OCS Assistant Director Neela Nandyal, x4640, Macy 107

Program Adviser: Theatre Department faculty

Program Advisers: Professor K. Jacobson, x4359, Science 1205 (fall); Professor J. Brown (biology), x3096, Science 1204 (spring)