Off-Campus Study

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-services/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; Timothy Dobe, Religious Studies; Julianna Fuzesi, Political Science; George W. Jones, Political Science; Katy Layton-Jones, History; Jackson Montgomery Roper, Anthropology

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.

See THD-275.

This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to examining the United Kingdom’s foreign aid program. Topics to be examined include: the need for and goals of foreign aid, the history of UK’s foreign aid program, key UK government and non-government institutions involved in foreign aid, how UK’s aid program relates to colonialism, the national and international politics of UK’s aid program, and the impact of such aid. While the course will broadly consider the nature of UK’s program at a domestic level, the application of aid as well as the historical context, need, politics, and impact will focus on a limited number of developing countries. Prerequisites: none. ROPER.

The course proceeds chronologically through the history of London, from its Roman foundations to the impact of the Blitz and the ‘Swinging Sixties’. Using an array of primary and secondary sources, ranging from diaries to court proceedings, maps, newspaper journalism and paintings, we will trace the physical, social, cultural and political evolution of this historic city and the people who have populated it. Although we will begin with the origins of London, we will focus on the modern era, particularly the long nineteenth century. This will provide you with the opportunity to locate and observe evidence of the city’s history in the buildings and streets that surround you today. Prerequisite: none. LAYTON-JONES.

What does it mean to be British in today’s incredibly diverse London? By focusing on recent debates from the “Rushdie Affair” and Islamic feminism to public religious education and claims for a Christian England, the course explores a variety of ethnic, linguistic, gender, religious and secular identities. We will situate the issues involved in relation to imperial history, the current realities of immigration and the vibrancy of Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam in London. Students will learn sociological, philosophical, postcolonial and theological theories of pluralism and post-secularism in order to formulate their own constructive approach to difference, community and social justice. Prerequisite: none. DOBE.

The Politics of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This course introduces students to the institutions and politics of the United Kingdom and its regions. We will seek to understand the historical processes that shaped UK politics, and establish the basic components of the Westminster system. Building on this we will delve deeply into the history and resurgent politics of its regions: Scotland, which is on the brink of a referendum for independence; Wales, which is finding new assertiveness towards London; and Northern Ireland, which still recovers from conflict through its ongoing Peace Process. In order to bring readings and theory alive we will visit some of London’s many relevant sites, among them the House of Commons, the offices of a Member of Parliament, the Royal Courts of Justice. We may even visit Scotland’s capital Edinburgh around the time of its historic vote for independence in October 2014. With Britain at such a crucial juncture there has rarely been a more exciting time to study British politics. This course has no prerequisites except your curiosity and desire to develop your critical thinking skills. Prerequisite: none. FUZESI.

Many parts of today’s London resemble Islamic Pakistan, Sikh Punjab or Hindu India far more closely than they do postcard-ready icons of England such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace or St. Paul’s Cathedral. The course will explore the contemporary realities, histories and current issues that shape the “practice of everyday life” in these traditions, communities and urban sites. Using anthropological approaches grounded in building relationships with people in specific religious sites, the class will explore the ways studying religion “on-the-ground” can challenge dominant academic, cultural and political perspectives. Throughout the course we will leave the classroom in order to seek out and participate in the vibrancy-the tastes, sounds and sights-in and through which religion is lived and alive for so many thousands of London’s citizens. Prerequisite: None. DOBE.

Also listed as ENG-275. This course will explore professional British theatre in all its variety, taking advantage of the unrivalled richness and diversity of the London stage. At its heart will be careful consideration of productions in the current London repertory, with plays ranging from classical to contemporary, and venues including subsidized, commercial and fringe theatres. We’ll think about theatre as a live performance art taking place in real time and space and, in those terms, all the different ways that theatre can be theatre. Course work will also include reading a selection of the plays we see, so as to cultivate students’ facility in analyzing dramatic texts of different styles and genres as they present human beings in significant action. Finally, since drama holds the mirror up to nature, we’ll have the opportunity to discuss the larger social, moral and political themes with which the plays are concerned - windows onto contemporary Britain and the wider world. Prerequisite: none. 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 labour” (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.

Steve Jackson, Faculty Director, Vickie Bentley-Condit, Anthropology

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 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 policy making.  Prerequisite: None. Instructor: JACKSON

Humans are animals and we have associated with other animals as long as the genus Homo has existed - well before we were, technically humans. Whether we see these others as our pets, our food, or our helpers - things to be used or objects of veneration - depends upon both the unstated norms and the official policies of our society intermixed with belief systems and individual preferences. In this course, we will explore primarily US practices regarding our relationships with and the uses, treatment, and rights of live, deceased, and about-to-be deceased animals - ranging from dogs to chickens to lab rats. Doing so in DC will allow us to simultaneously read about and interact with both the policy makers and those who live the policies - ranging from butchers to sanctuary owners to animal rights activists - on a daily basis.  Prerequisite: None. Instructor: BENTLEY-CONDIT

This course includes readings and discussions on how organizations operate and how decisions are made in Washington, DC 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. Instructor: BENTLEY-CONDIT

Each student will intern four days a week (approximately 32 hours per week) for 12 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. BENTLEY-CONDIT

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

Botswana: University Immersion in Southern Africa (ACM) (spring)

Ghana: Development Studies Program, University of Legon (CIEE)

Senegal: Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID)

South Africa: University of Cape Town (IES)

South Africa: Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS)

Tanzania: Human Evolution and Ecology (ACM) (Fall)

Australia and New Zealand

North Queensland, Australia: Tropical Rainforest Management (SFS)

University of Melbourne, Australia (IES)

University of Otago, New Zealand (Arcadia)

East Asia
China, Japan, Korea

China: Beijing (ACC)

China: Beijing: Contemporary Issues Program (IES)

China: Beijing or Nanjing (CIEE)

China: Beijing (Pitzer College)

China: Hangzhou - C.V. Starr-Middlebury School in China

China: Harbin or Kunming - Intensive Chinese Language (CET)

China: Shanghai (Alliance for Global Education)

China (Republic of China) : Taipei (CIEE)

Japan: Tokyo – Sophia University (CIEE) (spring)

Japan: Tokyo - Japan Study Program - Waseda University (ACM) (year)

Korea: Seoul – Yonsei University (CIEE)

South Asia
India and Sri Lanka

India: Delhi (IES)

India: Cultures, Traditions, & Globalization (ACM) (fall)

India: South India Term Abroad (SITA)

Sri Lanka: Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education (ISLE)

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

Various Countries

Comparative Women’s Studies in Europe Program (Antioch)

Germany: European Union Program (IES)

Belgium

Czech Republic

Denmark

England

London: Grinnell-in-London (fall)

London: London and Florence; Arts in Context (ACM) (spring)

London: University College (spring)

France

Aix-En-Provence and Marseille Programs (AUCP)

Nantes Program (IES)

Paris: Hamilton College Junior Year in France (year)

Paris: Sweet Briar College in France

Germany and Austria

Austria: Vienna (IES)

Germany: Berlin (IES) (spring recommended)

Germany: Freiburg (IES) (spring recommended)

Germany: Freiburg – European Union Program (IES)

Germany: Munich - Wayne State University (spring recommended)

Greece

Hungary

Hungary: Budapest Semester in Mathematics (St. Olaf)

Hungary: Aquinum Institute of Technology (AIT)

Italy

Florence: Arts, Humanities and Culture (ACM) (fall)

Florence: London and Florence; Arts in Context (ACM) (spring)

Milan: Milan Program (IES)

Rome: Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (ICCS)

Netherlands

Poland

Russia

Spain

Granada: Institute for the International Education of Students (IES)

Madrid: Hamilton College in Spain

Madrid: Institute for the International Education of Students (IES)

Salamanca: Institute for the international Education of Students (IES)

Sweden

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

Argentina

British West Indies

Chile

Chile: Santiago or Valparaiso — Cooperative Latin American Studies Program (CIEE)

Chile: Santiago Program (IES)

Costa Rica

Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Institute for Central American Development Studies (ICADS) — Internship Program

Costa Rica: Organization for Tropical Studies (Duke University)

Costa Rica: Organization for Tropical Studies: Global Health Program (Duke University)

Costa Rica: Language, Society and the Environment (ACM) (fall)

Costa Rica: Field Research in the Environment, Social Sciences, and Humanities (ACM) (spring)

Ecuador

Ecuador: Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID)

Ecuador: Quito Program (IES)

Mexico

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

Egypt: American University in Cairo

Egypt: Alexandria: C.V. Starr School in the Middle East (Middlebury)

Egypt: Cairo (AMIDEAST)

Israel: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Jordan: Middle East and Arabic Language Studies, Amman (ACM)
 

Jordan: Amman (AMIDEAST)

Morocco: Rabat Area and Arabic Language Studies (AMIDEAST)

Morocco: Rabat: Regional Studies in French (AMIDEAST)

Morocco: Rabat (IES)

Turkey: Duke University in Istanbul (spring)

North America
United States

Atlanta: Morehouse College and Spelman College

Chicago: Arts, Entrepreneurship and Urban Studies (ACM)

Chicago: Newberry Seminar in the Humanities (ACM) (fall)

Chicago — Urban Education: Student Teaching in Chicago (ACM)

Knoxville, Tenn.: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ACM) (fall)

Washington, D.C.: Grinnell-in-Washington, D.C. (fall)

Waterford, Connecticut: National Theater Institute

Woods Hole, MA.: Marine Biological Laboratory — Semester In Environmental Science (fall)